KATSEYE’s Lara On Becoming Everything She Never Saw Growing Up
One year into her journey with KATSEYE, the 19-year-old Indian-American pop star reflects on her artistic growth as a musician and the weight of her role in embodying representation that matters.
Photographed by JC Cerilla.
Photographed by JC Cerilla.
Lara Raj has always known she was meant to be a star.
Whether it was through spending her pastime producing music in her bedroom alongside her sister (and fellow musician) Rhea, or through recording highly impressive covers on her personal TikTok page, it was as if becoming a world-renowned musician was always in the cards for someone as talented and passionate as herself.
For her, embarking on such a career path was more than just an avenue for creative expression, but a bridge towards a realized dream in representing millions of other Desi and South Asian women around the world.
Soon enough, the scouting team of HYBE and Geffen Records’ joint endeavor, The Debut: Dream Academy, came knocking on her door, marking the kick-off point for Lara’s journey to global superstardom.
Now one year into being a member of KATSEYE, Lara finds herself as one of the faces of several global fashion campaigns, jet-setting around the world for jam-packed festival performances, all while preparing for their headlining and sold-out Beautiful Chaos world tour. Such a level of visibility is one that may be overwhelming for some — though for the 19-year-old Indian-American pop star, it’s merely a sign that things are getting started.
As we find ourselves chatting on the set of KATSEYE’s August 2025 cover shoot in Los Angeles, there’s a palpable excitement that is mutually felt between the two of us. “Doing this for Billboard, especially Billboard Philippines — it feels really sentimental today. I remember having the time of our lives when we went to visit [the country],” she mentions.
She recalls the group’s first visit to Manila last September 2024, sharing the warmth that she felt from the Filipino EYEKONs’ welcome back then. “I feel like the Philippines really treats us like family. I felt like I was going back to my hometown, and they just made us feel so welcome,” she adds.
While catching up on all that has changed since then, we find ourselves talking about the release of the group’s latest extended-play, Beautiful Chaos, and the creative undertaking that went behind the making of the record. The sonic shift from their early discography was one that Lara found herself excited by, given how different the emotional and creative journey was for each of them in bringing the record to life.
“The way that this record came to be was quite different from Soft Is Strong (SIS). We had a lot more involvement in the creative process, specifically with the whole concept of the EP. Before it was even a thing, even before it was decided what the title or concept was going to be, the six of us were very aligned on a vision that we wanted this EP to show, which was a little bit more of our grit, strength, rawness as a group, and even our maturity,” Lara shares.
Such a deviation was one that challenged the group in numerous ways, but it also allowed them to grow and evolve as artists in the best way possible. “I think it helped us realize that we were ready to take that step into a darker, more mature, and overall older concept in general. We’ve really taken this year to develop our identity as a group, especially as one unit together. We understand each other a lot better now, so we wanted to reflect that on the EP,” she continues.
Considering how much it affected the dynamics of KATSEYE’s relationship with one another, Lara notes how it taught her and her fellow members two very valuable lessons about working together. Though she laughs about how generic it may sound, she swears to me just how effectively it has helped their relationship as a group.
“I have two things I would say: communication and understanding, even though that is like so basic and so boring, I know!” she states, almost as if she wasn’t taking herself seriously. “I think we really understood that communication is what solves, heals, and fixes everything. Like that’s how we move forward. That’s how we develop our relationship and our trust with each other, even with our overall closeness.”
“We have also learned a lot from each other this year, like this girl is like this, and this girl needs this amount of space. We spend 24 hours a day, seven days a week together, which is almost every second together. And with that comes learning about how we can work with one another, so I think we’ve really understood everybody’s way of living and how everybody moves. So we’ve learned that understanding and sometimes letting things go, or even the art of knowing when to communicate something, is really what has helped us move forward,” she adds.
These efforts have resulted in a close-knit relationship, akin to a real-life sisterhood that’s come across in their interactions both online and in person. “I would say we’re at such a good place — one that’s a healthy, awesome place with each other, where we’re just like closer than ever. But also, we do like to keep it real. Like, it really is a family-sister type of bond that we have with each other,” Lara states.
She notes how their relationship with one another has grounded them in numerous ways, especially with the shared experiences they’ve had with one another. “Honestly, I think we really utilize each other to stay grounded. With everything that’s happened, we have dealt with a lot of new emotions. And this year alone (due to everything rising for us), there are so many eyes on us, so I think we are really figuring out how to handle it, especially with social media.”
While most reactions and commentary surrounding KATSEYE online are filled with heaps of praise, there still lies a number of hate comments and discriminatory remarks targeted towards the group and its members. Yet rather than focusing on those aspects, Lara notes how the presence of such posts has taught them to develop the mental strength to ignore the hate.
“Over the past year, we have all learned mental strength,” she mentions. We’ve learned how to compartmentalize our emotions in a good way, rather than reacting to just anything. We are all such passionate and emotional people, and we’ve learned how to harness that as a positive thing for our benefit.”
She continues, “We’ve definitely dealt with a lot of things this year, like it’s been so amazing, but it’s also been hard at times. I never knew that I could handle the things that I or all six of us have gone through this year, yet it’s taught us how strong we can really be. I think we’re gonna continue to learn that as life throws us curve balls, but also with all the wins and highs we’re going to experience. That’s never gonna stop, because that’s like an ongoing journey we’re on right now — just learning how actually strong we are. “
Lara also points out how she and her fellow members would rather take in the tangible moments and milestones facing their way. “It’s all so exciting, and it feels so unreal, like this one massive pinch-me moment. We take all of it as such an honor, but it also definitely does come with pressure, because I think we want to do what we’re able to do and represent in the right way.”
The role of representation is one that Lara does not wield lightly, considering how she and her fellow KATSEYE members remain aware of what their superstardom means for several young women on the world stage. In the idol industry alone, there are rarely any dark-skinned artists, especially those of Indian or Sri Lankan descent.
“Growing up, we didn’t really have this type of [representation]. I remember that every single one of us has felt this way, and we’ve talked about it with each other a lot, in the sense that we all wish we had something like this growing up, and we think it could have had such a positive impact on our lives,” she says, emotionally.
“We [as KATSEYE] want to be the type of people who can influence them in the right way, and who can make them feel more confident about themselves, to the point that they can dream as big as they want.”
In addition to representing the Desi community, Lara is also a loud and proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community. Coming out as openly queer may not have changed much for the 19-year-old pop star herself, but her unapologetic openness and willingness to embrace that side of herself could already be considered a massive game-changer for the (often) close-minded nature of the idol industry. What was once considered taboo is now being recognized as the norm, and Lara’s coming-out story could easily be noted as a major influencing factor in changing the industry’s views for the better.
Lara tells me of a recent moment that made her realize what her representation meant to others, which took place at the LA LGBT Center’s second Golden Hour Festival earlier this May. “One of my favorite moments connecting with the fans on this was when I got an award from the LA LGBT Center, called the Blooming Impact Award. That day, I met so many EYEKONs who specifically told me that they came out to their parents because I did. And I was like, that’s just so insane!”
Reflecting on the moment, she notes how that day made her realize the weight of their actions over others, particularly with how much authentic representation holds power over people. “I think it’s really hard when you’re in the position to be aware that we have genuine influence over people, and I think we’re starting to kind of understand that. But I cried like so many times that night, just talking to all the EYEKONs because it was just so beautiful.”
“Living in LA and growing up in the western world, I think we live in such a bubble where talking about this stuff is so not taboo. I can say anything, and I can be so open about it, but there are also so many places and people who don’t have that same luxury and privilege. And I think with this experience, it kind of reopened my eyes to that, and it made me realize how much really speaking out and being proud of this part of myself can actually help people,” she shares.
“It’s all very authentic to me, like I’ve always loved talking about this. I’ve always been very open, and I’m really honored and excited that I get to help people on that journey for themselves — and I will always continue to do that, even with my culture.”
Amidst all the other realizations that she’s learned about herself, Lara also notes several key takeaways that she’s learned about herself throughout the journey thus far, whether it be in her role either as an individual and an artist. She elaborates on how such learnings have allowed her to adapt within a group setting, especially in a dynamic wherein each member stands out in their own, unique way.
“I feel like the biggest thing that i’ve taken from KATSEYE is teamwork. It’s all about learning how to individually let all six of us stand out, yet also shine as one unit, you know? We all have our charm and our little thing that allows you to tell the difference between the six of us — but it’s also about learning how to shine in one hat size as one artist,” Lara explains.
But beyond teamwork, a sense of adaptability has become a key component of Lara’s daily ethos and approach to her craft. Given the phenomena of evolution and utilizing various concepts and imagery within the world of pop music, she approaches such changes with self-assurance — keeping in mind who she is amidst the ever-changing nature of their career.
“For me specifically, I’ve learned how to stay true to myself while being moldable. I think that we try so many different concepts, and one of our biggest things is that we never want to stay in one lane, like we’re constantly evolving, growing, and changing. And we want to try a bunch, a bunch of different things,” she mentions.
“So I still feel like keeping the real version of myself, like this is who Lara really is, but I can also be Lara within this theme, this concept, or this song. We can always make our little imprint on whatever we do and make it our own in this world, so I’ve really learned how to do that. And [no matter what,] I would say I have a very specific idea and vision of what I like and what my style is, and all of that. And over this year alone, I think I’ve learned how to experiment, try new things, and realize how just cool that is.”
“Experimenting and going out of my comfort zone actually develops what I like further, because It just makes you grow and become more versatile, and overall a better artist. I’m so glad that i’ve learned that,” she continues.
Even as more things begin to change for Lara Raj, her story is ultimately one of becoming — not just into the global pop idol the world now sees, but into the kind of artist and human being she once longed to see growing up. For in every stage she steps on and every song she brings to life, there’s a quiet, deliberate reclaiming of space — for South Asian girls, for queer youth, or anyone who’s ever felt unseen in industries built on sameness. Yet Lara’s evolution isn’t just defined by visibility, but it’s shaped by the deep, sometimes uncomfortable work of self-awareness, sisterhood, and creativity. Through her journey in KATSEYE, she’s learning what it means to grow in public while holding on tight to who she has always been.
And as the world watches her rise, Lara keeps returning to the thing that started it all — the joy of making something real. “Remaining passionate and focused with my music are what keep me grounded. I guess I try to take whatever time I can to create something [whether it’s a remix, a beat, or whatnot], meditate, or just like produce something. It just makes me feel like I’m like myself, you know?”
Read KATSEYE’s August 2025 cover story here.
Listen to KATSEYE’s latest EP, Beautiful Chaos, below:
Photographed by JC Cerilla. Creative Direction by Daryl Chang. Art Direction by Nicole Almero. Art by Alannah Mitra. Make up by Valerie Vonprisk assisted by Ashley Ysabelle Sarmiento. Hair by Sully Layo assisted by Ryan Taniguchi. Camcorder videographer Coey Wu. Interview Video & BTS video Edmond Liang. Assistant and BTS photographer Sky Wu assisted by Malcolm Bacani. Production by Andrew Bear & Spencer Kelly of Hyperion LA. Shot at Hype Studios LA. Produced by Mika Cruz.
Special thanks to Hybe, Geffen Records, Interscope, UMG PH, Hyperion LA, & Hype Studios LA.
Written by Gabriel Saulog. Billboard Philippines, August 2025.