tvN KPop Starhunt 2 Philippine Auditions

Sup guys!

I know this is a little late but I haven't blogged in almost 3 months and that pretty much sucks like no other. I am feeling a bit hyper right now and I wanna blog about something but I just couldn't find anything new to talk about so I decided to just let you know how my KPop Starhunt audition went.




KPop Starhunt is a reality talent search on TV that looks for fresh KPop talents all around Asia. It is hosted by MNET and produced by Cube Entertainment, one of the most successful talent companies in South Korea, which manages 4minute, BEAST, and G.Na. They will pick two winners from each country and bring them to Korea for intensive training. Luckily, my country was one of the participating countries in the said competition and I was able to audition for it.
The online auditions in my country ended on September 4th and I was able to send them at least three videos and an audio file because I was just that paranoid that they wouldn't get it. But two days after the deadline, I received an e-mail from them and informed me that I was shortlisted.
Basically, they had online auditions and chose the top 150 people from thousands to get to the shortlist and advance to the 1st Round of the auditions. People who didn't get in the top 150 were still able to showcase themselves via walk-in audition at the ABS-CBN in Quezon City. Still, the feed backs from the walk-ins were pretty bad because their judges were tougher. There were almost 300 walk-ins, and only two made it to the Top 17.
Since I was shortlisted, it was easier for me to showcase myself because we were allowed to use audio materials for our dance routines, unlike the walk-ins. However, it was really nerve-wrecking to sing, rap and dance in front of the judges: Ms. Hapee Sy, Mr. Park Jae Hyun from Cube Entertainment Rookie Department, Mr. Kim Jong Min from MNET, and Mr. Eddy Tan from tvN. It felt like the whole world was on top of me.



The photo above is the setting in the studio where the 1st round took place. The judges sat there.
They called in auditioners by 3 people per batch. When we got in, we were asked to introduce ourselves and get on with our performance. I told them I was going to sing, dance and rap. I was only able to sing the chorus part of my piece, rap the first verse of my rap song, and dance the first verse of my routine. I was satisfied. After our performance, they immediately announced who got in and who didn't. The two of my batch mates didn't make it, and I was jumping with joy when Mr. Eddy Tan told me, "You, we will see you tomorrow in the 2nd round."
He sticked a "KPop Starhunt 2" sticker on my back and gave me a t-shirt.



Apparently, 17 people were picked to advance to the 2nd round of auditions, which was held in Glorietta Activity Center the next day. Two of them are from the walk-in audition, and the rest were shortlisted. My friend, kuya Val Libea, also made it. He is the Jay Park of the Philippines, as we name him.



Last season, Rince Cajucom from the Philippines bagged the 1st place in the KPop Starhunt. I was able to meet him last April 1st at the Kfest in Meralco Ave. because we were both guest performers and judges. We met again at the audition venue. He also watched the whole audition process. It was nice of him to come because he actually showed support for the new hopefuls.

After the auditions, the top 17, with me included, were called to the studio for a brief interview. The Korean crews were kind of fond of me because I answer their questions in Korean as much as I could. I also took a picture with the two of the staff and Ms. Hapee Sy.

Unfortunately, the next day, I wasn't able to get to the Top 2, who will be going to Korea to train. But I am definitely happy for Sheila Ona and Liah Flores for making it to the Top 2! Make the Philippines proud!
It was heart-breaking at first, since this was my only wish on my 18th birthday last September 5th, but I eventually understood that they were looking for something that I don't have and maybe a criteria that they actually need for the show. I made new friends and that is one of the reasons why joining contests is good. Not only you get to increase your experiences in stuff like that, you also get to expand your network by knowing new people. I even made friends with peeps from Pampanga! Shout out to Pearl, Star and Hideki!
I am happy that I tried it out. I would have regret it if I didn't. It was a great experience and I will definitely try out again next season.
Oh and by the way, the show airs in October 2012! For more information, visit their website here.
That's all for now, guys! I hope I come across blog-worthy events in the near future because I really enjoy talking about stuff.
If you want me to talk about something, please feel free to leave a comment below!
Sincerely,
Karla Maye Carreon