ITZY's Yeji Once Failed An Audition—Here's The Tip She Shared So K-Pop Idol Aspirants Have Higher Chances Of Success

ITZY‘s Yeji has a tip for all those who hope to become K-Pop idols!

During a recent live broadcast, a fan asked her, “Is there any tip to share about being on an audition?” Yeji then recounted an old story that did not end too well.

Before being accepted into JYP Entertainment in 2016, she auditioned and performed CL‘s “MTBD,” a track included in 2NE1‘s 2014 album Crush.

Though it was an iconic song, Yeji revealed, “When I sang that, I failed in that audition. I failed.” Though it wasn’t confirmed, the difficulty level may have been too high for her or the concept was not a perfect fit.

Moreover, people who audition for K-Pop companies usually prepare one song to sing and one to dance along to. The latter for Yeji was Jessi‘s 2015 track “SSENUNNI.”

I danced to SSENUNNI when I came to the venue.

— Yeji

To fit the hard-hitting hip hop concept, she dressed very differently from her usual casual attire.

I was wearing a headband with big hoop earrings. I wanted to look fierce so I wore colored contact lenses. I was in 9th grade. I guess I wanted to say, ‘I’m a dancer!’ so I wore a headband and danced to the hip hop music.

— Yeji

It was this outfit that may not have left the best impression on the staff members present. Though she was singled out for her eye-catching performance, she did not make it in the end. Despite the amount of effort she put, she was not able to keep her well-prepared look.

When someone passed the audition, they asked applicants to strike poses. Successful applicants were asked to strike poses for a short photoshoot. They had close up shots there. Back then, they asked me, ‘Can you take your headband off? Can you take your hoop earrings off? Can you take your contact lenses off?’ So I took off everything I prepared.

— Yeji

Yeji ended by saying, “When I thought about it, I thought I dressed up too much.” So if you want to have a higher chance of success, just be yourself!