The series documents the journey of the international girl group KATSEYE, trained in the K-Pop style, from casting to debut.
While “Dream Academy” was the survival show that ultimately selected the group’s members, the formation of KATSEYE began much earlier. “Pop Star Academy” starts with the initial training phase where potential members were chosen for “Dream Academy”. “Pop Star Academy” also features trainees who didn’t make it to the competition.
These trainees were eliminated before “Dream Academy” began, with no reasons provided at the time. However, in Episode 3, the real reason behind one trainee’s exclusion was revealed.
In Episode 3, the trainees worked on improving their vocal skills ahead of an upcoming evaluation. The episode started with project director Missy and Son Sung Deuk expressing disappointment over an issue that had not yet been disclosed.
As the episode progressed, Missy finally unveiled the drama hinted at earlier. The trainees had been found using private Instagram accounts, violating the NDA and confidentiality agreements they had signed.
Some trainees explained that these accounts were meant to be private among themselves, functioning like a chat platform. Adéla mentioned that they only posted content for close friends.
Missy revealed that some of the accounts had followers outside the trainee group, but what concerned her most was a video of a trainee performing an unreleased original song. This was problematic because it could potentially reveal the debuting group’s sound, reducing the impact of the official release.
I literally can’t stand this woman? Why tf weren’t they talking to manon and asking her why she doesn’t wanna be around the girls? Calling her arrogant and saying she wasn’t kind or caring to her teammates but were her teammates kind to her behind closed doors?? #popstaracademy pic.twitter.com/oS0X5fGD71
— blue (@jkmanons) August 21, 2024
Missy then called Naisha, a London-based trainee known for her dancing skills, to discuss the situation. It was ultimately revealed that Naisha was the one who had posted the video.
Missy explained that HYBE x Geffen had decided to remove Naisha from the program due to her private account having outside followers. Despite Naisha’s denial and offering a screenshot of her followers, Missy stated that she had personally reviewed the account, leading to the decision.
Naisha’s elimination was immediate, and she was shown making arrangements to return to London with limited financial resources. She was the only trainee removed from the program, though the incident prompted immediate changes for the remaining participants.
Source: Krb
