Filipino talent Sophia Laforteza to debut with HYBE Labels’ new girl group 'Katseye'
Never give up on pursuing your dreams, folks! Take it from Filipina talent Sophia Laforteza, who has been chosen by HYBE Labels to debut with their new girl group "Katseye."
Her feat was announced at the live finale of The Debut: Dream Academy, a survival show created by Korea's HYBE Labels and the United States' Geffen Records where trainees undergo a development process using the K-pop training system.
The program had over 120,000 international candidates joining the audition, but only 20 were chosen to compete in the program. Sophia was one of the lucky aspirants to be given a chance to be a part of the girl group.
The 20-year-old performer's dreams have finally come true after she was announced as the first member of Katseye. This also makes her the first Filipino to be part of a girl group under HYBE, which manages other big groups in the K-pop industry such as BTS, New Jeans, and Le Sserafim.
"I can't even put it into words, but I worked so hard to be here, and I appreciate everybody who has voted for me, who has been supporting me since day one," Sophia said when asked about what she was feeling after being chosen.
"My family, my friends, my Sonnies, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you guys. And even for everybody in this whole entire project for believing in me and allowing me to grow, I'm so thankful," she added.
Sophia is now set to debut with Lara Rajagopalan, Megan Meiyok Skiendiel, and Daniela Avanzini from the US, Jeong Yoon-chae from Korea, and Manon Bannerman from Switzerland.
It seems that Sophia's beauty and talent run in the blood as her parents both have a background in the entertainment scene. Her mother is famous Filipino stage actress and singer Carla Guevara-Laforteza, while her father, Basilio Godfrey Laforteza III is a former dancer and is currently an executive chef in Manila.