NEXT BIG THING: Korean company SM Entertainment is in NZ hunting for the 'next big thing'. They are the name behind global sensation TVXQ, pictured here at the MTV Video Music Awards Japan in 2007.
The term K-Pop could soon stand for Kiwi-pop if Aucklanders prove they have what it takes.
Korean entertainment label SM Entertainment is in town today for one day only as they hunt for the next big thing in music.
The company, which is behind global superstars like Girls' Generation, Super Junior and TVXQ, is holding auditions at the Blockhouse Bay Community Centre for singers, dancers, models and actors, aged between 8 and 20 years.
This is the first year New Zealand has been included in the seven-country talent hunt.
Auckland is one of the last stops, after Korea, the US, China and Japan, with Australia and Canada still to come.
K-pop, or Korean pop, is part of the wave of South Korean culture, music and dance that has attracted millions of fans from around the world.
In 2011 the "Korean wave" added approximately USD$3.8 billion dollars to the South Korean economy.
Fellow Korean entertainment label, JYP Entertainment, were in Auckland earlier this month hunting for their own version of the Next Big Thing.
- © Fairfax NZ News
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