4 K-Pop Idols Who Overcame Failed Auditions To Become Successful

The road to debuting as a K-Pop idol isn’t easy, and lots of idols had to endure the hardships of failing auditions. Here are 4 idols who overcame failed auditions to become successful.

1. Yeonjun (TXT)

In a live broadcast, TXT’s Yeonjun spoke about how he failed many auditions and how one change was the “turning point” for him.

When Yeonjun was in middle school, he would audition wearing glasses and his school uniform.

Yeonjun failed several auditions, and he stopped wearing his glasses to auditions at one point. After he did this, he started passing several auditions!

Yeonjun stopped wearing his glasses to auditions and began wearing contacts! Yeonjun eventually found his way to Big Hit Music and was able to debut in TXT!

2. JooE (MOMOLAND)

In an interview, MOMOLAND’s JooE spoke about her difficult journey to becoming an idol.

JooE shared that she was determined to become a singer from a young age, and she began attending vocal and dance academies when she was in middle school. While these academies were far from JooE’s home, she still attended them every day to help hone her skills. JooE also attended many auditions from middle school, but she was rejected by many of them. JooE revealed that she was rejected from 50 auditions through middle and high school!

I just thought, ‘Maybe we just have different styles,’ but they always gave me some positive feedback. ‘You are so bright and talented’ [they said]. Why didn’t they sign me then? I did think that… that was pretty upsetting. ‘Why won’t you sign me then?’

— JooE

In high school, JooE attended an audition for MLD Entertainment, and the directors saw how talented she was and accepted her!

That was the one I got accepted to, like destiny.

— JooE

3. IU

While IU is now known as one of the most successful idols in K-Pop, she dealt with many hardships before her debut.

When IU was younger, her family fell into debt, and she and her younger brother had to live with their grandmother. While their grandmother did her best to provide for them, she barely managed to get enough food for them. IU soon started to pursue her dreams of becoming a singer, but she failed over 20 auditions!

IU even once got scammed, as one of the companies she auditioned for disappeared!

Despite these hardships, IU never gave up and eventually got accepted to LOEN Entertainment, and she went on to become a K-Pop legend!

4. Choa (Former member of AOA)

Choa faced an uphill battle when trying to become an idol.

Choa auditioned for JYP Entertainment and SM Entertainment, but neither of them ended up accepting her. Choa especially had a hard time at SM Entertainment as they failed her 15 times! Choa eventually found her way to FNC Entertainment and debuted as a member of AOA in 2012.