SM Rookies

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SMROOKIES
SM Rookies logo.png
Background information
OriginSeoul, South Korea
Genres
Years active2013–2018
LabelsSM Entertainment
Associated acts
Past membersSee former members

SM Rookies (Korean: 에스엠루키즈, stylized as SMROOKIES) was a pre-debut training team created by South Korean entertainment agency SM Entertainment in 2013. It was composed of young trainees who had yet to debut in an idol group.[1] It has produced and promoted idol groups such as Red Velvet[2] and NCT.[2]

During its run, the team had officially introduced a total of thirty members, with twenty-four of them chosen to debut in the groups Red Velvet (4), NCT and its first four subunits (19), and Aespa (1).

History[]

2013–17: Formation, debuts of Red Velvet and NCT[]

See also: Red Velvet (group) and NCT (group)

SM Entertainment formally announced the formation of SM Rookies on December 3, 2013, featuring members Seulgi, Jeno and Taeyong. On December 9, Irene, Jaehyun and Lami were introduced. On December 16, the members Mark, Hansol, and Jisung were introduced, followed by Johnny, Ten and Yuta on the 23rd.

In January 2014, they published their official Twitter account. Wendy was introduced on March 13, 2014, with the song "Because Of You" for the soundtrack of the SM C&C-produced series Mimi. On March 19, 2014, a video of Wendy singing the song “Speak Now” by Taylor Swift was released. In April, SM launched the official website of the project. The agency announced the opening with a video teaser uploaded onto SM's official YouTube channel, featuring members Irene, Seulgi, Wendy, Taeyong, Jaehyun, and Mark. Later on Seulgi was featured in Henry’s "Butterfly". On July 17, a dance performance video of Irene and Seulgi dancing to the song "Be Natural" by S.E.S. was released under the name SR14G. Donghyuck was later introduced on July 17, 2014. On July 21, Taeyong released a track video for the song “Open The Door”. On July 22, Mark and Donghyuck were featured in the first video of the Rookie Station. Later that month, the agency confirmed Irene, Seulgi, and Wendy as members of the group Red Velvet. On August 14, trainee Yeri was featured in the third video of the Rookie Station alongside Taeyong, Yuta, Jaehyun, Mark, Jeno and Donghyuck. On the 21st, they released the fourth video of the Rookies Station series. On August 24, a video of Johnny, Taeyong and Hansol dancing to the song "Super Moon" under the name of SR14B was released. On September 16, 2014, the sixth video of the Rookie Station was released, featuring members Johnny, Yuta, Ten, and Jaehyun. On October 9, 2014, Taeyong was featured in Red Velvet’s single “Be Natural”.

On January 16, 2015, Doyoung was introduced as he and Jaehyun were to become the new MCs on MBC Music's Show Champion. On February 19, 2015, Johnny, Yuta, Ten & Lami released their Lunar New Year greetings. In February, a report about Red Velvet filming a music video with trainee Yeri was leaked online. The following month, SM Entertainment formally introduced Yeri and was announced to debut as the fifth member of Red Velvet immediately. On March 6, 2015, a clip of Hansol, Johnny, Taeyong, Yuta, Ten, and Jaehyun dancing to the song “Bassbot” under the name of SR15B was released. After months of being featured in various SM Rookies events, Jaemin was formally introduced in April 2015. In June 2015, Ten, & Jaehyun competed in the Hope Basketball All-Star. Later that month, SMRookies were featured in News 'Korean Pop Idols Rule Asia' featuring Mark giving a short talk. On July 9, 2015, Koeun, Hina, and Herin were introduced as they were to become "Mouseketeers" on Disney Channel Korea’s The Mickey Mouse Club alongside Mark, Jeno, Donghyuck, Jaemin, Jisung, and Lami. On July 26, SM Entertainment announced a concert for the male members titled SM Rookies Show. On July 30, a video of Hansol, Johnny, Taeyong, Yuta, Ten, and Jaehyun performing a dance routine, under the name of SR15B was released. On October 13, 2015, Taeil was introduced after being featured in SM Rookies events. In November 2015, The SM Rookies Girls performed a dance in a video "ROOKIES ENTERTAINMENT APP LAUNCHING". On December 18, 2015, Kun was formally introduced. Later on December 22, 2015, Lami, Hina, and fellow trainee Park Jungyeon made an appearance in the Winter Garden 2015 promotional video teasers.

On January 5, 2016, WinWin was introduced. On January 26, Taeil released the song “Because Of You” for the soundtrack of the series The Merchant: Gaekju 2015. SM Entertainment founder Lee Soo-man announced a concept for a new boy group, that would be debuting with different teams based in different countries around the world.[3] In April 2016, the agency announced Taeil, Taeyong, Doyoung, Ten, Jaehyun and Mark as members of NCT's first subgroup, NCT U.[4] In July 2016, it also confirmed Yuta, WinWin and Donghyuck (now officially known as Haechan) as members of NCT's second subunit, NCT 127.[5] In August 2016, the agency confirmed Jeno, Jaemin and Jisung as members of NCT's third subgroup, NCT Dream, alongside Mark and Haechan.[6][7] On September 19, 2016, Yiyang and Ningning were introduced to the public followed by their appearance on the online reality show My SMT. In December 2016, the agency confirmed Johnny as a new member of NCT's Seoul-based unit, NCT 127.

On April 5, 2017, Lucas was introduced, followed by Jungwoo on April 17. Jungwoo and Koeun made an appearance in the music video of Super Junior member Yesung's single Paper Umbrella later that month. Kun made his re-appearance in the team alongside Lucas and Jungwoo after almost a year of absence, opening the pre-debut team's Instagram account.

On late June 2017, Herin was confirmed as a contestant of Mnet's survival show, Idol School, leading to her departure from the pre-debut team and SM Entertainment. Hansol followed suit in October and participated as a contestant in the upcoming KBS survival show The Unit.[8]

2018: New NCT members, WayV's debut, members departure, and culmination of the project[]

In January 2018, NCT unveiled a "large scale project" for the year called 'NCT 2018'[9] and some members were seen in Ukraine filming a music video for a possible comeback.[10][11] SM Rookies members Jungwoo and Lucas were spotted alongside the other NCT members in the airport en route to the said country.[11]

On January 30, SM Entertainment confirmed the upcoming debut of the remaining SM Rookies members Kun, Lucas, and Jungwoo through the video NCT 2018 Yearbook #1.[12] On February 13, it was revealed that Lucas and Jungwoo would be making their official debut through NCT U's comeback single "Boss" alongside members Taeyong, Doyoung, Jaehyun, Winwin, and Mark. The music video for "Boss" was released on February 18.

On July 17, 2018, three male Chinese trainees, Hendery, Xiaojun, and Yangyang, were introduced.[13] On October 1, 2018, it was confirmed that (이양) has left SM Entertainment and returned to China to join the idol competition show The Next Top Bang.

On December 31, 2018, SM Entertainment announced the debut of Hendery, Xiaojun and Yangyang as members of the NCT's Chinese sub-unit, WayV. After the debut of WayV, the project was informally halted.

2020: Member departures and formation of Aespa[]

See also: Aespa

In February 2020, it was reported that Koeun and Lami had left SM Entertainment, which was later confirmed with the removal of their names from Korean portal sites on February 24.[14] Hina was also confirmed to have left SM Entertainment on October 15, 2020 after opening her personal Instagram account.

On October 26, 2020, SM announced the formation of new girl group, Aespa (æspa), which debuted on November 17, 2020.[15] On October 29, SM Entertainment confirmed that Ningning will be a part of the girl group and was re-introduced as the group's third member.[16]

Among the team's thirty official members, twenty-four of them have made their official debut while the remaining six have left SM Entertainment, thus putting an end to the pre-debut team.

Former members[]

Debuted members[]

Stage Name Country/Region Date Introduced Debut date Debut group
Irene (아이린)[17]  South Korea December 9, 2013 (2014-08-01)August 1, 2014 Red Velvet
Seulgi (슬기)[18]  South Korea December 2, 2013
Wendy (웬디)  Canada March 13, 2014
Yeri (예리)  South Korea March 11, 2015[note 1] March 17, 2015
Taeil (태일)  South Korea October 13, 2015[note 2] (2016-04-09)April 9, 2016 NCT
Taeyong (태용)[18]  South Korea December 3, 2013 (2016-04-08)April 8, 2016
Doyoung (도영)  South Korea January 15, 2015
Ten (텐)[19]  Thailand December 23, 2013
Jaehyun (재현)[17]  South Korea December 9, 2013
Mark (마크)[20]  Canada December 16, 2013
Yuta (유타)[19]  Japan December 23, 2013 July 6, 2016
Winwin (윈윈)  China January 5, 2016
Haechan (해찬)  South Korea July 17, 2014[note 3]
Jeno (제노)[18]  South Korea December 2, 2013 (2016-08-24)August 24, 2016
Jaemin (재민)[21]  South Korea April 22, 2015 [note 4]
Jisung (지성)[20]  South Korea December 16, 2013
Johnny (쟈니)[19]  United States December 23, 2013 (2017-01-04)January 4, 2017
Kun (쿤)  China December 18, 2015[note 5] (2018-03-14)March 14, 2018
Jungwoo (정우)  South Korea April 17, 2017 (2018-02-18)February 18, 2018
Lucas (루카스)  Hong Kong April 6, 2017
Xiaojun (샤오쥔)  China July 17, 2018 January 17, 2019[note 6][22]
Hendery (헨드리)  Macau
Yangyang (양양)  Taiwan
Ningning (닝닝)  China September 19, 2016 November 17, 2020 aespa

Former members[]

Stage Name Country Date introduced Notes
Herin (혜린)  United Kingdom[21] (2015-07-08)July 8, 2015 In July 2017, it was confirmed that Herin left the pre-debut team and SM Entertainment after being introduced as a contestant of Mnet's survival show Idol School, which only lets individual trainees participate in.[23] After the program, Herin has not been involved with any entertainment activities.
Hansol (한솔)  South Korea (2013-12-16)December 16, 2013 On October 1, 2017, it was confirmed that Hansol left SM Entertainment and had signed with J-FLO Entertainment, he then was introduced as a participant in the new KBS survival show The Unit.[8] After getting sixth place on the show, Hansol debuted with the project group UNB. After UNB's disbandment, he later debuted in J-FLO's boy group, Newkidd, in 2019.
Yiyang (이양)  China (2016-09-19)September 19, 2016 In September 2018, rumors of Yiyang leaving SM Entertainment to join a survival reality show surfaced on Weibo. On September 19, 2018, two years after she was introduced as an SM Rookies member, she has posted on her Weibo account that she is "thankful for the people who waited for her" and that she is "looking forward to a new start." On October 1, 2018, she was confirmed to have returned to China signing to L Tao Entertainment and joined the Chinese idol survival program The Next Top Bang. She was a contestant on Produce Camp 2020, where she placed eighth and did not make it to the final group. She then debuted as a solo artist with the single "Listen," in July 2020.
Lami (라미)  South Korea December 9, 2013 In February 2020, Koeun and Lami were rumored to have left SM Entertainment. This was further confirmed with the removal of their names from Korean web portals as well as the two opening their personal Instagram accounts. It is currently unknown if the two members will still pursue a career in the entertainment industry.[24]
Koeun (고은)  South Korea July 8, 2015
Hina (히나)  Japan /  South Korea In October 2020, it was confirmed that Hina left SM Entertainment after going back to Japan and creating a personal Instagram account.

Filmography[]

Television shows[]

Year Title TV Network Member(s)
2014 Exo 90:2014 Mnet Hansol, Johnny, Taeyong, Yuta, Ten, Jaehyun, Mark, Haechan, Jeno, Jaemin, Jisung
2015 Show Champion MBC Music Doyoung and Jaehyun
Non-Summit JTBC Yuta
Mickey Mouse Club Disney Channel Korea Koeun, Mark, Hina, Jeno, Haechan, Jaemin, Jisung, Herin, Lami
Doyoung, Jaehyun (guest performers)
2016 NCT Life Naver TV Hansol (Season 1), Kun, Winwin (Season 2)
My SMT Youku Johnny (Regular MC from Episode 5)
Yiyang, Koeun, Hina, Ningning (Who's The Best? corner)

Discography[]

Official releases[]

Title Recorded by Year Album
"Because I Love You" Wendy 2014 Mimi OST
"Butterfly" Henry featuring Seulgi Fantastic
"Be Natural" Red Velvet featuring Taeyong Non-album release
"Because of You" Taeil 2015 The Merchant: Gaekju 2015 OST
"Without You" (Chinese version) NCT U with Kun 2016 NCT 2018 Empathy
"Switch" NCT 127 featuring SR15B NCT #127

Songs recorded[]

Names in italics indicate other participated trainees at the time of the event.

Song Member(s) Year Other performer(s) Note
"Be Natural" Irene, Seulgi, Wendy 2014 Joy Sung originally by S.E.S., later released as a single and credited under the name Red Velvet.
"Open the Door" Taeyong
"Bora-bit Hyanggi (Violet Fragrance)" Yeri, Koeun, Hina, Herin, Jeesu, Winny (SM Town version)
Koeun, Hina, Herin, Lami (Mickey Mouse Club version) 		2014
2015 		Sung originally by Kang Su-ji, performed in SM Town Live World Tour IV (2014–15) and on the TV program Mickey Mouse Club (2015).
"No No No No No" Yeri, Koeun, Hina, Herin, Jeesu, Winny (SM Town version)
Koeun, Hina, Lami (Mickey Mouse Club version) 		Sung originally by Ha Su-bin, performed in SM Town Live World Tour IV (2014–15) and on the TV program Mickey Mouse Club (2015).
"Hope" Doyoung, Jaehyun, Johnny 2014 Chen (EXO) Sung originally by H.O.T., cover song for the TV program Exo 90:2014 (2014), SM Town band instrumental version.
"I'm Your Girl" Yeri, Koeun, Hina, Jeesu, Winny, Herin, Mark, Haechan 2014 Sung originally by S.E.S., cover song for the TV program Exo 90:2014 (2014)
"Majimak Seungbu (The Last Game)" Taeil Sung originally by Kim Min-gyo, cover song for the TV program Exo 90:2014 (2014)
"Yeoreum An-eseo (In Summer)" Koeun 2014 Seulgi (Red Velvet) Sung originally by Deux, cover song for the TV program Exo 90:2014 (2014)
"Under the Sea" Doyoung, Jaehyun, Yuta, Ten, Mark, Haechan, Jaemin, Jeno, Jisung (SM Rookies Show version)
Koeun, Hina, Lami, Herin, Mark, Haechan, Jaemin, Jeno, Jisung (Mickey Mouse Club version) 		2015
2016 		Korean version sung originally by The Grace, Super Junior, and Zhang Liyin; performed in the SM Rookies Show (2015–16) and Mickey Mouse Club (2015)
"Shining Star" Koeun, Hina, Ningning 2017 Song for the TV program Shining Star (2017)
"Dream Dream Dream" Koeun, Hina (Korean version), Yiyang, Ningning (Chinese version)
"Checkmate" Sung originally by Girls' Generation-TTS, cover song for the TV program Shining Star (2017)
"Into the New World" Sung originally by Girls' Generation, cover song for the TV program Shining Star (2017)
"Ice Cream" Sung originally by f(x), cover song for the TV program Shining Star (2017)
"Run & Run" Song for the TV program Shining Star (2017)
"Someday" 2018 Song for the TV program Shining Star (2018)

Concerts[]

Concert participation[]

Names in italics indicate other participated trainees at the time of the event.

  • SM Town Week (2013) (as opening act)
    • Taeil, Hansol, Johnny, Yuta, Ten, Jaehyun, Jeno, Haechan, Jisung, Yongju
  • SM Town Live World Tour IV (2014–2015)
    • Hansol, Johnny, Taeyong, Yuta, Doyoung, Ten, Jaehyun, Yeri, Koeun, Mark, Jeno, Haechan, Hina, Jaemin, Jisung, Herin, Winny, Jeesu
  • SM Rookies Show (2015–2016)
    • Taeil, Hansol, Johnny, Taeyong, Yuta, Doyoung, Ten, Jaehyun, Mark, Jeno, Haechan, Jaemin, Jisung

Notes[]

  1. ^ After Red Velvet debuted, Yeri was featured in one of the SM Rookies videos (under the name "New Rookie of SR14G") with the now-NCT members in 2014 and performed with the other SM Rookie girls the same year in SM Town Live World Tour IV. She was formally introduced just before Red Velvet's comeback with "Ice Cream Cake" in March 2015.
  2. ^ Prior to Taeil's introduction as an SM Rookies member, he previously performed alongside his now-NCT co-members during the SM Town Week in December 2013.
  3. ^ Haechan was introduced as Donghyuck, but later went on with his current stage name upon his debut with NCT 127 in July 2016.
  4. ^ Jaemin was featured in several SM Rookies events before being formally introduced on April 22, 2015.
  5. ^ Despite being featured as a vocalist in the Chinese version of NCT U's "Without You" (2016), Kun did not make his official debut until the release of NCT's debut album, "NCT 2018 Empathy" in 2018.
  6. ^ Although SM Entertainment introduced Hendery, Xiaojun, and Yangyang as members of WayV, the agency stated that they would join NCT in their future activities as announced. On September 21, 2020, SM announced the three members' accession to NCT for the release of the group's second studio album, NCT 2020 Resonance Pt. 1.

See also[]

  • K-pop#Trainee system

References[]

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External links[]

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