Dressed in matching school uniforms, with pleated skirts, knee-high socks and smart grey blazers, ten young women – aged 16 to 21 – stand side by side on a stage.
They’re holding hands, clutching one another for comfort. Some have tears rolling down their cheeks, their shoulders shaking in silent sobs.
If you think the training regime on Strictly sounds gruelling, it’s nothing compared to what these girls have been through over the past 18 months.
In the audience are their parents, siblings and closest friends, who have journeyed to the studio in Los Angeles, to await news of their fate. Around the world, ten million people are watching online.
The jubilant winning members of Katseye on stage for the live finale in Los Angeles, California
Marquise, Daniela, Lara, Sophia, Ezrela, Manon, Emily, Yoonchae, Samara and Megan in action
Jisoo, Lisa, Jennie, and Rose of Blackpink perform at the Coachella festival in California
One by one, an announcer reads out six…