Former “Under Nineteen” Contestant Jay Chang Reveals The Hardships He Suffered After The Show Ended

When it comes to K-Pop reality shows, there is an abundance of choices for netizens to watch. However, although many contestants on these shows have amazing careers, it isn’t always an easy journey after the show ends.

One show in particular that focused on taking aspiring K-Pop idols and giving them a chance to debut in an idol group was Under Nineteen, and one of those former contestants was Jay Chang.

Jay recently appeared in a video with FM Entertainment CEO Jina, where he spoke about his experiences after the show ended.

Jay was born and raised in America before moving to Korea for the show. Despite being eliminated early on, he stayed in Korea to continue his idol training. After the show’s success, a company offered him a fast-track route into debuting, and it seemed perfect.

Eventually, I was called by a company to become a trainee and debut as a solo artist under them. They told me they were looking to debut me as quickly as possible because of the relevance I had got from the TV show.

— Jay Chang

However, Jay quickly realized that this wasn’t going to be the case. He explained that the company made him train for a year and a half before doing anything with him.

When it was time for him to be given a song and a chance to debut, it wasn’t what he expected, and he had no input into the direction of his music. They also didn’t stick to their promise to capitalize on his success when the show aired, which impacted him.

I didn’t really have any involvement in the process of them making that song, so it sounded like something that wasn’t me whatsoever. The day that the debut song actually did go up, it was two years after the show, so nobody knew who I was anymore.

— Jay Chang

After that incident, Jay revealed that he went back home to America and went through a tough time due to the experience.

I took a very long break from music because I had been very depressed. For about three or four months, I had only kinda stayed in my room and played video games all day.

— Jay Chang

Luckily, Chang is slowly getting back into music and managed to come out of a difficult time to continue pursuing what he loves! However, it shows the harsh realities of these shows. Despite the initial success, appearing on these shows doesn’t guarantee success.

You can watch the whole video below.