6 crazy K-pop idol scouting stories: Exo’s Baekhyun and Shinee’s Key and Taemin got their starts in more unusual ways than most ...
- If Changmin’s mum hadn’t tried to meet Boa, would he have ever joined TVXQ? And did NCT’s Taeyong really sing South Korea’s national anthem at his audition?
- Shinee’s Key caused a racket at SM Entertainment by literally banging on the door, while bandmate Taemin disobeyed the judges at his audition
For the most part, K-pop idols enter the industry in a pretty straightforward way. They get scouted, join auditions and pass them. But some stars have more unusual scouting stories. From joining auditions for the opposite gender to disobeying judges and even literally banging on agencies’ doors, here are seven idols who got their foot in the door in very unconventional ways.
Shinee’s Key
During a guest appearance on Happy Together, Shinee’s Key was asked how he became a star. Key mentioned that, unlike his fellow bandmates and idol colleagues, he was never scouted. Rather, he went to SM Entertainment and caused a racket. He said in the show, “I was banging on the agency door and begged, ‘Please let me in! Just once! I will really do my best!’”
Eventually, they let him audition and he became part of one of the world’s most popular K-pop boy bands.
NCT’s Taeyong
A member of boy bands NCT and SuperM, the singer-songwriter didn’t know anything about K-pop when he was first scouted on the street by an SM Entertainment agent. In fact, according to Soompi, he did not even know which company the agent belonged to!