So, it’s official: SM Entertainment now has a global boy group up their sleeve—Dear Alice.
Entirely made up of British members, Dear Alice was finally unveiled to the public on August 2, 2024 in London, United Kingdom. The five-piece group is a collaboration between South Korea’s SM Entertainment, Kakao Entertainment America, and London-based Moon & Back Media.
The members—Blaise Noon (19), Dexter Greenwood (22), James Sharp (23), Oliver Quinn (20), and Reese Carter (20), were all casted by Moon & Back in the United Kingdom, and flew to South Korea to undergo SM Entertainment’s grueling training to become an idol group, including vocal, choreography, and music production.
Their pre-debut and debut journey was documented through the six-part BBC docuseries, “Made in Korea: The K-Pop Experience.” Through the documentary, the members will be immersing in the Korean way of life and in K-pop culture, apart from the intense choreography, vocal, and performance training that they will be getting from big names in the industry.
While most K-pop groups take years to debut, Dear Alice’s debut journey only takes about over 100 days.
Hee Jun-yoon, SM Entertainment’s Artist Development Centert Director and well-known figure in the K-pop industry, will be overseeing Dear Alice’s training and development. She has collaborated with Super Junior, Girls’ Generation, and SHINee in the past, thus adding to her credibility.
Dear Alice is set to release music in the global market and in the United Kingdom.
K-pop fans were initially skeptical about the group, but after seeing the docuseries’ first episode, some began supporting their efforts and grit in training as a future boy group. Others even started calling them “the next One Direction.”
Dear Alice performing their song ‘Feel the Vibes’ in front of Hee Jun Yoon (Director of the Artist Development Center in SM) for their 1st week of training evaluation
DEAR ALICE IN KOREA#DearAliceInKorea_EP1#MadeInKorea_Show#DEAR_ALICE #디어_앨리스#DearAlice #MadeinKorea pic.twitter.com/vuggjw1Yqb
— dear ✦ koa (@blaisenoon) August 17, 2024
Gotta ask… can you feel the vibes? 🩵 #dearalice #dearalice_vibes #blaisenoon #dextergreenwood #jamessharp #ollyquinn #reesecarter pic.twitter.com/BLWDHiDD5K
— Dear Alice (@dearalicemusic) August 17, 2024
Idk yall. I kind of like them. 😂 I’ve had the chorus to their song stuck in my head for days https://t.co/5eQvCs7mYc
— JESSI 🦖 (@JessicaRenee026) August 17, 2024
why does sm think making a one direction clone with 2011 esque music is going to be successful now… 😭 https://t.co/ulYflRTYHx
— Bo 🐨 INIGO DAY (@boyagerboy) August 18, 2024
oh the smnbg uk was real
— ☆ (@khiawings) August 1, 2024
close enough welcome back one direction https://t.co/v5EY5DsNKI pic.twitter.com/8WhnZ3umx8
— ♡°• b (@YE0NC4S) August 2, 2024
Featuring a brief cameo of @dearalicemusic ‘s performance at the Embassy’s King’s Birthday Party! We’re delighted to have played a small role in this exciting UK-Korea cultural collaboration. Good luck, Dear Alice! https://t.co/v1IWEI8Kn8
— UK in Korea🇬🇧🇰🇷 (@UKinKorea) August 2, 2024
here’s a look at a performance from episode 3, absolute banger tbh https://t.co/iJXrhVqaZD pic.twitter.com/cM5abtdTo5
— Hallyu Doing (@HallyuDoing) August 14, 2024
Dear Alice first week evaluation in front of Hee Jun (SM’s Director of the Artist Development Center) performing ‘Feel the Vibe’#MadeInKorea pic.twitter.com/KYLSPi2tiL
— ᴊᴏᴏᴇᴜɴ sᴍɴɢɢ (@xooeun_) August 17, 2024
OMG from the snippet alone i know i’m gonna blast this song on repeat day and night cause it’s so good i really like it 😭SM vocals never disappoint i know Dear Alice is gonna be BIG! pic.twitter.com/fagbrJ17FF
— ᴊᴏᴏᴇᴜɴ sᴍɴɢɢ (@xooeun_) August 16, 2024
K-pop fans were surprised to also see some known SM artists on the first episode of “Made in Korea: The K-pop Experience,” such as EXO’s Suho, RIIZE, and NCT/WayV’s Ten.
SUHO: “Training is basically a full time job, and the only time you’re not training is when you’re sleeping.” pic.twitter.com/UDMmt2hnda
— •_ㅁ دُنيا (@JunJuncotton) August 17, 2024
“The Legendary #TEN” on BBC giving advice to British Boy Group Dear Alice
cr: gcfjjjk97 pic.twitter.com/Bl8x63WCkq
— ً (@TENsfeed) August 17, 2024
Anton: We”ll do our official greeting.
Riize: *does greeting*
Dear Alice: We don’t have one yet.
Eunseok: Nice
— 018D (@_018D) August 17, 2024
Anton riize will appear in the first episode of bg dear alice pic.twitter.com/2ckYs1sGlW
— rae (@arcenciel00) August 16, 2024
Dear Alice also did give a preview into their debut track in a video they posted on their social media.
Gotta ask… can you feel the vibes? 🩵 #dearalice #dearalice_vibes #blaisenoon #dextergreenwood #jamessharp #ollyquinn #reesecarter pic.twitter.com/BLWDHiDD5K
— Dear Alice (@dearalicemusic) August 17, 2024
Seeing as they came from the training of SM Entertainment, they’re surely a group to watch out for, don’t you think? What are your thoughts on Dear Alice?
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