FILIPINA Sofia Laforteza is one of the 20 aspiring performers for the HYBE and Geffen Records’ next global girl group audition program “The Debut: Dream Academy.”
On August 29, finalists were revealed including those coming from South Korea, Japan, United States, Australia, Brazil, Argentina, Belarus, Sweden and Slovakia. They were selected from a pool of 120,000 candidates.
Laforteza, along with other 19 participants, received about a year of K-pop focused training at HYBE America and will compete against each other through the K-pop training and development system.
Being the only Filipina in the program, netizens could not help but feel excited and proud for Laforteza.
In an Instagram post, Laforteza expressed her gratitude and hopefulness for the opportunity.
“para sa pangarap 🫶🏼
A dream that you wish will truly come true. I am beyond grateful for all the love, support, experiences, and opportunities I am receiving. I can’t wait to go on this journey with you all ✨ Maraming salamat, po ♥️,” she wrote.
Aside from introductory videos and posters, they also released a short film featuring the candidates.
“The Debut: Dream Academy” started airing last September 1 on Youtube and Japanese streaming platform Abema. Supporters can choose which members they want to make the cut vote via TikTok and Weverse.
With reports from Ma. Joan Virata
