The road to becoming a K-pop idol isn't easy, as trainees would have to undergo grueling practices and classes to learn new skills and hone their talents. That is why nothing is ever set in stone until they finally make their debut. And despite numerous idols debuting in the groups they are in now, there was a time when they almost didn't due to various reasons.
With that, here are seven K-pop idols who almost didn't debut with their current groups!
1. Former Wanna One Kang Daniel
In 2017, Kang Daniel competed on the Mnet survival program Produce 101 Season 2, where he finished in first place and became the center of project group Wanna One. While he did end up winning on Produce 101, he actually contemplated on leaving the competition after being disappointed with his initial results during the earlier part of the show.
2. Stray Kids Lee Know & Felix
Before Stray Kids made their debut, they participated in the 2017 JYP Entertainment and Mnet reality show Stray Kids. The members had to survive elimination during the show, but Lee Know and Felix were one of those initially eliminated.
However, JYP Entertainment founder Park Jin Young ended up giving the two idols another opportunity to prove themselves to become an idol. Fortunately, Park Jin Young felt their passion and energy, and put them back in Stray Kids' debut lineup.
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3. TWICE Momo & Tzuyu
Just like Stray Kids, the TWICE members also experienced competing on the reality show SIXTEEN. Initially, the group was going to be a seven-member group. However, Park Jin Young decided to add two more members to the lineup, and chose eliminated contestants Momo and Tzuyu.
Momo was added as Park Jin Young felt TWICE needed someone for their performances, while Tzuyu was added due to her immense popularity.
4. Red Velvet Seulgi
Seulgi had been training for over seven years at SM Entertainment, and during that time, she experienced a lot of hardships. It even came to a point where she wanted to quit as she felt that her vocal skills weren't improving at all. Thankfully, Seulgi's mother talked to her and helped her overcome the slump.
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5. BTS J-Hope
Did you know that J-Hope actually left Big Hit Entertainment (now known as HYBE) before BTS made their debut? It was only because of his fellow BTS members that he decided to come back as a trainee, and eventually make his debut with the group. In fact, Jungkook even cried when he learned about J-Hope's plans to leave. The members also revealed that they wouldn't know what would have happened to them had J-Hope not come back as they depend on him a lot.
Were you surprised some of these idols almost didn't debut?
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Written by Robyn Joan