That page always posts rumors; if I'm not mistaken, it was the one that confirmed Sakura—though I'm not entirely sure. Now they've posted this with those flags. It could mean two female finalists, or that both will get in, or perhaps a girl with dual nationality. What do you think?
I always think about what Saint Satine would be like if Hiori hadn't decided to leave the show, and also Jay's statement that she really wanted Hiori to debut makes sense; she has the charisma and also matches Emily and Samara, and has the tomboy energy they were looking for. She had great support from international fans; her fancams and photos were always the most liked.
She has a February birthday so in the time they take to find a new member (if they add one which likely because they need another vocalist), 17 for her is not far away and that is a much better age to debut than 15 or freshly 16, they would only have a minor in the group for 1 year so it would not limit concepts as much either
Samara and (especially) Emily seem to have taken her under their wing in the small interactions we get to see so that will probably help too to make the group feel more cohesive and look less as if they are babysitting
Also even if the age difference is still really big, when everyone gets older it feels less weird imo, like I have coworkers Im friends with in their 30s and Im 22 and that feels normal but I could never imagine having a friend thats 15, so if that makes sense the more they grow up the age difference will feel less and less weird and maybe a delayed debut is a net positive in the end for this group
She looks so much more mature here and actually matches the vibe of the other members. After seeing her without bangs, I think she needs to ditch the bob and bangs and grow out her hair, since she looks absolutely stunning in the pics. I can't wait to see her with long hair lol
Si Saint Satine debuta oficialmente pronto como un grupo de tres integrantes y saca música sin mencionar planes para sumar gente nueva, ¿crees que todavía podrían agregar uno o más miembros más adelante, o piensas que una vez que debuten como trío, se van a quedar como tres?
Hybe probably thought that with Sakura's announcement everyone would be "gagged" about Sakura, thinking she had evolved a lot, but that's not what happened. The audience hated it because she was terrible live, and they thought the audience would cling to this Cinderella story—an inexperienced girl who became capable of debuting in May, even though there are several better than her—but that didn't happen. The reactions were even worse, and they must know this and regret it a lot.
Hybe opened auditions this week, and it's pretty obvious it's for Saint Satine. First, the account that posted the audition announcement is totally dedicated to Saint Satine, Prelude, and World Scout. The first post is about the World Scout auditions. The only account that reposted was Saint Satine's; they made three posts, each representing the three Saint Satine members: blue Emily, pink Sakura, and green Samara. So I'm sure Hybe reconsidered the idea of debuting them as a trio because they know it's too risky. Also, the auditions will probably serve Saint Satine, but also a future global group.
So I've been thinking about this for a while now and my opinion keeps changing.
At first I wanted them to add another member, for the sake of choreography formations and promotions.
But then we got more content with the trio (the World Cup Vlog, Matcha Vlog, the recent pictures and the Sakmara live) and I really love the vibe between the current members and I started to question whether the new member would be able to add to that chemistry. So then I was quite content with the trio because I believe they complement each other really well.
But then I looked at the new SAINT SATINE X KATSEYE picture and remembered that Katseye currently has 2 members on hiatus and are going on tour soon. If a similar situation we're to occur with the trio then we would be left with a soloist performance on tour, who would have to perform songs that were meant to be performed by 3 members. It also lead me to question that should this situation occur, would Hybe X Geffen cancel the events or guilt trip the girls into performing regardless, even if they are unwell?
So now I'm torn because I really do love the trio, they fit each other so well, both visually and with their chemistry, however, if we're thinking long-term when they start touring and having 12 hour rehearsals, is a quartet the safer option?
What do you think?
Will Saint Satine rebrand for their debut? With a new name and a new concept that suits Sakuraa and the girls? Especially since they hired a very famous new artistic director.
There's another video of Samara walking away, thinking they had just finished taking the photos lol—they all look gorgeous!!
The confirmed facts regarding SAINT SATINE and Lexie's departure:
Lexie's Absence and Exit: Lexie stopped appearing in SAINT SATINE pre-debut content around late June 2026, culminating in the official announcement of her departure on July 13, 2026.
Website Changes: Following her departure, the official website dropped its original "Established 2026" branding and wiped that reference entirely.
Social Media Bio Scrub: Rather than simply removing Lexie's name, the group’s official Instagram bio was edited to strip out all of the remaining members' names (Emily, Samara, and Sakura).
Executive Signals: Around a week prior to the public announcement of Lexie's exit, key casting leadership (including Kerrie) posted about actively scouting new talent.
Accelerated Casting Drive: HYBE x Geffen's audition page launched a rapid audition call—cross-posted directly by SAINT SATINE’s official page and their creative director—with an abnormally short submission window closing at the end of August 2026.
What do you guys think? Do you think they will replace her.
Since last year, I've been hoping for Saint Satine/Prelude to get involved in their artistry, especially since Lexie is a producer and Emily is a choreographer. This is not just a fan speculation, since Lexie was indeed mentioned as a "producer-songwriter" in the official articles when Prelude was first announced and she posted being at the studio with other producers since late 2024 to early 2025 before their group was made. Also, songwriting and producing were included in the category of skills that HxG looked for in the Japanese audition which is unique and rare for kpop survival shows.
When World Scout started, the trainee that caught my attention was Rinka because she mentioned in her profile that she specializes in songwriting/composing and she's studying multiple languages. She mentioned it again in her interview that she's very good at writing and composing songs, and how she will make use of that in the competition. The question was what is their "determination for the audition", the other girls answered similarly about doing their best, but Rinka was the only trainee who answered it differently that's specific about songwriting. It looks like she auditioned as a songwriter, as if she believed that it was gonna have an integral part of joining the global group instead of the typical kpop group. In Round 1, they didn't show Rinka's singing or dancing, but they only showed her rapping and Son's comment about her was that she's the trainee with "a lot of musical talent", which was also different compared to their comments on the other girls' performances that's usually just about singing/dancing/star quality. Another interesting fact is, in the initial Japanese casting call for Prelude, the age range was only 15-20 years old, but when the World Scout audition was announced, HxG increased it to 15-24 years old. Rinka was the only trainee who wasn't in the age range before that made it (she was 21 and turned 22 in November before she got called back in LA). It seems like HxG changed the age limit for Rinka who was also the closest to Lexie's age. Lexie is 2004 while Rinka is 2003 and other kpop companies hasn't been taking 2003-2004 trainees in the recent years since they're already considered old, but I think Rinka was an exemption because she has the songwriting skills. Although, songwriting didn't really had a part in World Scout (When the Prelude members introduced their 2 songs that they said they worked on, people thought that they took part in making the music production, but it turned out they didn't).
People thinks that Lexie left the group because HxG changed their concept. Adding an inexperienced minor to their group who are all adults was obviously a factor that changed their dynamics, aside from the cultural gap and language barrier, there was a bigger disconnect with Lexie who was the oldest member. HxG has been trying to cater Saint Satine for Sakura and it's understandable why Lexie left. People are only more focused about the aesthetic concept being mature, but the "presented vision" and "future plans" that Lexie mentioned in her letter could also mean "artistic vision" and "creative process". When Prelude was announced, Lexie joining in as the last member was unexpected since she left Dream Academy before and one of the reasons was because she wanted to be a producer (she talked about being a producer many times back then). I've always thought that Lexie decided to return to HxG again because they likely made a condition that she can get involved in the music production of their group, but unfortunately, the plans for Saint Satine was changed and the direction they're going in for became different. Lexie was probably led to believed by HxG, but they switched up on her. I think this is one of the reasons why Lexie left but people don't really talk about it.
Overall, connecting all these pieces, it could have been better. So much missed opportunities and it just turned to waste. HxG is not smart at all, they don't care about artistry and they focus more on noise marketing.
