5 K-Pop Idols Who Worked In K-Pop Before Debuting

Korean idols are famous for their years of training prior to debut, and it seems like many of them went straight from being a trainee to debuting as an artist. But, there are a few idols that had careers in the industry prior to debuting, including BIGBANG's G-Dragon, HISTORY's Kyungil, SPICA's Boa, and Kahi.

G-Dragon

There are some idols who debuted previously, with other groups, as solo artists, or other under companies, but there are few who debuted as idols when they were children. BIGBANG's leader and solo artist G-Dragon did just that, when he debuted at the age of five in a children's idol-like group called Little Roo'ra, based off of the hip hop group Roo'ra. After the company ended the group, G-Dragon left the industry until he was 8, when he was scouted by SM Entertainment, where he trained for five years before leaving and learning about hip-hop, when he then joined YG Entertainment.

Kahi

The former After School member turned solo artist Kahi was inspired by Roo'ra (the group that G-Dragon's Little Roo'ra was styled after,) and left her hometown at eighteen to pursue a career in hip-hop. She got a job as a backup dancer. In 2000, she gained attention for her role as the main dancer of DJ Doc's iconic song "Run To You." She also was a full time backup dancer for BoA at a certain point. In 2006, Kahi started to pursue a singing career, and was in a Korean American group called S. Blush before joining Pledis Entertainment and, eventually, becoming an After School member.

HISTORY's Kyungil 

Like Kahi, HISTORY's leader Kyungil was a backup dancer before debuting in 2013. Kyungil worked as a model in music videos, and was one of IU's main dancers before his debut. He starred alongside IU in her Japanese music video for "Beautiful Dancer," and performed as the main dancer during IU's "Cruel Fairy Tale" performances.

SPICA's BoA

G-Dragon debuted, and Kyungil and Kahi worked as dancers, but SPICA's Kim Boa stands out for her vocal skills. Boa worked with the production team Sweetune, lending her vocals for the backup and harmonization on several Korean songs. She was also the vocal coach for popular groups like INFINITE and KARA before she debuted.

Tags
kpop pre-debut
G-Dragon
history kyungil
kim boa
Kahi
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