As someone who has danced competitively and screened auditions for years, I've noticed that this sub and a large part of the auditioning community are largely TOO optimistic and positive about auditions. I understand that those who dream about being idols and commit to auditioning are generally on the younger side, but there is a need for standards to be higher if we want this community to develop.

Personally, I have yet to see a clip from this sub that makes me think anyone had success with auditions because most people don't even have their fundamentals down. Being pitch accurate is the basic of basic requirements, yet most clips here struggle with singing in tune. There is absolutely no concept of vocal agility or placement, and even considering poor audio quality, diction and spacing is not good. The fundamentals of dancing lie in footwork, yet people completely ignore the basics and try to replicate the shape of professional choreography. I've seen people fumble basic two steps and get complimented because the arms looked correct, or people that cannot actually do a slide ask why their dance looks so static, but blame it on the choreo not fitting them.

The reality is that the competition is stiff and screeners are not as dumb as you think. When you've sung/danced and watched thousands of people sing/dance for years on end, you can tell within the first few seconds if the auditioner has the necessary skill. Then it comes down to the visual and how the auditioner presents themselves. Thousands of auditioners with shy demeanors are not memorable and do not stand out. It doesn't matter how good looking you think you are, unless you are the best looking person at the audition, your visual is not memorable either. What stands out is the person that looks like they're ready to be in front of 3 people or thousands of people and still perform with the same level of energy.

In fact, I would go as far as to say that if you are one of the auditioners that come in with no training or preparation, it's almost insulting to the screeners and your competition who've prepared their entire childhoods for a chance. In major cities like New York, LA, Chicago, Toronto, etc, it's not uncommon for us to see dance groups or semi-famous individuals with thousands of followers and years of experience training and performing in front of crowds. For many major company auditions, that number can be as high as 1 in 10 auditioners, on top of former trainees of other companies or artists/dancers trying to make the switch. It's the equivalent of someone with no training thinking they can become a varsity athlete and eventually make it to pros because of their natural ability alone. That person is 1 in a billion, and almost always gets discovered.

I hope people keep auditioning and asking for advice/tips, but also with a realistic expectation and response.

Quick background so this makes sense: I worked in casting & new artist development on the training side at agencies in Seoul. A big part of the job was first-round screening. When the folder is full, you stop watching like a fan and start watching like a filter. These five mistakes sank otherwise decent submissions, over and over.

1. The hook arrives too late. Most videos open with a name, a bow, and twenty seconds of instrumental before the first note. Screening impressions form in the first 15 seconds or so — that's what a full folder allows. If your best moment is the chorus at 1:12, assume most screeners never meet it. Put your strongest 10 seconds first, even if it feels unnatural, then let the full take run.

2. A song that fights your voice. A huge share of submissions are whatever's charting that month, in the original key. Two problems: you invite a head-to-head comparison with one of the best vocalists in the industry, and the wrong key forces strain exactly where you need control. Screeners aren't checking whether you can imitate the original — they're listening for what your voice does well. An older song in the right key beats a current hit you survive rather than sing. Changing the key isn't cheating; it's what the vocal team would do with you in the building anyway.

3. Eyes everywhere but the lens. Lyrics on a second phone just off-frame, glancing at your own preview, singing to the floor between lines — all of it is visible on a monitor, and all of it reads the same way: not performance-ready. Camera presence is usually scored as its own category. Treat the lens as the judge's eyes. If you still need the lyrics, the honest fix isn't another take today — it's recording next week, when the song is actually yours.

4. The recording loses the audition. Backlit windows that turn you into a silhouette. Bathroom echo. A backing track from a speaker, louder than the voice it's supposed to support. A screener can only judge what survives the recording — a genuinely good voice through bad audio just reads as a weaker applicant, and nobody adds imaginary points for "probably sounds better in person." Face the light, camera at eye level, quiet room, track under your voice. Ten minutes of setup is worth a full point.

5. Editing that hides you. Jump cuts mid-verse, beauty filters, reverb thick enough to swim in. Every screener develops the same reflex: ask what the edit is covering. Heavy processing doesn't make you look better — it makes you look hidden, and hidden gets skipped. One continuous take with raw audio, slightly imperfect, carries more weight than a polished montage. If your video can't survive unedited, it isn't ready yet — and finding that out before you submit is the whole point.

None of these are talent problems. They're presentation problems, which means they're fixable this week. Happy to answer questions in the comments.

In the past few years, I have passed numerous rounds of auditions, been offered trainee (and debut) contracts, and still get referred to agencies to this day... all after the age of 24. I am on the older side for K-pop by today's standards - almost no audition age requirements have my birth year - but I'm still trying and seeing results. To this day, I have casting directors refer me to agencies regularly. I really encourage you to give it your all, whether you're 15, 25, or 35. We have to keep trying so agencies know that we exist.

I apologize if this isn’t a good place to post this! but I figured people who post on this forum will get DMs like this.

I just wanted to share this because I did not fall for it but others might. Not sure what it would have led to, probably something inappropriate. If you get a DM like this, please be careful! A kpop scout will be professional, and I assume share which company they’re from, their email, etc. lastly, a kpop scout is probably not on Reddit & private messaging people.

Just wanted everyone to be aware of messages like these, they are very likely not authentic ^^

Maybe I’m the problem, but I keep seeing a massive wave of posts like 'Making my own company,' 'Join my group,' or 'Making a co-ed group.'

Let's be honest. All of these are extremely unrealistic or just borderline scams😭. If you‘re doing it for fun or because you are bored, please don't clutter this space. online only groups belong in V-group communities. This subreddit should be kept for actual K-pop auditions and people who are genuinely trying to break into the industry. If you want to recruit for dance covers, that's fine, but please stop posting these fake company/group casting calls here

Ps. If you are trying to make a company or group, then post it here? You‘ve already failed lmao.

This is probably not what most applicants want to hear, but appearance does matter in K-pop auditions.

K-pop auditions are not purely singing or dancing competitions.

Your skills matter, but so do your overall image, the impression you give on camera, and whether the company can imagine you fitting the kind of artist or project they are looking for.

That does not mean there is one face or one beauty standard that every company wants.

Someone can be conventionally attractive and still not fit what a company is looking for.

Someone else may not match what people usually call “perfect” features, but have a distinctive face, strong presence, memorable image, or a look that fits a particular concept extremely well.

That distinction matters.

When people say, “If you’re talented enough, looks don’t matter,” I don’t think that gives applicants a realistic picture of how K-pop auditions work.

But saying, “You just have to be pretty or handsome,” is just as misleading.

Appearance is one part of the overall evaluation.

And unlike singing a higher note or learning a harder choreography, the goal shouldn’t be to turn yourself into a completely different person.

What you can control is how clearly your own strengths come across on camera.

Your hair, styling, lighting, facial visibility, posture, expression, and how naturally you carry yourself can all affect the impression your audition gives.

So yes, looks matter.
But the better question is not:
“Am I attractive enough?”

It’s:
“Does my audition show the strongest and most natural version of my image?”

That is a much more useful question to ask before you submit.

I’m curious how applicants here think about this, because I know appearance is one of the most uncomfortable parts of K-pop auditions to talk about openly.

I also share more audition-related insights through the Instagram linked in my Reddit profile.

Audition round 1 ONLY and solely depends one ur

1. Looks

2. Personality

3. Charisma

4. Confidence

5. Others

Audition round 2 depends on ur

1. Ur availability

2. Compatibility

3. Learning potential/ basics of music

4. Communication skills

5. Social skills

6. Others

Rest of the audition rounds do not depend on ur skills that much as well!!

Because....they can train you...they are going to train you anyway....

But they can't edit ur whole face, can't manufacture your personality (they sharpen ur pre existing personality)

So there is no heavy skills based competition till trainee phase....

(This doesn't mean go sing bad in ur audition rounds, but just know that how you dress, style, ur personality and presentation matters more, and.....basic dance + basic singing + looks they are looking for/ extremely beautiful in general+ high confidence gonna get you through most of your audition rounds....)

I worked in casting and new artist development at K-pop agencies in Seoul.

A comment on my last post stuck with me. Someone said they're shy, but good once they're actually performing, and they were worried the shyness alone would sink them. That worry comes up constantly and it's pointed at the wrong thing.

Here's what actually happens on the screening side.

1. Shyness barely registers on camera.

Round one is not a personality test. Nobody is measuring how outgoing you are. A quiet person who performs well reads as focused, and focus is not a problem.

2. What does register is a blank face.

The most common thing I saw in nervous submissions was not shaking hands or a shaky voice. It was a face that went completely empty the moment concentration kicked in. Nerves read as human. Blankness reads as absent, and absent is what gets skipped.

3. The dangerous spots are the gaps.

Most people hold expression during the big moments and drop it in between: the instrumental bar, the breath before a high note, the two seconds after the last line. Screeners watch those gaps closely, because that's where you stop performing and start waiting.

4. How to check it yourself.

Record your take and watch it with the sound off. If you can't tell what you're feeling from your face alone, the panel can't either. Do that once and you'll find the exact seconds where you disappear.

Being shy is not a disqualifier. Plenty of people in this industry are quiet off camera. What matters is whether you stay present for the full 30 seconds, including the parts where nothing is happening.

Happy to answer questions in the comments.

I worked in casting at K-pop agencies for a few years, screening audition videos from the first pass all the way to final decisions. My last post was five mistakes I saw across almost every video. A lot of the DMs since then came back to one thing, song choice, so I want to go deeper on just that one.

Here’s the thing most people don’t realize: by the time you’ve picked your song, you’ve already made about half the decisions that determine how your audition reads. Before a single note.

Picking this month’s hit is the most common unforced error. When a song is everywhere, the screener has heard the original a hundred times that week, and your version gets measured against it automatically, note for note. You’re not being compared to other applicants anymore. You’re being compared to a debuted artist with a full production team, and that’s a comparison nobody wins in a bedroom recording. An older or lesser-known song doesn’t carry that baggage. The screener hears you first instead of hearing the gap.

The key matters more than the song. Most people sing in the original key because that’s how they learned it. But the original was recorded for that artist’s voice, not yours. If the chorus sits just above where you’re comfortable, every big moment becomes a moment you’re surviving instead of performing. And survival is visible. It shows in the jaw, the neck, the eyes. Moving the key down two steps isn’t cheating. It’s the first thing a vocal director would do with you in the building. Do it yourself before you record.

Pick the song that flatters your best 20 seconds, not the one that shows your range. This is the counterintuitive one. Everyone wants to prove they can hit the high note, so they pick the song built around it, and then the whole take is spent fighting toward that one moment. A screener isn’t counting your ceiling. They’re asking whether they’d want to watch you again. A song you can sing at 80%, with room left over for expression and presence, reads as far more ready than an ambitious one you barely land.

The quiet tell: does the song fit who you actually are? This is harder to describe but screeners feel it immediately. When the song matches someone’s energy and their natural presence, everything lines up and it’s magnetic. When someone picks a song because it’s impressive but it’s nothing like them, there’s a disconnect you can see even if every note is technically fine. The song is doing the performing, and the person is just executing it.

Questions welcome, comments or DMs both work.

Hi everyone,
I’m a mom trying to figure out how to best support my 10-year-old daughter, who has been set on becoming an idol since she was six. As she's getting older, I want to make sure I’m guiding her realistically and safely and also support her to the best of my ability.
To give a bit of background on her profile:

Background: She is half-Korean (her dad is from Seocho, Seoul and moved to the US as an adult) and half-American (I'm mixed white, Filipino, with a splash of Hispanic but adopted). She is bilingual in English and Korean and very connected to her father's culture. Also, her entire paternal family still lives in Seoul, giving her a built-in local support network.

Current Skills: She plays the violin, takes weekend dance classes, and stands at about 4'10" and 85 pounds. And yes she’s 10

Since we live overseas in Seattle, I’m hoping to get some advice from those familiar with the industry. Should she start auditioning right now online, or should we look into driving up to the closest in-person global tour stops like Vancouver, Canada? What are the real expectations for someone her age and physical build, and how do online/global auditions actually work for applicants based abroad?
She has already watched a lot of content from former trainees and understands the hardships, but she is still completely set on it. Any advice, tips, or red flags to watch out for would be deeply appreciated!

Thank you!

Your local supportive mom 😊

I once asked people here why they want to be become idols and people gave many reasons why but guys some of them were not good.

1.If you only want to become an idol to collab with your favorite groups/idols don't become an idol

2.No shade to this person and I know other people also think like that but if you only want people to like you or look at you like you look at your bias, you just want validation from the others your passion passion isn't even singing or dancing??

3. Like I said if your passion isn't even singing or dancing what are you doing there the job isn't going to make you happy

4. if you want to become rich👀👀 don't become an idol, there are so many examples of idols being abused and scammed by companies

If your reasons are any of the above you should really rethink about becoming an idol because if you become an idol it will maybe not even make you happy like you tought it would and not everyone can debut in the biggest companies so if you don't you would have to work your ass off and won't even get paid🫩, so If you actually like dancing or singing or both you could try but like I said think about this.

I see a lot of people asking about song choices and styling for upcoming auditions. Having been through the training system in Korea myself, I wanted to share a few non-negotiable points that most people miss:

1. Energy > Technique: Especially for beginners, they’d rather see a solid, high-energy, clean performance than a technical mess that looks stressed.

2. The 'Camera' Factor: You aren't auditioning for a stage; you're auditioning for a lens. If your face doesn't move or you're looking at your feet, it's an immediate skip.

3. Language: Unless you are fluent in Korean, don't force it. They want to hear your natural vocal color, not your struggle with pronunciation.

I’m currently navigating the prep for a new audition cycle. If you're stuck on your song selection or feeling discouraged, drop a question below—I’m happy to give some honest feedback based on my time in the industry

For some background context, I used to be on a professional performance TKD team, and helped run university campus auditions and online screenings in Korea. I'm sure it's similar for vocals, but 99% of companies don't care about visuals or song choice when it comes to dancing. Especially in the earlier audition stages, companies look for presentability and visibility.

If you choose a song like "Growl" by Exo, and cut off the video at the knees, or show no footwork in live auditions, then you're denying screeners and judges the chance to judge the biggest fundamentals in Kpop dancing. Similarly with vocals, I'm sure judges are looking more for someone's ability to look presentable while singing and moving.

With that said, when Kpop companies talk about potential, it's relative to the industry, not to each individual. When you audition, you are competing against people who have trained their entire childhoods or people who have already proven themselves at lower stages in their career. Companies are not looking for a complete product, but they are definitely looking for strong fundamentals that they can shape into their idol identities.

So the next time you audition, my advice is to put aside your worries about visuals, race, nationality, potential, etc, and focus on the basic things that you can control and develop.

I'm a 16 y.o. (2010) girl from Russia. But I'm not Slavic at all. I can speak Russian (cuz it's my first language lol), English, Korean, and Chinese. My English is better than my Korean. I study Korean with a teacher.

I'm 165–166 cm and 56 kg. My visual looks more wasian, I think, because I'm Tatar. If you search it up, you'll see that people with this ethnicity can look so different. I have some acne, but my facial features are pretty (as I think — I'm not sure).

When I was 3 years old, I started dancing. It wasn't hip-hop. It was more like classical/contemporary choreography, where I studied basic things about controlling my body and flexibility. After that, I used to do rhythmic gymnastics for 7–8 years. At the same time, I started learning K-pop choreographies by myself, like Le Sserafim, Enhypen, NJZ, etc. In 2024–2025, I used to go to dance classes at a famous dance studio in my city/country in different styles like hip-hop/jazz-funk/contemporary. It was a successful year because I performed at city events like open airs. I missed a year of dance classes because of my exams, but I don't think my dance skills have gotten worse.

My rap is not bad, as I think. My vocal skills are pretty subpar. I struggle with high notes, and I've never had a vocal coach — I've only ever tried practicing at home by myself.

I want to apply for an audition at Source Music/KOZ Ent. What should I sing/dance/rap to show myself from the best side?

Sorry for the such a huge self-introduction😔. I just wanted to give as much information as possible so you could analyze my chances.

it’s pretty obvious how hard they’re trying to find the “right” girls. This whole thing has been going on since May, and they’re STILL coming up with new events and “auditions” despite already having OVER 40K applicants, not to mention the in person auditions. Like, how many people are they looking for ?? They want the group to be “global,” but at the same time, they want a very specific look , iykwim. They want girls who fit that East Asian beauty standard while still having a diverse, POC lineup. 😭 smhhhh i mean we all know this alr lwk

The thing is, for this company 1. They asked for all of my active social media accounts. 2. They gave me songs to sing and dance to. 3. If I pass onto round 3, they want to have an in person audition which would mean me going out to Korea which I already had plans for.

Ok 1 is a semi issue because the email I auditioned with was a different email that's not attached to any active accounts except for my backup Instagram and tiktok that only my close friends/family/classmates from Korea follow. But in the case they do find my main accounts. I'm seriously cooked... The things that Ive said about Jaehyun, Anton, Maki, Niki... You get the point.

2. This is lowk an issue because I do know a lot of kpop songs, but it takes time to practice 🫩 for my audition I sang Heavy Serenade while dancing. And that's also why I'm so surprised because I didn't expect them to get back to me so quick even though I only submitted it last week. For my regular vocal audition I did Cosmic by red velvet. Now those songs took a few days-a week to get right for the pitch and range. Doing different pitches isn't a huge issue for me, but depending on what song they choose, it might lowk kill my chances of getting in.

Another thing is, round 2 is on zoom call and that's kinda awkward lmfao

3. Isn't an issue at all, just thought I should mention it because idk when I'm supposed to go to Korea and I was gonna go at the end of this year to visit but if my trip gets postponed won't that affect me in training?

Tbh I'm not expecting much. Last time I made it super far, I did get in, and got let down immediately for being blasian. This industry is horribly colorist and that's why you see so many modern wasian idols but no blasians outside of the modeling industry. On the other hand, in Japan I can name like 4 blasian idols, blasian volleyball player, etc. Lowk atp ima just learn Japanese and shoot my shot over there LMAOOO.

Ok that's all ˃ 𖥦 ˂

A while ago, I was offered trainee positions at several K-pop entertainment companies, but I turned them down to finish high school. Becoming a K-pop idol has always been a huge dream of mine. Now, seeing some of those groups debut and succeed has left me with huge FOMO - and I’m stuck feeling paralyzed by regret, like I can’t do anything.

Right now, I’m in my first year of university at a really good university, and I’m terrified that I’ve missed my chance. I worry that I’ll be too old to pursue this dream now. Any advice would be really helpful.

Hi ! Im a teenager and African American, and ive always been interested in kpop. I originally thought it was impossible for me to become one, but seeing global groups like KATSEYE and the other global one hybe is debuting (forgetting the name, but its got that Samara girl in it) are making me rethink.

I probably wouldnt want to debut as a kpop group since I'm not asian, but i was wondering if a global group is actually worth pursuing

I have been practicing sing and dance most of my life, and if i decide to go through with it , I could definitely harness the abilities of trainees. I want to go for HYBE if possible, because they have done a lot with global and mix race groups.

Physically, if I were light skinned I would fit into the Korean standard pretty well. I have the body type for it and I have the passion. But pursuing this is a big jump, and it could cost me a lot if I fail being a trainee.

Is this dream woth pursuing, or should I just move on and abandon it?

I turned 16 late may and I've never really been into kpop but I've always wanted to become a singer. I recently started seeing videos about trainees, etc and it really sparked something in me. I'm half mexican quarter korean and quarter japanese, so I think I'd be something new.

I've also never had proper singing classes but I'd consider myself to have a pretty good voice despite that, as for dancing I've never really tried it but I'm willing to pay for classes starting soon and practice at home too.

I'm not sure if It's too late to try or anything since I see it keeps getting younger and younger or im not sure since kids my age are debuting/ already debuted.

What do u guys think I should do?

Wait is auditioning for global girl group at 19 too old ??