Top celebrities who were overlooked by major entertainment agencies early in their careers are once again garnering the spotlight.

In a recent interview, singer Ejel, who clinched the third spot on JTBC's 'Sing Again 3,' shared her experience of being criticized by J.Y. Park. 

Ejel revealed, "I approached every major entertainment agency in Korea, including JYP, YG, SM, and Mystic but I was rejected by all of them." In particular, Ejel mentioned a time when she was personally hurt by J.Y. Park.

According to her, "I had participated in 'Kpop Star Season 6,' and when I paused my singing midway, J.Y. Park commented first." She recounted the episode of receiving judgment from J.Y. Park.

She continued, "He said, 'You can't sing, you're really bad, and you're just imitating someone right now.' I thought that if the person who has seen many others perform said that I have no talent, I thought I should give up music." However, Ejel shared that she didn't give up and explained, "But it was a turning point for me to be more determined."

Apart from Ejel, there are also other "talents missed by JYP Entertainment," such as IU, Kim Chung Ha, former AOA member ChoA, EXID's Hani, 2NE1's CL, BTS's j-hope, Hyolyn, Highlight's Doojoon, Kikwang, and more.

J.Y. Park even expressed his regret by saying, "I will find the audition officer who eliminated IU and discipline them."

The anecdote about IU's audition for JYP Entertainment continues to be popular. She made her debut at the age of 15 under LOEN Entertainment.

IU, in the past, shared how she managed to debut only after 10 months of training. She explained, "I had been a trainee for 10 months at the company. The group that the company had prepared fell through but someone had to debut because of the distribution contract. So, I was lucky enough to debut because the company thought 'This child would have other opportunities. If she doesn't make it big, she'll have another chance to debut again.' I thought I would debut as a group, I didn't know I would debut as a solo artist."

Regarding all the talents that he missed, J.Y. Park joked, "I can't watch TV these days. I don't know why I did that." He added, "When I think about all the stars I missed, I'm so disappointed. But if they joined my company, that doesn't mean they would have succeeded. I think they became successful because they were able to meet a different producer and company."

The reason many aspiring celebrities seek out major entertainment agencies is that they have a higher chance of receiving recognition during their rookie days. However, there are also those who, like IU, are recognized for their talents by other entertainment agencies and become global stars. Top stars such as Lee Hyori, Park Bo Gum, and G-Dragon debuted after moving to different agencies for various reasons.

Lee Hyori caught the attention of SM Entertainment's manager in 1999 and was cast by SM.

As an SM trainee, Lee Hyori was preparing to debut as a girl group with the company. However, she had to quit her trainee life due to personal reasons and was cast by DSP Media to debut as a member of Fin.K.L, the rival girl group of S.E.S. 

G-Dragon was also a trainee at SM. He was active as a member of the co-ed group Roo'ra Kids, which was a kid version of Roo'ra and was cast by Lee Soo Man himself. However, G-Dragon decided to become a rapper while training and went to a hip-hop academy to learn rap. At that time, he caught the attention of Yang Hyun Suk and joined YG Entertainment to debut as a member of Big Bang.

Park Bo Gum debuted as an actor but was originally an aspiring singer.

Park Bo Gum sent his singing video to major Korean entertainment companies such as SM, YG, and JYP. He was later cast by another company and debuted as an actor. Yang Hyun Suk also expressed his regret by saying, "He also auditioned for our company but failed. I have regrets about not casting Park Bo Gum."