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On March 28, NewJeans' agency, ADOR, revealed a notice for the 2023 ADOR Global Audition - The Real Hype Boys, inviting boys from all around the world who wish to embrace the K-pop idol lifestyle to register for the same.
The criteria for participation in global auditions applies to boys born between 2004 and 2012, and participants can apply as both individuals and teams. Registration for the same is available on ADOR's official website.
The first set of applications will be accepted from March 28 to April 13, 1 pm KST, and auditionees who pass this round will be taken to the second round of auditions, which is face-to-face participation.
The second round will be held in 12 cities in Korea (Seoul, Daegu, Busan, Ulsan, Chuncheon, Wonju, Jeju, Daejeon, and Chengju) alongside seven overseas countries (Canada, USA, Vietnam, Thailand, New Zealand, Japan, and Australia).
"Please stop": Fans react to ADOR's controversial age limit for NewJeans' junior boy group audition criteria
While many were happy about the formation of a new boy group under NewJeans, some thought the age criteria was quite problematic. While it's hard for fans to not rejoice at the fact that this will be ADOR's first-ever boy group, they felt that the age limit was both too harsh and too young for people to enter the industry.
Since boys born in 2012, who are only 11 years old, can participate in the auditions, it naturally made many netizens uncomfortable. Others felt that since it was just auditions and the selected members needed to undergo a training period, recruiting young boys made sense. However, some found it hard to ignore that as more and more rookie groups prepare for debuts, the age limit keeps decreasing.
This is not only controversial for the younger boys who'll be participating, but also for the older males who aren't allowed to register for the auditions. Since 19 and 20 don't seem too old to give up on one's dream of embarking on a K-pop idol career, the strict concentration on recruiting only young boys has upset fans. Netizens majorly agree on the fact that people above 18 years are barely given the opportunity to debut or train.
Further, an additional problem that fans have with the recent ADOR boy-group auditions is the lack of promotions for NewJeans. Given that it's been less than a year since the five-member K-pop girl group debuted, fans feel that their agency has chosen to shift priorities too soon.
Many are concerned that NewJeans will naturally be less prioritized, and their comebacks won't be as frequent given that the agency will be busy training the upcoming boy group. Since NewJeans is still climbing the ladder of success, fans are worried that these changes will shift the trajectory of the group.
Nevertheless, many are still excited about the kind of group that will be born of ADOR's The Real Hype Boys auditions. Given the immense success and influence that the agency has created with NewJeans, many are curious to find out if the Hype Boys will be yet another record-breaking rookie group from the agency.
