America2Korea, or A2K, is a 2023 survival show created by JYP Entertainment and Republic Records aiming to create the first American girl group trained through the K-pop system. It premiered on July 13, 2023 on YouTube.[1]
Concept[]
On July 25, 2022, JYP Entertainment and their producing partners Republic Records released a trailer for the upcoming survival show titled "A2K".[2] The show aspires to create the first American girl group that will be trained through the K-pop system and promote in both South Korea and the US.
The auditions were held in five major US cities: Dallas, New York, Chicago, Atlanta, and Los Angeles. After the initial eleven candidates were chosen by Park Jin Young himself, they were put through various challenges with the goal of collecting four stones: one for dance, vocal, star quality and character quality. The candidate who collected all four stones received a chance to progress and go to Korea where they continued being evaluated in three new missions: individual, team and final mission. Aside from main evaluations carried on by the judges, they also kept a "character notebook", where they collected stickers from teammates and trainers, which would influence their final result.
Cast[]
MC[]
- Hyun Mo Ahn (episodes 21 & 22)
Judges[]
- Park Jin Young
- Nichkhun (episodes 13, 14, & 15)
- Sunmi (episodes 21 & 22)
- Gabee (episodes 21 & 22)
Contestants[]
| Name | Age (During Filming) | Nationality | Dance Stone | Vocal Stone | Star Quality Stone | Character Quality Stone | Individual Mission Stone | Team Mission Stone | Final Mission Stone/Debut Member |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melissa Kadas | 17 | Canadian | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Withdrawn | Withdrawn | Withdrawn |
| Camila Ribeaux Valdes | 17 | Canadian | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Cristina Lopez Sandiford | 17-18 | American | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Yuna Gonzalez | 17-18 | American | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| Kendall Ebeling | 16-17 | American | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Lexus Vang | 16-17 | American | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Savanna Collins | 16 | American | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| KG Crown | 15-16 | American | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mischa Salkin | 13 | American | No | Yes | Yes | No | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| Gina De Bosschere | 13 | Korean-French | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Kaylee Lee | 12-13 | Korean-American | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Aftermath[]
- The final six officially debuted as VCHA on January 26, 2024 with the digital single "Girls of the Year".