'The Debut: Dream Academy' aims to create biggest global girl group yet

Twenty girls from a pool of 120,000 aspiring contestants, two of the biggest music companies in the pop music industry, and the K-pop system that gave birth to BTS and NewJeans — all stars have aligned to make “the biggest girl group in the world."

Twenty contestants are vying for a spot in a new girl group co-produced by HYBE and Geffen Records in “The Debut: Dream Academy” girl group debut project, set to begin on Sept. 2. [HYBE]

Twenty girls from a pool of 120,000 aspiring contestants, two of the biggest music companies in the pop music industry, and the K-pop system that gave birth to BTS and NewJeans — all the stars have aligned to make “the biggest girl group in the world” in a new audition project co-hosted by HYBE and Geffen Records.

HYBE revealed the 20 participants of the girl group debut project, titled “The Debut: Dream Academy,” in an online briefing on Tuesday ahead of the first episode, which will be released online on Sept. 2. For 12 weeks, starting from the release until Nov. 18, the competitors will go through various missions that will be assessed by fans and industry professionals in order to earn a spot in the final debuting group.

The final group will be decided by judges’ scores and fan votes from around the world in November. Neither the number of members nor the name of the final group have been decided yet.

Bang Si-hyuk, chairman of HYBE, gives a speech at a press briefing held on Tuesday morning to explain more about “The Debut: Dream Academy,” a girl group debut project set to begin on Sept. 2. [HYBE]

“I have always dreamt about nurturing a diverse pool of talents from different countries using the K-pop methodology and making a global group in the K-pop style,” HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk said during the event.

“Most people think that there is a big difference between the Western A&R [artist and repertoire] process and the K-pop training system, but I have found through this project that the two systems share a fundamental value: finding incredibly gifted people and helping — and watching as — these talents grow into artists.”

HYBE is home to girl groups NewJeans and Le Sserafim, which both debuted last year and have been storming music charts in and outside of Korea with their own unique styles. But “The Debut: Dream Academy” will not be a project aimed at finding just the next NewJeans or Le Sserafim, but "the world's biggest girl group," according to the organizers.

“The Debut: Dream Academy” comes as the agency’s first audition program produced in partnership with a U.S. company. The project is hosted by HYBE x Geffen Records (HxG), a joint venture between the K-pop powerhouse and the Universal Music Group (UMG) subsidiary.

Auditions began in March last year, both online and in 15 cities around the world including Seoul, Sydney, Dallas and Tokyo. Some 70,000 videos were sent in from applicants within just a week after submissions opened, according to HYBE.

Twenty contestants are vying for a spot in a new girl group co-produced by HYBE and Geffen Records in “The Debut: Dream Academy” girl group debut project, set to begin on Sept. 2. [HYBE]

Profile of 20 contestants competing in ″The Debut: Dream Academy″ project [HYBE]

The 20 contestants revealed their first names, nationality and age on Tuesday: Adela from Slovakia, 19; Brooklyn from the United States, 17; Celeste from Argentina, 19; Daniela from the United States, 19; Emily from the United States, 17; Ezrela from Australia, 20; Hinari from Japan, 14; Iliya from Belarus, 21; Karlee from the United States, 19; Lara from the United States, 17; Lexie from Sweden, 19; Manon from Switzerland, 21; Marquise from Thailand, 17; Megan from the United States, 17; Mei from Japan, 17; Nayoung from Korea, 21; Samara from Brazil, 17; Sophia from the Philippines, 20; Ua from Japan, 15; and Yoonchae from Korea, 15.

A docuseries of the project will be produced and distributed on Netflix next year. Before that, three missions for the contestants will be revealed one by one on Sept. 2, Sept. 23 and Oct. 21. The final episode will be streamed live on Nov. 18.

The debuting girl group’s song will mostly be in English but will have elements of different cultures, which will also be expressed through the girls’ costumes and style, according to the executives at HxG.

Executives at HYBE x Geffen Records (HxG) pose for photos prior to a press briefing held on Tuesday morning for “The Debut: Dream Academy,” a girl group debut project set to begin on Sept. 2. [HYBE]

“This is all in service to the millions of music fans all around the world who we are inviting to be a part of this amazing experience,” John Janick, CEO of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, said at the press event.

“These women are in control of their destiny, working hard together to develop their unique, individual talents all on the global stage. We are so excited for everyone to see what they have been working on.”

The episodes will be uploaded on five major social media services around the world — YouTube, Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter), TikTok and Facebook. Voting will take place on Weverse, the fan community platform developed by HYBE.

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]