[Music] previously on talking point I followed fan turn Idol hopefuls as they gear up for an audition with one of Korea's top K-pop entertainment agencies I suppose I didn't get in so I'm little bit sad about it I didn't make it to the next round I'll keep trying my best until I get accepted to become a traine I have gotten any results from the agency so I feel like the chances of getting in is quite low if Kate had cleared the audition she would stand a chance to sign on as a trainee and potentially debut in the future she didn't pass the auditions but Kate isn't giving up on her dream she's moving on to plan B a trip to Korea for a K-pop boot [Music] camp Kate has signed up for this 10-day intensive program don't be mistaken this isn't run by idle agencies it's one of many training programs organized by independent companies some not even based in career on the final day participants are promised a chance to perform in front of casting managers boot camps organized by companies wanting to cash in on the K-pop ambition have become popular in recent years what's it like to join an idle boot camp and is it really the golden ticket into the K-pop industry or just a marketing gimmick earlier in 2023 an australian-based company started by Singaporean Angela Lee look at a camera okay help auditions in various countries to pick a select few to join her boot camp in South [Music] Korea it was like very no breing for me yeah but I think I did pretty well in the audition 14-year-old Kate was chosen she's joined by 72 other Idol hopefuls from Singapore and other countries like France Australia and [Music] Brazil so kid how has training been so far pretty stressful and like tiring as well our days are very long it's from 7 a.m. we wake up and then like 10 do you feel like this is a good alternative because you didn't make the cut for the auditions earlier yes I feel like this like this week extra training will also give me the experience of how being a training like today is particularly important because there's a director check-in happening and what is a director check-in we get evaluator and R for each team and we have to perform in front of [Music] Ang today I've joined Kate in her training to get a taste of just how rigorous it can be to instill discipline participants are told to stay silent as they wait for the dance instructor to [Music] arrive participants are expected to memorize a 4minute choreography by today this will be presented to Casting managers on the final day of the boot [Music] camp dance instructor an ROM has to assign the dancers their positions for the formations getting Prime spot at the center means a higher chance of getting noticed by casting managers [Music] we managed to like finish like the whole song but we didn't finish the formations because it was very rushed it's training for boot cam more rigorous than you expected I expected that it would be very tough usually at home our lce class we take about 10 lessons to finish one song but now it's just like few days to finish a song I also not used to waking up early it's like very tiring cuz we get very little sleep also during the dance class you were assigned the center position in one of the formations how did that make you feel it made me feel very happy but yet I'm a bit stressed cuz there's so many like better dancers in the group and I'm scared you might think oh why she in the center but do you think you deserve it I think so everyone paid close to $2,000 $500 Sing dollars to join this boot camp this covers lodging and courses geared to groom and Idol everything from dance vocals even modeling and photo shoot [Music] classes I found the dance training more strenuous than I expected the other classes like photo shoot classes and modeling classes however felt more like courses at a fun summer camp so how does the training at boot camp compare to the training that actual Idol hopefuls in Korea can get I'm bringing what I've learned to SL Studio a popular Academy that offers courses like vocals dance rap and acting acmis like this run like after class cram schools where Idol hopefuls in career commonly attend for months to even years until they get spotted by casting [Music] managers I joined a K-pop boot camp and it was a full 14 15 hour days of dance classes vocal lessons let me show [Music] you wow so does this match up to the training inmy [Music] how successful can a boot camp be in preparing one for real Idol training ENT if online and offline Global auditions are already available is it even worth it to come to Korea for a boot camp boot camps are unlikely to improve a participant skills significantly in a short period of time all that matters is whether they can get Idol hopefuls an opportunity to audition for top labels in Korea so to what extent can this upcoming showcase attract casting Managers from major labels to convince casting Managers from Top tier agencies to attend year after year boot camp organizers are strict about the quality of talents presented to them your formation looks massive the other three teams have caught up today that's why you are in your position [Music] [Music] [Applause] today today over 70 participants are gearing up for an interim assessment of their showcase performances with boot camp director Angela Lee it's 8:00 p.m. now we started our at 7:00 a.m. and we still have another hour before director checkin tonight throughout the day I've seen people start to sit out of practices even spotted some people crying doing 14 15 hour days for 9 days straight is really no Child's Play ranking City position right here quickly quickly ranking order where is your life right we'll start with b today Kate's team is the first to [Music] [Music] [Applause] perform [Applause] okay so we're going to give all the ranking first team team [Applause] a second team team B Team c a lot of clean up work to do after this why is an interim check-in like this so important if we don't do check-in we wouldn't know how far they have progressed and what adjustment we need to make in order to make the Showcase how high are the stakes for the Showcase we have labels that of top tiers that work with us as well and if the trainers are really serious about trying to become an agency traine the Showcase is actually a really important day for them after the Showcase what happens then the partner agencies will actually provide their list of who they want to see at their private audition so it's not guaranteed that all the participants get to audition for this private audition that is right based on the past runs of the boot camp what percentage of participants are likely to get a chance to audition in this private audition probably around 5 to 6% in any scouting who will really be the one that they're looking for are usually a very small percentage there are actually many factors that we can't control why is it that so few impress casting managers enough to get through to the private auditions I'm meeting casting director Darren ju he's casted renowned K-pop Idols including mini from new jeans have you casted anyone through boot camps [Music] so what makes a casting agent like you want to go for these boot camp showcases to scout for talent how high of a chance do you think Singaporean Idol H hopefuls have in becoming a K-pop Star while the chances of getting casted at a boot camp appears slim it's not entirely impossible are you ready the bake the would Kate catch the eye of casting Agents from Top labels in the K-pop industry and score herself a private [Music] [Applause] audition K-pop casting managers say singaporeans have an edge over others because many of us are bilingual but why haven't we seen any singaporeans make it big in K-pop then 36-year-old Singaporean K-pop investor David y has some answers he debuted as a K-pop artist in 2022 to get inroads into the workings of the industry why do you think Idol hopefuls from Singapore have had such limited success in making it as an idol in Korea there are no Singapore companies that have the required connections to support the growth of uh Singapore youths talents how much of a difference does joining a boot camp make for idle hope fools from Singapore if you want to look at it as a career to really de and be serious about it bot camps are not going to cut it you need a company or agency that can get you the music bang showcase your skills on the big uh TV stations get onto variety shows it's really about spending years of training to really make the grade because during this training period you not only acquire skills but you are become an Insider in the industry the important part is to educate the parents to be able to accept their kids going over to Korea to train to pursue a different career rather than traditional career [Music] [Applause] [Music] hello hello how are you are you enjoying yourself it's been good quite ding but still very fun if was elected by an agency at the Showcase will you let her take the next step it's going to be a no because before she attended the boot camp right we have this uh agreement that she will not be progressing to the next level even if she's selected why is that once she's 21 right I think she she gets to choose what she want to do for now we just want her to focus on the studies we read a lot of news about um K-Pop Stars committing suicide social media is is is a very tough environment you get a lot of nasty commands so I think we have to protect her as a parent why did you agree to send her to the boot camp I was quite reluctant I discussed with my wife and we think that it's only fair that we give her a chance to experience it but the condition is that she has to be able to do well in her study in her sect to level and she did well anything else you want to say to kid yeah really miss her you know I want to see her back home soon see you in two weeks Yeah by have a good night bye bye bye how does it feel knowing that your parents are not supportive of your idol dreams I agree with them to a certain extent I'm still disappointed what made you want to pursue this Idol dream in spite of their disapproval I would rather do like something I really want to do and enjoy doing rather than being stuck on new job because it has higher pay or like it's safer or something like that if I wait until the future I'll be like a bit too old for the kop industry so how prepared do you feel for the Showcase tomorrow I feel pretty prepared we train for so many hours trying to perfect everything I hope that I can have more confidence tomorrow okay good luck I'm very excited for you [Music] too it's day 10 the final day of the boot [Music] camp we have some incredible performances coming [Music] up more than 10 casting agents have turned up for today's showcase including Darren ju who's casted top Idols like mini from new jeans [Applause] so proud of you do you think of your performance for the Showcase I think I did okay I didn't make any mistakes but I had fun myself what are your thoughts about the private audition do you think you'll be selected I hope so [Applause] [Music] everyone this is very important announcement right now they're selecting participants who are making it through to the private auditions with casting Managers from Idol agencies different agencies are holding private auditions at various Studios we're not allow allow access because they want to keep their choices and the kind of concept they're looking for [Music] confidential Darren is the only one who's agreed to let us come in and observe his private auditions and Kate made it turn left how's your he9 59 do you know your parents [Music] [Music] this year about 10% of the participants made it through to the private auditions that's more than the usual 5% or so thank you thanks for coming today so you actually got to meet Kate for a private audition what did you think how did she do How likely will your CEO sign her as an idol traine how many private auditions did you go for I went for four auditions did you expect it at all no if you do get a call back for the next round of auditions what would you do it has to depend on my parents but I definitely want to go for I try my best to convince them maybe I can continue my studies in Career Training yeah [Applause] this is where the year end music bank one of the largest K-pop music festivals in Korea took place around me are hundreds of fans and they've been waiting in the rain and 5° coal hoping to catch a glimpse of their Idols like txt IV and espa it's a stretch to say a single boot camp can turn an idle hopeful into a full flch star like them that requires several years of rigorous training deeper Connections in the industry and a great deal of luck whether our Idol hope fools will succeed is anyone's guess we haven't seen a successful Singapore and K-pop Star but one thing's for sure their love for K-pop doesn't fail in comparison with the South Korean