Elisia Parmisano of the Philippines gets a first-time role in the Korean drama "Universe Ticket."
14-year-old Elisia Parmisano is poised to join the future K-pop girl group created through SBS K-pop survival show Universe Ticket. Parmisano is one of the 82 female K-pop trainees competing for eight seats on Universe Ticket.
Depending on their performance and the votes cast by fans, candidates in Universe Ticket are divided into five levels: P, R, I, S, and M.
Out of a group of 82 contestants, the Filipina became the first member of the "Universe Ticket" girl group after she succeeded in reaching the P Level, the highest level on the show.
Fan votes and the judges, known as Unicorns, determine the contestants' rankings. Some candidates' rankings were boosted via the use of "hidden ticketing," which included both the contestants and the show's producers.
Kim Se-jeong, an actress and singer, Girls Generation's Hyoyeon, Younha, a singer-songwriter and record producer, Rian from LaChica, and Adora, a singer-songwriter and record producer, are the unicorns, or judges.
Several Filipino superstars, including Marian Rivera, Vicki Belo, and Regine Velasquez, applauded Parmisano, who began her career as a child actress before venturing into K-pop.
“This little girl is all grown up now and making a name for her self in the K-pop world. Congratulations Elisia, we are very proud of you,” Velasquez wrote in her post featuring photos with Parmisano as a child.
“All your hard work and sacrifice is paying off,” Belo commented under Velasquez’s post.
In the meantime, Rivera honored Parmisano with a video greeting on her Instagram account.
“Congratulations sa ‘yo! Ipagpatuloy mo ang mga pangarap na ‘yan at alam kong marami ka pang magagawa at mararating, kaya naman God bless you more. We are so proud of you!” Rivera said.
Another Filipina trainee, Gehlee Dangca, is currently rated second and is close to finishing the second-highest level on the show: R Level. One of the fifteen contestants who still have a chance to make their Parmisano debut is Korean-Filipina Jin Hyeon-ju, who is a part of the Kpop girl group Cignature.
Belle, or Hyeon-ju, is now in 10th place.
Aya Natsumi, a different Filipina trainee, was already eliminated.
This occurs barely two months after 20-year-old Sophia Laforteza was revealed as the first member of K-pop girl group KATSEYE, a collaboration between HYBE Labels and Geffen Records.
As a member of the girl group Lapillus, Chantal Vidal, also known by her stage name Chanty, is another Filipina in the K-pop industry.