SMTOWN AUDITIONS GUIDE

AUDITIONING IN GENERAL Q&A

Q: Can I audition with a (dance or singing) cover of an SM artist?
A: With how little time you have with both the online/email audition and the live audition, it's not practical. Also, anyone who works for SM has seen and heard these songs and dances to death (seriously, they play the MVs on a non-stop loop in any SM building and the music is always pumped through the speakers). You will also be inevitably be compared to the original artist, whom the judge has probably met. You don't want them to think "Taeyeon/Kyuhyun, etc. did this better..." For songs, you'll have to completely remake them (like Amber and Luna's acoustic remix of "NU ABO") or not do them at all.
If you want to use the music in the background as you freestyle, that's okay.

Q: Would I be able to cover JYJ or Han Geng for my audition?
A: I wouldn't recommend it. Both relations may have ended in "mutual agreements", but you have no way of knowing the real feelings about either group within the company.

Q: Can I cover a K-Pop artist's dance?
A: For dancing auditions, I would highly recommend not covering a dance. First it makes you look more like a K-Pop fan than a serious audition and it is something a lot of people do on YouTube. Choreographing your own stuff or freestyling shows much more talent.

Q: I live in a place that isn't close to Korea (I don't have a lot of money). Will SM pay for my ticket to South Korea?
A: No. I have heard rumors that SM will sometimes pay for tickets for those they truly believe in, but unless you have BoA-level talent, don't count on it. You are going to be paying out of pocket until you sign the trainee contract.
Even in the simplest terms, it would so not be cost effective to pay $300-$2000 a plane ticket (depending on where you're from), plus another ticket for hopefuls who are minors so they can be accompanied by an adult, for a group of people who won't turn back a profit (aka, become a trainee, stay being a trainee, and debut successfully).
If you cannot make it to a live audition when asked personally, they will merely move onto the next hopeful who can make to the live auditions.

Q: Does singing in Korean help my chances?
A: Yes and no.
Yes: If you're not a fluent Korean speaker (or aren't Korean), it does help. Super Junior-M's ZhouMi's audition went better because he sang in fluent-sounding Korean.
No: If you're a fluent Korean speaker (or are Korean) it doesn't help. They already expect you to be able to sing fluently in Korean, so they're looking at your English skills or your singing skills in another critical language such as Mandarin Chinese or Japanese.
Also, if you attempt to sing in Korean and you terribly butcher the language, it might not help you and you'd be better off singing in your native tongue.

Q: Is it required to go to a live audition?
A: If you ever want to be a trainee, you will have to eventually.