SM ENTERTAINMENT announced the large-scale global audition '2026 SM GLOBAL AUDITION,' starting on 10 January 2026 in Busan, South Korea, followed by Daegu, Gwangju, Daejeon, and Jeju. Seoul will be the final stop within South Korea before the auditions expand throughout Asia, including Bangkok.
In Thailand, as well as Fukuoka, Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka in Japan; Shanghai, Shenzhen, Zhengzhou, Beijing, Changsha, and Chengdu in China; the auditions will then continue to Los Angeles and New Jersey in the United States, and Sydney and Brisbane in Australia, covering a total of 21 regions worldwide.
For the auditions in Bangkok, Thailand, registration opens from 1 December 2025 until 8 February 2026 at 23:59 Thailand time via the SM AUDITION website (https://audition.smtown.com/). Anyone born between 2007 and 2015 is eligible to apply. Further details about the '2026 SM GLOBAL AUDITION' are available on the official SM AUDITION website and Instagram account (@smaudition_official).
Additionally, the newly redesigned SM AUDITION website won two awards at Korea's prestigious WEB AWARD KOREA 2025: the 'Grand Prize' in the mobile web category and the 'Top Award' in culture/event category. This website overhaul serves as a gateway to discovering new artists who will lead global K-pop trends, aiming to create the best digital platform that is accessible and user-friendly for everyone. Beyond providing information, it focuses on effectively conveying SM's unique heritage and expertise through digital channels, delivering a positive brand experience to applicants.
The 'SM GLOBAL AUDITION' is a large-scale global audition program with a long history and tradition, first held in 2006. It has produced many current active artists such as WENDY and JOY of Red Velvet; JOHNNY, YUTA, TEN, MARK, RENJUN, KUN, YANGYANG, and RIKU of NCT; as well as CARMEN of Hearts2Hearts. This event continues to attract overwhelming interest not only from aspiring K-pop artists but also from fans in South Korea and around the world.
