Daniela of KATSEYE is ready to share more of the person behind her stage performances. In a new interview tied to a fashion campaign, the singer and dancer reflects on her Cuban and Venezuelan roots, the confidence she has developed within the group and her creative ambitions. She also discusses the emotional significance of Sophia Laforteza's planned return to group activities in January.
Daniela has become accustomed to performing demanding choreography in front of thousands of people, but she is still discovering which parts of herself she wants to share. The KATSEYE singer describes her experience in the group as a continuing education in confidence. As her career has expanded, she has learned to trust her instincts and accept the characteristics that give her performances an individual identity.
The conversation accompanied her appearance in CAST. by Lounge, a new campaign introduced on October 22. As the initiative's first featured personality, she took part in a shoot that offered a different setting from the elaborate costumes and production of a concert. It also created an opportunity to discuss personal taste, comfort and the way she understands confidence away from the stage.
Her everyday wardrobe serves different needs from her performance clothes. Professional appearances involve frequent changes of image, while her own time calls for pieces that let her move comfortably and express her preferences. She describes a style shaped by enduring basics, playful details and influences from early-2000s fashion. The emphasis is on feeling at ease rather than reproducing the visual demands of a major live show.
Dance has been part of her life since long before KATSEYE formed. Daniela remembers wanting to perform for an audience from an early age, and those childhood ambitions remain present when she looks out at a crowd today. Hearing thousands of people sing along can still feel overwhelming. Familiarity with large events has not removed the emotion of recognizing how far she has traveled.
Her Cuban and Venezuelan roots are another essential part of that journey. She describes her Latin American heritage as something that naturally influences her energy, movement and musical expression. It is not an element she has to deliberately attach to each performance. Those influences already belong to her personality and to the physical language she has developed through years of dancing.
That background has a clear place in a group whose live identity depends heavily on choreography. KATSEYE performances require stamina, coordination and sustained cooperation between members. For Daniela, dance provides a way to communicate with the audience while contributing something personal to the collective presentation. Her individual experience becomes part of an ensemble performance that depends on everyone working together.
Being in the group has also changed how she approaches decisions about herself. She says she has become more willing to trust her judgment instead of continually trying to satisfy other people's expectations. One important lesson has been that confidence does not require perfection. Accepting differences and understanding her abilities have become central to the way she navigates an increasingly visible career.
The interview comes during a busy period for KATSEYE. The group's third EP, WILD, was released on August 14 and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 170,000 equivalent album units in the United States. It marked their first appearance at the top of that chart, adding another measure of success to a year of extensive performance commitments.
The Wildworld Tour began in Dublin on September 1 before continuing to North America in October. Daniela experiences the group's growing reach most directly at those concerts. Chart positions describe one kind of progress, but the sight of people responding to the songs brings her back to the dreams she had as a child. The audience makes the distance between those early hopes and her present life tangible.
Even with that exposure, she does not feel that listeners have encountered every side of her personality. She would like to explore more opportunities involving fashion, music and other creative projects. The wish reflects curiosity about what she can express beyond the familiar presentation of the group. Her comments do not announce a solo career or a departure from KATSEYE.
Sophia Laforteza also occupies an important place in the conversation. HYBE x Geffen has said that her return to group activities is planned for January 2027, following a break announced for personal well-being. That return had not happened at the time of the interview. Daniela speaks about looking forward to being together again, rather than describing a reunion that has already taken place.
She talks affectionately about Sophia and the family-like relationships between the members. The things she misses include time together backstage as well as performances, reflecting how much of their shared routine happens during rehearsals and on tour. The group has continued its commitments during the absence, while members have publicly expressed support. These comments offer no indication of an internal dispute or a planned lineup change.
For Daniela, the next stage involves making more room for her personality while maintaining those connections. Success, cultural identity and the experience of missing a colleague all inform the way she sees her place in the group. Confidence remains something she is building through new experiences. The campaign is one opportunity to explore that process, with music and dance continuing to anchor her creative life.
