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BYETOILE Academy is a training academy and project group managed by StarLight Entertainment. It provides opportunities for idol trainees from multiple companies to gain stage and promotion experience during their training. BYETOILE Academy acts as both a program to enhance training and as project group management with rotating lineups.
BYETOILE Academy first accepted trainees in mid-2022, and had its first project group release in 2023.
Concept[]
BYETOILE Academy functions as both an additional training program and an opportunity for trainees to experience the idol industry. The training program allows trainees from multiple companies to participate and enhance their training through non-traditional idol lessons. These include activities such as one-on-one sessions with experienced industry professionals and idols in the areas of vocals, rap, and dance, funded trips to other countries for cultural awareness, language immersion, and world knowledge classes, in-depth songwriting and producing courses, and many more. Trainees are admitted to the program through auditions and all of their fees are covered by the program and the trainee’s company. The options for the training program schedule are flexible and meant to fit to the trainee’s own schedule so that they can continue to train at their own company’s facility.
The other aspect of BYETOILE Academy is giving trainees the chance to participate in their project group program. The active trainees in BYETOILE Academy can apply to be considered for a spot in a project group release. The project groups get the opportunity to experience the process of preparing a release and promoting on music shows. Each project group lineup releases a single album and goes through full promotions. There are multiple project groups active within the program and all of them are set to have rotating lineups. The trainees participate in activities for other promotional content based on which project group they are currently in if any.
History[]
2021 - 2022: Initial Concept and Development[]
The concept for BYETOILE Academy was initially an idea proposed by Attune member Seo Yeochan to StarLight Entertainment in early 2021. Yeochan expressed to the company that he felt like he and other idols who debuted at the same time as him, however skilled they were, lacked stage experience and wanted to create a program that allows for trainees to explore areas that regular training doesn’t cover. StarLight Entertainment considered Yeochan’s idea and developed it initially into an additional training experience for their own trainees later in mid-2021. The program was named “STAR START” and any trainee within the company could apply for it. STAR START brought trainees to the backstage of music shows, award shows, and music festivals in order to experience them from an idol’s perspective, as well as providing funding for trainees to attend additional language classes.
The STAR START program was dissolved at the end of 2021 in order for StarLight Entertainment to begin the development of BYETOILE Academy. The academy built off of Yeochan’s initial comment about trainees lacking real stage experience with the goal to create project groups. Chaebol heir Kwon Sohin, who had previously made ventures in the music management industry, invested into BYETOILE Academy’s development on the condition that it provided trainees with non-traditional lessons. She brought in multiple sponsors from the travel industry and the music industry to help provide resources for the trainees.
2022: First Auditions[]
In 2022, BYETOILE Academy was announced to the public through a press conference. It was labeled as an investment into the future of K-pop in collaboration with Kwon Sohin. Yeochan was announced to be the idol ambassador for the program, as he had participated heavily in its development.
The first auditions for BYETOILE Academy were held in the spring of 2022. The audition consisted of three rounds and only had ten spots open so that the program could start off with a limited amount of trainees. The first round looked purely at performance skill. Every auditioning trainee was required to send in a performance that best highlighted their own skills. Successful trainees were chosen based on several factors rather than choosing only the best performers. The second round involved discussions with the companies of the successful trainees. The third round involved one-on-one talks with the successful trainees from the second round.
The ten successful trainees from the first audition were announced in June 2022. Training began the day after the trainees were announced.
2023: CherryBlossom Formation[]
Trainees[]
Active Trainees[]
| Name | Company | Birthdate | Specialty | Audition | Current Project Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ju Hyeja | Highline Media | 05.02.2003 | Vocal | 1st | 🌸 |
| Kim Layla | MAGENTA Label | 05.04.2003 | Vocal | 4th | N/A |
| Gina Choi | EKLEIPSIS Entertainment | 08.07.2004 | Rap | 1st | 🌸 |
| Yoon Baekmin | StarLight Entertainment | 11.04.2004 | Dance | 1st | 🌙 |
| Kang Minju | Connection Entertainment | 07.14.2005 | Vocal | 1st | 🌸 |
| Kim Sooah | Sommer Entertainment Seoul | 01.17.2006 | Dance | 1st | 🌙 |
| Hoang Tien | LSG Entertainment | 02.02.2006 | Dance | 1st | 🌙 |
| Min Taylor | SUN Entertainment | 05.16.2006 | Vocal | 4th | N/A |
| Odesa Villanueva | StarLight Entertainment | 07.08.2006 | Dance | 4th | N/A |
| Cho Inha | YR Entertainment | 01.27.2007 | Dance | 1st | 🌸 |
| Sim Jookyung | Blair Music | 04.05.2007 | Vocal | 4th | N/A |
| Emilian Flores | StarLight Entertainment | 01.05.2008 | Dance | 4th | N/A |
Former Trainees[]
| Name | Company | Birthdate | Specialty | Audition | Project Group(s) | Departure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lim Eunseo | Studio AVOS | 09.09.2005 | Rap | 2nd | TBA | October 2023 |
| Kwon Kai | Big Planet Creative | 12.01.2001 | Rap | 3rd | 🌙 | April 2024 |
Project Groups[]
|
| CherryBlossom was the first project group to release music. CherryBlossom released their first single album Like! Like! Like! in 2023. The group’s symbol is a pink flower. Current Lineup: Ju Hyeja, Gina Choi, Kang Minju, Cho Inha |
|
| WickedNight was the second project group to release music. WickedNight released their first single album Moon in 2023. The group's symbol is a crescent moon. Current Lineup: Yoon Baekmin, Kim Sooah, Hoang Tien, Kwon Kai |
Academy Program Courses[]
There are several courses provided by the academy for trainees to partake in.
The 1X1 Sessionals provide trainees the opportunities to be taught by industry professionals and idols in vocal, rap, and dance. The sessions are meant to develop the trainees beyond the scope of a regular trainee lesson. Each instructor brought in for the 1X1 Sessionals will aid the trainees in a specific aspect of the skill they are teaching rather than having the lesson be general.
A highlight of the academy’s courses is the Funded Trips to different countries. Trainees can apply to travel to a different country through funding from the academy and their own company in order to experience other cultures and languages. Each travel group will be joined by multiple instructors who will continue their training regarding culture, language, and world knowledge. The trips are varied in length.
The Production Development courses allow for trainees to experiment and learn about the production and songwriting process. With the supervision of experienced producers, the trainees are allowed access to recording and producing studios where they can immerse themselves in music production.
The Camera Training courses provide trainees with opportunities to become comfortable being in front of a camera. Trainees will gain PR skills through scenario training. They will also gain conversational skills in order for them to be comfortable on talk and variety shows.
The Artistic Vision courses provide trainees with training in multiple disciplines that will give them artistic outlets that they can transfer to the production process. These include choreographing, lyric writing, acting, styling, and modeling.
Project Group Releases[]
CherryBlossom[]
- Like! Like! Like! (2023)
Auditions[]
- 1st Audition
Start: March 2022
Trainee Announcement: June 2022
Amount of Trainees: 10
- 2nd Audition
Start: September 2022
Trainee Announcement: November 2022
- 3rd Audition
Start: June 2023
Trainee Announcement: August 2023
- 4th Audition
Start: December 2023
Trainee Announcement: February 2024
Trivia[]
- The name BYETOILE derives from the Korean word for star “byeol” and the French word for star “etoile”.