Host Munah Bhagarib and I meet fans from all walks of life – from youths who spare no expense on fancy merchandise, and cover groups that record dance challenges every week, to kids who attend K-pop dance classes from as young as three.
We also follow the journeys of three idol hopefuls under 15 as they gear up for an audition with one of South Korea’s top idol agencies. 14-year-old Kade Wong even joins a 10-day intensive bootcamp in South Korea to boost her chances of getting cast by agencies there.
What surprised me was the extent of confidentiality involved in casting processes.
Several agencies, especially top-tier labels, barred us from filming their auditions. They want to keep the kind of idol concept they’re looking for under wraps – even if the group is only set to debut years down the road. That’s how competitive the industry is.
Idol hopefuls are aware of the stressful challenges they face, physical and mental. Yet they’re willing to train hard, attend multiple auditions, even overcome parental disapproval. To me, it signals Singapore youths’ shift in mindset towards unconventional career options.
I wonder how many more auditions or bootcamps they must attend before they even stand a chance to debut as an idol. But their sheer dedication to this pursuit fascinates me.
Cheryl Tan
Senior Producer, Talking Point
