On August 28, a press conference for the HYBE Labels x Geffen Records audition program ‘The Debut: Dream Academy‘ was held at the Geffen Records Studio in Santa Monica, California.
On this day, the 20 participants of the audition program, selected from over 120,000 auditionees, introduced themselves to viewers for the first time. The participants represented a total of 12 nations including South Korea, the United States, Japan, Brazil, Argentina, Switzerland, Sweden, Slovakia, Belarus, Thailand, Australia, and the Philippines. All 20 participants have received approximately a year of focussed K-Pop training at HYBE America.
Beginning on September 1, these 20 contestants will undergo a series of survival missions over the course of 12-weeks, with viewers helping to determine which of them are fit to debut via global votes on Weverse and TikTok.
‘The Debut: Dream Academy’ will premiere on September 1 at 11 AM EST / 8 AM PDT on YouTube and ABEMA TV. In the meantime, get to know all 20 contestants by name and nationality, below.
1. Adela, 19, from Slovakia
2. Brooklyn, 17, from the U.S.
3. Celeste, 19, from Argentina
4. Daniela, 19, from the U.S.
5. Emily, 17, from the U.S.
6. Ezrela, 20, from Australia
7. Hinari, 14, from Japan
8. Iliya, 21, from Belarus
9. Karlee, 19, from the U.S.
10. Lara, 17, from the U.S.
11. Lexie, 19, from Sweden
12. Manon, 21, from Switzerland
13. Marquise, 17, from Thailand
14. Megan, 17, from the U.S.
15. Mei, 17, from Japan
16. Nayoung, 21, from South Korea
17. Samara, 17, from Brazil
18. Sophia, 20, from the Philippines
19. Ua, 15, from Japan
20. Yoonchae, 15, from South Korea
