HYBE Launches US Girl Group Project in Full Swing... First Reveal on 29th

Project 'The Debut: Dream Academy' Premieres on the 29th
120,000 Applicants Worldwide Over 2 Years
Bang Si-hyuk: "Globalizing the 'K-pop Production System,' Not Just K-pop"

HYBE is targeting the U.S. market by leveraging its K-pop production system. The joint venture between HYBE and Universal Music Group (UMG), ‘HYBE x Geffen Records,’ will unveil the lineup of participants in the global girl group audition project at 11 a.m. on the 29th (Korean time). The project began in 2021.

The audition project held locally in the U.S. is called ‘The Debut: DreamAcademy.’ The name signifies young people from around the world who share the same dream of becoming musicians coming together to challenge themselves toward the goal of debuting. ‘The Debut: DreamAcademy’ will embark on a 12-week journey starting with the content release on this day.

HYBE’s decision to hold such a large-scale audition overseas stems from Chairman Bang Si-hyuk’s conviction that not just K-pop, but the ‘K-pop production system’ must be globalized. In fact, Chairman Bang has been residing in the U.S. for nearly two years, personally leading the ‘The Debut: DreamAcademy’ project. He said, “I had a dream of providing talented young people around the world with the opportunity to become members of a great group based on K-pop. For this to happen, I believed it had to be the U.S. market.”

The audition program, powered by HYBE’s artist production method, attracted applicants from all over the world. Over the past two years, 120,000 people applied. Among them, 70,000 sent audition videos within one week of the participant recruitment announcement, showing high enthusiasm. From these, debut candidates selected through face-to-face and non-face-to-face auditions will compete over 12 weeks, with the final debut members confirmed via a live broadcast. The competition process will be broadcast worldwide through YouTube.

HYBE plans to fully utilize the U.S. local infrastructure secured through mergers and acquisitions (M&A) for this project. The network accumulated through the global activities of its artists such as BTS, Seventeen, Tomorrow X Together, ENHYPEN, LE SSERAFIM, and NewJeans will also be fully leveraged.

This project is expected to serve as a milestone for transplanting 30 years of K-pop know-how into the world’s largest pop market, the U.S. Chairman Bang Si-hyuk stated, “For K-pop to truly become the mainstream of the world, it must become ‘just pop’ without the ‘K.’” HYBE added, “Now is the time for producers to discover local talents overseas through the K-pop production system and succeed in globalization in a new way.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.