Credit: YouTube “Jae Friends”
Sunmi has revealed, for the first time since debut, that she was once a devoted fan of Kim Jae Joong—and that she nearly debuted under SM Entertainment before ultimately joining JYP.
On September 4th, Sunmi appeared as a guest on Kim Jae Joong’s YouTube channel “Jae Friends.” From the moment she walked on set, she couldn’t contain her excitement, exclaiming, “I can’t even look at him!” as she let out a scream.
A surprised Kim Jae Joong responded, “Is this real? Out of the 148 guests we’ve had, I’ve never seen anyone react like this.” Sunmi admitted nervously, “I don’t even know when I’ll be able to face you,” while smiling shyly at him throughout the conversation.
Sunmi went on to clarify, “Did you know I was your fan?” which prompted Kim Jae Joong to laugh, “I had no idea.” She explained, “I have so many stories. You debuted when I was in fourth grade. You and BoA inspired me to dream of becoming a singer. That’s why I auditioned for SM.”
Both stars reminisced about their trainee days. Sunmi revealed she took part in the agency’s 9th audition, while Kim Jae Joong noted he was accepted on the 2nd. “I auditioned for the ‘best singer’ category, but I won first place for ‘most beautiful.’ Sunmi also won that category,” Kim said. “So we’re both ‘visual’ picks. But why did you end up at JYP?”
Sunmi explained, “I passed the SM audition and even placed second in the ‘most beautiful’ category. I really thought I’d debut there, but they never called me back. Around that time, a casting director who had been at SM moved to JYP and reached out with an offer. That’s how I joined JYP instead.”
Kim Jae Joong responded, “So if you hadn’t debuted with Wonder Girls, you might have debuted with Girls’ Generation instead.” Sunmi also recalled that after her SM audition, she received a signed TVXQ album because the director knew she was a fan—calling it a special memory from before her debut.
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