Highlights
- BigHit Music has reopened HIT IT BASE, the hip-hop audition program whose first edition in 2010 brought BTS's Suga into the company.
- HIT IT BASE 2026 is open to male applicants born between 2008 and 2016. The top 20 finalists receive free industry training and a live performance slot.
- The program signals a return to the hip-hop roots that defined BigHit during BTS's debut era of 2013–14.
BigHit Music has opened applications for HIT IT BASE 2026, a free hip-hop training program for teenage boys. BigHit, now a HYBE sublabel managing BTS, TXT and CORTIS, runs the program as a performance-driven training block rather than a conventional idol audition. The application portal and program materials are in Korean only.
BigHit searching for new BTS? Audition eligibility and application window Revealed
Applications opened on Monday, May 18, 2026, and close on Sunday, June 28, 2026. The program is open to male applicants born between 2008 and 2016. Submissions go through the official audition website. Unlike previous editions, BigHit is not providing backing tracks this year, so candidates choose their own beats.
What to submit for the BigHit HIT IT Audition 2026?
Applicants need to send one front-facing photograph and a short self-cam video showing their singing, rapping or dancing, with a hip-hop lean. The submission also requires a written statement explaining why the applicant wants to pursue this path. The rap focus this year makes it a strong window for underground and emerging local rappers — a category that has historically been underserved by major label auditions in Korea. (Note: BTS India concert with a Hanumankind opening set to arrive soon.)
BigHit offers free training program: selection and training
BigHit will pick 20 finalists, with the official roster announced on Friday, July 3, 2026. From there, the program runs as a weekend training block of 10 to 12 sessions between July 11 and August 9. Training covers technical lectures and lyrical coaching from industry professionals, including active rappers brought in to match the rap-heavy direction.
A return to BigHit's hip-hop roots
The program runs free of cost and ends with a live Final Show on Sunday, August 16, 2026. Every finalist performs publicly, receives limited-edition merchandise, and gets a "special benefit" perk that BigHit will reveal in June 2026. The setup — hip-hop training, public stage, no idol-casting framing — is closer to the company's 2010 starting point than to a typical K-pop pipeline.
That 2010 audition is what brought Suga into the company, and his work shaped the sound of early BTS records during the 2013–14 debut era.
