Katseye’s Sophia to Sit Out European Leg of ‘Wildworld’ Tour to ‘Focus on Her Well-Being’
Katseye member Sophia Laforteza will not join the group for the UK and European leg of their "Wildworld" tour, the band's label has confirmed, as she continues to prioritise her wellbeing following a hiatus announced in early August. The label said it remained "fully committed" to supporting Laforteza and asked fans for "warm understanding," stressing that artists' health and long-term wellbeing remained its highest priority.
The European and UK dates run from 1 to 17 September, beginning at Dublin's 3Arena, with further stops including Paris, Amsterdam and Copenhagen, before the tour moves to North America from 13 October. It has been a turbulent year for Katseye: bandmate Manon Bannerman took a temporary hiatus in February, member Megan Skiendiel's ankle injury forced the group to withdraw from Olivia Rodrigo's Daisy Chain Fields Festival, and Laforteza herself stepped back in August. Despite the setbacks, the group notched their first US Billboard 200 number-one album with "Wild" that same month.
- Sophia Laforteza will skip Katseye's UK/European "Wildworld" tour dates
- Label cites her focus on wellbeing after August hiatus
- Follows other member setbacks, though "Wild" hit No. 1 on Billboard
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Katseye are a seven-member girl group formed through a global talent competition run by Hybe (the South Korean company behind BTS) and Geffen Records, blending members from different countries and backgrounds. They found rapid mainstream success, and 2026 has seen them touring behind their album "Wild" while dealing with a run of health setbacks affecting different members at different times.
Sophia Laforteza is one of the group's members. She stepped back from group activities in early August, and her current absence from tour dates is part of that ongoing break rather than a new development.
This matters because it affects fans buying tickets for the affected shows and raises broader questions about the pressures faced by young performers in intensively scheduled pop groups, an issue that has come up repeatedly across the K-pop and Hybe-linked industry in recent years.