Singer reveals tough experience as idol trainee

Singer MAYDONI: "I wouldn't start so young again." Capture from YouTube account of "MAYDONI"

By Dong Sun-hwa

Singer MAYDONI has revealed that she had to reduce her weight to 38 kilograms and could not exchange phone numbers with her male label mates when she was an idol trainee.

According to Joongang Ilbo's Monday report, MAYDONI, 28, became a trainee at JYP Entertainment, one of Korea's "Big 3" music powerhouses, when she was 11. She was trained with Sunye, leader of now-defunct girl band Wonder Girls and Jo Kwon of ballad group 2AM.

Four years later, she moved to another big name agency YG Entertainment, and trained for four more years. But she still could not make her debut.

"I was asked to reduce my weight to 38 kilograms before debut, and this was extremely stressful," she recalled. "After I exchanged phone numbers with BIGBANG members (who have been represented by YG), a manager deleted the information. I could not even take the same taxi with a male trainee.

"When the trainees gathered together, we were compared to each other. We became rivals, not friends. But this seems to have contributed to the birth of good artists."

She officially debuted on the Nega Network in 2009 with the album "7TEEN" and released several tracks, including "Mola-ing."

But MAYDONI said that if she could travel back to the past, she would not be a trainee at such a young age. She would instead wait until she was old enough to experience the ordinary life of a teenager.

"In hindsight, it was an enormous challenge to spend my school days preparing for a precarious future," she said. "For those who want to be idol trainees, I hope you discuss this with your parents and make wise decisions."

MAYDONI is now also a YouTube creator.

Visit her YouTube: bit.ly/2TZhAEt

Site Map E-paper Subscribe Register LogIn
Site Map E-paper Subscribe Register LogIn