HYBE x Geffen Records announced the details for “The Debut: Dream Academy” Live Finale, which will take place on Nov. 17th from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m PST in Los Angeles, California.
“The Debut: Dream Academy” top 10 (Photo by Rahul Bhatt)
“The Debut: Dream Academy” project will debut an international girl group. This notably represents the first time a US-based, truly global girl group will be created and modeled based on the world-renowned K-pop training and development system, under which the contestants have been quietly training over the last year in Los Angeles.
The event will be simultaneously live streamed on HYBE Label’s YouTube Channel (Global), Weverse (Global) and ABEMA (Japan).
The live finale will feature final performances from the top 10 contestants: Sophia Laforteza, 20 (Philippines); Lara Rajagopalan, 17 (US); Ezrela Abraham, 20 (Australia); Daniela Avanzini, 19 (US); Emily Kelavos, 17 (US); Samara Siqueira, 17 (Brazil); Manon Bannerman, 21 (Switzerland); Marquise Auramornrat, 17 (Thailand); Megan Skiendiel, 17 (US); and Yoonchae Jeong, 15 (South Korea).
The top 10 will be divided into 3 groups, each debuting an original and exclusive song.
The final lineup of contestants will be determined by a combination of early votes and real-time votes during the live finale, as well as the evaluators’ scores.
The early voting period began on Nov. 10 at 8 a.m. PT and will end on Nov. 17th at 7:59 a.m. PT. Fans can cast their votes on Weverse and vote for up to three contestants per day. The real-time voting period during the live finale will also take place on Weverse.
The live finale event comes after the program’s third mission, which focused on demonstrating artistry while executing various musical concepts.
The remaining 13 contestants were split into three groups. One group performed Demi Lovato’s “Confident”, one performed The Pussycat Dolls’ “Buttons”, and one group performed Spice Girls’ “Wannabe”.
The third elimination followed the Mission #3 performance videos, which solidified the top 10 contestants who will perform at the Nov. 17 live finale event.