MLD Entertainment—the agency that launched Momoland and T1419—is reportedly preparing to debut a new girl group.

It will be a global girl group featuring members from Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, and the US. Some of those girls have been in training for as long as one year and eight months, while others haven’t been with the agency for very long.

MLD Entertainment reveals they were chosen from a pool of over 50,000 applicants. Auditions took place in different countries and six girls were selected with a competition ratio of 6,000 to 1.

According to one American trainee who joined the agency after passing her audition with flying colors, “I decided to be a singer after watching a lot of K-Pop groups. I want to become like BLACKPINK or TWICE, who receive a lot of love from people.”

The chosen six reportedly practice 11 hours a day. Sources say they can be found in MLD Entertainment’s practice room from 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM every day, six days a week, from Monday to Saturay. That seems like quite a punishing schedule, but the girls don’t mind sticking to it because doing so will take them one step closer to their dream.

One South Korean trainee explained, “The competition will continue even if I do get lucky enough to debut. The only way to beat the competition is to build up my skills by practicing as often as I can.”

The girls need to stay on top of their game, because even if they became trainees, that doesn’t mean they’ll get to debut. As per a representative from MLD Entertainment, “They may debut depending on all the trainees’ improvement speed, as well as their chemistry with each other. Some of them may end up being disqualified. We can’t go back after they debut—if they debut—so the agency as well as the trainees have to be cautious.”

Watch this space for updates on MLD Entertainment’s upcoming group!