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Minnesota K-pop and pop fans will soon be in “touch” with KATSEYE, a new girl group that has risen to fame since debuting in late June.

The six-member band, managed by K-pop music giant HYBE, is coming to the Mall of America on Saturday for a performance and meet and greet with local EYEKONS at 2 p.m.

It’ll be their first visit to the Mall of America, and likely Minnesota, since debuting.

Admission to the event opened at 5 p.m. on Monday and tickets sold out in minutes, a Mall of America spokesperson said. Ticket check-in for the event will begin at 7 a.m. Saturday. 

People who don’t have tickets can still watch from the upper levels of the Huntington Bank Rotunda. 

“The excitement surrounding their visit has been remarkable, as we have received an overwhelming response from fans across the nation. Our team is prepared for the large crowds,” Mall of America Chief Business Development & Marketing Officer Jill Renslow said.

One of the members, Megan Skiendiel, has been out because of a back injury and will not be performing at the event.

KATSEYE was formed in Los Angeles through a survival show that was turned into a Netflix docuseries called “Pop Star Academy: KATSEYE.” The series, which was released on Netflix in August, showed the two-year journey of 20 trainees from around the world competing for six spots in the K-pop-style girl group.

HYBE and Geffen Records, an American record label, partnered to manage formation and extensive training of the group. HYBE is responsible for some of the biggest names in K-pop now including BTS, NewJeans and Le Sserafim.

Fans of the survival show “The Debut: Dream Academy,”, which aired in real-time on Youtube and Weverse, voted for the final six of KATSEYE in November 2023. The group’s members – Skiendiel, Sophia Laforteza, Lara Rajagopalan (stylized as Lara Raj), Yoonchae Jeung, Daniela Avanzini and Manon Bannerman – represent diverse cultural backgrounds spanning Indian American, Filipino, Korean, Ghanaian-Swiss-Italian, Cuban-Venezuelan-American and Chinese-Singaporean-American roots. Their ages range from 17 to 22.

The combination of KATSEYE’s diverse members and the influence of K-pop undoubtedly makes the group unique to the music industry. Their debut album “SIS (Soft is Strong),” which includes their hit singles “Touch” and “Debut,” broke into the U.S. Billboard 200 charts within weeks of its release.

Nicole Ki

Author

KATSEYE, whose formation was documented in Netflix’s “Pop Star Academy,” will make their first visit to the Mall of America for a performance and meet and greet.

Global K-pop-style girl group KATSEYE sells out first show at Mall of America

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