Earlier this month, I got to see a global girl group that is taking the world by storm with their diverse backgrounds, thrilling performances, and incredible talent. The group is none other than Katseye, and I am so happy I finally got to see them live in my home city of Toronto, Canada! In this review, I will share my thoughts and experience in the concert, including the venue, clips from the show, and more information about the group. Before you read below, please make sure to follow me on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook for more concerts, and music content! For a visual preview of what to expect, watch this video below!
About
Katseye is a global girl group under Geffen Records and HYBE (same label as BTS & Seventeen) that was created from the survival show, Dream Academy and gained more popularity once the Netflix documentary series Pop Star Academy came out. They even performed a medley of songs from the show. They are a pop group but trained with K-pop methodology, which is why they often interact in Korea with a lot of K-pop fans while still carrying on with their lives like a regular Western girl group. The group consists of six girls with different ethnic backgrounds who take pride in their cultures and heritage. The members are Sophia Laforteza (Leader and from the Philippines), Daniela Avanzini (Main Dancer from Atlanta with Cuban and Venezuelan origins – hence her Latin flair), Lara Raj (Main vocalist from LA with Indian and Sri Lankan Tamil origins), Manon Bannerman (Visual from Zurich with Ghanian, Swiss, and Italian origins), Megan Skiendiel (Main Rapper from Honolulu, Hawaii with Chinese-Singaporean and Swedish-American, and Yoonchae Jeung (Maknae from Seoul, South Korea).
As a fellow Tamil, my default bias is Lara, but they are all talented and work so hard to get where they are. It was so evident in the concert, and I love how they are continuously improving and building off their success so far. I also love the wholesome family content they have from each other families interacting with each other. I also love that they are constantly incorporating their culture in the stages, music videos, and lyrics, and so much more from Tamil being displayed on the stage and in their “Debut” music video to Daniella’s Spanish solo. A lot of their songs were trending like Touch, Gnarly, and Gabriella! I’ve been a fan of theirs (EYEKON) since the beginning, from attending their debut ice cream celebration event in Toronto to the Beautiful Chaos listening party in Toronto.
Tickets, Venue, and Food
Katseye only debuted last year, so it was surprising they were even coming to Toronto on this tour, but I was thrilled to find that out! The girls did mention that this is their first time in Canada, and due to Katseye being a global pop group that goes beyond the typical K-pop audience, I was still surprised by how popular and in-demand these tickets were. Thankfully, I had the Weverse presale access for fans to purchase tickets before the general public, so we were able to secure our seats in section G1 row J for about $100 CAD each. Although these are still kind of pricey (but not terrible) given the venue and section but resale was even worse, where people were reselling tickets for $500 to $1000 each. I can tell that some people did buy the tickets, and what shocked me is that companies did send influencers to this concert, even though they don’t seem to be fans, and it doesn’t make sense since this show sold out instantly, which took away from more real fans to enjoy this concert.
Speaking of the venue, this was at the west end of Toronto in Etibicoke, specifically at 1133 Queen’s Plate Drive. The venue was the Theatre at Great Canadian Toronto, which is known for its casino (formerly known as Woodbine Casino), where I most recently saw Bibi earlier this year. It is accessible via public transit and has a lot of free parking (outdoors and indoors – even though we were blocked in by someone after the show). This is my third time at this venue (first being Itzy), but this was my first time realizing that they have a full food court with decent options and plenty of seating! You do need to have ID because you need to walk by the casino games. They had different options like Big Smoke, Pizzolio, Mary Brown’s, and of course, Tim Hortons. However, what I think is the best food option is Noodlebox where I got the Cambodian Jungle Curry Box with Burmese Naan. Although it did come out to almost $30 after tax, the food was great, really flavourful, and you get a lot! My sister got two slices from Pizzolio, which was ok but not as good as this, which was also vegan. M Cha Bar was also there, who were at the Itzy concert, but unfortunately, it was just a pop-up with existing menu items, nothing special. Their fruit drink wasn’t the best, but their mango sorbet was delicious and surprisingly, also vegan! Make sure to bring a jacket even in the summer because it does get cold, which is why I became prepared, regardless of whether I could get any tour merch or not.
Merchandise
I saw on X that there were already people lining up for merchandise at 11 am at the venue, so I didn’t think I could get anything that day. Therefore, I saw that they had an exclusive collection at Hot Topic. I called STC, and they said they only had two pieces left, but the Oshawa Centre location had several, which you can see in the video below. I was ok with not getting anything but this was the fastest merch booth I have ever been in that had a line and I ended up getting the Toronto and tour exclusives, including the double sided scarf (which I wore to the office the next day), the Toronto exclusive colour dic,e and the Beautiful Chaos baseball jersey with Toronto on the back. For both merch options, I did go one size bigger for a looser fit or else it might be too snug. To be honest, they were pricey, especially the jersey, but it does look nice, and I can see myself wearing this again. I will still say it was overpriced because I don’t remember my Bruno Mars x Mitchell and Ness 24K magic jersey being that expensive. As mentioned in the video, I do think the Hot Topic merch is more accessible and affordable.
Performance
I had a great time at the concert and thought the girls did an amazing job! However, I will say that the concert was a bit short since it started at 8:33 p.m. and ended at 9:52 p.m. Nonetheless, there wasn’t much of a break in between songs as the girls opened with a bang and continuously delivered great performances and stunning live vocals (especially Lara). I love seeing how Sophia was showing her leadership style on stage, making sure everyone was doing alright, and Yoonchae being confident to speak to the crowd by herself, while Megan’s facial expressions wowed the crowd, and Daniella controlled the crowd with her powerful dancing. Someone who I would say was the best at crowd engagement and really helped facilitate between songs was Manon. She seemed the most natural on stage and had a great stage presence before, during, and after each song! I love that they did almost all of their songs and the Dream Academy medley along with their OSTs, but I wish they had solo stages like P1Harmony. Nonetheless, the performances were incredible, especially Gabriella, Gnarly, and MIA! They also performed a new song, “Internet Girl” for the second time ever in Toronto!
Overall
All in all, it was an awesome concert, and I am grateful I was able to see Katseye live at their first-ever Canadian show! I highly recommend you check them out! To be honest, although they are still new, I do think they could have sold out Scotiabank Arena, so hopefully next time they do come, they will be at a bigger venue with some seats, so scalpers can’t get their hands on tickets, and real fans can secure their seats. I also do wish they did solo stages for their next tour, but it was a solid show and made me even more proud as an EYEKON! Let me know if you went or would go to see them live, and make sure you follow me on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook for more concert/music content!