Here Are the Only K-pop Idols Who Passed SM's 'Saturday Audition' in Past 22 Years
Although the legendary "Saturday Auditions" was held every week for about 22 years, only 7 idols were able to pass it and debut!
To become a trainee under SM Entertainment, an idol aspirant can get in by going through an audition. There are various kinds of auditions the agency opened, but among them, the "Saturday Open Audition" is said to be the hardest.
This audition has been open to all without an age limit every Saturday from the late 1990s to date. Despite the intense competition, there are a lot of trainees who were able to pass it. However, in the past 22 yearsm only a few were able to debut.
Here Are the Only Idols Who Passed and Debuted Through SM's 'Saturday Audition':
1. Super Junior Heechul
In the history of SM's "Saturday Audition," Heechul is the first trainee who passed the screening and was able to establish a career as an idol.
He got into SM in 2002. At that time, he was late by 30 minutes, but the staff still let him perform. What was even unconventional was he sang the national anthem and danced to a H.O.T. track.
He secured his spot as a trainee due to his visuals and potential.
In 2005, Heechul debuted as Super Junior member.
2. Girls' Generation Yoona
Along with Heechul, Yoona also passed the audition in 2002. The SNSD member was supposed to only accompany a friend, but a staff mistakenly gave her an audition number.
Despite a short time to prepare, Yoona get in with one of the highest scores, after singing WAX's "Please" and dancing to Brittney Spears's "Oops I did it again."
Yoona debuted in 2007 as Girls' Generation member.
3. SHINee Taemin
In 2005, Taemin performed one of the most legendary dance auditions in SM. Then young idol aspirant was initially warned not to cross a white-tape line during the performance, but he still did it.
Instead of being scolded, it actually earned him his pass since the judges were so impressed with his performance.
Taemin joined SHINee in 2008.
4. Red Velvet Seulgi
Seulgi in 2006 joined the iconic audition singing Lee Ji Hoon's "Doll." She participated after her father submitted an application, but she only became a trainee after a year.
She then rose as an extraordinary trainee, attested by f(x), SHINee, and more.
In 2014, she finally debuted as Red Velvet's main dancer.
5. NCT Haechan
After seven years, Haechan became the fifth idol who passed the Saturday audition, when he tried out in 2013 after being encouraged by his mom.
He was nervous, but he was able to sing a lot of songs including Huh Gak‘s “Hello” and Son Seung Yeon‘s “Ugly Duckling."
Due to his promising vocals, the company called them after a week, confirming he got in.
6. NCT Jungwoo
In 2014, Jungwoo got in for singing the national anthem after accompanying a friend who was originally the one who was to audition.
In 2018, Jungwoo debuted and joined the large-scale group NCT.
7. aespa Giselle
Giselle became the seventh idol who passed the auditio. During her audition in 2019, she sang NCT's "Cherry Bomb," particularly doing Mark's rap part.
Giselle only trained for 10 months before she officially debuted as an idol through aespa.
Special mention:
Red Velvet Yeri
Initially, fans believed that Yeri of Red Velvet also passed the Saturday Audition. However, it was clarified that although she joined the same audition, she ultimately became a trainee after passing the SM global audition.
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Written by Eunice Dawson
