During many years of working and practicing, many trainees from the “trio” of the most powerful entertainment companies in the K-Pop world, YG, SM and JYP, have revealed many surprising information about these companies.
If the name Maydoni sounds familiar, it’s because she is a former OG JYP Entertainment and YG Entertainment trainee. Having trained alongside Wonder Girls‘ Sunye and 2AM‘s Jo Kwon, Maydoni was pretty much guaranteed to have a successful K-Pop career. Several years after training under YG Entertainment, however, Maydoni found her name missing from the promised debut lineups — which ultimately led to her departure from the Big 4 agency.
After staying relatively quiet during her 12 year hiatus, Maydoni recently greeted all of her fans as a participant on the survival program, New Singer. It was here that the singer shared her story with all of the viewers about her long break from the industry.
She first began by confessing her real feelings about performing once again on a major broadcast station.
I was really nervous, really nervous. It’s been 12 years since I’ve performed on a major broadcast station.
— Maydoni
Maydoni had previously competed on JYP Entertainment’s audition program, 99% Challenge, where she was selected by the agency along with Sunye and Jo Kwon to join as JYP Entertainment trainees.
At SM Entertainment, trainees have to go through an extremely rigorous training process. But because it is one of the most successful entertainment companies, no one is surprised that SM has to be so strict with its trainees.
Even according to a former intern, the working environment at SM is much harsher than outsiders imagine. Every time a trainee makes a mistake, they have to write down what they did wrong, and are not allowed to attend practice sessions until they admit their mistake.
This former intern also mentioned a seemingly “crazy” method used by the company to help interns improve their skills:
“If you don’t make progress, they will make you put your head under water and hold your breath for five minutes, or sit in a V shape and drop the ball on your belly.”
The only thing that makes SM seem different and more “open-minded” than other entertainment companies is that although they do not encourage their trainees to date, the company does not completely prohibit this issue.
Former member of MADTOWN, H.O also shared about JYP Entertainment’s “unique” rules when evaluating trainees each month.
At JYP, you cannot sing Korean songs at your monthly evaluations. If you asked your vocal coach, ‘Teacher, can I sing a Korean song?‘ then you would get a slap on the back, and you were immediately told ‘no.’ It had to be Pop (English).
I don’t know the reason why. Even to this day, I still don’t know why you can’t sing a Korean song at JYP’s monthly evaluations.
– H.O
