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"First American artist made out of a K-pop system" were the exact words that JY Park, Founder and Chairman of JYP Entertainment, said in the video released almost a year ago when project A2K was first announced. A2K, an abbreviation of America2Korea, is a project birthed by the collaboration of JYP Entertainment (South Korea) and Republic Records (the USA). In a video dropped on June 29, 2023, the auditions can be seen taking place and the show is all ready to be aired.
The auditions for this show were held in September 2022 across the US, to choose girls between the ages of 12-16 who would be made to go through several competitive rounds before landing the team created by the Korean and American labels.
The reality survival show is slated to premiere on July 13, 2023, at 6 pm PT and 9 pm ET on JYP Entertainment's official YouTube channel.
A2K: Finding the next big stars from a new generation
Upon A2K's initial announcement by JYP Entertainment, Republic Records, and Federal Films, it was declared that in-person auditions would be held throughout September 2022, trekking across the US.
The auditions were announced to be held as follows - Atlanta (September 10), Chicago (14), New York (17, 18), Dallas (20), and Los Angeles (23, 24, 25).
The selected participants would then be competing in an LA boot camp, from where selected competitors would be taken to the hub of K-pop, Seoul, more specifically, to the JYP Entertainment headquarters.
There the girls would spar under the supervision of some of the most capable K-pop trainers, renowned producers, and officials. In the end, the creme de la creme of the batch would get selected for the final line-up.
These auditions were then officially held with a bunch of talented young participants from America and Canada, battling out on four grounds: singing, dancing, star quality, and character, all boiling down to a performance in front of JY Park, whose selections would then enter the LA boot camp.
The final group arising out of the difficult levels will be backed by both JYP Entertainment and Republic Records for their next endeavors.
More on the girl group survival reality show
A2K, captained by JY Park of JYP Entertainment and Monte Lipman (founder and CEO) of Republic Records, boasts its one-of-a-kind concept of implementing a Korean idol-training system with a mix of the West to create artists with qualities from both spheres.
The supergroup will be working simultaneously in both Korea and the US, under the two agencies. Moreover, this further enhances the idea of JYP Entertainment's label expansion in the States, as supported by Lipman himself.
JYP Entertainment (founded in 1997) is one of the top 4 names in the field of Korean entertainment and is home to leading artists like TWICE, Stray Kids, ITZY, 2PM, and more.
Republic Records (founded in 1995) boasts a list of musical talents like Drake, Ariana Grande, Conan Gray, Florence, and The Machine, to name a few.
Watch A2K to witness battle ensue on July 13 at 6 pm PT/ 9pm ET.
