SM Entertainment to start global audition tour in January

SM Entertainment will start an audition tour on Jan. 28 in Seoul, the K-pop powerhouse said Thursday. The tour, titled "2023 SM Global Audition," will begin in Seoul followed by stops in Busan, Daegu, Gwangju and Daejeon, and then will continue ...

Poster image for SM Entertainment's Global Audition tour series set to begin Jan. 28 [SM ENTERTAINMENT]

SM Entertainment will start an audition tour on Jan. 28 in Seoul, the K-pop powerhouse said Thursday.

The tour, titled "2023 SM Global Audition," will begin in Seoul followed by stops in Busan, Daegu, Gwangju and Daejeon, and then will continue in six cities in Japan.

The agency said that the schedules for Japanese cities and other regions will be announced later, but the audition poster uploaded by the agency included nine other countries including Thailand, the United States, Canada and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

SM Entertainment began its Global Audition series in 2006, through which some of its biggest stars such as Wendy and Joy of girl group Red Velvet and NCT members Johnny, Yuta, Ten, Mark, Renjun, Lucas, Kun and Yangyang were cast.

This will be the first event to be held since the pandemic.

Submissions began Wednesday through its official website. Anyone born between the years 2004 and 2012 can apply for one area, among vocals, dance, rap and acting.

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]