Key recalls the ruthless 'final evaluation' that determined the 5 debuting members of SHINee out of ~20 trainees

On this week's installment of Yoo Jae Suk's YouTube talk show 'Just an Excuse', SHINee's Key made a guest appearance and surprised the host (and 'guest-host'(?) Ji Suk Jin) by revealing that he is now in his 16th year of promotions in the entertainment industry.

On this day, Key confessed that if he were to go back in time, he probably would not be able to survive again the ruthless and rigorous training process of becoming a K-Pop idol. 

Key began, "At first, the team was supposed to be around 7~8 members. There was a pool of about 20 trainees who were competing for the debut team spot. Some trainees who didn't make the final cut had to go back home to China without another chance."

He continued, "By the final stages of the selection process, we didn't even talk to one another. It was a merciless competition." 

The SHINee member then vividly recalled the 'final evaluation' that was held by SM Entertainment, describing, "It was called the 'final test'. You had to film yourself with a camera once, and then send the footage over, and that was it. You either made it or you didn't. That was basically our college entrance exam."

Key added on, "We prepared like there was no tomorrow. There was no 'friends' or 'dongsaengs' that we spent years training with. I had to beat out that other person, no matter what, or else I won't make it." 

Next, Key talked about what he thought was the most heartless part of it all. He revealed, "To this day, I still don't understand why they had to do it the way they did. Why couldn't they just write the results down and hand them out privately? But they gathered all the trainees in one room. And just coldly said, 'Okay the members are...'."

Shocked, Yoo Jae Suk asked, "They did that even though you weren't even filming some reality show?"

Key nodded and went on, "They flatly announced in front of everyone, 'The team will launch next year. The members are X, XX, XXX...'. So even when my name was called, I could not celebrate or act like I was relieved." 

Ji Suk Jin then asked, "In what order did they call your name?" 

Key responded, "I was called out fourth. In truth, there were 3 members who were pretty much already fixed. It was Jonghyun hyung, Taemin, and Minho."

He further explained, "It wasn't necessarily that anyone had told us it was that way, but everyone could just tell that Jonghyun and Taemin had already made it. Minho was still in somewhat of a grey area, but those two, there was no dethroning them."

You can watch the full version of this week's 'Just an Excuse' featuring guest Key, below.