YouTube has been a great platform for aspiring idols to showcase their skills and potential since time immemorial. While starting out may not be easy, these five K-pop idols proved that with passion and perseverance, your time to shine will come!
In K-pop, there are a lot of K-pop idols who were cast to audition under an entertainment company. There are also stories of idols being scouted in the street, at concerts, malls, etc.
But there are a few cases where an agency personally contacted aspiring stars after watching them on YouTube, capturing their hearts with their incredible talents.
Here Are 5 Idols Discovered on YouTube:
1. Red Velvet Wendy
It is not a secret that before she came back to Korea, Wendy spent most of her teens in the USA and Canada. At that time, she was a choir soprano member and expressed great love for singing by doing song covers.
When her friend uploaded one of her videos, it went viral. Thus, Wendy decided to launch her personal channel.
Rather than a K-pop agency, it was thanks to initial fans who discovered Wendy on YouTube that she was motivated to pursue a professional singing career and eventually joined SM Entertainment to debut as an idol.
If she didn't debut as Red Velvet's main vocalist, the "Like Water" singer would have been a dentist.
2. TWICE Momo
TWICE Momo was already an avid dancer even when she was three years old. In fact, she started learning dance at that young age and she was able to appear in Lexy's "Ma People" MV.
In 2011, she first embarked on her journey to become a K-pop idol after joining "Superstar K3" in Japan.
Although she didn't make it in the cut, JYP Entertainment's casting team personally contacted her after seeing her dance performance uploaded on YouTube.
3. TWICE Tzuyu
Along with Momo, TWICE's maknae was also discovered on YouTube.
In particular, the Taiwan-born star narrated that the JYP casting team personally flew to her hometown to see her dance in person.
In context, Tzuyu caught JYP's interest after watching a recital video she did for a dance class, which was uploaded on YouTube.
Eventually, Tzuyu was invited for an audition in Korea, she became a trainee and the rest is history!
4. Day6 Young K
Among male idols, Young K is one of the few who was discovered through YouTube.
In particular, when he was a teenager, he formed a trio band called 3rd degree, along with his two other friends in Toronto.
On YouTube, the trio would upload song covers and original pieces, composed by the idol.
In 2010, the band finally captured the eyes of JYP Entertainment and was accepted as trainees.
5. Eric Nam
Before Eric Nam debuted in the Korean music scene, he was already an internet star who uploaded song covers on his personal YouTube channel, EricSinging. Little did he know that MBC was already eyeing his impressive skills at that time.
Eventually, the channel decided to fly him from the US to Korea to get him to compete in their program, "Star Audition: Birth of a Great Star 2," a Korean counterpart of "X Factor."
He completed the contest in fifth place, and that's when he started his career in Korea as a singer.
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Written by Eunice Dawson
