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On July 22, following Dispatch's article on NewJeans debut story, it was revealed that Sakura Miu was also a part of the trainee lineup for the K-pop girl group. The Dispatch article expressed that there were a total of 7 trainees under Source Music who were scheduled to make their debut as NewJeans.
However, according to Dispatch, Min Hee-jin chose to debut only 5 from the lineup allegedly due to a recommendation from a shaman. Therefore, Sakura Miu couldn't make her debut with the other NewJeans members.
Regardless, the trainee kept moving forward with her career and appeared on several South Korean reality survival shows to achieve her debut in the industry.
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In April, the idol ranked 4th in Produce 101 Japan The Girls and eventually made her debut with the group, ME:I. So far, the Japanese show has rolled out three editions where it brings together 101 contestants to form a permanent 11-member group. ME:I, therefore, unlike other survival show groups, is a permanent group.
Sakura Miu's journey from Source Music trainee to ME:I member
On July 22, Dispatch released an article stating that the NewJeans members were originally housed under Source Music. Min Hee-jin, who was initially introduced into the debut projects as the visuals and concept manager, slowly took over the K-pop girl group's debut.
It was also allegedly reported that NewJeans was supposed to debut under Source Music but alternatively debuted under Min Hee-jin's ADOR due to her takeover of the group. Furthermore, the original lineup of NewJeans debut consisted of 7 members.
Min Hee-jin allegedly took the advice of a shaman and lowered the member count for NewJeans debut. One of the two Source Music trainees who was dropped from the NewJeans debut was Sakura Miu.
Netizens found this out not only through the images and videos that Dispatch released but also validated through Sakura Miu's comments during her appearance in Produce 101 Japan. She revealed on the show that she practiced together with New Jeans, as the original member selected to debut together.
Additionally, Sakura Miu's career began with her appearance in the Nizi Project in 2020. She was introduced as a trainee to possibly make her debut under JYP Entertainment, NiziU. However, she couldn't make it to the debut lineup.
Following this, the idol was recruited by Source Music and was added to NewJeans' debut lineup. Though the preparations for the N Team (NewJeans) debut began in 2018, Dispatch revealed that Source Music held a total of ten trainees between the years 2018 and 2021 while deciding the group's lineup.
After being dropped from the NewJeans debut, the idol joined the reality survival show, Girls Planet 999 in 2021. While this show resulted in the formation of Kep1er, Sakura was eliminated in the eighth episode after being ranked in eighth place in the Japanese group.
When Sakura Miu failed to make her debut with Girls Planet 999, she appeared in Produce 101 Japan The Girls. On the show she ranked 4th and made her debut under ME:I. The group's debut single was titled Mirai and was released on April 17. Meanwhile, ME:I is expected to release their second single.
