Philippine’s Sophia Laforteza secures spot in Korean show

The Debut: Dream Academy finals Lone Filipino contender Sophia Laforteza has successfully secured her place in the live finale of The Debut: Dream Academy after landing the top spot in the competition’s third mission.

The Debut: Dream Academy is produced by South Korean entertainment company HYBE and American label Geffen Records, with the aim of forming an “international” girl group.

On Monday, Nov. 6, HYBE Labels announced the Top 10 finalists which included Australia’s Ezrela, USA’s Daniela, Lara, Emily, and Megan, Brazil’s Samara, Switzerland’s Manon, Thailand’s Marquise, and South Korea’s Yoonchae.

Representing the Philippines, Sophia — who obviously takes after her mom, singer-thespian Carla Guevara-Laforteza, in terms of performing talent — emerged as the top-ranked contestant during the third mission with 45,184 fan votes. With that, she was able to secure a spot at the program’s live finale.

Mission 3 saw the remaining 13 contestants divided into three teams. Each group was assigned to perform hit tracks of female pop stars, including Demi Lovato’s Confident, Pussycat Dolls’ Buttons, and Spice Girls’ Wannabe.

Sophia was placed in the team that performed Buttons, along with Argentina’s Celeste, South Korea’s Nayoung, Switzerland’s Manon, and the USA’s Daniela.

During the third mission, Nayoung, Celeste, and Japan’s UA were eliminated, reducing the number of contestants to 10 who will compete in the finale.

This marks another achievement for Sophia who also landed the top position in the rankings for the second mission.

The survival show’s live finale will air on Nov. 17 on HYBE LABELS’ YouTube channel. The final members and the name of the group will be announced at the finale.