5 KPop Idols Rejected by the Big Three have their own agencies

The three most powerful talent agencies in the Korean entertainment industry are colloquially referred to as the “Big Three” (Big 3). This moniker is given to YG Entertainment, SM Entertainment, and JYP Entertainment because all three of these companies have been able to establish themselves as pioneers in the K-pop business since its inception in the middle of the 1990s. This agency is well-known for its expertise in producing successful celebrities, so it is only natural that it has its own standards to uphold when selecting new artist hopefuls.

In point of fact, there are quite a few idols who are currently successful but were not successful at the big 3 auditions. Idols who were turned down by the Big 3 but have gone on to achieve great success and now have their own management companies.

1. JYP

Despite the fact that SM Entertainment did not want to sign him, JYP is currently one of the founders of the Big 3 agency. 1992 marked the beginning of JYP’s career as an idol. Five years later, in 1997, JYP Entertainment was successfully established as a company.

Up to this point, JYP has been able to form groups that are successful. TWICE, 2PM, and Stray Kids are just a few of the successful groups that fall into this category.

2. Zico

Zico tried out for a position as a rapper with SM Entertainment but was ultimately unsuccessful. But Zico did not give up, and in 2009 he made his debut with the duo Harmonic, which was a huge hit.

In the year 2019, Zico made the decision to launch his own entertainment agency called KOZ. He made the decision to walk away from the previous organisation that had protected him for seven years.

3. Hyolyn

Before Hyolyn became successful as an idol, she was turned down by JYP Entertainment. After that, he made his debut with SISTAR under the Starship Entertainment banner.

Hyolyn decided not to continue working for Starship Entertainment when her contract expired in 2017. He came to the conclusion that he should launch Bridge Entertainment.

4. Rain

Long before the breakthrough of Rain’s solo career in 2015 with the creation of Rain Company, Rain was turned away from an audition with YG Entertainment. After that, Rain made her debut as an idol in 2002 under the management of JYP Entertainment.

After a period of five years, Rain took the decision to leave the agency where he had built his reputation. Now, in the year 2021, Rain has successfully made their debut as CIIPHER.

5. Jang Hyunseung

It was originally intended for Hyunseung to make his debut with BIGBANG under the YG Entertainment label. The idea was scrapped, and as a result, Hyunseung made his debut with BEAST under the management of Cube Entertainment.

The following month, in April 2016, Hyunseung made the decision to part ways with BEAST. After waiting another seven months, Hyunseung and the other former members of BEAST made the decision to launch their own record label under the name Around Us Entertainment.

Even if it was turned down, the aspiration of becoming an idol did not have to be abandoned as a result of this setback. You don’t want to dampen people’s enthusiasm with your prejudice, do you?

This translation was crafted using the DeepL.com Translator (free version).

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