Leigh-Anne rose to fame as part of Little Mix winning The X-Factor UK. The group went on to achieve nineteen top ten singles and 3 Brit Awards and become the third best selling girl group of all time. Following the group’s hiatus in 2022, Leigh-Anne released several singles including ‘Don’t Say Love’, and ‘Burning Up’ as well as an extended play called ‘No Hard Feelings’. Her 15 track debut album ‘My Ego Told Me To’ was released on February 20th 2026 by Virgin Music.

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During an interview with Gaydio, Leigh-Anne commented on the announcement of Manon’s departure from Katseye which was announced earlier this week. She reminisced on her difficult own experiences being a woman of colour in Little Mix and attributed it to ‘some kind of vicious cycle’ in the industry and urged the importance of community, stating ‘I feel like it’s really important that we all keep talking to each other and support each other’.

Leigh-Anne speaks on her recent support for Manon from KATSEYE: “I definitely feel like there is a lot to say. There is some kind of vicious cycle going on right now with Black girls in girl groups. We see it all the time, so I’m glad people are speaking about it and… pic.twitter.com/JdNzQ2syoq — JADE tea room (@JADEtearoom) February 26, 2026

Katseye released singed ‘Gnarly’, ‘Gabriela’ and ‘Gameboy’ and received widespread attention, swell as nominations for Best New Artist and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance earlier this year at the Grammy Awards. Formed through The Debut: Dream Academy, a reality competition the group will continue with members Daniela Avanzini, Lara Raj, Megan Skiendiel, Sophia Laforteza and Yoonchae Jeung in Manon’s absence.

Also mentioned in this discussion was Normani. Similarly to Little Mix, Fifth Harmony was formed on The X-Factor USA in 2012 and reached huge success with hits like ‘Boss’, ‘Worth It’ and ‘Work From Home’. Following the departure of Camila Cabello in 2016, and the group’s subsequent hiatus in 2018, Normani has continued her career, featuring on Dancing With The Stars and releasing her solo debut album ‘Dopamine’ in June 2024. She hasn’t since released any more music since.

Leigh-Anne is currently promoting ‘My Ego Told Me To’ which has charted in the top three in the United Kingdom. The accompanying ‘My Ego Told Me To Tour’ has also been announced to begin in April. The UK and Europe tour will see Leigh-Anne visit Dublin, Glasgow, Manchester, Bristol, London, Paris, Amsterdam and Berlin.

In a statement released on February 20th, fans were told the news. The statement released on South Korean social media Weverse reads “After open and thoughtful conversations together, we are sharing that Manon will be taking a temporary hiatus from group activities to focus on her health and wellbeing.”

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Katseye was formed on a competition style reality show named Dream Academy in 2023. From 120,000 applications to 20 contestants, following rigorous training Manon alongside the other members Sophia Laforteza, Yoonchae Jeung, Lara Raj, Daniela Avanzini, and Megan Skiendiel were chosen as the members of Katseye. Described as a global girl group, Katseye’s hails members from the Philippines, South Korea, Switzerland, and the United States. Dream Academy, a project backed by Hybe and Geffen records, Katseye includes the first Indian, Filipina, Latina, and Black artists to be signed under HYBE. Katseye sit with KPOP royalty signed to HYBE with the label mates being New Jeans, Enhypen and BTS.

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The group embarked on their first tour; the Beautiful Chaos tour in November 2025, performing 16 shows across north America. Their debut and second singles ‘Debut’ and ‘Touch’ respectively, have together have garnered over 300 million views on Youtube. EP’s ‘SIS (Soft is Strong)’ and ‘Beautiful Chaos’, followed as Katseye once again captured attention with a string of hit singles ‘Gnarly’, ‘Gameboy’ and ‘Gabriela’ . Fans have been assured that despite Manon’s absence, “The group will continue scheduled activities during this time, and we look forward to being together again when the time is right.”

Over the past 18 months, Katseye have been catapulted into stardom and in Google’s “Trending musicians ranking, placed 2nd in 2025. Collaborations and sponsorships with worldwide brands; Coach, Fendi and most famously Gap, have demonstrated Katseye’s impact on global fashion. Their influence on trends made evident as TikTok named Katseye the “Global Artist of the Year” in 2025, with their videos reaching over 30 billion views and were most recently nominated for Best New Artist and Best Pop/Duo Group Performance at the 2026 Grammys. Katseye have been remarked for their high energy performance and catchy songs and have performed at Wango Tango, Lollapalooza and are schedule to perform at Coachella later this year. The group’s most recent public appearance was on the Jimmy Fallon show.

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