SMTR25: SM Entertainment Welcomes New Trainees, Including Ex-HYBE Trainee A's JJ

SMTOWN Live 2025, SM Entertainment's 30th anniversary global tour, officially kicked off with a concert series in Seoul on Jan. 11-12.

At the two-day event, an impressive array of idols took the stage, from first-generation legends to the current K-pop sensations. The highlight came when SM finally introduced the highly-anticipated new male trainees under the pre-debut team, SMTR25, sparking a wave of excitement from fans.

Currently, there are 25 trainees, who graced the stage to showcase their moves as they covered hits like SHINee's "Lucifer," "EXO's "Growl," among others.

Although the members' profiles are yet to be officially revealed, keen-eyed fans recognized some of the familiar faces among the roster, such as JJ, who is best known for almost debuting under Big Hit Music's Trainee A.

READ ALSO: Here are the 7 Current Members of Trainee A, Pre-Debut Group Set to Launch Under Big Hit Music

JJ, a Japanese-American, formally trained in HYBE in March 2021. They were set to become BTS' younger brother, but they parted ways in 2023

Since then, little information was known about what happened to JJ, until speculations ignited in February last year when he was spotted with other SM's trainees.

Despite the rumor, this is the first time he was seen on stage after Trainee A's initial busking gigs in Los Angeles, confirming that he's now under SM Entertainment.

Aside from JJ, more familiar faces were seen, including Japanese trainees Kassho and Haruta, who were initially known for joining NCT Universe: Lastart, SM's audition program, which created NCT Wish.

Charlie, Fifa, and Pipo were also spotted to be part of the pre-debut group. They are former YGMM's Thai trainees, a collab label formed under YG Entertainment and GMM Grammy's partnership.

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