HYBE and Universal Music Group‘s Geffen Records have revealed SAINT SATINE as the name of their second global girl group, completing the lineup with SAKURA, a 16-year-old performer from Japan.
The reveal arrived on Tuesday (May 12) through the finale of WORLD SCOUT: THE FINAL PIECE, the Japan-based audition series that aired exclusively on ABEMA.
SAKURA was selected from more than 14,000 applicants to join EMILY (20, United States), LEXIE (21, Sweden), and SAMARA (20, Brazil), who had previously been confirmed as members of the unnamed group last year.
The announcement follows a multi-year buildout of HYBE and Geffen‘s second global act, after the companies launched the Japan-based talent search in August 2025.
That search confirmed three former The Debut: Dream Academy contestants – EMILY, LEXIE, and SAMARA – as the first members of the group, with a fourth to be picked from the Japanese auditions.
The trio had each advanced deep into the audition process that produced KATSEYE, the six-member act that HYBE and Geffen debuted in 2024, but did not make the final lineup.
Their journey was chronicled in the Netflix docuseries Pop Star Academy: KATSEYE.
The Japanese leg of the audition – WORLD SCOUT: THE FINAL PIECE – narrowed its field to two finalists, SAKURA and AYANA, ahead of Tuesday‘s finale broadcast.
HYBE x Geffen also released a digital single album, World Scout: The Final Piece – Finale, globally on the same day.
The two-track release opens with SAKURA performing PARTY b4 the PARTY with EMILY, LEXIE, and SAMARA – the performance that marked her selection as the final member.
The second track, WE RIDE, features runner-up AYANA alongside EMILY, LEXIE, and SAMARA.
According to the announcement, the name SAINT SATINE pairs “SAINT,” representing “musicality and charisma,” with “SATINE,” representing “a softer and more refined image.”
The group was previously known as “Prelude” before the full lineup and final name were revealed.
SAINT SATINE emerges from the same HYBE-Geffen alliance that produced KATSEYE, which has become the central proof point for HYBE‘s strategy of exporting its K-pop training system into the US market.
The original HYBE x Geffen audition initiative, launched in 2021, drew more than 120,000 applicants worldwide.
That process selected 20 contestants for a year of Korean idol-style training before The Debut: Dream Academy competition, which produced KATSEYE.
KATSEYE‘s second EP BEAUTIFUL CHAOS debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200, and the group earned two nominations at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards – for Best New Artist and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance – plus three nominations at the 2026 American Music Awards.
KATSEYE‘s third EP, WILD, is scheduled for release on August 14.
On HYBE‘s Q1 2026 earnings call last month, CEO Jason Jaesang Lee framed the second girl group as central to the company’s US and Japan strategy.
“We expect that this new group will become a key asset of our multi-home multi-genre strategy following the footsteps of KATSEYE to secure fandom from both North America and Japan,” Lee told analysts on the call.
HYBE posted record Q1 revenue of KRW 698.3 billion ($477m), up 39.5% year-on-year, driven primarily by BTS‘s return.
The launch of SAINT SATINE arrives amid a wider push by HYBE to export its K-pop training and development system to markets outside South Korea.
The strategy traces back to HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk‘s stated “vision to export K-Pop methodologies,” as previously reported by MBW.
In September 2025, HYBE opened its fifth global headquarters in Mumbai, and on Tuesday (March 31) launched a nationwide talent search to form a new girl group through HYBE India.
That audition is open to applicants born between 2005 and 2011, and runs through July 31 across 10 Indian cities plus international centers in London, New York, Singapore, Toronto, and Sydney.
In February 2025, HYBE also partnered with Grammy-winning producer Ryan Tedder to launch a global search for a new US-based boy group, billed by Bang at the time as “another step in continuing our legacy within the music industry.”
The company’s HYBE Latin America division has produced its first Latin boy group, SANTOS BRAVOS, and last year partnered with Telemundo on Pase a la Fama, a music competition series focused on Regional Mexican music.
The launch of SAINT SATINE also lands days after HYBE unveiled a new label called ABD – short for “A Bold Dream” – dedicated exclusively to girl group development, with plans to debut its first act in the second half of 2026.Music Business Worldwide
