ADÉLA‘s journey on Pop Star Academy may have ended, but her career is far from over.
The 20-year-old singer from Slovakia sat down with J-14, where we spoke about her experience filming the Netflix documentary, her thoughts on KATSEYE’s final lineup and debuting as a solo artist with her single, “Homewrecked.”
ICYMI, ADÉLA was one of dozens of trainees for HYBE and Geffen Record’s global girl group, which eventually formed KATSEYE. Her journey, specifically, lasted two years — where she and a handful of girls were put through intense, K-pop-style training. The girls eventually went through rounds of challenges, where fans had the chance to vote for their favorites. The entire process was filmed for a documentary on Netflix, which premiered on August 21, 2024.
“We were so close,” ADÉLA said of her relationship with her fellow trainees. “We really had to cling to each other and support each other, ’cause that’s all we had. So it was really like a sisterhood, even with the little fights and disagreements here and there, but it was never, never, never deep enough to be, like, a bad environment with the girls.”
Despite the competitive nature of “the program,” as ADÉLA refers to it, the singer-songwriter insists that her challenges stemmed not from the other contestants, but from the program itself.
For example, after her elimination in episode 5 of the Netflix documentary, ADÉLA candidly expressed her frustration over what she perceived as an unfair process. The competition relies on fan votes, and many contestants receive strong support from their home countries. As a Slovakian artist, ADÉLA felt that representing a smaller country placed her at a disadvantage. While some viewers interpreted her comments as a critique of the other contestants’ popularity rather than their talent, ADÉLA is now setting the record straight.
“One thing that’s been super interesting about this whole experience, [was that] most of the critiques that I was saying were directed at the program itself,” she explained. “We didn’t know that it was gonna be a fan-voted competition. If I knew that, I wouldn’t have applied […] For a lot of us that was a shock because yes, we do come from smaller countries, so I knew that I wasn’t going to have the support that girls that come from countries that have a huge like K-pop fan base would.”
“I know my intention behind that discussion and I know that it was never, never based on anything but nationality,” she added. “It wasn’t at all aimed at the girls. It was aimed at the fact that we didn’t know that we were getting into this.”
One thing that didn’t surprise ADÉLA, however, was KATSEYE’s final lineup.
“I think any of the girls could have made it. So I wouldn’t have been shocked if it was any of them,” she said. “All of the girls were amazing choices. Like, if anybody would’ve made it out, I’d be like, I’m not surprised because every single one of them is amazing.”
ADÉLA also confirmed she still talks to many of the girls, including members of KATSEYE — however, she’s especially close to fan-favorite Emily Kelavos, who choreographed the dance and stars in the music video to ADÉLA’s upcoming solo single, “Homewrecked.”
“The song is so like Marina-inspired and like, so dramatic,” she says of her song, out on September 13. “The lyrics are ridiculous and that’s exactly what I wanted […] I love taking an un an uncomfortable concept and making it super overdramatic and, like, singing the f–k out of the song.”
The Slovakian artist also said she’s incredibly hands-on with her solo music, something she especially appreciates after Pop Star Academy. For the upcoming video, she did “all of the visuals” by herself, including the makeup and costumes.
“I’m writer, producer, singer, creative director of this,” she said. “This is, like, me in a song and it’s really, really cool.”
ADÉLA continued, “I really love what I’m doing and I feel like that’s what I always wanted to do. So that’s why I say, like, everything worked out perfectly.”
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