SG Entertainment, the first Korean-European talent management agency, has announced the lineup for their label's first female group - Alpha Ray.
In the end, Alpha Ray will have four talents to represent SG Entertainment's vision of "four rays coming together with their respective energy and ability to create a great group synergy." In a revolutionary training method pioneered by the label, the seven trainees have been based on their MBTI personalities - the first-ever use of this approach in the history of K-Pop.
Additionally, the label is dedicated to creating the next level of Korean pop music - with new concepts, new themes, and a specialized focus on the idols' personal and emotional development. In addition to
While all trainees have to go through the standard training classes - music, dance, vocals - prospective Alpha Ray members will also be having courses in songwriting, psychology, and even theater and debates. This well-rounded training program will only serve further to elevate the quality and creativity of the trainees.
Fans can follow the pre-debut lineup of Aiganym, Chaeyeon, Hanna, Jiyun, Jiyeon, Yuri, and Yelin through the official SG Entertainment Instagram account.
A Promising and Diverse Lineup of Future Idols
The moment SG Entertainment announced their pre-debut lineup, fans worldwide started choosing their own biases. Some were amazed by Jiyeon's Jiu Jitsu or Jiyun's fascination with shooting arcade games. However, one source of buzz among netizens is Aiganym - who could be the first K-Pop idol to come from Kazakhstan. The 20-year-old Kazakhstani trainee, whose motto is to "Shine bright like a diamond," has already garnered a lot of attention because of her visuals.
In an illustration of the pre-debut lineup on the SG Entertainment Instagram account, which featured its six Koreans and one Kazakhstani, has also revealed the MBTI personality for each member: Yelin (ENFP), Jiyeon (ENTP), Jiyun (ENFJ), Chaeyeon (INFP), Aiganym (ENTP), Hama (ENFP), Yuri (ENTJ). Their personality types are based on the sixteen possible subsets as defined by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), a psychological questionnaire that defines people through four categories: (1) introversion and extraversion; (2) sensing and intuition; (3) thinking and feeling; and (4) judging or perceiving.
The personality test was first developed by Katharine Cook Briggs and her daughter Isabel Briggs Myers, with their efforts to classify people began by the late 1910s. While articles and independent study argues and disproves the system, it remains a popular method until today.
About SG Entertainment
SG Entertainment, whose initials stand for Spark Gate, is a new entertainment agency co-founded by two French entrepreneurs: music producer Joon-Hae Woo and international trade specialist Thomas Sommer back in 2018. Woo is already a veteran of the European music industry with a working experience of 20 years, and he is also a trained psychotherapist. On the other hand, Sommer has close to a decade of experience with business startups.
The Korean-European agency has a training academy situated in Hongdae in South Korea. In pursuit of the SG Group's motto of "A healthy mind in a healthy body for a bright and prosperous future," the talent agency combines the high standards of K-Pop training with French instructional methods.
Follow the pre-debut Alpha Ray through the SG Entertainment YouTube channel, which includes the ladies' cover of CL's "Lifted" as seen below:
