KATSEYE's Sophia Laforteza on Singing for 'Forgotten Island': 'One of the Most Beautiful Things I'll Ever Do'

Sophia Laforteza has already been part of one of the most talked-about pop stories of the decade as a member of KATSEYE, the Los Angeles-based girl group assembled through the 2023 reality competition Dream Academy. Now the Filipino singer is adding a different kind of credit to her name: a contribution to the music of an animated film, Forgotten Island.

According to ABS-CBN, Laforteza lent her vocals to a rendition of INXS's Never Tear Us Apart for the project, and she didn't hold back about what the experience meant to her. In her own words, it was 'one of the most beautiful things I feel like I'll ever do.' That's a striking statement from an artist who has already performed on some of the biggest stages available to a new pop act — but it speaks to a different kind of artistic satisfaction: the chance to interpret a beloved song and to let her voice carry a story.

A Different Kind of Spotlight

For most listeners, Sophia Laforteza is one of six voices in a group built on stylistic range and shared identity. KATSEYE — which also includes Daniela Avanzini, Lara Raj, Manon Bannerman, Megan Skiendiel and Yoonchae Jeung — was formed through Dream Academy, a collaboration between Hybe and Geffen Records, and their journey from audition rooms to international stages was documented in the Netflix docuseries Pop Star Academy: KATSEYE. The group's name, as Sophia has explained before, comes from the gemstone known as cat's eye, chosen to reflect the way each member refracts a different kind of light.

That metaphor becomes useful when you consider what a solo vocal showcase like this represents. In a group format, voices blend, trade lines and build a collective wall of sound. Here, the spotlight narrows. The choice of Never Tear Us Apart is significant too — it is a song defined by restraint and emotional weight, the kind of track that only works if the singer trusts the material. For a young artist still in the early chapters of her recording career, that kind of assignment is a vote of confidence.

Why 'Forgotten Island' Fits Her Story

There is a neat resonance between the project and Laforteza's own trajectory. KATSEYE is a group with members drawn from the Philippines, South Korea, Switzerland and the United States, assembled in Los Angeles and marketed globally — a pop act that exists between several worlds at once. A film titled Forgotten Island inevitably suggests themes of discovery, memory and belonging, and those are subjects that sit naturally alongside the experience of building a career across borders.

For Filipino listeners, the moment carries extra weight. Sophia is the group's Filipino member, and her visibility in a globally positioned act already represents a meaningful point of pride for OPM fans who have watched homegrown talent find international footing. Her turn on a film soundtrack is another entry in that ledger — not a detour from KATSEYE, but an expansion of what her voice can do.

From 'Debut' to a Grammy-Nominated Era

It helps to remember how quickly KATSEYE's story has unfolded. The group arrived in June 2024 with the single Debut, then broke through with Touch, and closed out the year with their first EP, SIS (Soft Is Strong). In April 2025 they released Gnarly, the lead single from their second EP Beautiful Chaos. The reactions to Gnarly were mixed on arrival, but the track generated significant attention and gave the group their first entry on the Billboard Hot 100, while Beautiful Chaos debuted at number four on the Billboard 200.

The second single from that EP, Gabriela, peaked inside the top 40 of the Hot 100 and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. KATSEYE were also nominated for Best New Artist at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards. Their third EP, Wild, released in 2026, became their first number one release on the Billboard 200 — a milestone that confirmed the group's commercial ascent was not a fluke.

That context matters when evaluating a soundtrack contribution. Sophia is not a newcomer searching for exposure. She is part of a group operating at the top of the charts and the awards conversation, which means a film song is a creative choice rather than a career necessity. Those tend to be the projects artists speak about most fondly.

What a Soundtrack Credit Adds to the KATSEYE Story

KATSEYE have built a distinctive identity that extends well beyond music. The group is widely recognized for a fashion sensibility rooted in Y2K influences, and their brand has attracted partnerships with Fendi, Gap, Lush and Coach, as well as the Filipino fast food chain Jollibee. Creative director Humberto Leon has shaped their visual world with an eye on the members' diverse backgrounds. A soundtrack placement adds a new dimension: it shows the group's voices functioning in service of a narrative, separate from the choreography and concept-driven releases that define their catalogue.

Traditional soundtracks have long served as a proving ground for pop vocalists. They strip away performance spectacle and ask a simpler question — can this voice hold a scene? For an artist like Sophia, whose group work rewards precision and blend, the opportunity to stretch out on a familiar, emotionally exposed song is a meaningful test and, by her own account, a rewarding one.

The Bigger Picture

For the Filipino music scene, moments like this are worth tracking closely. KATSEYE's global model is not the traditional OPM path, but it has created a platform for a Filipino artist to reach audiences that domestic releases rarely touch. Every additional credit — a soundtrack, a solo vocal moment, a film tie-in — widens that platform further and reinforces the idea that Filipino talent belongs in conversations about global pop.

Sophia's description of the experience as one of the most beautiful things she will ever do is not the language of a promotional obligation. It reads like an artist recognizing a rare intersection of craft, material and personal meaning. Fans of KATSEYE already know what she sounds like inside a six-member arrangement. Forgotten Island offers a chance to hear what happens when the arrangement steps back and leaves her voice alone in the room.