Sophia Laforteza. Image: Instagram/@sophia_laforteza
Sophia Laforteza, a Filipina finalist of the South Korean talent show “The Debut: Dream Academy,” emerged as the top contender after getting the highest number of votes in the second mission.
The standing of Laforteza and her fellow finalists was revealed on the show’s “Mission 2 Result Announcement” on HYBE Labels’ YouTube channel last Sunday, Oct. 8, where the remaining contestants awaited their fates.
The Filipina ranked first with 69,098 votes, and is followed closely by Samara Siqueira of Brazil (68,165 votes) and Jeong Yoon-chae of South Korea (57,801 votes).
South Korea’s Lee Nayoung (54,794 votes), US’ Daniela Avanzini (44,572 votes), and US’ Lara Rajagopalan (43,766 votes) ranked fourth, fifth, and sixth, respectively.
Screengrab from YouTube/HYBE Labels
Iliya of Belarus, Mei of Japan, and Brooklyn and Karlee from the US were eliminated from the competition, which narrowed the finalists down to 14.
During the video, Laforteza said she “grew so much” as a trainee. “I put the work in. I feel like I’ve grown so much in my skill set,” she said.
The announcement also revealed that 14 out of 18 contestants wanted the Filipina to be part of the final group.
In the second mission, the 18 finalists were divided into groups of four where they performed covers of “Fearless” and “Antifragile” by HYBE and Source Music’s girl group LE SSERAFIM.
The Filipina trainee, looking quite comfy in her long-sleeved green top and cargo pants, was included in Team A which did “Antifragile.” She noticeably did the parts of LE SSERAFIM’s vocalist Huh Yunjin, as seen in her fancam.
The 14 finalists will face off with one another in the final mission before the show’s live finale. The group’s lineup, where the name has yet to be announced, will be aired on Nov. 18.
“The Debut: Dream Academy” was produced by South Korean music conglomerate HYBE and Geffen Records which aims to create a “global girl group.”
Laforteza was selected out of 120,000 hopefuls as one of the finalists of the talent competition. She is the daughter of actress Carla Guevara and chef Godfrey Laforteza. EDV