Recently, SHINee’s Key appeared as a guest on the Zach Sang Show and shared his experience of being in the K-Pop industry.
In particular, he garnered much attention for revealing the story of how he got into SM Entertainment.
Long story short, SM said no three times to me.
The first time he auditioned, he had a phone audition where he sang over the phone. However, he didn’t receive a callback from the company.
The second time, he traveled to Seoul with his mom to the SM building, but was once again turned down.
The third time, he attended the SM audition held in his hometown, Daegu, with his friend. He revealed that even SM employees recognized him from his previous auditions.
After about two hours, he received a call to come to a hotel and dance and sing more on camera. Afterwards, he finally received the call and went back to Seoul to sign the contract.
Meanwhile, he also exposed the company’s training system and how it shaped the artist he is today.
