HyunA Almost Joined SM Entertainment Before Debuting In Wonder Girls

HyunA debuted in the entertainment industry through JYP Entertainment‘s legendary girl group Wonder Girls. From there, she moved to Cube Entertainment, debuted in 4MINUTE, and became the solo artist she is today. However, her fate almost took a different turn.

During the singer’s guest appearance for Kim Jaejoong‘s web series Jaefriends, HyunA revealed that her father originally planned for her to join SM Entertainment. There was one major obstacle that made the plan unlikely to achieve the goals they were aiming for.

In the early 2000s, SM Entertainment had just debuted the legendary singer BoA and was focused on promoting her as a soloist. So HyunA’s dad scrapped the idea of her joining SM Entertainment and came up with a new plan for her debut.

He planned for HyunA to join JYP Entertainment and debut in a girl group. Unlike the first plan, this one became reality.

HyunA debuted in Wonder Girls at the age of fifteen. She recalled following her father’s plan perfectly, “So I was like a robot.” Though she left the group less than a year afterward because of health concerns, it kickstarted her career and debut in 4MINUTE two years later.

If HyunA had joined SM Entertainment back then, her career might’ve taken a different turn, possibly training to become a member of Girls’ Generation or a different group. See her talk about the beginnings of her career.