From Red Velvet‘s Irene, a known fan of BoA, to GOT7 fan ITZY‘s Ryujin, numerous K-Pop idols joined their companies because they idolized their sunbaenims. Some stars, however, were fans of their own group before joining. Wondering how that’s possible? Read on.

1. Jungkook (BTS)

When you see BTS’s Jungkook killing it on stage, it should come as no surprise that numerous K-Pop agencies wanted to recruit him. Back when he was around 14 years old, Jungkook (who began dreaming of an idol career after seeing G-Dragon‘s “Heartbreaker”) decided to audition for Superstar K. Sadly, he didn’t make it through to the final lineup, but he did attract the attention of several casting agents.

Ultimately, Jungkook was scouted by a staggering seven companies: JYP Entertainment, Cube Entertainment, Starship Entertainment, and more. So, how did he ultimately decide on Big Hit Entertainment? Jungkook made his decision because he was a fanboy of fellow trainee, RM! At the time, RM had been performing on several pre-debut tracks. When Jungkook saw RM perform, he thought his hyung was so “cool” that he had to join the same agency as him.

2. Gowon (LOONA)

LOONA’s Gowon had one of the shortest training periods in the entire K-Pop industry, spending just two weeks as a trainee before debuting with “One & Only”. On top of that, her story of how she joined BlockBerry Creative is equally surprising.

At the time, Gowon was training at LP Dance & Vocal Academy, a center for aspiring stars preparing for their K-Pop auditions. One day, on the streets, Gowon saw banners advertising the 10 LOONA members who had already been introduced to the public as part of the group’s pre-debut project. Gowon ended up watching the other members’ stages, and she was so impressed that she became a fan. Not long after, she applied to audition at BlockBerry Creative—and the rest is history.

3. Shotaro (NCT)

Even if Shotaro hadn’t joined NCT, he was destined to become a star. At the age of just five, he began training at Japan’s legendary EXPG Studio. As a teenager, he became a backup dancer for famous J-Pop group EXILE. His K-Pop career, however, started because of an NCT concert.

When he was around 18 years old, Shotaro watched a broadcast of NEO CITY – The Origin, NCT’s concert in Saitama, Japan. Shotaro later revealed that as soon as he saw the members performing, he knew he wanted to be a K-Pop singer just like them. Thankfully, one of Shotaro’s dance teachers had connections with SM Entertainment and was able to get him an audition, which he passed with flying colors. Just months later, Shotaro was debuting as NCT’s latest member.