Interview of an Ex-SM trainee

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Interview of an Ex-Sm trainee

this guy is a mixed Korean America and left SM when he found out he wasn't going to debut with the next boy group. And now he just wants a normal life, college, girlfriend, etc. This interview was made after Tao left exo.

Did you get to meet any of the current SM groups? If so, who did you meet and how were they?

The current SM groups didn't really stop by in the whole 2 years i was there.... I saw a lot of newer group members, I saw almost all EXO members but I never really had a conversation with any idols, most of them are very self-involved from what I've seen and hard- working.

is Kai as beautiful as he is on pictures?

Well without makeup everyone is a bit different. But yeah he still looks good.

I noticed that some idols wear more makeup than others, and change their hair more, etc.(for example, D.O. tends to keep it more natural, whilst Baekhyun goes all out). Did you get much of a say when it came to hair and makeup, or do the stylists decide for you?

Stylists decide what you do with your hair D.O.'s stylist probably doesn't change it too much. He would look pretty shitty with different hair colors too, pardon my french. As a trainee you have more say in your style/hair but ultimately it still gets decided by managers/ stylists

Were you ever pressured or asked to have any Plastic Surgery by anyone at the company?

 I only did a small fix on my ears because they popped out a little farther out than normal. But you don't get it pressured, if it is absolutely necessary, then only with parents' consent. It's usually the girls that get plastic.

Who do you think has best vocals in SM?

  I'm not that familiar with the older generation but at least in my opinion, might be quite controversial, but I think Chen is among the best vocalists in SM right now, even better than D.O. The reason is, Chen's vibrato is unmatched and his pitch control is amazing.

In your opinion, do you think that a lot of KPOP rappers really understand the importance and history of rap? I feel like a lot of them assume that it is just saying slang and making hand signs, and do not understand how was created and that they can rap about more interesting topics besides that stuff.

SM aren't really focused on rappers. The only good rapper I can think of in SM is Chanyeol, he's got the tone for it, he's actually interested in rapping and he likes rapping.

I was wondering about long-term trainees (like those who trained for five years) who still didn't make it. Does SM follow up on them to make sure they are mentally ok and have practical skills to survive?

They eventually get debuted no matter what. Take an example of Suho of EXO, talk among trainees is he was a trainee close to 7 years. And if a long term trainee (4 years) quits, they try to land another deal or other companies pick them up, other companies look for experienced trainees who can debut within months.

do you know how much idols get paid?

  I don't know how much idols get paid, sorry.

when you get sick/injured, did you still have go practice or did SM let you rest?

If it's a serious injury, they let you rest, if it's something you can walk off, they shorten your schedule or just go about things as if nothing were. I had this really tiring phase early on where I couldn't get up mornings no matter what anyone said/did so they let me sleep in for a couple of days and rest

What do you think about the comments on SM as a sinking ship? Were you bothered by the people leaving exo and the lawsuits, etc?

SM is not sinking, with the action going on over there, they have many possibilities to debut/add members as they have a lot of trainees. The EXO fiasco didn't affect trainees because it didn't happen at the location we were at, that's an issue within the idol managers and the group, not the trainees. What I think myself? Sorry for my opinion but Kris and Luhan are weak people in my eyes, and I feel sorry for Tao

  

What are your personal thoughts on Kris and Luhan and EXO as a whole?

 I think that Kris and Luhan are not cut for the idol life and are too mentally weak.

I wanted to ask, has the departure of Kris and Luhan from EXO affected any Chinese trainees at all? Did it create animosity at all?

 No, like crazy K-pop fans are not cut to be trainees from what I've seen. If you want to be a trainee just because to see your oppas, you can forget about it, there have been some situations. Needless to say, no one really got affected and Chinese trainees were okay with that, Lay and Tao are okay (Tao not so much), Kris and Luhan are just viewed as quite weak people who left their members behind

artists pull lawsuits on contracts in SM so often?

 They pull them because of unrealistic contracts and when they can't take the long hours.

You said that you would have had a guaranteed debut if you renewed, and you've seen what happened with EXO, why wouldn't you take that deal? I'm not saying it's crazy that you didn't, but just want to know your perspective.

I mean as a trainee you're not guaranteed anything, and you can sign up to 6 year contracts, for a TRAINEE. Idols can get up to 15 or 16 year contracts as far as i know. And lastly, EXO won't take any new members on, at east we didn't get any info on that. The next boy group they debut it probably later this year, and I wasn't a part of that, and I had a guaranteed debut within my next contract, but the new contract would require me to do 4 years, could choose 2 again but that would not grant me guaranteed debut. in 4 years I'm 22, I wanted to go to college and go back to US.

similar question about member addition. They won't add members to EXO because they are good as long as they are AT LEAST 6 members and I don't see any Korean members leaving

You said Tao wasn't okay? Is he leaving? Whats not being told to the public (if you can say anything)?

 I don't know much more than you guys because I was a trainee not an idol but Tao's dad is pulling the strings not Tao, Tao is not in control of the situation, as you already know ,if his dad and SM doesn't come to an agreement Tao leaves. If Tao leaves I'm 95% sure Lay will leave and EXO will be 8 korean guys just like they always wanted.

you said EXO and others are very self- involved. I'm EXO-L and I'm curious. İs EXO arrogant? Or they are not connected to each other? Like they said 'We Are One'?

like i don't know for sure but most idols seem to be self- involved because they all want to improve dunno if they are arrogant. But most idols are like co- workers/friends not like best friends.

You know there are some couples for EXO (or another groups) like Baekhyun + Chanyeol= BaekYeol. in real life how are they? All these games?

I don't really know. My advice is everything you see in kpop, just tone it down a little bit, don't take stuff seriously, everything is really overplayed and fabricated. i don't know about them to.

Can you elaborate on why you feel sorry for Tao? the fiasco really it's his dad. Also, I agree with you that SM is unlikely to add a member to Exo but I don't feel like they can carry on with a Chinese album now that Tao is gone- ish, as Lay has not rap on previous albums and I doubt Xiumin can pick it up. As a native chinese speaker, I already have trouble understanding most of the 'Chinese' songs. Any thoughts on that?

They will probably merge into EXO-K and just do Korean from now on with 8 Korean members, mark my words, tao and lay will leave.

With this we can get an idea of how SM entertainment (an maybe other companies) work and what trainees have to go trough. Being an artist or idol is not an easy job, especially in Korea were the music industry is such a big deal, I think that's why (in some cases) these idols are treated like robots with no feelings or emotions at all and if they dare to leave or sue the company they'll be called weak, not to mention that their careers as musicians will end, at least in Korea (notice that I'm a crazy fan of Kris and luhan so I am and always be supporting them) I also found very interesting what he said about Tao, although he's wrong about something, lay didn't leave exo and I doubt he'll do. They (exo) will continue producing in both chinese and Korean. exo will always be exo. I believe in the words "we are one" and that they will stick together till the end.

Taken from: exsm_trainee_ama_51815_compilation_of_exo_related