South Korea's largest record label and management company, SM Entertainment, is launching its largest global audition yet next year.
The label's "2015 SM Global Audition" will start on January 9, 2015 and will run for about five months, Enews reports. The event will be held in 28 cities in nine countries including Korea, Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, China, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Canada.
According to Enews, it is the first time a Korean entertainment agency is holding an audition program in Russia and Mongolia, giving opportunities for future stars from various nations across Europe, America, and Asia.
For the global audition's Korea leg, SM will hold it in the cities of Seoul, Jeonju, Daegu, Gwangju, and Busan.
The grand scale audition includes five categories including singing, dancing, acting, modeling (fashion/commercial) and songwriting. People of all nationalities, gender and age can participate in the audition event.
Those who will be selected will get the chance to sign a contract with the Korean entertainment giant that is home to some of the most globally popular K-pop acts such as BoA, TVXQ, Super Junior, Girls' Generation (SNSD), SHINee, f(x), EXO, Red Velvet, Go Ara, Lee Yeon Hee and more.
According to Daily Kpop News, over 80,000 aspiring artists participated in last year's auditions.
Earlier this month, SM published an ad about its upcoming audition program in SMTOWN's official YouTube page. The ad showed the venues for audition in Korea, China, Thailand, Indonesia, and Singapore.
Some of current SM artists who were discovered through previous global auditions include Super Junior-M's Henry, f(x)'s Amber, as well as Red Velvet's Joy and Wendy.
According to KpopStars, hosting audition programs in different cities in the world will help SM diversify their agency by being home to excellent artists of different nationalities.
Aspiring artists who wish to apply may send their application through the SMTOWN official homepage, via e-mail or via the "every sing" application.
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