Galaxy Corporation – the entertainment and AI company who are home to K-pop icon G-Dragon – is opening the doors to a new kind of idol career, launching U.S. auditions for a fully virtual K-pop group.

The search kicks off in Los Angeles on 8 September at the El Rey Theatre, marking the first stop in a worldwide hunt for performers who will help redefine what it means to be a global star.

The 2025 Global Virtual Artist Audition aims to merge traditional idol training with immersive technology, creating avatars powered by real voices, movements, and personalities. Selected artists will work behind the scenes as the lifeforce of their virtual counterparts, undergoing training in vocals, rap, dance, motion capture, and digital stage presence before stepping into an entirely new performance space.

This move reflects a growing trend in K-pop and entertainment at large: the intersection of technology and artistry. Virtual idols have existed in Japan and niche online spaces for years, but Galaxy’s project represents one of the first large-scale attempts to combine a globally recognised K-pop framework with fully realised digital performers.

It’s a bold step for Galaxy, whose previous credits include producing Netflix’s hit reality competition Physical 100. The company frames the audition as a search for “entertainers without borders” – artists whose digital identities will allow them to connect with fans across cultures, languages, and time zones without the limits of geography. For the industry, it raises questions about how performance, identity, and fan engagement might evolve when avatars carry as much emotional and cultural weight as the humans behind them.

Open to any age or gender, the audition welcomes singers, rappers, dancers, and all-rounders. Applicants have until 26 August to submit a one-minute video showcasing their talent, with L.A. hopefuls getting the rare chance to audition in person for a debut project backed by some of Korea’s most ambitious entertainment tech.

More details, including submission guidelines, are available via Galaxy’s official audition channel. An official application form is available here.