“She’s My Pre-Debut Bias”: Netizens Are In Love With The 12-Year-Old Contestant On JYP Entertainment’s New Audition Show “A2K”

JYP Entertainment officially started its new global girl group audition program called A2K, and a young contestant has caught the eyes of many netizens.

| @America2Korea/Twitter

A2K is an acronym for “America to Korea,” and the show is produced by both JYP Entertainment and Republic Records. With the plan to debut a girl group at the end of 2023, JYPE founder Park Jin Young, also known as J.Y. Park, described that they are looking for “American talent to create a girl group through a K-Pop system.”

J.Y. Park | JYP Entertainment/YouTube

The auditions will be held in Dallas, New York, Chicago, Atlanta, and Los Angeles. The selected members will attend a boot camp held in Los Angeles for a week, and the selected final candidates will fly to Korea to train at the JYP training center. From there, the trainees will go through the final debuting procedure and debut as a girl group.

The first episode aired on July 14, and girls from all different experiences and backgrounds tried out for their chance to be in a K-Pop idol group.

Your browser does not support video.| JYP Entertainment/YouTube

The second episode was also filled with talented girls—but one of them caught the eyes of netizens. A 12-year-old Korean American contestant named Kayla Lee from Philadelphia entered the audition room nervously. She shared that she is bilingual in Korean and English, and J.Y. Park pointed out that it will be an advantage for her as a K-Pop artist.

| JYP Entertainment/YouTube

She admitted that she started vocal training just a week before her audition and is primarily self-taught from watching videos. However, J.Y. Park was impressed by her singing because of her breath support. She never raised her chest while breathing in, which is a bad habit for singers.

Your browser does not support video.| JYP Entertainment/YouTube 

In addition, she made J.Y. Park laugh because she abruptly stopped singing after the end of the first chorus because, according to her, that’s what “usually” happens during auditions.

Your browser does not support video.| JYP Entertainment/YouTube 

When it came to the dance part of the audition, Kayla expressed her nervousness and informed J.Y. Park that she just learned the choreography a few days ago, so she was not comfortable with it yet. J.Y. Park reassured her that it was okay and that he was only looking for potential. Despite her seemingly nervous comment, she danced confidently and didn’t get distracted when her headband fell off.

Your browser does not support video.| JYP Entertainment/YouTube 

She made J.Y. Park laugh again when she stopped abruptly after the first verse because she knew that most judges tell you to stop after one verse.

Your browser does not support video.| JYP Entertainment/YouTube 

J.Y. Park pointed out that she does not have much dancing experience and has a long way to go, but that he believes she will be a great dancer if she practices.

You got a pretty long way to go especially in dancing… but if you practice, I think you’re going to be great at dancing. Your stature allows you to perform very well. You have long legs and long arms, which helps the movements look bigger.

— J.Y. Park

Your browser does not support video.| JYP Entertainment/YouTube 

He also praised her drive and smartness for researching everything about her passion.

You got potential in singing and dancing but what impresses me more is your drive and your motivation. I could feel your passion. Also, how smart you are in chasing that passion.

— J.Y. Park

This compliment brought Kayla to tears as she was self-conscious about her dancing skills.

Your browser does not support video.| JYP Entertainment/YouTube 

It was not just J.Y. Park who was impressed by Kaylee’s audition. The comment section was filled with praises of all the contestants, especially Kaylee. Many netizens were impressed at her drive and talent at such a young age, and some mentioned that she has the potential to be the next “it” girl in K-Pop. Some predicted that she might have to train for a bit more before debuting—perhaps with JYPE’s next girl group.

Watch Kaylee’s full audition in the second episode of A2K.