1. RM
- When Kim Namjoon aka RM was in 6 Grade, he heard Epik High‘s rap song “Fly” for the first time and he fell in love with rapping.And then he started rapping on his own and writing lyrics.He started a career as an underground rapper under the name “Runch Randa” in 2007, when he was in middle school.
- Then RM joined a rap crew named “Daenamhyup,” that consisted of some of the top underground rappers like Iron (finalist from Show Me The Money 3), Supreme Boi (producer of BigHit Entertainment), and KIDOH (one of member from Top Dogg).
- As he continued underground rapping and became more active in underground scene ,his skills became better and better as a rapper. He started releasing more and more songs, and also collaborated with other underground artists, like BLOCK B‘s Zico (who went by “Nakseo” at the time).
- His reputation was growing in this field so, RM was invited to audition for an underground hip-hop agency. There he met Untouchable‘s Sleepy, who was one of a judge at that audition. Sleepy was very impressed by RM’s rapping skills and saved RM's phone number and then passed it to producer Bang Shi Hyuk.
- Then RM was introduced to Bang Shi Hyuk where he RM ended up auditioning for Big Hit Entertainment, and became the first member to join BTS in 2010.
- Namjoon was the first member to be selected for BTS. More accurately,Bang PD decided to make BTS he met Namjoon. He had been trainee for more than 3 years. More accurately,Bang PD decided to make BTS,after he met Namjoon. He had been trainee for more than 3 years.
2. Suga
- Originally from Daegu, South Korea, Min Yoongi aka Suga the 2nd member to join BTS, was active in the underground hip-hop as a producer and rapper. He began performing in high school, and made a name for himself using name"Gloss".
- He started getting attention not only as rapper but also as a producer composing beats for local artists in his hometown of Daegu, primarily for a group called “D-TOWN.”
- More and more people started noticing his skills.He even produced tracks for bigger underground names.One of his most successful song he produced was “Who am I”for Reflow.
- For next level for his career and music, Suga decided to audition for Big Hit Entertainment. He saw a flyer promoting a rap competition / audition called “Hit It,” organized by BigHit entertainment and felt that it was a good oppurtunity for him. He didn’t win t1st place in that competition, but ended up winning 2nd place. And then he joined Big Hit Entertainment as a producer / trainee.
- According to reports, Suga just wanted to be a producer but later in 2010, he was convinced into joining BTS . To this day, Suga jokes that Bang pd tricked him to join the BTS.
- During trainee period, Suga was one of the 4 BTS members along with Jungkook, Jimin,J-Hope who were often seen dancing for GLAM’s live performances of “Glamorous,” as well as for the stage performances of hologram artist SeeU.
- He also made a brief cameo in Jo Kwon’s “I’m Da One” music video.
3. J-Hope
- Jung Hoseok aka J-Hope the 3rd member to join BTS, was a dancer before he joined BigHit Entertainment. He had always love dancing, and he even joined a dance crew called “Neuron” in his hometown of Gwangju, Korea.
- Because of his love towards Dance, J-Hope auditioned for JYP Entertainment. He passed the first few rounds, but he eventually got cut from the JYP auditions.
- Then, J-Hope decided to audition for Big Hit Entertainment. Jhope was selected to the company because of his good dance skills, strong understanding of rhythm, and potential for rap. He moved to Seoul, and became a full-time trainee.
- During his trainee days, J-Hope was very active. He used to be a backup dancer for GLAM‘s “Glamorous” performance, 2AM Jo Kwon‘s “I’m Da One” promotions. He was even featured as a rapper for Jo Kwon’s track “Animal.”
- Jhope was trained to be a vocalist instead of a rapper in BTS. But V also wanted to be a vocalist , so JHope gave up his position as a vocalist and started to be trained for rapping.As we know he is very hardworking person so he worked hard to learn rap from RM and Suga.
- Despite years of training, J-Hope decided to leave BTS until RM convinced him to stay as BTS needed J-Hope. He returned to the group, and the rest is history.
4. Jin
- Kim Seokjin aka Jin the 4th member to join BTS, had a very different and interesting casting experience than the other members. Originally from Anyang, South Korea, Jin was originally casted on the streets by SM Entertainment.But he never followed up with the company because he thought it was a scam.
- And then, he again got casted on street when he was a college student. A representative from Big Hit Entertainment saw Jin as he was exiting a bus, and convinced Jin to audition for Big Hit.(Our World Wide Handsome)
- Jin had no prior experience in singing or dancing as he was an acting major, Jin auditioned to be an actor. But the Big Hit had other plans and he ended up becoming a trainee for BTS. As jin was actiong major he had no idea about singing and dancing, Jin became the great singer and dancer that he is today all through hard work and practice.
- During his trainee days, Jin was spotted in Jo Kwon’s “I’m Da One” music video as a butler / bodyguard. He was utilized as an actor, instead of a dancer because of his good looks.
5. Jungkook
- The maknae of the group, Jeon Jungkook auditioned for the 3rd season of Superstar K in his hometown of Busan, Korea. Although he was eliminated from the auditions, various agency recruiters saw something special in him.
- Jungkook was scouted by 7 different entertainment agencies like JYP Entertainment, FNC Entertainment, and Starship Entertainment. Out of all of the agencies, Jungkook choosed Big Hit Entertainment.
- Although BigHit was small company at that time, he choosed Big Hit over the other big companies because he was so impressed with RM and his rapping skills.So, he wanted to be in the same company where RM was.
- During his trainee period, Jungkook was often seen as back dancer for Big Hit Entertainment artists. He was seen during live performances of GLAM’s “Glamorous,” as well as Jo Kwon’s “I’m Da One.”
6. V
- Kim Tae Hyung aka V has said in multiple interviews that he grew up with hardly any money. He was raised by a family of farmers in Daegu and never thought he would be famous. His childhood dream was to pursue music.
- With that dream in mind, V started learning and playing saxophone in high school. His father told him to learn an instrument if he was serious about pursuing music.So he had learned saxophone for 3 years.
- One day, his friend went to a Big Hit Entertainment audition and he went with him. He went to the audition only to support his friend, but someone from the rookie development team saw him and asked him to audition. So he called his dad for permission and he got permission. then auditioned on the spot. He was the only person to pass the audition in Daegu that day.
- Before official debut, V was kept hidden by Big Hit Entertainment. He was, however, seen in Jo Kwon’s music video for “I’m Da One.” Along with Jin, V made an appearance as a butler / bodyguard.
7. Jimin
- The final member to be selected for BTS, Park Jimin is originally from Busan, Korea. He attended the Busan High School of Arts, where he was a top student in the Department of Dance.
- Jimin had a natural talent in dance. One of his dance teachers urged Jimin to audition for Big Hit Entertainment because he was promising young contemporary dance student,.
- After being encouraged by his teacher, he went for audition. Then he passed the audition in Busan, and moved to Seoul to become a trainee. Although his training period was the shortest among all, Jimin became the final member of BTS because of his natural skills and hardwork.
- During his trainee period, Jimin was often seen as back dancer for GLAM’s “Glamorous” performance. He also did brief cameo in GLAM’s music video for “Party (XXO).”
