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Getting into the kpop world would make you want to audition for Korean entertainment companies, which can probably range from the famous companies, such as SM and YG to the less popular ones, such as &August and 101 Doors. The huge companies usually broadcast their auditions across the world, such as the SM Global Auditions.

I applied for the global auditions that was going to be held in New York City. (February 21, 2016) Honestly, it was a fun and exciting experience, despite me screwing up in front of the camera. For some basic information, the SM Global Audition in New York took place in the Radisson Martinique on Broadway. It’s at the edge of Koreatown, which is pretty much self explanatory. 

The audition time I received was 2PM, as I did apply pretty late. I convinced two of my friends to come with me since I didn’t want to go alone. (I applied on Wednesday night, and the audition was on Sunday) This left me barely any time to prepare, and I would surely apply earlier for the next audition. I kept practicing for it, changing the endings of the song and mixing it In the end, I decided to sing Rolling in the Deep by Adele, but I mixed it up by doing the iKON version. (Does that make sense?) One of my friends, let’s refer to her as A decided to sing Just the Way You Are by Bruno Mars and the other friend, B, dropped out the morning of the audition because she wasn’t prepared for it. 

I got there with A an hour early, and it was pretty easy to spot honestly. The bright pink SM sign was on the door of the Radisson Martinique, and the second we walked in, the doorman went like “Auditions? This way,” as if he was used to the process by now. The moment I entered the waiting room I could tell why. There was already roughly 500 people there. On the way, I had received half a sheet of paper, which consisted of the basic information. Name, birthday, weight, height, school, grade, address, contact information. I also received a sticker that said “10991 S.M Entertainment” I was told to place it on my upper left chest. 

After filling in the form, a Korean lady collected it, and me and my friend basically sat down and started talking about how nervous we are, and how we might screw up..etc. I use the bathroom a lot when I’m nervous, and since I was sitting in the middle of the row, I think the people who had to get up when I was rushing to the bathroom got annoyed by me. 

So to briefly describe the waiting room, there was a huge presenter in the front of the room, and SM music videos were on repeat the entire time, with an advertisement for a music app from time to time. There was probably 50 rows of chairs, with around 24 chairs in each row. These seats where separated in the middle, and there was a pathway in between them. However, even with each seat filled, there was still a bunch of contestants who had to stand in the back. There were many Korean workers who were scrambling to get everything done, screaming at people to sit down and to pass their paper up. 

We sat there for around 4 hours, with me fidgeting with my phone most of the time, annoyed by the amount of time it took. (I was also starving so..) So my row was finally called up (It was a group of 10 people) and we were led into another waiting room. This one was smaller, and didn’t have much seats. There were around 40 people inside that room, and they were split into half, 20 of them would audition in Room A and the rest would audition in Room B. 

We waited approximately 10 minutes before entering our audition room. (Room A) During that time, we could hear singing from inside the audition rooms, they weren’t soundproof. When we finally got inside, there was 2 people, one acting as a judge, and a cameraman. The judge was sitting with a huge pile of papers facing down in front of her, and the cameraman was standing to her left, adjusting the camera angle. The cameraman then told us to look at the camera while auditioning, and not at the judge. 

This time, our group of 10 was separated into 2 groups of 5. The first 5 would stand in a row in front of the camera while the second half would sit on chairs on the side of the room, watching. I was part of the first 5, and I had to go 4th. We actually messed up the order at first, we lined up in a column due to our nervousness and I swear you could have heard our heartbeat if you listened hard enough. There was a huge pink poster behind us, filling up the wall. It said SM AUDITIONS 2016 on it, with pictures from current artists. 

At that point, me and A were so nervous we were grasping each other’s hands tightly.The first person started to audition. She was an Asian, and sang a Korean song. I’m not quite sure what the song was, but it sounded like K. Will or Eddy Kim. When she stopped singing, the judge said thank you, and placed the girl’s application in the huge pile in front of her. The second girl went after, singing a song by John Legend. She was decent, like the one before her, and also got eliminated. (Going into the big face down papers) My friend, who was before me, sang in a loud clear voice. The judge was looking down at her phone, probably due to boredom, but looked up after the first note. Soon after, she also went into the reject pile. Finally, it was my turn. I practiced a ton between Thursday and Sunday, and my voice got sore. Screwing up the first note, I also went into the huge pile. However, the lady still let me continue through the song until I was done, like the contestants before me. The fifth girl, who was a nonAsian singing a Korean song, barely got through 3 lines before the lady told her to stop. 

And that was my SM Entertainment Audition experience. It was fun, and nerve wreaking, but I would love to go again. Below, I will list some tips and things I wish I knew before the SM Audition. If you plan on auditioning for SM or any companies soon, I wish you the best of luck. Just go up and have fun. 

SM Audition Tips:

-Bring a Bottle of Water (In case you get a case of hiccups or end up practicing in the bathroom before the audition. Staying there for a long amount of time would also get you dehydrated if you don’t consume enough water, so make sure you bring at least one!)

-Don’t Practice Too Much (This contradicts the idea that “Practice makes perfect.” However, if you were to get a sore throat before the audition, you wouldn’t be able to give it your all.)

-Bring Earbuds / Headphones (Not all 500 people have the same taste in music you have. Bring earbuds allow you to listen to your music without having to worry about the people around you judging your taste.)

-Wear Comfortable Clothing (If you’re dancing, just wear a loose shirt and some sweatpants with sneakers. If you’re singing / MCing / VJing, wear a sweater and some jeans. If you’re modeling, make sure your clothing isn’t really revealing. Your fashion choice won’t really matter during the audition, so don’t worry too much about it.)

-Choose a Backup Song (If you decide on a popular song, chances are, there are other people who are going to sing that exact same song. Picking a song that is unique but still fits your style allows you to stand out, and not in a bad way.)

-Bring a Pen (When they ask you to fill in that half sheet of paper, they don’t give you a pen to use. Bringing a pen is extremely important in these occasions, since there probably won’t be enough pens to go around.)

-Don’t Fangirl / Fanboy (This one is sorta hard to explain. Don’t go in singing a song that the company produced. They don’t want another Super Junior wannabe. Plus, they probably heard the song a thousand times, and they might be tired of it. During my audition, I saw a guy who was wearing an EXO sweater. While I adore EXO, wearing a company’s clothing shows how desperate you are, and can lower your chances of getting in.) 

-SMILE SMILE SMILE (Even if you mess up lyrics, or fall down in the middle of your dance performance, SMILE. Don’t ask for another chance, or bow and say sorry over and over again. Even idols can mess up lyrics from time to time. During Taeyeon’s audition [SNSD / Girls Generation] she forgot the lyrics, and just stood there and smiled.)

-Have Fun (Despite all the nervousness you might be feeling, loosen up. There are so many people who are having the same fear at that moment, who are right there with you. Make some new friends, exchange contact information, joke around. When you audition, go and give it your best.)

“If you don’t give up your hopes and dreams, then there’ll always be a good ending.” (Minho, SHINee)