In an online community, Eris recalled the time Lay revealed the strict selection process of EXO's final lineup, shocking K-pop fans.

On February 23, an OP believed to be an EXO-L (fan) took to Instiz to bring back Lay's anecdote about how the EXO members were selected.

Seeing this, fans were shocked, and proceeded to compare it to Mnet's hit survival audition program, "Produce."

Lay Reveals How SM Entertainment Chose 12 EXO Members

In the post, the OP provided screenshots from Lay's past interview in "Idol Producer," a Chinese audition program, in which he worked as a production director and mentor.

At the time, he empathized with the trainees and reminisced about the time the "Nation's Pick" EXO also experienced tough battles to secure their places in SM Entertainment's new boy group.

SM was already highly-known then for launching successful boy groups, such as H.O.T., TVXQ, Super Junior, and SHINee; thus, the expectations for junior EXO were high.

ALSO READ: Here Are 5 Reasons EXO Lay is Not Your Ordinary 'All-Rounder' Artist 

As a result, the label also opted for a rigorous screening process, to which Lay specified:

"Out of 120 trainees, 100 were chosen. Out of 100, 60 were chosen. Out of 60, 24 were chosen. From 24, the (final) 12 were chosen.
Every week, they would eliminate 1 trainee."

In the end, the 12 members were chosen: Xiumin, Suho, Lay, Baekhyun, Chen, Chanyeol, D.O., Kai, and Sehun, along with former members Tao, Kris, and Luhan.

After debuting in 2012, they initially struggled to establish their position in the music industry with their debut song "MAMA." They were even dubbed as SM's "biggest mistake."

But after releasing their megahit "Growl" in 2013, they opened the 3rd-gen K-pop era, and since then, they maintained their position as one of K-pop's leading groups.

K-Netz Surprised By SM's Own Version of the 'Produce' Series

When more fans, especially the newer ones, came to know about this, they were bewildered that SM was able to come up with an incredible lineup wherein the members' voices and visuals match each other, out of 120 prospective EXO members.

Other fans also pointed out that it was a shame vlogs and documentaries back then weren't a thing yet, as it would be interesting to watch EXO's selection process.

In fact, Eris was reminded of Mnet's "Produce" series, wherein 101 trainees from various countries were given various challenges to battle for their spot in a debuting group.

• "It was seriously war over there..."
• "I respect idols who debuted so much."
• "I understand why EXO has to undergo that. Since they were the main group of EXO's next generation, it seems like Lee Soo Man offered his all to select the best ones."

• "This is just like SM Entertainment's own version of the 'Produce' series."
• "Every time there is an evaluation, it's no joke. Among that pool of trainees, they only select those with certain skills and charm. They had audition frequently and if there is a gem that they think is worthy of the job, they will take them unconditionally."
• "It must have been very intense back then."
• "It was really survival. It must have been very difficult mentally."

READ MORE: 9 Cosmic Reasons Why EXO are Unparalleled K-Pop Kings

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Written by Eunice Dawson.