Dream Academy

Last updated
Dream Academy
Dream academy logo black.png
Also known as드림아카데미
Genrereality talent competition
Created byBang Si-hyuk
Creative directorHumberto Leon
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
Production
Executive producerSon Sung-deuk
Production locations Los Angeles
Seoul
Production companies Hybe
Geffen Records
Original release
NetworkYouTube
ReleaseAugust 19 (2023-08-19) –
November 17, 2023 (2023-11-17)

The Debut: Dream Academy is a talent competition reality show created as an international collaboration between record labels Hybe and Geffen Records aimed at creating a global girl group. The fan-interactive project involves 20 female candidates from around the world competing in three "missions" to test their artistry. Eliminations occur after each mission, leaving 10 contestants to compete in the finale, during which the final group's members will be decided. [1] The series ran for 12 weeks.

Contents

According to Hybe Chairman Bang Si-hyuk, the project's intention is to form "an international group based on K-pop methodology." [1] The project was announced on August 28, 2023, [2] premiered on September 1, 2023, and finished on November 17, 2023, with the announcement of the winner's six-member girl group known as Katseye. [3]

Selection

In order to select the 20 candidates competing for a spot in the group, Hybe and Geffen Records launched global auditions online in November 2021. [1] [3] Over 120,000 submissions were received.

Voting

After each mission performance release, fans were encouraged to vote via Weverse and by liking their favorite contestants' fancams on YouTube. Fan votes were taken into consideration in addition to commentary from experts.

Missions

Mission 1

During Mission 1, the 20 contestants were split into four groups–two performing vocals and another two performing choreography. [4] The six contestants with the most votes would receive immunity and continue to Mission 2. [5]

Vocal Teams:

  1. Paramore’s Still Into You (special arrangement): Sophia, Lara, Nayoung, Samara, Celeste
  2. Robyn x Billie Eilish’s Dancing On My Own x Happier Than Ever: Manon, Brooklyn, Lexie, Karlee, Iliya

Dance Teams:

  1. Blackpink’s Pink Venom: Daniela, Megan, UA, Adela, Hinari
  2. NewJeans’s OMG: Yoonchae, Emily, Ezrela, Marquise, Mei

At the end of the mission, Adéla and Hinari were eliminated. [6]

Mission 2

For Mission 2, the girls traveled to the Hybe headquarters in Seoul and received a surprise appearance from Le Sserafim. [7] [8] The 18 contestants were split into four groups, each assigned one of two of Le Sserafim's songs, either "Fearless" or "Antifragile." [4]

  1. "Fearless" Team A: Mei, Brooklyn, Lexie, Marquise, and Nayoung
  2. "Fearless" Team B: Manon, Daniela, Celeste, Ezrela, and UA
  3. "Antifragile" Team A: Sophia, Emily, Lara, and Yoonchae
  4. "Antifragile" Team B: Karlee, Iliya, Megan, and Samara

Results were announced on October 8, 2023, and Brooklyn, Iliya, Karlee, and Mei were eliminated. [9]

On October 21, 2023, Dream Academy announced Lexie's decision to withdraw from the competition, citing the desire to work in music production instead. [10]

Mission 3

Mission 3 entailed group performances that were uploaded on October 28, 2023. [11] Centered on artistry, the mission divided the 13 members into three groups to perform three "iconic" songs and an original choreography. [12]

  1. Demi Lovato’s "Confident": Lara, Megan, Marquise, and Yoonchae
  2. The Pussycat Dolls’ "Buttons": Celeste, Daniela, Manon, Nayoung and Sophia
  3. Spice Girls' "Wannabe": Emily, Ezrela, UA, and Samara

The results were released on November 5, 2023. [13] Celeste, Nayoung, and UA were eliminated.

Live finale

The live finale premiered at 7 PM PST on YouTube on November 17, 2023. [14] The remaining 10 contestants performed 2 songs ("Girls Don't Like" and "Dirty Water") in teams of 5, as well as a group performance of an original song titled All the Same that Lara described as "the emblem of this program." [15]

Finale Teams:

  1. Girls Don’t Like: Daniela, Megan, Yoonchae, Emily, Marquise
  2. Dirty Water: Sophia, Lara, Manon, Samara, Ezrela

Early fan voting occurred on Weverse from November 10–17 and then live voting occurred for the first 30 minutes of the finale. Fan votes, a panel of three Hybe x Geffen executives, and the input of both labels' CEOs were used to decide the winners. [16] [17] With only six slots in the final girl group–named Katseye–Samara, Emily, Ezrela and Marquise are the four contestants who were eliminated, leaving Sophia, Lara, Yoonchae, Megan, Daniela, and Manon as the final members of the group. [18]

Reception

On August 28, 2023, Billboard released an article announcing the project and which finalists would compete in the competition series. Elle.com wrote an article on Dream Academy and its contestants on August 29, 2023. [19]

On November 5, 2023, the group appeared in Elle Korea's November issue. [20] [21] Teen Vogue also chatted with the 10 finalists and discussed the upcoming finale in an exclusive interview released on November 13, 2023. [15]

Dream Academy contestant Samara appeared in an Instagram Reel with Tomorrow X Together’s Huening Kai in promotion for their song "Back for More" on October 7, 2023.

Each contestant has also garnered thousands of followers on their personal Instagram pages since launching Dream Academy.

Netflix series

The full process of the international girl group's creation has been documented along the way and is set to release as a Netflix series in summer 2024. [1] [14] [16] [18] Currently untitled, it is directed by Nadia Hallgren and will explore the contestants' training and development throughout the project. It is being produced by Hybe, Interscope Films, and Boardwalk Pictures. [2]

List of contestants

The Debut: Dream Academy contestants [1] [4] [16]
#NameAgeNationalityElimination
1Adéla Jergova19 Flag of Slovakia.svg Slovakia Mission 1
2Brooklyn Van Zandt17 Flag of the United States.svg USA Mission 2
3Celeste Diaz21 Flag of Argentina.svg Argentina Mission 3
4Daniela Avanzini19 Flag of the United States.svg USA 3rd place
5Emily Kelavos17 Flag of the United States.svg USA Finale
6Ezrela Abraham20 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Australia Finale
7Hinari Irie14 Flag of Japan.svg Japan Mission 1
8Iliya Fedartsova21 Flag of Belarus.svg Belarus Mission 2
9Karlee Tanaka19 Flag of the United States.svg USA Mission 2
10Lara Raj17 Flag of the United States.svg USA 2nd place
11Lexie Levin19 Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden Withdrew after Mission 2
12Manon Bannerman21 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Switzerland 6th place
13Marquise Aura17 Flag of Thailand.svg Thailand Finale
14Mei Terada17 Flag of Japan.svg Japan Mission 2
15Megan Skiendiel17 Flag of the United States.svg USA 5th place
16Nayoung Lee21 Flag of South Korea.svg South Korea Mission 3
17Samara Siqueira17 Flag of Brazil.svg Brazil Finale
18Sophia Laforteza20 Flag of the Philippines.svg Philippines [22] 1st place
19Ua Shimada15 Flag of Japan.svg Japan Mission 3
20Yoonchae Jeong15 Flag of South Korea.svg South Korea 4th place

See also

Related Research Articles

Geffen Records is an American record label, founded in 1980 by David Geffen. Originally a music subsidiary of the now-defunct Geffen Pictures, it is owned by the Interscope Geffen A&M (IGA) faction of Universal Music Group (UMG).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pledis Entertainment</span> South Korean entertainment management company

Pledis Entertainment is a South Korean entertainment company founded by Han Sung-Soo in 2007. The label is home to actress Nana, Hwang Min-hyun, Baekho, and K-pop groups Seventeen, Fromis 9 and TWS. Its name originates from the Pleiades, a star cluster in the constellation Taurus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gugudan</span> South Korean girl group

Gugudan (Korean: 구구단), also stylized as gu9udan or gx9, was a South Korean girl group formed in 2016 by Jellyfish Entertainment and the company's first girl group. The group debuted on June 28, 2016, with their EP Act. 1 The Little Mermaid. The group was composed of eight members: Mimi, Hana, Haebin, Nayoung, Sejeong, Sally, Soyee, Mina, and previously Hyeyeon until her departure from the group in October 2018.

<i>Hi! Pristin</i> 2017 EP by Pristin

Hi! Pristin is the debut extended play by South Korean girl group Pristin. It was released on March 21, 2017, by Pledis Entertainment, and distributed by LOEN Entertainment. The EP consists of six songs, including the singles "Wee Woo" and "Black Widow". In order to promote the album, the group performed on several Korean music shows.

<i>Mix Nine</i> Reality survival show

Mix Nine was a South Korean survival reality show broadcast on JTBC. In the show, YG Entertainment founder and producer Yang Hyun-suk traveled to music agencies across Korea to find up-and-coming K-pop stars. Throughout the episodes, contestants were progressively eliminated, culminating in a competition between a team of the final nine boys and one of the final nine girls. The winning team was to debut as idols, but their debut was ultimately cancelled following contract disputes between YG Entertainment and the contestants' respective agencies.

Idol Rebooting Project: The Unit is a South Korean survival reality show on KBS2. The concept of the show is to form male and female unit groups of nine members each, among idols who had already debuted. The show is aiming to give them a fair chance to demonstrate their talents that they may not have been able to showcase before.

<i>Produce 48</i> South Korean reality competition series

Produce 48 is the third season of the South Korean reality competition series Produce 101. It was a large-scale project in which the public "produces" a girl group by voting for members out of a pool of 96 contestants from South Korea and Japan, as well as voting for the group's concept, name and debut single. The show was a collaboration between the Mnet series Produce 101 and the J-pop idol group AKB48. The winning 12 contestants, with no nationality caps, as voted only by Korean viewers, would promote as a group for two years and six months. The program itself is primarily in Korean, however staff and trainer instructions were translated onsite by interpreters. The show announced the final 12 members who made it into, as well as the official name of the group Iz*One during the finale on August 31, 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhea Raj</span> American singer and songwriter (born 2000)

Rhea Rajagopalan is an American singer, actress, songwriter and pop artist based in New York. She auditioned for American Idol in 2016 and was featured on MTV for her two covers of "New Rules" by Dua Lipa and "I Got You". Her songs "2AM" and "Royalty" with UpsideDown were released in 2019. Her music fuses pop with dance and hip hop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nancy (singer)</span> Korean-American singer (born 2000)

Nancy Jewel McDonie, known professionally as Nancy (Korean: 낸시), is a Korean-American singer, actress, and host. She is a former member of the South Korean girl group Momoland, which was formed on November 10, 2016, through the Mnet's reality survival show Finding Momoland. In 2023, she also began performing in live musical theater.

<i>I-Land</i> South Korean reality competition series

I-Land is a South Korean boy group reality competition series produced by Mnet and organized by Belift Lab, which at the time of airing was a joint venture between entertainment companies CJ ENM and HYBE.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lightsum</span> South Korean girl group

Lightsum is a South Korean girl group formed by Cube Entertainment. The group is composed of six members: Sangah, Chowon, Nayoung, Hina, Juhyeon, and Yujeong. The group debuted on June 10, 2021, with the release of their debut single album, Vanilla. Originally an eight-piece ensemble, members Huiyeon and Jian departed the group in October 2022.

My Teenage Girl was a South Korean reality competition series created by Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation. It was intended to form a seven-member girl group with the potential to chart on Billboard. The contestants were put into age groups that specialize in vocals, rapping, and performance. A joint production between MBC and Phunky Studio, the show premiered on November 28, 2021, and was broadcast every Sunday at 9 pm KST for 12 weekly episodes until its finale on February 27, 2022. The finale was broadcast live and announced the seven winners to form Classy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Le Sserafim</span> South Korean girl group

Le Sserafim is a South Korean girl group formed by Source Music. The group consists of five members: Sakura, Kim Chae-won, Huh Yun-jin, Kazuha, and Hong Eun-chae. Originally a six-member group, Kim Ga-ram left on July 20, 2022, after the termination of her exclusive contract.

<i>Fearless</i> (Le Sserafim EP) 2022 EP by Le Sserafim

Fearless is the debut extended play by South Korean girl group Le Sserafim. It was released by Source Music on May 2, 2022, and contains five tracks, including the lead single of the same name. Fearless is the group's only release to include Kim Ga-ram, who was removed from the lineup on July 20, 2022.

<i>&Audition – The Howling</i> Japanese reality television show

&Audition – The Howling – is a Japanese and South Korean reality competition program that follows the formation and debut of the first boy group under HYBE Labels Japan.

"Antifragile" is a song recorded by South Korean girl group Le Sserafim for their second extended play of the same name. It was released as the lead single of the EP by Source Music on October 17, 2022. An upbeat pop and reggaeton track infused with Afro-Latin production drives the message of overcoming hardships for growth and resilience. Written by several contributors, including "Hitman" Bang and Isabella Lovestory, the song emphasizes the group's determination to emerge stronger after facing hardships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huh Yun-jin</span> Korean-American singer (born 2001)

Huh Yun-jin is a Korean-American singer-songwriter and producer. She is a member of South Korean girl group Le Sserafim.

<i>R U Next?</i> South Korean reality competition series

R U Next? is a South Korean girl group reality competition series organised by Belift Lab and JTBC. The program debuted girl group Illit.

Katseye is an international girl group formed through the reality show Dream Academy, a collaboration between Hybe Corporation and Geffen Records. With members Manon Bannerman, Sophia Laforteza, Daniela Avanzini, Lara Raj, Megan Skiendiel, and Yoonchae Jeong, the group is set to debut with a studio album in 2024.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Meet the 20 Finalists for HYBE x Geffen 'Dream Academy' Global Girl Group Contest". Billboard .
  2. 1 2 "HYBE x GEFFEN RECORDS ANNOUNCE CONTESTANTS FOR UNPRECEDENTED GLOBAL GIRL GROUP" (Press release).
  3. 1 2 "HYBE and Geffen Records Launch Girl Group Audition Shows on YouTube and Netflix as K-Pop Business Model is Exported". 29 August 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 "The "The Debut: Dream Academy" Finalists Are Here". 30 August 2023.
  5. ↑ "Instagram".
  6. ↑ "HYBE x Geffen 'The Debut: Dream Academy' Loses First 2 Contestants: Who Went Home?". Billboard .
  7. ↑ "The Debut: Dream Academy - THE DREAM SURPRISE (LE SSERAFim's SURPRISE VISIT TO THE DREAM ACADEMY)". YouTube .
  8. ↑ "HYBE x Geffen 'The Debut: Dream Academy' Loses 4 More Contestants: Who Went Home?". Billboard .
  9. ↑ "The Debut: Dream Academy - Mission 2 Result Announcement | 더 데뷔: 드림 아카데미 - 미션 2 결과 발표". YouTube .
  10. ↑ "The Debut: Dream Academy - Farewell to Lexie | 더 데뷔: 드림 아카데미 - 렉시의 마지막 인사". YouTube .
  11. ↑ "[HYBE x Geffen] Dream Academy - Mission 3 "Buttons"". YouTube .
  12. ↑ "The Debut: Dream Academy - Mission 3 Announcement | 더 데뷔: 드림 아카데미 - 미션 3 안내". YouTube .
  13. ↑ "Mission 3 Result Announcement: Reveal of the 10 Finalists | 미션 3 결과 발표: 최종 후보 10인 공개". YouTube .
  14. 1 2 "K-Pop Competition 'The Debut: Dream Academy' Cuts 3 More". 5 November 2023.
  15. 1 2 Delgado, Sara (November 13, 2023). "The Debut: Dream Academy Contestants Talk Live Finale, Journey & Future Advice — Exclusive". Teen Vogue. Retrieved November 15, 2023.>
  16. 1 2 3 Morin, Natalie (November 13, 2023). "Meet the Wildly Talented Members of KATSEYE, HYBE x Geffen's Newest Girl Group". Netflix. Retrieved November 19, 2023.>
  17. ↑ "Instagram".
  18. 1 2 "Instagram".
  19. ↑ "Meet the 20 Artists Competing to be in HYBE x Geffen's First Global Girl Group". 29 August 2023.
  20. ↑ "하이브의 역대급 프로젝트 < 더 데뷔: 드림 아카데미 >". 5 November 2023.
  21. ↑ "Instagram".
  22. ↑ Josiah Antonio (18 November 2023). "Filipino contestant Sophia Laforteza tops 'Dream Academy'; joins girl group KATSEYE". ABS-CBN News.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.