5 Idols Who Were Once SM Entertainment Trainees But Debuted Elsewhere

In the K-pop industry, before officially becoming an idol, artists must go through a trainee period where, after being approved by entertainment companies, they spend an indefinite period receiving lessons in everything necessary to become a big star, including singing, dancing, acting, language lessons and more.

However, it is important to note that when someone starts the trainee period, their debut is not guaranteed. This is because, every month, future singers are evaluated by agencies to decide the formation of the next group and, if the producers understand that you are not ready enough, you can simply be replaced or discarded.

For this reason, it is quite common for trainees to end up changing companies before even debuting, with the aim of finding a place where they can finally make their dream come true.

SM Entertainment, for example, has a long list of former trainees who, for different reasons, ended up leaving the agency but managed to debut in other companies. Check out some of them!

1. Chaehyun (Kep1er)

Center and main vocalist of Kep1er, before signing with WAKEONE Entertainment and participating in “Girls Planet 999”, a survival program responsible for forming the group he is part of, Chaehyun was accepted as a trainee at SM Entertainment in 2016, where she remained for four years.

During this period, she trained with the current members of aespa and, according to information from the Koreaboo portal, she ended up leaving the agency after not making it into the group’s final line-up. However, to this day, Chaehyun still maintains a friendship with the quartet, especially with the leader Karinaeven receiving congratulatory messages from the artists when she was confirmed on Kep1er.

2. Jinho (PENTAGON)

Kissesthe main vocalist of PENTAGON, was with SM Entertainment for six years, remaining with the company from 2008 to 2014, even participating in the company’s ballad project, SM the Ballad, in 2010.

According to Koreaboo, he left SM after being discarded from the final lineup of EXO, which debuted in 2013. As a result, he ended up going to Cube Entertainment and, in 2016, he finally managed to fulfill his dream by debuting as a member of PENTAGON.

3. Yeonjung (Cosmic Girls/WJSN)

YeonjungShe dreamed of becoming a K-pop idol since she was little and, for this reason, she auditioned for different companies, being accepted into SM Entertainment in 2014, at the age of 15, however, she did not stay there for long, staying for only six months before moving to Starship Entertainment.

At the new agency, she trained for another year and a half until she was chosen to participate in Mnet’s survival program “Produce 101”, where she was one of the finalists and managed to debut in the temporary girl group IOI in 2016 and, after the end of the group’s activities, she was added as a member of WJSN (Cosmic Girls).

4. Inseong (SF9)

Inseongthe main vocalist of SF9, decided that he wanted to become a K-pop idol after performing at a festival. He auditioned for SM Entertainment and was soon accepted due to his great vocal ability, starting his training period at the same time as Doyoungcurrent member of NCT.

However, after a while as a trainee, he felt that the company was delaying his debut too much and decided to change agencies, becoming part of FNC Entertainment, where he was able to make his long-awaited debut through SF9.

5. Yunjin (THE BLESSINGS)

Yunjinvocalist and rapper of LE SSERAFIM, has worked for several companies before signing with Source Music, which she is currently a part of. When she participated in Mnet’s survival program “Produce 48”, which formed IZ*ONE, she was a trainee at PLEDIS Entertainment, but ended up being eliminated and was unable to debut.

In addition, she also trained for a while at SM Entertainment, where she even shared a room with Winter It is Ningningcurrent members of aespa, and are still friends to this day. According to the Koreaboo portal, it was also at this time that she met Chaehyunfrom Kep1er, where they trained together.