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 involved 20 female candidates from around the world competing in three "missions" to test their artistry. Eliminations occurred after each mission, leaving 10 contestants to compete in the finale, where the group's final members were decided.
According to Hybe Chairman Bang Si-hyuk, the project's intention was to form "an international group based on K-pop methodology". The project was announced on August 28, 2023, premiered later that week on September 1, and finished on November 17, running for a total of 12 weeks. The show concluded with the announcement of the winning six contestants as the girl group Katseye.
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. 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. The six contestants with the most fan votes would receive immunity and continue to Mission 2.
Vocal Teams:
Paramore's "Still Into You": Celeste, Lara, Nayoung, Samara, and Sophia Robyn's "Dancing on My Own" and Billie Eilish's "Happier Than Ever": Brooklyn, Iliya, Karlee, Lexie, and Manon Dance Teams:
Blackpink's "Pink Venom": Adéla, Daniela, Hinari, Megan, and Ua NewJeans's "OMG": Emily, Ezrela, Marquise, Mei, and Yoonchae
The results were released on September 15, 2023. At the end of the mission, Adéla and Hinari were eliminated.
Mission 2 For Mission 2, the girls traveled to the Hybe headquarters in Seoul and received a surprise appearance from Le Sserafim. The 18 contestants were split into four groups, each assigned to sing and dance one of two of Le Sserafim's songs, either "Fearless" or "Antifragile".
"Fearless" Team A: Brooklyn, Lexie, Marquise, Mei, and Nayoung "Fearless" Team B: Celeste, Daniela, Ezrela, Manon, and Ua "Antifragile" Team A: Emily, Lara, Sophia, and Yoonchae "Antifragile" Team B: Iliya, Karlee, Megan, and Samara
Results were announced on October 8, with Brooklyn, Iliya, Karlee, and Mei eliminated. On October 21, Dream Academy announced Lexie's decision to withdraw from the competition, which reduced the number of contestants eliminated in the next mission from four to three.
Mission 3 Mission 3 entailed group performances that were uploaded on October 28. Centered on artistry, the mission divided the 13 members into three groups to perform three "iconic" songs and an original choreography.
Demi Lovato's "Confident": Lara, Marquise, Megan, and Yoonchae The Pussycat Dolls' "Buttons": Celeste, Daniela, Manon, Nayoung, and Sophia Spice Girls' "Wannabe": Emily, Ezrela, Samara, and Ua
The results were released on November 5, with Celeste, Nayoung, and Ua eliminated.
Live finale The live finale occurred at XR Studios in Los Angeles, and premiered at 7 PM PST on YouTube on November 17. The remaining 10 contestants performed original songs for the first time. Two songs were performed in teams of five, "Girls Don't Like" and "Dirty Water", as well as a group performance of "All the Same".>
Finale Teams: "Girls Don't Like": Daniela, Emily, Marquise, Megan, and Yoonchae "Dirty Water": Ezrela, Lara, Manon, Samara, and Sophia
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/Geffen executives, and the input of both labels' CEOs were used to decide the winners.> The six slots in the final girl group, named Katseye, went to Sophia, Lara, Yoonchae, Megan, Daniela, and Manon, eliminating the other four contestants: Samara, Emily, Ezrela and Marquise.
Netflix series The process of Katseye's creation throughout the series was recorded and released as a Netflix documentary series on August 21, 2024. Pop Star Academy: Katseye was directed by Nadia Hallgren, and explores the contestants' training and development throughout the project. It was produced by Hybe, Interscope Films, and Boardwalk Pictures.
List of contestants NameAgeNationalityMission 1Mission 2Mission 3Finale pointsVotingVotingVotingPre-votingLive votingJudgesFinal scoreSophia Laforteza20 Philippines2nd1st1st 401038.3388.33Lara Raj17 United States5th6th2nd37936.6782.67Daniela Avanzini19 United States 17th5th 5th32740.0079.00Yoonchae Jeung15 South Korea6th3rd 12th34836.0078.00Megan Skiendiel17 United States 10th 9th 11th24341.3368.33Manon Bannerman21 Switzerland4th7th 9th30533.0068.00Samara Siqueira17 Brazil3rd 2nd 8th28632.6766.67Ezrela Abraham20 Australia 9th10th 4th 26430.0060.00Emily Kelavos17 United States 14th13th 7th 20136.6757.6717 Thailand 8th 12th 10th 22233.3357.33Nayoung Lee21 South Korea1st 4th 3rd EliminatedCeleste Diaz19 Argentina 11th8th6th EliminatedUa Shimada15 Japan 13th14th13th EliminatedLexie Levin19 Sweden 7th11th — WithdrewMei Terada17 Japan 12th 15th EliminatedIliya Fedartsova21 Belarus16th 16th EliminatedBrooklyn Van Zandt17 United States19th 17th EliminatedKarlee Tanaka19 United States18th 18th EliminatedHinari Irie14 Japan 15th EliminatedAdéla Jergová19 Slovakia 20th Eliminated
The contestant was eliminated The contestant received enough fan votes to be safe from elimination The contestant was on a winning team and was safe from elimination The contestant withdrew before the next mission The contestant was in the final top six and earned a position in Katseye
Post-show activities The top six debuted as Katseye on June 28, 2024.
Other contestants On March 18, 2024, Nayoung Lee was revealed as a contestant on the JTBC survival show Girls on Fire. She placed first in the final episode, making her a member of the show's final lineup. On December 23, 2024, the group's debut was cancelled. Mei Terada joined Inkode and debuted as a member of Say My Name on October 16, 2024. Several contestants have since released music: Adéla Jergová, Iliya Fedartsova, Brooklyn Van Zandt, and Marquise Auramornrat. In July 2025, Karlee Tanaka was a contestant on the Netflix competition show Building the Band. She has released music under the stage name Karlee Girl. In August 2025, Emily Kelavos, Samara Siqueira and Lexie Levin were revealed as three of the four members of another Hybe/Geffen girl group, Saint Satine. Levin departed in July 2026. In July 2026, Hinari Irie was revealed as a member of Hybe/INCS's South Korean-Japanese girl group, Girls Archives.
Discography
Singles TitleYearAlbum"Girls Don't Like"2024The Debut: Dream Academy - Live Finale"Dirty Water""All the Same"
See also I-Land A2K
References
External links Dream Academy website