HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

SM Rookies (, stylized as SMROOKIES) is a pre-debut training team created by South Korean entertainment agency
SM Entertainment SM Entertainment Co., Ltd. () is a South Korean multinational entertainment agency. It is one of South Korea's largest entertainment companies where it was established in 1995 by record executive and record producer Lee Soo-man. The company h ...
in 2013, composed of trainees who have yet to join an idol group. From 2013 to 2018, the team officially introduced 30 members, with 25 of them later debuting in the groups Red Velvet ( 4), NCT and its first four subunits ( 19),
Aespa Aespa ( ; , commonly stylized in all lowercase or æspa) is a South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment. The group consists of four members: Karina, Giselle, Winter, and Ningning. They debuted on November 17, 2020, with the single "B ...
( 1), and Lami as an actress.


History


2013–2017: Formation and debuts of Red Velvet and NCT

SM Entertainment formally announced the creation of SM Rookies on December 3, 2013, featuring members
Seulgi Seul-ki, also spelled Seul-gi or Sul-ki, is a Korean unisex given name, predominantly feminine. It was the 8th-most popular name for baby girls born in South Korea in 1990. Unlike most Korean names, it does not have any Sino-Korean roots, but is ...
, Jeno and Taeyong. On December 9,
Irene Irene is a name derived from εἰρήνη (eirēnē), the Greek for "peace". Irene, and related names, may refer to: * Irene (given name) Places * Irene, Gauteng, South Africa * Irene, South Dakota, United States * Irene, Texas, United State ...
, Jaehyun and Lami were introduced. On December 16, members
Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Finn ...
, Hansol, and Jisung were introduced, followed by Johnny, Ten and Yuta on December 23. In January 2014, SM Rookies opened their official Twitter account.
Wendy Wendy is a given name now generally given to girls in English-speaking countries. In Britain, Wendy appeared as a masculine name in a parish record in 1615. It was also used as a surname in Britain from at least the 17th century. Its popularity ...
was introduced on March 13, 2014 with the song "Because Of You", recorded for the soundtrack of the
SM C&C SM Culture & Contents ( ko, 에스엠컬처앤콘텐츠; SM C&C) is a South Korean advertising, production, travel and talent company under SM Studios, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SM Entertainment. The company operates as a talent agency, televi ...
-produced series '' Mimi''. On March 19, 2014, a video of Wendy singing " Speak Now" by
Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bo ...
was released. In April, SM Entertainment launched the official website of SM Rookies project, which they announced with a video teaser uploaded onto their official YouTube channel, featuring Irene, Seulgi, Wendy, Taeyong, Jaehyun, and Mark. Seulgi later featured on labelmate Henry's song "Butterfly". On July 17, a performance video of Irene and Seulgi dancing to the song "Be Natural" by S.E.S. was released, credited to SR14G. Member 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 featured in the first video of the ''Rookie Station'' project. Later that month, the agency confirmed Irene, Seulgi, and Wendy as members of the group Red Velvet. On August 14, SM Rookies member
Yeri Yeri may refer to: * Yeri, Cyprus * Yeri, Tajikistan *Yeri (singer) Kim Ye-rim (; born March 5, 1999), known by her stage name Yeri, is a South Korean singer and actress. She is a member of South Korean girl group Red Velvet. Early life Kim ...
featured in the third video of ''Rookie Station'' alongside Taeyong, Yuta, Jaehyun, Mark, Jeno and Donghyuck. On August 21, the fourth video of the ''Rookies Station'' series was released. On August 24, a video of Johnny, Taeyong and Hansol dancing to the song "Super Moon" was released, credited to SR14B. On September 16, the sixth video of the ''Rookie Station'' was released, featuring members Johnny, Yuta, Ten, and Jaehyun. On October 9, Taeyong featured in Red Velvet's single "Be Natural". On January 16, 2015, member Doyoung was introduced as he and Jaehyun were to become the new MCs of MBC Music's ''
Show Champion ''Show Champion'' ( Korean: 쇼 챔피언) is a South Korean music television program broadcast live by MBC M every Wednesday at Bitmaru Broadcasting Center in Ilsan. Hosts * Shindong (February 14, 2012 – December 25, 2012) * Hahm Eun-ju ...
''. On February 19, 2015, Johnny, Yuta, Ten, and Lami released their Lunar New Year greetings. In February, a report of Red Velvet filming a music video with trainee Yeri leaked online. The following month, SM Entertainment formally introduced Yeri as the fifth member of Red Velvet. On March 6, a clip of Hansol, Johnny, Taeyong, Yuta, Ten, and Jaehyun (as SR15B) dancing to the song "Bassbot" was released. After months of being featured in various SM Rookies events, Jaemin was formally introduced in April. In June, Ten and Jaehyun competed in the Hope Basketball All-Star event. Later that month, SM Rookies featured in News 'Korean Pop Idols Rule Asia' featuring Mark giving a short talk. On July 9, 2015, members Koeun, Hina, and Herin were introduced as they were to become "Mouseketeers" on Disney Channel Korea’s ''
The Mickey Mouse Club ''The Mickey Mouse Club'' is an American variety television show that aired intermittently from 1955 to 1996 and returned to social media in 2017. Created by Walt Disney and produced by Walt Disney Productions, the program was first televised ...
'' alongside Mark, Jeno, Donghyuck, Jaemin, Jisung, and Lami. On July 26, SM Entertainment announced a concert for the team's male members, titled SM Rookies Show. On July 30, a video of Hansol, Johnny, Taeyong, Yuta, Ten, and Jaehyun (as SR15B) performing a dance routine was released. On October 13, 2015, Taeil was introduced after being featured in multiple SM Rookies events. In November, female members of SM Rookies performed a dance in the video "Rookies Entertainment App Launching". On December 18, Kun was formally introduced. On December 22, Lami, Hina, and fellow trainee Park Jungyeon made appearances in video teasers for ''Winter Garden 2015''. 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 Lee Soo-man (, born 18 June 1952) is a South Korean business executive and record producer who is best known for being the founder of SM Entertainment, a multinational South Korean entertainment company based in Seoul. He has also been referred ...
announced a concept for a new boy group, to be called NCT, in which different teams would debut based in different countries around the world. In April 2016, the agency announced Taeil, Taeyong, Doyoung, Ten, Jaehyun and Mark as members of NCT's first sub-unit, NCT U. In July, the agency also confirmed Yuta, WinWin and Donghyuck (now known by his stage name Haechan) as members of NCT's second sub-unit,
NCT 127 NCT 127 () is the first fixed and second overall sub-unit of the South Korean boy band NCT, formed and managed by SM Entertainment. The current lineup consists of nine active members: Taeil, Johnny, Taeyong, Yuta, Doyoung, Jaehyun, Jungwo ...
. In August, the agency confirmed Jeno, Jaemin and Jisung as members of NCT's third sub-unit,
NCT Dream NCT Dream () is the third sub-unit of the South Korean boy band NCT, formed by SM Entertainment in 2016. They were initially intended to be the teenaged unit of NCT with an admission-and-graduation system, in which members would leave after rea ...
, alongside Mark and Haechan. On September 19, Yiyang and Ningning were introduced followed by their appearances on the online reality show ''My SMT''. In December, the agency confirmed Johnny as a new member of NCT 127. On April 5, 2017, Lucas was introduced, followed by Jungwoo on April 17. Jungwoo and Koeun made appearances in the music video of
Super Junior Super Junior (; stylized in all caps), also known as SJ or SuJu, is a South Korean boy band formed by Lee Soo-man, the founder of SM Entertainment in 2005. They are also dubbed by the media as the "King of Hallyu Wave" due to their promine ...
member
Yesung Kim Kang-hoon (born Kim Jong-woon; August 24, 1984), better known by his stage name Yesung is a South Korean singer, songwriter, actor, radio personality and television presenter. He debuted in 2005 as a member of Super Junior and its subgroups ...
's single "Paper Umbrella" later that month. After almost a one-year absence, member Kun appeared with Lucas and Jungwoo for the opening SM Rookies' Instagram account. In late June, Herin was confirmed as a contestant of Mnet's survival show '' Idol School'', leading to her departure from the team and SM Entertainment. Hansol followed in October, participating as a contestant in the KBS survival show ''
The Unit ''The Unit'' is an American action-drama television series created by David Mamet that aired on CBS from March 7, 2006, to May 10, 2009 with the total of four seasons and 69 episodes. The series focuses on a top-secret military unit modeled ...
''.


2018: New NCT members, and debut of WayV

In January 2018, NCT unveiled a "large scale project" for the year called NCT 2018, and some members of SM Rookies were seen in Ukraine filming a music video for a possible comeback. Members Jungwoo and Lucas were spotted alongside other NCT members in the airport en route to Ukraine. On January 30, SM Entertainment confirmed the debut of remaining SM Rookies members Kun, Lucas, and Jungwoo through the video "NCT 2018 Yearbook #1". 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, three male Chinese trainees—Hendery, Xiaojun, and Yangyang—were introduced. On October 1, it was confirmed that Yiyang (이양) left SM Entertainment and returned to China to join the idol competition show ''
The Next Top Bang ''The Next Top Bang'' () is an original Chinese reality variety show produced by Dragon Television. It was first aired on 21 October 2018. Concept ''The Next Top Bang'' brings together 108 trainees from 13,699 auditionees. Out of the 108 train ...
''. On December 31, SM Entertainment announced the debut of Hendery, Xiaojun and Yangyang as members of NCT's Chinese sub-unit,
WayV WayV ( zh, s=威神V, hp=WēiShén V; an initialism for We are your Vision) is a Chinese boy band and the fourth overall sub-unit of the South Korean boy band NCT, managed by SM Entertainment's Chinese sub-label, Label V. The group is composed o ...
.


2020: Member departures and formation of Aespa

On October 26, SM Entertainment announced the formation of their new girl group,
Aespa Aespa ( ; , commonly stylized in all lowercase or æspa) is a South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment. The group consists of four members: Karina, Giselle, Winter, and Ningning. They debuted on November 17, 2020, with the single "B ...
. On October 29, the agency re-introduced Ningning as the third member of the group, which debuted on November 17.


2022: Relaunching with new members, and Lami's debut

On July 1, 2022, SM Entertainment relaunched SM Rookies by introducing three new male trainees: Eunseok, Shohei, and Seunghan. On December 9, 2022, SM Entertainment confirmed that Lami would be debuting as an actress, making her the final member of the original lineup introduced back in 2013 to make an official debut.


Members


Current members


Debuted members


Former members


Filmography


Television shows


Discography


Official releases


Songs recorded

Names in ''italics'' indicate other trainees participating in the recording.


Concert participation

Names in ''italics'' indicate other trainees that participated in 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 * SM Town Live 2022: SMCU Express (2022) ** Shohei, Eunseok, Seunghan


Notes


See also

* K-pop#Trainee system


References


External links

* {{Authority control 2013 establishments in South Korea 2013 introductions K-pop music groups Musical groups established in 2013 Musical groups from Seoul Session musicians SM Entertainment artists SM Town Red Velvet (group) NCT (band) Aespa South Korean dance music groups South Korean idol groups