Global Girl Group 'Cats Eye' from HYBE Debuts, Overcoming the 'K-pop Crisis'

Competition Rate 6000 to 1, 90-Day Audition Concludes
'Cats Eye' is HYBE's K-pop Globalization Masterpiece
Bang Si-hyuk "Continuing to Explore Sustainable Growth Paths for K-pop"

Bang Si-hyuk, chairman of HYBE, has mentioned the K-pop crisis theory several times this year. As K-pop enjoys its heyday by climbing the upper ranks of the Billboard charts, these remarks are proactive statements emphasizing the need for structural changes to ensure the future sustainability of K-pop, specifically the globalization of the K-pop system, rather than an immediate crisis. Dream Academy, which launched the girl group ‘KATSEYE’ after a two-year-long journey, is the answer to Chairman Bang’s concerns.

(From left) Daniela (USA), Yoon Chae (Korea), Lara (USA), Sophia (Philippines), Manon (Switzerland), Megan (USA)
[Photo by HYBE]

KATSEYE, composed of six final members from four countries?Sophia (Philippines), Lara (USA), Yoonchae (Korea), Megan (USA), Daniela (USA), and Manon (Switzerland)?is HYBE’s first K-pop girl group to debut and promote in the United States. During the 90-day audition process, they formed a global fandom and are already receiving the spotlight as the next-generation global girl group. Chairman Bang expressed his expectations, saying, “I hope this group represents the voices of a new era and generation and inspires young people worldwide that ‘dreams can come true.’”

Successful Localization of the K-pop Production System

In the United States, artists typically develop their talents independently and demonstrate them on small stages to verify commercial success potential before signing with management or record labels. In contrast, K-pop discovers young but promising talents and nurtures them into artists through systematic training in music, dance, and stage manners. Dream Academy is the first attempt to localize this K-pop system. Previously, HYBE transplanted the K-pop production system, the T&D Center, to the U.S. to transfer the artist development system and optimize it according to local circumstances.

Son Seong-duk, HxG’s chief creator and former performance director for BTS, elevated the participants’ performance levels while recreating choreography in the K-pop style to highlight their charms. Umberto Leon, HxG’s creative director, also enhanced the participants’ appeal by presenting costume styling newly interpreted from Gen Z’s perspective.

Participants Showcasing Global Girl Group Capabilities

Dream Academy documented the growth of 20 participants who overcame a 6000:1 competition ratio in preliminary auditions held worldwide two years ago. The participants demonstrated their readiness as global girl group members through three missions evaluating dance, vocals, teamwork, concept adaptability, and artistry. In the second mission, where they covered K-pop artists’ songs, they showed a high level of understanding and expression of K-pop style music. The third mission, which reinterpreted legendary pop music with K-pop style and modern sensibility, previewed the image of next-generation global artists to be showcased through K-pop globalization.

A HYBE official said, “Although the participants had different musical backgrounds, they approached the project with a strong belief that HYBE’s systematic development system would guide them toward becoming influential global pop stars.” They added, “As a result, the participants showed remarkable growth, and viewers worldwide are cheering and celebrating with expectations that an unprecedented global girl group will be born.” The entire audition journey of the participants will be aired as a documentary on Netflix next year.

Global Cheerleading Rivaling the Olympics

Bang Si-hyuk, Chairman of HYBE, and John Janick, Chairman of Geffen Records, expressing their expectations for the global girl group at the Dream Academy Live Finale.
[Photo by HYBE]

Currently, the Dream Academy community on the global fandom platform Weverse has fans from over 220 countries and regions, comparable to the number of countries worldwide, actively participating. Notably, activities are prominent in the U.S., the birthplace of pop, as well as in South America’s Brazil and Argentina, and Southeast Asian countries such as the Philippines, Thailand, and India. The community has 330,000 members. The live finale stage, broadcast live, set a record with simultaneous viewing from 169 regions worldwide. Upon the announcement of the final debut members, global media outlets simultaneously reported the news, proving worldwide interest.

Bang Si-hyuk, chairman of HYBE, recently stated in an interview with Bloomberg, “The goal of Dream Academy is to become the world’s best band, expand the scope of K-pop, and contribute to K-pop’s sustainability.” He added, “Hypotheses about the potential for K-pop expansion were verified during the audition process, and we will continue experimental attempts like Dream Academy to seek sustainable growth paths for K-pop.”

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