(x)clusive/SGKWave: JYP Auditions!

JYP Auditions in Singapore has ended but who’s really in or out, we don’t know yet! Here’s the report on the audition of the year, brought to you by (x)clusive and SGKWAVE!

24 finalists shortlisted from 2184 participants. All these happened in the 4 days of JYP & Alpha ASEAN Region Audition, that was held at Senja-Cashew Community Centre, from 8th to 11th December.

It isn’t the first time JYP held their auditions in Singapore, the previous times in 2007 and 2008, when the Hallyu wave was still small and Wonder Girls had no “Nobody” while Rain was the icon of JYP. The response wasn’t as good as this time, where thousands tried to make their way down amongst their exams and studies just to get a shot at fame.

And it doesn’t mean shortlisted participants get a sure ticket to Korea yet; the JYP Casting Team will bring the audition footage back to Korea where they have a second round of selection for both the Singapore and Hong Kong shortlistees. Results will be out on January 10th.

For those who aren’t selected for JYP, they’ll go under Alpha Entertainment for training and even so it’s possible for them debut in Korea in future, too. Says Mr Allan Chan, CEO of Alpha Entertainment, “We hope to set up an academy to train Singaporeans in vocal, dance and acting. Other than working with other labels to bring in more auditions, Alpha’s long term goal is to have our own artistes. We have decided that for our upcoming group debuts in Korea, there will be a slot reserved for Singaporeans.”

So is there a winning factor to pass the auditions? There has been speculations on newspapers that looks is an important factor, and that they are going for the “oriental” look. Or could it be that if you sang in Korean, it would be better? Myth busting time! Having better looks definitely stand a higher chance since in the Korean industry, natural beauties are always highly sought for. However the casting judges, executives from the JYP Casting Team Yeo Keun Young and Kang Jun Koo, dismissed these myths. There are shortlistees from other races and countries, like Indonesia. Says Mr Yeo, “It doesn’t matter what language you sing in, as what we’re looking out for is talent. You can sing Kpop, English Pop – it doesn’t matter.”

And even though some may say that the auditioning time may be a tad too short, but as Mr Kang told The Straits Times, “Thirty seconds for each person is quite enough, especially if you have more than 300 people to see.” Casting is definitely not a small feat; having to review more than 2000 people in 3 days, we got to say the judges have worked hard.

Despite the hard cold faces auditionees met with, tired earnest smiles appeared during the short breaks in between the long hours. Mr Yeo wanted to encourage all applicants: “Don’t be shy. The Singaporean culture seems to be very reserved. Have pride in yourselves. Don’t be shy because we want to see your talent, and don’t be afraid to do your best.”

So what’s next for JYP? There was no let-on about whether JYP will debut another group in 2011, but the auditions continue in Korea next year. Discussions about hosting auditions in China is also taking place, so you guys in China, watch out for that!

Alpha is also having bigger plans in 2011. Mr Chan shared that they will be debutting a 5-member boy group in Korea in October, with members that are not older than 20 years old. Meanwhile, they hope to set up an academy in Singapore to specifically train local talent for the Korean industry, and talks to host more auditions with other labels are underway. Also, other than that, Alpha is planning to bring 10 Kpop groups to 10 countries for concerts and fanmeets. Who? We’ll only know closer to date.

Watch Out for Part 2 with our interviews with the SHORTLISTEES!