“I’m going to piss in my pants,” said sophomore Jennifer Zhu, as she stood in line with her friends waiting for her Star Museum (SM) Entertainment audition. She, along with hundreds of people from New York and New Jersey, queued up in Flushing, Queens on Sunday, September 30 to show what they’ve got to the Korean talent agency.
SM Entertainment is a talent agency and record label company based in Korea. Until last year, SM Entertainment, founded in 1995, held auditions only in Korea. The agency now seeks Asian talent in eight cities—including New York—worldwide.
SM Entertainment has produced superstars like BoA, an Asian pop sensation known for her multilingual skills (she speaks Chinese, Korean, Japanese and English). SM discovered her when she was only 13 years old. Super Junior, another find, is now a popular 13-member Korean boy band that inspires young Asian male stars.
“Korean industries know how to grab young people’s attention,” said sophomore XiaoXiao Wu, who tried out for SM last year. SM Entertainment, according to its press material, wants to “connect Korea, Japan and China.” Wu said it is easier for Chinese people to break into the industry since SM is “looking for Chinese people because China has a bigger market.”
“I heard [those who make it past the open audition] work 20 hours every day and aren’t treated well,” said Wu. “SM is really good at picking out the talented, especially the dancers,” she said.
SM Entertainment’s auditions call for actors, singers, dancers, songwriters and models. Actors memorize a script; dancers come with a music CD and perform freestyle; and songwriters and composers bring in a demo or a written music score. If chosen, you are trained and promoted as an entertainer by SM Entertainment. “It’s a great opportunity for people overseas to try out. It gives a chance for everybody to be a part of SM,” said sophomore Luxi He.
“SM is in the Korean communities everywhere,” said senior and rapper/singer Dennis Oh. Last year, Oh went to the open auditions of GAB Entertainment, another major Korean talent agency. He made it to the finals, but his parents did not let him go on. This year, Oh said he tried out for SM Entertainment “just for fun.”
Though Oh has considered becoming a famous rapper, he wants a more practical job. “Celebrity life is ephemeral,” he said. Instead, Oh wants to own an entertainment company that fuses Korean and American culture.
Many of the teenagers who attended SM’s open call had to convince their parents that it was a worthwhile venture. “My mom didn’t even let me come. She only agreed when my friends convinced her,” said Connie Chen, a sophomore from The Spence School in the Upper East Side. “Oh yeah, and after I finished all of my homework.”
According to SM staff, people began lining up three hours before the auditions even started. The building was covered with posters of BoA and Super Junior, and Korean music blasted from the television in the waiting room, pumping up those waiting for an audition. Teenagers chatted with their friends to keep themselves from getting too nervous. In the corners, the more serious singers covered their ears with their hands as they practiced scales.
“The large camcorder that records you as you audition, the four other people who are trying out, the judges and the computer, all in one tiny little room that’s barely the size of one-third of a classroom, is what makes auditioning very scary,” Chen said. “But once it’s over you feel relieved.”
Not everyone took the auditions so seriously. Junior Alex Chan, for instance, spent only three days preparing for his audition.
By the end of the day, the crowd of Asian teenagers began to disperse. It didn’t matter how they did or if they were going to be Asian pop sensations—it was the experience that kept a smile on their faces as they walked out.
“If I get a contract, I would go, but right now, I’m doing this for fun. I’m doing this for the hell of it,” said Chan.