Kpop Behind | All the Stories Behind Kpop Stars

Seulgi was selected as SM's trainee through the agency's open audition took place in 2007, while Irene was chosen by SM in 2009. And Yeri passed SM’s audition in 2010. She was only 11 years old at the time. Wendy passed the agency's global audition took place in Canada in 2012, and Joy passed SM's global audition took place in Seoul in 2012. Well, if you want to become a trainee of SM Entertainment as a foreigner, yeah, Wendy could be a perfect example for you. The 5 members have something in common, by the way. Seulgi can sing, dance, play a guitar, and speak Japanese, while Irene can sing, rap, and perform modern dance. Wendy speaks fluent English and can play various instruments such as flute, guitar and saxophone. Joy is eminent in singing and dancing. And Yeri, who has good basic skills is very talented and has a good sense of humor. Yeah, all of them are versatile. To survive the competition, you need to stand out. When you participate in a k-pop audit...

I’m sure you’re very curious about k-pop trainee’s daily schedule. Well, it differs from case to case, but let me explain about the general case. If you become a k-pop trainee, you should follow the daily schedule below. 8 a.m. : School attendance As most of k-pop trainees are students, they should go to school in the morning. They try not to skip breakfast if possible because it’s important for them to manage their health. At their school, they take classes just like the other ordinary students, but they usually listen to music during break time to make preparations for their weekly test. They sometimes write song lyrics, while there are also some passionate trainees who practice singing and dancing at their school. 5 p.m. : Go to practicing room After school is over, trainees go to their practicing rooms. The first thing they do when they arrive at their practicing rooms is give their cellphones and diaries to people who manage them. They get their cellphones back after the...

Each country has its own culture and traditions. These days, Korean culture is becoming more Western, but Korea still has its own traditional culture. And yeah, if you want to become a k-pop trainee, you should respect Korean culture and learn about the culture. If you don’t follow Korean culture, people will think you’re very rude, and it will be hard for you to get chance to become a k-pop trainee. Korea is a country which is based on the Confucian culture, and it is common for Korean people to have respect for seniors. That's why the relationship between senior k-pop singers and junior k-pop singers are so tight. On the day when k-pop idols take part in the recording of a music chart show, junior singers usually visit senior singers' waiting rooms and bow to them. Junior singers present their signed CDs too, while some senior singers who have bad character even refuse to receive it. Senior singers, especially popular singers never visit junior singers' waiting room...

<Kpop Audition Bible: How to become a k-pop idol> Amazon(Paperpack):   https://www.amazon.com/dp/1719860106 Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073V4FZ25 iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1294241680 Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/ww/en/ebook/kpop-audition-bible-how-to-become-a-k-pop-idol -How to pass k-pop audition -Tips & Advices for k-pop audition participants -How to become a k-pop idol -Stories behind k-pop stars' trainee life and debut -Written by an experienced k-pop journalist Do you want to become a k-pop idol? Do you want to become a k-pop trainee to realize your dream? Well, the most common way to start off on a long journey to become a k-pop idol is to take part in various k-pop agencies’ auditions. K-pop agencies usually have year-round audition schedules, and they always pay attention to find talented would be singers. You can take part in k-pop auditions either online or offline. If you apply for an online audition, you can put in...

Super Junior's Kim Heechul He even didn't know where SM Entertainment’s building was and was late for his audition. He just sang the national anthem at the audition, but he passed it because he was too handsome. TVXQ's Max Changmin He received a business card from a staff member of SM Entertainment when he was playing badminton at his school. So, his mother took him to his audition and he passed it. EXO's Sehun When he was eating tteokbokki(Stir-fried rice cake, one of the most popular snacks among Korean people), a staff member of SM Entertainment came running after him and he tried to run away because he was so surprised. However, he was caught by the staff and passed his audition. EXO's Baekhyun When he was warming up his voice to have an interview for Seoul Institute of Arts, he met a staff member of SM Entertainment and he could get a chance to participate in the agency’s audition. f(x)'s Amber and Luna Amber passed her audition...

K-pop idols are loved by many fans, but they themselves are sometimes big fans of other singers too. Think about it. You are a huge fan of a k-pop idol, and you yourself become a k-pop idol later and see your idol star closely. It's a dreamlike story, huh? Well, here are k-pop idols who realized their dreams. Sandara Park Before her debut, Sandara Park was a big fan of Lee Hyori. Here's an episode. In the Philippines, Sandara Park, who was a teenage girl saw Lee Hyori eating melon with appetite and relish on TV, and she thought that melon must be very important food in Korea. So, she brought melons along with her from the Philippines and visited Lee Hyori's house to hand over the present. Sandara Park couldn’t meet Lee Hyori but she handed Lee Hyori's mother melons. Well, eventually, Sandara Park became as popular as Lee Hyori, and they’ve been maintaining good relationship as fellow singers. SHINee’s Key Do you know the fact that SHINee's Key was a mem...

One day, a person gives you his business card, saying he is from a k-pop agency and he wants to cast you. Will you accept the proposal? Well, unfortunately, there are many crooks in the k-pop industry. If you have never heard about the k-pop agency, it would be wise to doubt his intention. First, if he says you have to pay for the training, he is a crook. No k-pop agency asks trainees for money. Second, if he presents very specific plans for your debut, he is a crook. Even big k-pop agencies can’t be sure about when their trainees will debut because there are too many variables. Third, if he shows off his friendship with famous k-pop singers, he is a crook. He must be just pretending. However, it doesn’t mean it’s ok for you to believe all the people who insist they’re from big k-pop agencies. First, verify the exact name of the k-pop agency. Some crooks mislead would be singers’ eyesight by using wrong company names such as “SN Entertainment” of “YZ Entertainment”. Second...

K-pop trainees check their weight every day, and the weight is reported to their company. They lose weight through diet plus exercise. Many of them, especially female trainees, diet by eating only fruits and vegetables. They can't even dream of high-calorie foods such as chicken and pizza. It's really agonizing and psychologically destructive, but they have to endure it if they want to be famous k-pop stars. Their efforts to lose weight are just beyond ordinary people's imagination. If they are disqualified because of their overweight, they fall behind in the competition. Actually, k-pop idols look much more skinny than their pictures. For example, Hyuna, who looks voluptuous on TV, is really skinny. (I think her legs are thinner than my arms) Since things on TV look bigger than in person, the idols have to be extremely skinny. So, let’s see what k-pop idols do to maintain their good looks. "I was so gluttonous in the old days. I ate ramen and two bowls ...

SM Audition: http://www.smtown.com/Audition YG Audition: http://www.yg-audition.com/next-generation/ JYP Audition: https://audition.jype.com/ FNC Audition: https://www.fncent.com/?c=4/15 Cube Audition: http://www.cubeaudition.com/ Loen Audition: http://audition.iloen.com/ Starship Audition: http://www.starship-ent.com/starshipaudition/ Bighit Audition: http://ibighit.com/audition/sub_audition1-comingsoon.asp Jellyfish Audition: http://www.jelly-fish.co.kr/sub/news_audition.php?bo_table=audition Pledis Audition: http://www.pledis.co.kr/html/audition.html Brandnew Audition: http://www.brandnewmusic.co.kr/audition-no C9 Audition: http://www.c9ent.co.kr/?c=community&s=4 MBK Audition: http://www.mbk-ent.com/auditionInfo Mystic Audition: http://www.mystic89.net/audition Plan A Audition: http://www.planaent.co.kr/acubenotice DSP Audition: http://dspmedia.co.kr/dsp/bbs/board.php?bo_table=dspm41 Dream T Audition: http://dreamtenter.com/audition/ ...

SOPA(School of Performing Arts Seoul) Alumni Suzy, Girl’s Day Hyeri, Sulli, Apink Naeun, Red Velvet Joy, GFriend, Yuju, Eunha, Yerin, CNBLUE Jonghyun, BTS Jungkook, EXO Kai, Sehun, SEVENTEEN Dokyeom and more. Admission into SOPA SOPA has various departments such as broadcasting arts and practical music, while each department has just 2 classes for new students. And each class is made up of 38 students. Student who have experiences in the Korean entertainment world account for 10% of new students, and the rest of the students don’t have any broadcasting experience. The competition is very high. Hanlim Art School Alumni Krystal, Dal Shabet Subin, Sonammo High.D, SHINee Taemin, WINNER Mino, Nam Taehyun, Blcok B P.O, BTOB Yook Sungjae and more. Admission into Hanlim Art School Anyone who wants to be an entertainer can apply for the school’s audition, while those who have broadcasting experience receive extra admission points. Hanlim Art School’s students look to be ver...

There are so many foreign idols these days who are active in the k-pop world such as Nichkhun of 2PM, Lisa of BLACKPINK, Tzuyu of TWICE, BamBam of GOT7 and Yuta of NCT 127. If you are a foreigner and you want to become a k-pop idol, yeah, they could be your good role models. So, let’s see how k-pop agencies cast their foreign trainees Why they cast foreign trainees Basically, k-pop agencies look for foreign trainees because they need to extend their business abroad. South Korea has a population of about 50 million, and the country has a small music market. So, to make a lot of money, k-pop agencies entered Chinese and Japanese market. You know, China’s population has reached about 1.4 billion, and Japan has a population of about 120 million. And to make a success in the countries, k-pop agencies needed Chinese and Japanese idols. By the way, things have changed a little bit. There has been a “Anti-Korean Wave” in China and Japan in recent years due to a diplomatic conflic...

The question that I’m asked by would be singers the most is “How can I become a k-pop idol?”. There are no particularly easy answers to the question, but I want to give you some tips for the most effective way to prepare for your audition. UK Jung First of all, do not have the obsession that you have to become a trainee of the biggest k-pop agencies. Do you want to become SM Entertainment’s trainee? Do you want to enter YG Entertainment? Or do you want to become one of the JYP artists? Well, of course, it’s best for you to become a trainee of such agencies because they have very systematic training systems. They provide singing lessons, dancing lessons, and personality educations. And they even take care of your school studies. However, the reality sometimes is very harsh. There are so many would be singers who want to enter big k-pop agencies, and it could be easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than to become a trainee of SM, YG and JYP. Don’t limit p...

It seems like many would be singers look on only the bright side of k-pop idols. Yeah, they look very gorgeous on the stage, and they’re loved by so many fans too. However, it’s never easy to become a k-pop idol because you have to endure all the hardships when you are a trainee. And the reality could be harsher than you imagine. So, here’s an interview with a former k-pop trainee. She was trained by one of the most famous k-pop agencies for years, but she decided to quit for various reasons. Q. How long were you trained? And what made you decide to quit your life as a k-pop trainee? A. I was trained for about 6 years. I really want to become a singer when I was young. However, I later found out that I should do lots of things other than singing and dancing to become a singer. I couldn’t allow myself in such a course of life. Q. What kind of things did you have to do other than singing and dancing? A. I could not date, and I could not drink. When I go away for the weeken...

Do not trust Best Audition Songs List If you google the words “audition songs”, you will discover there are many great songs for would-be singers. Yeah, those are good songs. However, you should know that so many people sing those songs at their auditions. No matter how good a song is, the judges get irritated if they listen to the same song dozens of times. Remember, what you should do is touch the judges’ hearts. One of the biggest mistakes of would-be singers is to care only about technical things. But, if you sing one of the “Best Audition Songs”, it will be hard for you to touch the judges’ hearts because they’ll busy comparing you to all the other participants who sang the same song with you. So, here’s a tip. Sing the best audition songs when you practice singing. The songs are good for singing practice because most of the songs are well-organized and have good melodies. Singing such songs will help you improve basic skills. And at the same time, select other song...

Take a Risk When you select a song for your audition, what you have to keep in mind is that you should take a risk. You need to accept high risk for a high return, which means you need to select a song which is not popular these days. Of course, You can catch the ears of the judges by singing a popular song, but the problem is that it is hard for you to reveal your artistic personality by singing such a song. As all the judges have been listening to the song lately and they exactly remember how well the original singer sang the song, there is a good chance that they will not give high marks to you. Start by searching for old but good songs. The original singers of the songs are much older than you, which means there is a good possibility that you will sing differently from them. Sing it with your own style, and show your distinct musical character. Or, you can rearrange a trendy song too if you can. You should change it to a totally different one, though. If the song is a che...

Do you want to become a k-pop star? But you can't even dream of having an audition because you think you're too ugly? Well, it's not true you should look very handsome or pretty to become a k-pop singer. Here's a good example. It's Akdong Musician's Lee Soo Hyun. She's not a typical beauty, but she is very cute and attractive, and she has good singing ability too. She has personality. That's why many people love her. So, check out how she thinks about her appearance. Even though she is still very young, she is wise and thoughtful. Since I had some painful experiences due to my appearance, I think I can give advice to those who are concerned about their appearance. There are standards of beauty, but you should know that all the people have different standards of beauty. Women have their standards of beauty, and men have their standards of beauty. Kids have their standards of beauty, and people in their 40s have their standards of beauty. It...

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073V4FZ25 iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1294241680 Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/ww/en/ebook/kpop-audition-bible-how-to-become-a-k-pop-idol -How to pass k-pop audition -Tips & Advices for k-pop audition participants -How to become a k-pop idol -Stories behind k-pop stars' trainee life and debut -Written by an experienced k-pop journalist Do you want to become a k-pop idol? Do you want to become a k-pop trainee to realize your dream? Well, the most common way to start off on a long journey to become a k-pop idol is to take part in various k-pop agencies’ auditions. K-pop agencies usually have year-round audition schedules, and they always pay attention to find talented would be singers. You can take part in k-pop auditions either online or offline. If you apply for an online audition, you can put in an application by e-mail and attach a video that shows yourself singing and dancing. If you apply for an offline audition, ...

Are you a big fan of BTS? Then, do you know how Rap Monster became a member of the boy group? When Rap Monster was in the sixth grade in the elementary school, he made up his mind to become a rapper after listening to Epik High’s “Fly”. After then, he began to upload his rap music on various hip hop community sites, and he was recognized for his great rap skills even though he was just a middle school student. At the time, he used his stage name “Runch Randa”. And in 2010, he could become a trainee of Big Hit Entertainment on the recommendation of Untouchable’s Sleepy. The rapper commended Rap Monster to Bang Sihyuk after watching his performance. So, check out what Sleepy talked about Rap Monster. According to him, Rap Monster was already a great rapper when he was a middle school student. At that time, i visited underground hip hop crew's audition. I could see Rap Monster there, and he did really great even though he was so young. So I asked for his number and rec...

Are you an Indonesian? And do you want to become a k-pop idol? Well, here's a good news for you. SM Entertainment, the biggest and the most influential k-pop company is now looking for talented Indonesian trainees. On September 4, Lee Soo Man, the chief producer of SM attended the Indonesia-Korea Cultural Content Forum and delivered the keynote address. Through his speech, he said "Together with Indonesia, we will find out Indonesian stars and make them global stars". You know, it's not the first time that Lee Soo Man has revealed his plan to cast talented Indonesian trainees. He attended the Indonesia-Korea Business Summit last March and said he's planning to launch SM's first ever audition in Indonesia. Then, what do you think is the reason why SM is looking for Indonesian trainees? Basically, k-pop agencies look for foreign trainees because they need to extend their business abroad. South Korea has a population of about 50 million, and the c...