Male Idols Who Could've Debuted Under SM Entertainment + Reasons Why They Didn't

Being an idol under the "Big 3" agencies is a big deal, that's why several trainees are thriving and striving to enter at least one of the three agency giants. Among thousands of individuals from all over the world who aspire to be a "Big 3" idol, being cast by a staff coming directly from these companies is a huge advantage, given that not everyone is given such an opportunity.

The following list is a compilation of K-pop idols that were supposed to be in SM Entertainment, the top entertainment agency, as trainees and idols. They, however, refused to be one or quit halfway due to these reasons.

1. BTS's Jin

The one and only "Worldwide Handsome" and vocalist of BTS, Jin, is currently an idol who holds significant popularity and global influence. Surely, BTS is not BTS without Jin. However, if Jin accepted the offer by staff to audition under SM Entertainment, the idol could have been growling and dancing to "Love Shot" by EXO, hadn't he thought that he was being scammed! But no regrets, coming from a poor agency, through BTS's grit and passion, they are now the top K-pop group on the new generation, not only domestically but as well as internationally!

2. PENTAGON's Jinho

Jinho, member PENTAGON, was an SM Trainee. He even participated in the SM Ballad project group and was preparing to become an EXO member as well. However, seeing his friends debut, he left the label to try his luck with his current agency, CUBE Entertainment, as soon as he heard that they were debuting a group.

But nope, it's not Jinho's loss, but SM Entertainment's, as they could have been debuting an amazing main vocalist next to their Super Junior's KRY, SHINee's Jonghyun, EXO's Chen, Baekhyun, and D.O., and many more.

3. Park Jihoon (former WANNA ONE member)

People fell in love with his jeojang gesture in MNET's Produce 101, until he debuted in WANNAONE. After the disbandment of the group, Jihoon debuted as an actor and also released his first solo album in 2019. However, according to reports, Jihoon could have been an SM Entertainment artist and is rumored to have had debuted as an NCT member.

4. BIGBANG's G-Dragon

Lee Soo Man has a keen eye, indeed, when it comes to talents, as G-Dragon amazed SM's founder during a dance competition. There's a probability that the icon could have been a Super Junior member if he didn't fell in love with hip-hop through Wu-Tang Clan and later on scouted by Yang Hyun Suk. BIGBANG then debuted in 2006, year after Super Junior debuted.

5. Woojin (former Stray Kids member)

The former member of Stray Kids member, Woojin, who left the group in 2019, was actually a supposed to be a member of SM Entertainment's global project, NCT. After training for a year with the current NCT members, he left SM to join JYP Entertainment. But in October last year, he decided to leave the rookie group and agency due to his personal reasons.

Fate indeed works in mysterious ways, but fans are nonetheless happy at how things turned out. Whichever group they debuted with, they played a significant role in the K-pop industry