Making the band, but make it K-pop. HYBE and Geffen Records have partnered to put together the next global girl group, announcing the 20 young women still in the running for the coveted spots this week.

By popular contest: HYBE and Universal Music’s Geffen Records announced the HYBE x Geffen Global Girl Group audition in November 2021, and the contest received over 120,000 submissions. The 20 finalists, who range in age from 14 to 21 and hail from countries around the globe, were introduced during a livestream event on Monday. 

The finalists have been quietly training over the past year in Los Angeles and will now publicly compete in the audition program The Debut: Dream Academy, which will premiere on YouTube on September 1. The program will continue through the end of the year, when the final members will be selected and the group name will be revealed.

Screen time: The years-long process of creating the international girl group will be turned into a Netflix docuseries and will air sometime next year. The series will be directed by Nadia Hallgren, who directed the 2020 Michelle Obama documentary Becoming.

HYBE and Geffen say their team-up is the first time a major U.S. record label has partnered with a K-pop entertainment leader to develop a new group. The as-yet-unnamed band will not be a K-pop group, but their creation has been and will continue to be heavily influenced by K-pop training and development process.

What they're saying: HYBE Chairman Bang Si-Hyuk shared that he has "wanted to form an international group based on K-pop methodology for a while" but needed a "capable partner." He found that in John Janick, Chairman & CEO of Interscope Geffen A&M.

"To develop a global group with Bang, with the best of K-Pop methodology, and our Geffen team, is truly special and will bring to life a first-of-its kind experience in music," said Janice. "Each candidate is incredibly talented, dedicated, and driven, making this an exciting moment for music fans around the world."