MBC UK Auditions - The Aftermath!

Yesterday was the MBC Auditions in London, and I have to say I can't remember the last time work was so much fun!

As a big K-Pop fan, I was delighted when I was asked to help out with the project. It's been a bit stressful at times; calling people around the UK and Europe making sure they're still attending, writing e-mails, not hearing back from people, trying to sort things out a.s.a.p, organise some filming... it's been one hell of a ride! I thoroughly enjoyed helping out with all the organising though - a massive thank you to Martin who trusted me enough with the job and gave me the chance. I hope I did you proud!

August 6th seemed so far away when I was asked to help but all of a sudden it seemed to come round in a heartbeat. Excited, I jumped on a London bound train and arrived at Westminster Central Hall at quarter to nine in the morning.

There was hardly anyone there and for a while I was the only English person around! More Korean workers came in after some time and Martin gave us a tour around the building...all in Korean I might add! After the tour he explained a couple more things in Korean while I just kind of stood there trying to stifle my giggles. I really had no idea what was going on! Eventually he went silent and looked around the room, so I assumed that the last thing he said was "Are there any questions?" so I sheepishly put my hand up and said "Can I have a translation in English please?" which made quite a few people laugh! Thankfully some of the Koreans knew English!

It was exciting watching all the cameras being set up, and looking around me I couldn't believe I was part of such a big production. Bit hard to believe I was working for a Korean TV channel and that all of this was going to be aired in another country! And the fact that I helped organise a few bits too. It was just really special to work behind the scenes and see it physically come together, and come together so well! 

Some of the crowd outside

My post was on the registration desk where I would sign in the English and European contestants. We had an excel sheet on our laptops that had a list of all the contestants who applied; we had to find their application, staple their consent form to it and then give them a number. I'd like to say it was easy,  except that we often had trouble with the application forms! Sometimes they weren't in a folder so we had to print it off instead, or sometimes their application wasn't on the system at all so they had to fill out a new one. I think a lot of pens mysteriously went missing...

Anyway, after a short while everyone was gathered onto the top balcony so they could film the contestants chanting in Korean. (Martin was great at getting everyone's attention -  considering he's so little it's surprising how much his voice can BOOM. Mind you, it was a bit echoey...anyway...!)
Shortly after they gathered everyone into the waiting room so they could watch Shayne and Hyung Woo-Cho perform a duet together. They were both contestants on the previous series; Shayne's from Canada and Hyung is from Korea, although he did live in Surrey, England for about 4 years if my memory serves me right, so his English was very good!
I watched some of the performance and a camera man clocked me. He said he knew who I was, which was very bizarre! Turns out he knew of the videos I took at Abbey Road Studios when SHINee came, and said he'd like to interview me! He gave me his business card so I need to get in touch with him at some point...very cool and very weird at the same time...In fact, I had a couple of Korean TV camera crew people saying they recognised me. I'm really not sure how! One said he thinks he saw me on TV...I did appear on Korean TV for like a split second once, but that was it! Very, very bizarre!!
After that the signing in commenced! It was a real buzz, really loved it. Everyone that was working on the desk was so lovely and friendly too which made the whole experience that much more awesome, so thanks everyone! It was fantastic to work with you all.

Spreadsheet!

Folders upon folders...

Contestants on balcony!

Contestants in waiting room watching Shayne and Woo-Cho sing

Shayne and Hyung Woo-Cho

Soon it began to die down as most of the contestants had gone into the waiting room. We decided it was time to grab some lunch so we went to the staff room (Shayne warned us that the vegetarian sandwiches were "horrible", haha! Thanks Shayne. Maybe next time you should try the non-vegetarian variety as you're not a vegetarian?! Funny boy! I personally thought the ham sandwiches were quite good...)
The MC - Sang-Jin Oh - was in the staff room at a table on his own playing his guitar (although I didn't know it was actually him until I saw the orange jeans. I was teasing and saying to the girls how he was just attention seeking because he was playing guitar - jokingly of course - and then I saw it was him and realised he understood English perfectly. I hope he didn't hear me and think I was being serious...!) Eventually Hyung came in and sat down with us to have a chat, and then the camera man who knew of my videos came in too and joined us. Turns out he actually got my videos from SM ENTERTAINMENT THEMSELVES?!? I think I nearly died!

After that it was more work time! More signing in...and after a while there wasn't really anything to do at all. Shayne came to reception and sat next to me, laughing at all the British expressions I kept coming out with and used a laptop on the desk to surf the internet!

I began to wander around to see if there was anything to do elsewhere. I found some co-workers in the waiting hall, where I also saw Hyung and Sang-Jin. The girls convinced me to have a picture taken with both men (I was shy - can you blame me?!) so I did! Sang-Jin put his arm around me and did the peace sign, and Hyung lent in and put his head close to mine as we posed for our photo. Many thanks to the girls that took the pictures for me!

Me and Hyung Woo-Cho

Me and Sang-Jin Oh

Major LOL at the Korean dudes behind us!

Soon after I got to chat with Sang-Jin for quite some time, about 15-20 minutes! He's a very nice, approachable man who loves his job - he's been to the UK about 4 times hence the good English skills! He said I should have auditioned...well, maybe I would have if I could sing in Korean!!

After more milling around, more banter with Shayne and more snooping at all the behind the scenes stuff, it was time to clear up!!

 

Hyung being being filmed with an auditionee

A massive thank you to all who attended, it was a very successful day! And it was great to finally put a face to a name too with some of you! Thank you to the team for all your hard work and enthusiasm, thank you to Martin for, well, everything!! And a massive thank you the Shayne, Hyung Woo-Cho and Sang-Jin for coming over; it was a pleasure and a privilege to meet you all! I hope to see you again in the future and stay in touch!

Me and Shayne

Congratulations to those who got through, and for those who didn't...better luck next time!! ;-) Hopefully the MBC Auditions will come again next year!!

MBC AUDITIONS UK

Want to become a popstar in Korea?

Don't lie; we've all done it. From singing into our hairbrushes in the privacy of our bedrooms pretending you're singing in an arena, from singing karaoke pretending you're the next big thing, or even just singing whilst doing housework wondering when you're big break is gonna happen, we're all guilty. We've all been there.

This audition is slightly different though. Love K-Pop? Want to be a star there? Well you're on the right damn page! MBC are coming to London on the 6th of August 2011 and they want to hear from YOU!

That's right, it could be you competing with the likes of TVXQ, Big Bang, BoA, Super Junior, 2NE1 etc for the number 1 spot in the charts this time next year. But before you start getting excited, there are of course rules!

So, what are these rules? 

• You have to sing at least one song in Korean. (Half a song should be okay, then you can also sing English songs according to the official Facebook page).
• You cannot apply if you are already with an agency or working as a professional singer.
• You can sing on your own OR as a group.
• You must sing acapella or you can play an instrument whilst performing.
• You can dance if you wish or do other performances. You must provide a CD with the track you wish to use.
• You have to send off your application form by 3rd August 2011.
• You DON'T have to be British! Other people from other countries are welcome to come over and try their luck, too.

So, what are the details?

The auditions are happening on the 6th of August 2011, although the venue is currently unknown. If you are lucky enough to pass the London audition, you will be invited to Korea and join other contestants for the survival stages. The winner will be rewarded with a cash prize and a recording contract opportunity in Korea. MBC will provide flights and accomodations, so it won't cost you a penny!

Okay, I understand all of the details. Where can I sign up?!

In order to sign up, you can go to their Facebook page and download the application form, then send it to europe@mbc.co.kr.

Yes, it is THAT simple! So what are you waiting for? Make your dream a reality!

Best of luck to those who enter! 

SHINee @ Abbey Road Studios 19/6/2011

Okay so first I found out about SMTOWN coming to Paris. Major freak out moment. And then I discover SHINee are coming to the UK? HOLD THE PHONE. Are you serious?! Second major freak out moment of epic proportions!

SHINee are an all male quintet all the way from South Korea. Their music is labeled "contemporary" and are one of the hottest bands around at the moment, with huge hits under their belt like "Ring Ding Dong", "Lucifer" and "Hello".

They were about to make their debut in Japan, so to celebrate they decided to hold a mini gig at the Abbey Road Studios in London, where The Beatles recorded. So! Where can I get tickets? Sign me up!

...What do you mean it's only for Japanese fans?! Well, I suppose it makes sense considering they're making their Japanese debut, but one has to wonder...why did they come all the way to England to do it? What about the English fans?

I guess you could say we were pretty annoyed and frustrated, that's like dangling a bone in front of a dog but still keeping it out of reach. Still, despite our disappointment, we couldn't help but be excited either. SHINee were coming to England. They were not only going to be in the same continent, but in the same bloody country. Korean artists never venture here at all, so either way it was an absolute privilege they were here in the first place so what better way to celebrate by being there and showing them our support, and showing that they actually have a strong fanbase here?

I rocked up just after 9am after making some friends on the tube (I was wearing my customised SMTOWN T-Shirt from Paris so I guess this made me rather distinguishable), and there was already quite a few people there. Some arrived at 7 or 8am, and some people had even come as far as the Isle of Wight. This event was going to be a bit bigger than I thought.

The atmosphere was already buzzing; people were chanting SHINee's name, singing their songs...but you could tell there was apprehension in the air, too. I mean, how long would we have to wait until they arrived??

Our answer came quite soon; a silver van turned up between 10-10:30am. Naturally I got my video recorder out, but unfortunately an excitable fan next to me started jumping up and down, so even though I managed to capture SHINee (Onew, Minho, Taemin and Key) on camera, it was a bit shaky. Annoying, but at least I got a shot of them. We were concerned that Jonghyun didn't arrive with them...where was he? Why wasn't he there? Was he going to turn up at all?

As the time passed, plenty of SME staff members, Abbey Road staff members and Japanese and Korean TV crew came out to film and take pictures of the crowd, even interview us as well! Everyone in the crowd did chants like "We want SHINee", "SHINee saranghae!" (Trans: "SHINee I love you!") and "London SMTOWN". The crowd also sang along to some songs and plenty of people brought and made their own banners to show their love and support. Despite being cramped and squished into a tiny place (because let's face it, fan events = squishiness and people trying to push in) the whole atmosphere was electric and positive, there were no fights or arguments between fans or anything. In fact, most people behaved pretty well the entire time.

SIDENOTE: There was a MEGA MEGA CUTE Korean MBC reporter so if anyone knows his name, you must let me know. I am in love with him and wish to have his babies. Thank you.

By the time 2pm came around, Jonghyun finally arrived. The crowd screamed of course, but as we saw him go up the steps he didn't look very well at all and it left us very concerned. We hoped he was okay but he certainly didn't look like he was in any position to perform.

Fans for the gig also turned up. We knew the venue hall could only accomodate 130 people so I was expecting to see 130 fans. Wrong. There were only about 20 fans and not all of them were Japanese, which left the rest of the crowd very confused and, once again, slightly annoyed. How did these British people get tickets?! And why were there only around 20? Sure, the venue is probably also filled up with SMTWON staff and camera crew, but adding them altogether doesn't make 130 people so where were the rest?!

Anyway, despite the way I kind of felt about the event, I genuinely wished and hoped they had a very good time. Sincerely! I mean that. I mean, if I won tickets I certainly wouldn't have wanted to be booed, which is what some people did when they first arrived. Of course some of us told them not to because it wasn't fair or nice.

They went in round about 3pm and we knew the gig started at half past...but we had absolutely no idea what time it was going to end. Some people decided to leave - though not many - but I stuck around in the hopes of catching a good shot of SHINee before they leave England.

The gig was quite short - only 45 minutes! - But then again it wasn't exactly a proper concert so I suppose it made sense. Jonghyun left shortly after it finished but the rest of the members didn't come out until 5:15pm, roughly. Okay, this is where the crowd went nuts. I was suddenly shoved forwards and was practically merging myself into the girl in front, and because everyone was becoming excited they started to jump and shake themselves about, which meant my camera was wobbly again! I was unamused, I was tired, my legs and back were aching, I was bloody starving, and this behaviour was not helping my mood. Thankfully SHINee moved to the other end of the crowd first, which sent the crowd on my side into a frenzy as they gathered onto the other side to catch a glimpse. Me being the smart one (for a change), I knew they were going to come our way as well so I stayed where I was and I also had more room too, so I had a moment to breathe! SHINee came our way so naturally everyone came back, but I found myself in a slightly better position and managed to hold my camera much more steady this time, so I got a really good shot of the 4 of them facing us and waving. They turned their backs to us to do a bit of filming, and then we started to chant "SHINee saranghae!" The band members turned round pretty much as soon as we started chanting this, and waved at us again. They eventually retreated to their van and officially left Abbey Road Studios.

As I had been facing the studios the entire day, I finally got the chance to have a good, proper look at the crowd. Christ there was a lot of people! I hung around for a while as I wanted to wait until everyone or most people had left as I didn't want to be caught up in all the people-traffic, so I managed to talk to some competition winners who were actually Japanese! They really enjoyed the show, asked how I got into K-Pop, who my favourite member was etc. We must have been chatting for about 5-10 minutes before a security guard came over and told us we must leave the venue immediately.

As I left I clocked the super-duper cute Korean reporter guy, so I went up to him and said thank you for everything that they had done. He told me that the footage they took would only be shown on South Korean TV, so I'm hoping someone records it...? I kind of chickened out in telling him he was cute, I felt a bit silly, but he was definitely one to drool over.

ANYWAY...

Was it worth getting up at 5:45am? Was it worth standing up 9 hours straight with no food, water or toilet breaks? Was it worth being squished to an inch of my life? Was it worth having my leg bashed against the wall and receiving a nasty bump as a result (although that was entirely my fault)?
Was it all worth it, the possibility of being on Japanese and/or Korean TV, seeing SHINee in the flesh and up close, making new friends, being surrounded by people who understand what this is all about?

Would I do it all again?

In a bloody heartbeat.

Gomawo SHINee! Come back to us soon!






KBS VIDEO!! KOREAN TV. SHOT OF THE CROWD.