Jeannette Healy

A shaded figure looks on as other group members perform onstage, mirroring Manon Bannerman’s absence in KATSEYE’s activities. The global girl group’s performance at Coachella attracted over 60,000 spectators, according to The Chosun Daily.

One member of the wildly popular global pop girl group KATSEYE is on hiatus.

Manon Bannerman is best recognized for her role in KATSEYE, a group that blends Western pop with K-pop training. She was raised in Zurich, Switzerland, and is of Swiss-Italian and Ghanaian descent.

Bannerman is often considered the fan favorite of the group, especially considering that she has the highest follower count of the group, with 6.1 million on Instagram as of April.

“She has this mix of clean but also grungy vibes, which are so unique. She’s kind of this complete package, which makes sense why she’s the visual of the group,” said Lucas Papa, a KATSEYE fan and Carlmont sophomore.

Despite this popularity, she is currently not participating in the group’s activities. 

On Feb. 20, KATSEYE officially announced Bannerman’s temporary hiatus to “focus on her mental health and wellbeing” on the Korean social media app Weverse.

This announcement was followed by fan speculation concerning the truth behind the statement.

“Officially, they are saying that she is on a hiatus, and that she’s temporarily left, but there are a lot of theories going around that she’s not coming back, and that they kicked her out. I’ve also heard theories that she left herself and she’s not returning, but they don’t want to put it out to the public,” said Clara Lewis, a Carlmont junior.

Another important thing to consider is diversity.

KATSEYE has been marketed continuously as a “global” girl group.

“The point of it being global is that it encompasses a bunch of areas in a bunch of different groups, and everyone can see themselves as much as possible within the six girls,” Lewis said.

Bannerman is the only member of the six with African descent and the only one to take a hiatus to this degree, raising concerns about representation within the group.

All six members are part of Gen Z, and the group is marketed toward younger audiences, making its diversity especially important in helping young girls of different racial backgrounds see themselves reflected onscreen.

“Representation is important in music to show a variety of different cultures. When I was a kid, I was very insecure about the color of my skin, just because it was hated upon. So I felt like the minority. And so  I wish I saw a little bit, you know, more people that I could relate to,” said Emily Rose James-Johnstone, a member of Carlmont’s Black Student Union.

It’s also important to consider that fan speculation isn’t reality, and that Bannerman could, in fact, just be taking a mental health break, and that it isn’t appropriate to spread hate towards the artist.

“I think artists get a lot of hate from the public for no reason. People quit their jobs for all kinds of reasons. Why are these artists any different?” said Asha Mehta, a Carlmont alumna.

Whether it be Bannerman’s personal choice or a larger management scheme, it’s clear that her long-term absence would heavily impact the group, in terms of both feel and representation.

“I know that she said she wanted to take a break because of mental health and her personal life, which is totally okay. I think that kicking her out, though, would be a bit crazy. KATSEYE was built off of her being in the group, and it just doesn’t look equal without her,” James-Johnstone said.