At the moment of the final announcement, the audition is full of joy and sorrow. There are still many idol groups selected through audition programs, from Wanna One and IZone to Zero Base One and Fantasy Boys. The joys and sorrows of those who took the last train of the pass and those who unfortunately missed it are more sharply divided. What are those who suffered the agony of failing to do so?
Lee Hae-in did not become a member of IZ*ONE as he failed to enter the passing group after finishing 17th in Mnet's 'Produce 101' Season 1, which aired in 2016. However, after the program ended, he acted as a member of a project group called IBI with members who received a lot of support from 'national producers'. Afterwards, Lee Hae-in ranked 11th in KBS 2TV's 'Idol School', which aired in 2017, and was not selected as a debutant in both audition programs.
However, in the case of 'Idol School', ranking manipulation was confirmed belatedly. In fact, Lee Hae-in was the final 1st place, but it was revealed that he placed 11th due to manipulation, which caused regret.
Lee Hae-in, who has continued to challenge herself as a singer, recently transformed into a creative director. It was directly involved in the production of an idol group. It is known that she joined hands with S2 Entertainment to participate in all fields related to albums, from the planning of a new 4-member girl group, Kiss of Life.
Kiss of Life will release their debut album on July 5th. Lee Hae-in recently posted on his channel, "Kiss of Life, which made me take my first step as a creative director. I've been preparing hard for several years from our first meeting until now. I ask for a lot of support from my friends who are thrilled with everything", "The best person I've ever seen. He also posted cheering messages such as "My Natty (member of Kiss of Life) who dances well."
In 2017, there is Jeong Se-woon, who was unable to make it into Wanna One's debut group after finishing 12th in Mnet's 'Produce 101' Season 2. He ranked 11th, the last place in the debut group, at several ranking announcements only once. He stayed just below the debut cut-off, such as 10th, 17th, 15th, and 13th, but failed to become a member of Wanna One with a final ranking of 12th.
However, Jeong Sewoon made his official debut as a solo singer in September of that year after the program ended. His cute appearance and sweet voice are the reasons why he gained popularity even when the program aired. He worked as an acoustic musician rather than an idol, and pioneered the route of 'singer-songwriter-idol'. In 2013, when Jeong Sewoon was a high school student, he participated in the contest with 9 self-composed songs in Season 3 of SBS' 'K-Pop Star' and made it to the top 10. From that time on, he showed his talent as a solo musician.
Jeong Sewoon is showing his talents in various fields, not only album activities, but also OSTs, musicals, entertainment appearances, and radio hosts. Recently, he attended the Seoul Jazz Festival 2023 and presented various instrument performances and emotional live performances. He is recognized as an artist optimized for festivals and is ranked as the number 0 in various festivals.
The group WEi, which released its 6th mini-album 'Love Part.3: Eternally' on the 29th, has all the members of the audition experience. It's like a 're-debut' with Wei.
Jang Dae-hyun participated in the 'Produce 101' season 2 contest. Afterwards, all members debuted as Rainz, a 7-member group with those who participated in 'Produce 101' Season 2, but disbanded in 2018. Kim Dong-han finished Mnet's 'Produce 101' season 2 in 29th place, and formed JBJ with other performers. In 2017, Yoo Yong-ha participated in KBS2's 'Idol Rebooting Project-The Unit', but was eliminated without receiving a boot. The following year, he challenged MBC's 'Under Nineteen' again with Kim Jun-seo and entered the final debut group and worked as a member of the group Wonder9. In addition, Kim Yo-han appeared in 'Produce X 101' and Kang Seok-hwa appeared in YG Entertainment's survival shows 'YG Treasure Box' and 'Produce X 101'.
Even if they were eliminated from the audition program or made their debut because they did not succeed, they continued to walk their own path. When someone said 'emptying', they did not get frustrated considering 'gobae' as 'experience'. As singers and producers, the image of those who are steadily realizing their dreams in the music industry evokes support.
Reporter Kim Ji-won, Ten Asia bella@tenasia.co.kr