Teens chase K-pop dream at Singapore’s BigHit Music global audition
Becoming a K-pop star may be tough, but the dream burns bright, even for local teens.
They were among the hopefuls who attended the Singapore leg of the closed-door BigHit Music global audition, held at Metropolitan YMCA on July 20. The number of people who auditioned was not revealed.
The South Korean music label, home to K-pop titans BTS, is scouting for male trainees born after 2006. The auditions, which began in May and will end in August, will be held across 17 cities such as Los Angeles, Vancouver, Sydney, Tokyo, Seoul, Auckland, Jakarta and Bangkok.
Applicants can also sign up for an online audition via the BigHit Music Audition website.
Keagan Ye, 14, is no stranger to K-pop auditions, having attended the YG Entertainment audition held at Orchard Central in November 2023. The South Korean agency is behind the successful K-pop girl group Blackpink.
Keagan also submitted a video to Ador’s ongoing online global audition. Ador manages the mega-popular girl group NewJeans.
Keagan told The Straits Times: “Becoming a K-pop star is my dream and my parents are very supportive of it.”
The student from Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Secondary School added that getting feedback on the spot would help him improve his dance skills. He has been listening to K-pop since 2021, in particular NewJeans, and boy bands Zerobaseone and Enhypen.
Mohamad Hilman, 14, who took to K-pop when he was introduced to Blackpink at eight years old, said it was his first time auditioning and he had a fun experience.
“My dream is to be an idol. If I get to debut, I will be able to show my talent to the world,” said the Hougang Secondary School student.
For the audition, he danced to Aespa’s Armageddon. According to BigHit Music, applicants can demonstrate any talent they want.
The harsh reality of making it in a cut-throat industry is not lost on student Jonathan Lim. The 16-year-old Malaysian, who crossed the Causeway with his mother to audition here, said he is prepared for the years of rigorous training each trainee will have to undertake.
A fan of BTS since he was 12, Jonathan travelled to Osaka in 2022 for a BigHit audition. Though he did not make it past the first round, he said that preparing for the audition was “a journey of self-improvement”.
“My aspiration to become a K-pop idol goes beyond performing. I aim to showcase my diverse talents, such as creating album concepts, producing and songwriting,” he added.
A South Korean national who wanted to be known only as Keith has harboured dreams of K-pop stardom since he was young, but has not had the opportunity to audition until now.
However, the audition might be his “first and last”, as the 17-year-old student, who has lived in Singapore for more than 10 years, felt he is ageing out.
For the Singaporean teen who wanted to be known only as Josh, national service enlistment poses an issue – if he does get through the audition.
The 17-year-old, whose favourite groups are IVE, BTS, Zerobaseone, Aespa and NewJeans, hopes to pursue a career in music or acting, and is learning to speak Korean. “I may enlist first, and then continue to try out.”
For Mohamad and Keagan, the dream situation would be to make the cut, undergo three to five years of training, debut and then return home to serve the nation.
Becoming an idol may look like a far-fetched dream, but the teen hopefuls will not stop trying.
Said Jonathan: “I understand that becoming a K-pop idol is incredibly challenging, but I tell myself I have only one life, I have to live it to the fullest.”
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