(updated!)avex 2009 Audition Experiences

[Guest a_dreamer143]

Hii guys! I auditioned today in SF, so I guess I should debrief. ^^ I tried out for dancing.

Okay so my audition was scheduled for 12 PM but my friend (who was scheduled for two) & I got lost on the BUS and ran around Oakland for a while... @___@

And we got there TWO HOURS LATER, so I had pretty much given up on auditioning myself. - -;

But when we finally got there, the guy was totally cool with it and told me I should still audition.

There were only two other people when we arrived at the place, but at some points it was only us, so I think they just take whoever`s arriving...

The guy took two photos of me in front of a black curtain (one profile, one full-body), and after a bit it was my turn.

I went in and there was this stage and mic, and there were four people in the room like everyone has said. The cameraman adjusted the mic and then went back to where he was standing.

The three judges (two female, one male) were lounging on this couch... and no one on this thread mentioned how pretty they were! LOL

They were a lot younger than I thought they`d be, I was expecting more conservative-ish people. xP;; I really liked them, they were really down to earth and I was really at ease. Like barely any nerves at all, which is definitely a first for me all these years of auditioning for anything.

Anyway, I intro`d myself and all that with the mic, and then they immediately cue`d the music, which totally caught me by surprise so I screwed up... x____________x; But they encouraged me to start over, and I did my dance routine.

After that they asked me a lot of questions like the ones everyone else has mentioned (I think there`s a bunch that they ask every auditioner) + a bunch of stuff from my app (music bg, fave artists, instruments etc), but since I tried out for dance they asked a lot about my dance background too. They also asked the height question and some music ones though even though I was only trying out for dance. o_o'

But most of the time the three were just staring at my application and talking to each other in Japanese for a really long time, and then the woman asking the questions started talking for another.... long time into this little recorder (?) she was holding. Did that happen to anyone else? I have no idea what it was. o_o;

And yeah, that`s about it.

They seemed really prepared. Like the name tags have your name printed on them, and your application is printed out for each judge (I saw my photo/info in front of all of the judges which was super embarrassing). :0

To answer people`s questions on whether you can try out for more than one thing, I`m sure you can, even if you didn`t put down two. When you check in, you write down what you`re going to try out for in this little slot, and I saw a lot of people write more than one. They also said in the email to prepare a second best talent just in case.

Also, remember to bring a parental consent form if you`re under eighteen!! I forgot mine, and they made an exception for me, but I was just really lucky!

I chatted a lot with one of the staff guys there, and this is some stuff I found out:

-- The auditions probably aren`t going to be yearly, at least not in SF; the guy said that there wasn`t a huge turnout in SF :/

-- LA & NY are going to be super hectic. He said that since a lot of people applied in those two places, they had to be a lot more selective... so if you got selected, double congrats! ^^ The place they`re hosting the auditions in LA is where the Grammy`s took place, so that`s gonna be... intense. o_o;;; I`m jealous the SF place was kinda shady. xD Although the inside was kinda pretty in its own way.

-- They`re also considering going to Houston in the future since a lot of people applied from there.

-- I mentioned SM auditions and how they were a lot more populated than this because of the publicity, and he said that avex works differently. Like, they didn`t advertise it too much because they think that`ll draw more of a Jpop fanbase (like people that just want stardom) instead of raw talent/serious people, which is what they`re looking for. You could really tell that avex was different than SM though -- everyone there was a serious avex staff member, not as much a local volunteer (like with SM).

-- The guy I asked flew in from New York, and he says that the three judges all flew in from Tokyo. So I think the ones I met are going to be the same four that all of you will be seeing. :3

Oh, and can someone ask when we`ll know we get callbacks/didn`t get callbacks? I forgot to ask~ Dx

I`m kinda tired right now so I prolly forgot a lot of stuff.... feel free to ask me questions! Sorry for the SUPERSUPERSUPER long post! >_<

good job!!! ahhh im nervous now lol theyre prolly gunna have 5 people audition at the same time for LA if theres a lot of people so besides the judges some others will watch maybe everyone???no i doubt it but maybe?hahaha

im gunna be dancing also any advice??did u get to finish the whole song or whut?cuz i editted mine to 1 min and 30 seconds

[Guest ewix]

Hii guys! I auditioned today in SF, so I guess I should debrief. ^^ I tried out for dancing.

Okay so my audition was scheduled for 12 PM but my friend (who was scheduled for two) & I got lost on the BUS and ran around Oakland for a while... @___@

And we got there TWO HOURS LATER, so I had pretty much given up on auditioning myself. - -;

But when we finally got there, the guy was totally cool with it and told me I should still audition.

There were only two other people when we arrived at the place, but at some points it was only us, so I think they just take whoever`s arriving...

The guy took two photos of me in front of a black curtain (one profile, one full-body), and after a bit it was my turn.

I went in and there was this stage and mic, and there were four people in the room like everyone has said. The cameraman adjusted the mic and then went back to where he was standing.

The three judges (two female, one male) were lounging on this couch... and no one on this thread mentioned how pretty they were! LOL

They were a lot younger than I thought they`d be, I was expecting more conservative-ish people. xP;; I really liked them, they were really down to earth and I was really at ease. Like barely any nerves at all, which is definitely a first for me all these years of auditioning for anything.

Anyway, I intro`d myself and all that with the mic, and then they immediately cue`d the music, which totally caught me by surprise so I screwed up... x____________x; But they encouraged me to start over, and I did my dance routine.

After that they asked me a lot of questions like the ones everyone else has mentioned (I think there`s a bunch that they ask every auditioner) + a bunch of stuff from my app (music bg, fave artists, instruments etc), but since I tried out for dance they asked a lot about my dance background too. They also asked the height question and some music ones though even though I was only trying out for dance. o_o'

But most of the time the three were just staring at my application and talking to each other in Japanese for a really long time, and then the woman asking the questions started talking for another.... long time into this little recorder (?) she was holding. Did that happen to anyone else? I have no idea what it was. o_o;

And yeah, that`s about it.

They seemed really prepared. Like the name tags have your name printed on them, and your application is printed out for each judge (I saw my photo/info in front of all of the judges which was super embarrassing). :0

To answer people`s questions on whether you can try out for more than one thing, I`m sure you can, even if you didn`t put down two. When you check in, you write down what you`re going to try out for in this little slot, and I saw a lot of people write more than one. They also said in the email to prepare a second best talent just in case.

Also, remember to bring a parental consent form if you`re under eighteen!! I forgot mine, and they made an exception for me, but I was just really lucky!

I chatted a lot with one of the staff guys there, and this is some stuff I found out:

-- The auditions probably aren`t going to be yearly, at least not in SF; the guy said that there wasn`t a huge turnout in SF :/

-- LA & NY are going to be super hectic. He said that since a lot of people applied in those two places, they had to be a lot more selective... so if you got selected, double congrats! ^^ The place they`re hosting the auditions in LA is where the Grammy`s took place, so that`s gonna be... intense. o_o;;; I`m jealous the SF place was kinda shady. xD Although the inside was kinda pretty in its own way.

-- They`re also considering going to Houston in the future since a lot of people applied from there.

-- I mentioned SM auditions and how they were a lot more populated than this because of the publicity, and he said that avex works differently. Like, they didn`t advertise it too much because they think that`ll draw more of a Jpop fanbase (like people that just want stardom) instead of raw talent/serious people, which is what they`re looking for. You could really tell that avex was different than SM though -- everyone there was a serious avex staff member, not as much a local volunteer (like with SM).

-- The guy I asked flew in from New York, and he says that the three judges all flew in from Tokyo. So I think the ones I met are going to be the same four that all of you will be seeing. :3

Oh, and can someone ask when we`ll know we get callbacks/didn`t get callbacks? I forgot to ask~ Dx

I`m kinda tired right now so I prolly forgot a lot of stuff.... feel free to ask me questions! Sorry for the SUPERSUPERSUPER long post! >_<

OMG I HOPE THEY COME TO HOUSTON T.T its 400 dollar a ticket now

[sarang_ailove]

LAWLiETTA~: Wow your audition must of been pretty good! It seems like they spent a lot of time on you. ;)And you learned so much information from them!

Wow, now I'm even more happier that I got selected to go to the NY auditions! yay! lol!

I guess that explains a lot about why this audition isn't as big as the SM auditions...I can understand where they are coming from. Even though there are talented ppl that go audition for SM in the USA there are also a lot of ppl that just go there for fun and b/c they like kpop. I bet avex could of advertised through anime conventions (or had auditions at a convention) and get a lot of ppl that way but they probably didn't want to attract only ppl that were mainly anime/jpop fans and not real serious singers/performers. But like I said before, they REALLY should go to Hawaii for auditions b/c japanese music companies have scouted singers from there in the past.

[Guest a_dreamer143]

LAWLiETTA~: Wow your audition must of been pretty good! It seems like they spent a lot of time on you. ;)And you learned so much information from them!

Wow, now I'm even more happier that I got selected to go to the NY auditions! yay! lol!

I guess that explains a lot about why this audition isn't as big as the SM auditions...I can understand where they are coming from. Even though there are talented ppl that go audition for SM in the USA there are also a lot of ppl that just go there for fun and b/c they like kpop. I bet avex could of advertised through anime conventions (or had auditions at a convention) and get a lot of ppl that way but they probably didn't want to attract only ppl that were mainly anime/jpop fans and not real serious singers/performers. But like I said before, they REALLY should go to Hawaii for auditions b/c japanese music companies have scouted singers from there in the past.

im scred to go to the auditions u guys..lol mainly because i dont listen to jpop that often

[Guest Eunice6390]

did everyone who sent an email get a notice back

for newyorkers?

[sarang_ailove]

im scred to go to the auditions u guys..lol mainly because i dont listen to jpop that often

I don't think it matters as long as you are ok being a performer in Japan. There are jpop singers that don't listen to jpop lol! There also are plenty of ppl that audition for kpop companies that don't really listen to kpop much.

Eunice6390: You mean the confirmed audition times? I haven't.

[Guest a_dreamer143]

I don't think it matters as long as you are ok being a performer in Japan. There are jpop singers that don't listen to jpop lol! There also are plenty of ppl that audition for kpop companies that don't really listen to kpop much.

Eunice6390: You mean the confirmed audition times? I haven't.

thanks for that!! i feel a bit better now ^^

[Guest LAWLiETTA~]

Thanks for wrtiting you experiance I enjoyed reading it but at the same time, it made me really nervous...hahahaah

I will be going to the LA one,,,,but yahhh,, as I heard of, there is only like 110 people in LA...but dunno..

Im just really curious how many people are actually going.

because someone else said the same thing like there is going to be a lot in LA..

It sounds like it might be a bit different than the SF one..

Haha, I heard that too from someone on soompi. But I dunno, I`m sure you`ll do great~ ^^

I know a lot of people applied for LA, but I dunno about the number of people that actually got accepted.

good job!!! ahhh im nervous now lol theyre prolly gunna have 5 people audition at the same time for LA if theres a lot of people so besides the judges some others will watch maybe everyone???no i doubt it but maybe?hahaha

im gunna be dancing also any advice??did u get to finish the whole song or whut?cuz i editted mine to 1 min and 30 seconds

Not necessarily -- they said that they had to be more selective with the applicants, so I don`t think they necessarily took in more people. There were just more people to pick from. Imo they probably want to give all applicants a fair chance, so each person should still have a few minutes to perform and stuff. My audition was around ten minutes I think?

I heard that they let you finish a song when you sing, but I practiced for only about two minutes too. =) I think I might`ve even gone over what they wanted, but they let me continue.

LAWLiETTA~: Wow your audition must of been pretty good! It seems like they spent a lot of time on you. ;)And you learned so much information from them!

Wow, now I'm even more happier that I got selected to go to the NY auditions! yay! lol!

I guess that explains a lot about why this audition isn't as big as the SM auditions...I can understand where they are coming from. Even though there are talented ppl that go audition for SM in the USA there are also a lot of ppl that just go there for fun and b/c they like kpop. I bet avex could of advertised through anime conventions (or had auditions at a convention) and get a lot of ppl that way but they probably didn't want to attract only ppl that were mainly anime/jpop fans and not real serious singers/performers. But like I said before, they REALLY should go to Hawaii for auditions b/c japanese music companies have scouted singers from there in the past.

Maybe it`s because my experiences are different than yours, but the percentage of people at conventions that are serious about being a performer in the entertainment industry is very very very small. If anything, I think the majority of people at cons are the opposite of what the staff are looking for, because a lot of them are Japanophiles. (Btw I`m not a con-hater, I`m actually a cosplayer & work on press. xD)

But I might be wrong lol. They were considering Hawaii too, I assumed they had gone there...? I dunno~

Guys, don`t be worried! I wasn`t prepared at ALL until the morning of my audition, but I *think* I did relatively well! Confidence looks REALLY good in auditions -- after all, if you`re a nervous wreck, how would they expect you to perform in front of an audience? Remember, we`re all cheering you on!

がんばってね !!!

[Guest a_dreamer143]

^

so when you danced it was only you right?i mean not a group??ahh im scared that my CD wont work or sumthin when i get there lol!!ahhh!!

[Guest HappyToast]

did everyone who sent an email get a notice back

for newyorkers?

um... this is for experiences, go to the reg. avex forum, but yeah i got picked for NY^^

[Guest LAWLiETTA~]

{ a_dreamer143 }

Yeah, the group dance requirement doesn`t apply to USA. There`s a difference between the World Audition & the Star Search; the one we`re all going to is the Star Search. :3

[Guest a_dreamer143]

{ a_dreamer143 }

Yeah, the group dance requirement doesn`t apply to USA. There`s a difference between the World Audition & the Star Search; the one we`re all going to is the Star Search. :3

yeah i know that ^^ its jus that i wasnt sure whether it must be a group or not since they didnt specify but thanksssss!!!

i hope my CD works :[

[Guest ventura]

I chatted a lot with one of the staff guys there, and this is some stuff I found out:

-- The auditions probably aren`t going to be yearly, at least not in SF; the guy said that there wasn`t a huge turnout in SF :/

-- LA & NY are going to be super hectic. He said that since a lot of people applied in those two places, they had to be a lot more selective... so if you got selected, double congrats! ^^ The place they`re hosting the auditions in LA is where the Grammy`s took place, so that`s gonna be... intense. o_o;;; I`m jealous the SF place was kinda shady. xD Although the inside was kinda pretty in its own way.

-- They`re also considering going to Houston in the future since a lot of people applied from there.

-- I mentioned SM auditions and how they were a lot more populated than this because of the publicity, and he said that avex works differently. Like, they didn`t advertise it too much because they think that`ll draw more of a Jpop fanbase (like people that just want stardom) instead of raw talent/serious people, which is what they`re looking for. You could really tell that avex was different than SM though -- everyone there was a serious avex staff member, not as much a local volunteer (like with SM).

-- The guy I asked flew in from New York, and he says that the three judges all flew in from Tokyo. So I think the ones I met are going to be the same four that all of you will be seeing. :3

Oh, and can someone ask when we`ll know we get callbacks/didn`t get callbacks? I forgot to ask~ Dx

I`m kinda tired right now so I prolly forgot a lot of stuff.... feel free to ask me questions! Sorry for the SUPERSUPERSUPER long post! >_<

Oh dang, i wish wish wish they come to Houston (hopefully next year)..i mean its still not close to where i live but at least itd be in the same state and i could just drive.

So, should we start by introducing in Japanese and answering whatever questions we can in Japanese, then switching to English when the questions get too hard? Or should we just stick to starting out with English if we think our Japanese might fail towards the end lol? Because i dont want to walk in being all confident in my language ability only to get to some hard word or complitcated sentence and be all 'huh o___O? can you speak english now?' *sigh* i should just ask my japanese relatives for actual language help some time soon -___-;;

But yeah, i agree with you about the cons, considering the majority are a bunch of wapanese kids who arent serious and only want to meet Gackt. So i think the selectivity of Avex is nice, and theyre pretty dang smart pre-empting the crowd who thinks its easy to break into Japan, and that its a country full of cosplayers, j-rockers, and anime 24/7 (yeah sorry but this misconception really bothers me).

As for serious talents, i don't think it's wise to simply audition for something in a foriegn country that will change your life if you dont have the passion for it. And i think judges WILL see through that 'oh i just showed up on the off chance that i'll be famous' attitude. You have to be dedicated to the country's industry that youre in, know it inside out, because its dang hard to break into, especially for foreigners. I mean Alan was selected in a previous audtion of this sort, so thats big shoes to live up to...and i would argue that Alan hasn't even broken into the Japanese music scene yet considering her highest sales so far have only been ~10,000. (shes gettin there though).

Oh yeah, another question: do you know if the majority of people auditioning are Japanese or other ethnicities?

[Guest ewix]

Oh dang, i wish wish wish they come to Houston (hopefully next year)..i mean its still not close to where i live but at least itd be in the same state and i could just drive.

So, should we start by introducing in Japanese and answering whatever questions we can in Japanese, then switching to English when the questions get too hard? Or should we just stick to starting out with English if we think our Japanese might fail towards the end lol? Because i dont want to walk in being all confident in my language ability only to get to some hard word or complitcated sentence and be all 'huh o___O? can you speak english now?' *sigh* i should just ask my japanese relatives for actual language help some time soon -___-;;

But yeah, i agree with you about the cons, considering the majority are a bunch of wapanese kids who arent serious and only want to meet Gackt. So i think the selectivity of Avex is nice, and theyre pretty dang smart pre-empting the crowd who thinks its easy to break into Japan, and that its a country full of cosplayers, j-rockers, and anime 24/7 (yeah sorry but this misconception really bothers me).

As for serious talents, i don't think it's wise to simply audition for something in a foriegn country that will change your life if you dont have the passion for it. And i think judges WILL see through that 'oh i just showed up on the off chance that i'll be famous' attitude. You have to be dedicated to the country's industry that youre in, know it inside out, because its dang hard to break into, especially for foreigners. I mean Alan was selected in a previous audtion of this sort, so thats big shoes to live up to...and i would argue that Alan hasn't even broken into the Japanese music scene yet considering her highest sales so far have only been ~10,000. (shes gettin there though).

Oh yeah, another question: do you know if the majority of people auditioning are Japanese or other ethnicities?

there most likely coming this year, they wouldnt wait till next year cause i just read the avexstarsearch site it said hawaii and dallas ppl still can sign up cause they are considering going there, so there is a very high chance that there coming :DDDD

[Guest angel_cutie]

ahhhh i wish i live in the US >.<"""

living in canada means not as much auditions T_T

i think i fit in with japanese music more that korean now haha

i sing way much more than in korean =PP

[Guest ewix]

hey im wondeirng if we do make it, and if you speak mandarin, do u have a chance to make albums in taiwan instead of japan, bcuz avex has a avex asia(taiwan)

[sarang_ailove]

Maybe it`s because my experiences are different than yours, but the percentage of people at conventions that are serious about being a performer in the entertainment industry is very very very small. If anything, I think the majority of people at cons are the opposite of what the staff are looking for, because a lot of them are Japanophiles. (Btw I`m not a con-hater, I`m actually a cosplayer & work on press. xD)

But I might be wrong lol. They were considering Hawaii too, I assumed they had gone there...? I dunno~

がんばってね !!!

Yeah, that's what I meant. Many ppl that go to anime conventions just like anime, sushi and jpop/jrock associated with their favorite anime. Not many of them would be serious about singing in japan. XD But I'm not hating on conventions either, I like them still. So I agree with you!

[Guest LAWLiETTA~]

{ a_dreamer143 }

Kay then, g`luck!!

{ ventura }

I think it depends if you`re fluent or not. Like, if you know enough conversational Japanese to understand the questions + express your answers fully and everything then go for it, but imho, it might not look good if you say you can speak Japanese, then falter halfway through? Just my take on it though

And I agree about the whole convention thing. Like, there are a lot of cool people at cons, but a great number of attendees fall into that stereotype. :/ I`m super sorry if I`m offending anyone, just trying to be honest about my opinion. >____<;;

They said that most auditionees were Asian, but there were some non-Asians that were accepted to audition. :]

{ sarang_ailove }

Ohh, sorry about that! I read it as 'they SHOULD scout at cons for serious people', sorryyyyy~ x_x;

[Guest -LoVe-]

LAWLiETTA~: Wow your audition must of been pretty good! It seems like they spent a lot of time on you. ;)And you learned so much information from them!

Wow, now I'm even more happier that I got selected to go to the NY auditions! yay! lol!

I guess that explains a lot about why this audition isn't as big as the SM auditions...I can understand where they are coming from. Even though there are talented ppl that go audition for SM in the USA there are also a lot of ppl that just go there for fun and b/c they like kpop. I bet avex could of advertised through anime conventions (or had auditions at a convention) and get a lot of ppl that way but they probably didn't want to attract only ppl that were mainly anime/jpop fans and not real serious singers/performers. But like I said before, they REALLY should go to Hawaii for auditions b/c japanese music companies have scouted singers from there in the past.

wait i have a question for you. they already sent out all the confirms for the NY auditions?

[Guest aki666]

@LAWLiETTA~: Thanks for sharing! Sounds like u did a good job since the judges talked to u a lot

When u performed, was it on an empty stage? I might play the piano & they said they'd have a keyboard there & all. I wonder why they asked about ur height? Maybe they want u to model too hehe. But the height should be written on the audition form & u said they had ur info w/them, right?

Also, did u speak in Japanese or English when u answered?

I'm getting kinda nervous for the LA ones too @______@