{"id":6193,"date":"2026-08-19T12:09:42","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T12:09:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=6193"},"modified":"2026-08-19T12:09:42","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T12:09:42","slug":"producers-scout-for-k-pop-talent-with-u-s-appeal-during-kcon-fan-festival-in-los-angeles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=6193","title":{"rendered":"Producers Scout for K-pop Talent With U.S. Appeal During KCON Fan Festival in Los Angeles"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\tIn a makeshift audition booth assembled in a far corner on the ground floor of the Los Angeles Convention Center, a steady stream of K-pop lovers took their shot this past weekend.<\/p>\n

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\n\tAs part of the annual KCON Korean entertainment and culture festival, producers of a hit Korean talent competition series held auditions on Aug. 14-15 for the upcoming season of \u201cGirls Planet,\u201d a making-of-the-band story in which viewers will vote on the members of a new all-female K-pop group.<\/p>\n

\n\tVeteran South Korean TV producer Kim Sinyoung is chief producer of \u201cGirls Planet 2027\u201d and the previous three seasons of the \u201cPlanet\u201d competition series. He was on hand at KCON in downtown L.A. to keep an eye on the turnout for the open-audition opportunity at the three-day event produced by CJ ENM, the same company that produces \u201cGirls Planet\u201d and also owns Mnet, the South Korean network on which it originates.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe stakes are high for Season 4 as Mnet has partnered with music industry powerhouse Republic Collective to bring a twist to the competition series. This time around the focus will be on assembling a K-pop group designed to appeal to U.S. and Western audiences. Republic is home to many of the biggest acts in contemporary pop, rock and country music. Which speaks volumes about their interest in tapping into K-pop\u2019s sunny vibes and fierce fandoms. Republic will collaborate with \u201cGirls Planet\u201d team to promote the band and a global rollout of the group\u2019s debut project.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe reason why we are teaming up with Republic collector is to create a girl group targeting the U.S. market directly. So that\u2019s the biggest difference with the previous season,\u201d Kim Sinyoung told Variety.<\/p>\n

\n\tMnet\u2019s \u201cPlanet\u2019 music competition has traveled beyond Korea as a success in Thailand and Japan, among other markets. In Japan it airs on the popular free streaming platform Abema.<\/p>\n

\n\tKim Sinyoung said he has learned key truths about talent and stardom by through his work on the \u201cPlanet\u201d series. Musical talent is essential, he observed, but it\u2019s only one element that an artist aka \u201cidols\u201d in the slanguage of K-pop) needs to ascend to true stardom.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSkills like singing and dancing are very important [to win] this talent show. But more important are a strong character and personality to grab the attention of the audiences,\u201d Kim Sinyoung said. \u201cSo we are now really trying to figure out when we do the auditions \u2014 we are trying to see their character, not only the skills like a singing and dancing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe show plans to hold ore auditions later this year in New York and London, and Kim Sinyoung also plans to return to Los Angeles for a talent scouting trip. Through a translator, Kim Sinyoung reinforced the qualities that he will look for in selecting \u201cGirls Planet\u201d contestants.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\u201cHe\u2019s looking for something that makes audience fall in love with the applicants,\u201d he said. \u201cThere could be a lot of things that people like to get into someone. It could be their skill sets are like super talented, or someone has their own like personal history, or just their character or their charm. That\u2019s what he\u2019s looking for.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tLike its predecessors, \u201cGirls Planet\u201d will begin with a field of 100 contestants that will be winnowed to about 20. CJ ENM press reps emphasized that there\u2019s been no decision yet on the number of members in the \u201cGirls Planet\u2019 creation.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe series in the past has typically spanned 10-12 episodes per season that run on a weekly basis. The finale episode airs live, much like ABC\u2019s \u201cAmerican Idol\u201d and NBC\u2019s \u201cThe Voice.\u201d The \u201cPlanet\u201d series finales have a compelling horserace aspect because the public votes are tallied live, Kim Sinyoung said. Previous seasons of the show have been determined by the votes of more than 7 million viewers.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt gives the feeling of watching the presidential election \u2014 like a vote count,\u201d Kim Sinyoung said.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe \u201cPlanet\u201d series has a solid track record of launching K-pop acts in recent years. Kim Sinyoung is grateful that he was able to parlay his childhood love of MTV and music competition TV shows into a career as a producer. During his college years Kim Sinyoung studied in New York (\u201cWhere I really loved to see Variety<\/em> magazine,\u201d he noted) before returning to Korea to work his way up in the competitive arena of music-related TV. As such, he\u2019s been perfectly positioned to see the impact on the nation from the explosive global growth of K-pop, Korean movies and TV, beauty products, food and cultural exports (which include \u201cK-pop Demon Hunters\u201d).<\/p>\n

\n\tKim Sinyoung attended the first KCON gathering in Los Angeles, more than 10 years ago. The event was significantly smaller in size and scope back then.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAt the time, there were not many audiences like this,\u201d he said, gesturing to the crowds of fans gathering in clusters inside the L.A. Convention Center. \u201cSo it\u2019s very surprising to see this much of a crowd here lining up\u201d to audition for \u201cGirls Planet, he said. \u201cI\u2019m very happy to see that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Catherine Zeta-Jones Thriller Series \u2018Kill Jackie\u2019 Sets October Release Date on Prime Video<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Producer Kim Sinyoung spent the weekend at the KCON fan festival in Los Angeles holding open auditions for his Korean music competition franchise.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6192,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[4816,4817,4818],"class_list":["post-6193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tv","tag-girls-planet","tag-kim-sinyoung","tag-mnet"],"yoast_head":"\nProducers Scout for K-pop Talent With U.S. Appeal During KCON Fan Festival in Los Angeles - Relocation Observer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=6193\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Producers Scout for K-pop Talent With U.S. Appeal During KCON Fan Festival in Los Angeles - 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