Michael Wu: K-pop’s Stanford-educated trainee

Dancing for a whole minute then resting for a few seconds — doing this over and over again for more than two hours isn’t easy.

The hardest part of it all was to watch your friends almost collapse one by one — and there isn’t anything you can do. 

Michael Wu, a communications student at Stanford University and a contestant on “Starlight Boys,” a controversial Korean-Chinese survival show produced by iQIYI, had to watch his friends go through unbearable pain for the sake of surviving to debut in a Chinese-Korean boy group.

“For those who passed the mission, we got off the stage and had to watch our friends do it repeatedly. Some even danced over 20 times. We all cried as we watched them dance until they dropped,” he says.

“I’ve had years of experience dancing for long hours, so for me, it was okay. But for the trainees with only a month or two of training? It was harder for them.”

Before interviewing Wu, I was uninterested in watching the show due to its online backlash. The day he agreed to this interview, I took it upon myself to watch the show and follow Wu’s journey to understand him better. Little did I know I would cry just two episodes in.

As a viewer myself, I found it painful to watch. Just imagine what the contestants were feeling at the very moment it happened.

Wu’s bubbly personality was evident throughout the show despite the harsh missions and criticism from the judges. Mind you, during our video call, it was 11 p.m. for him, and he still radiated joy and energy. 

On top of that, it was his first week back at Stanford University after a four-month break — the first week of classes is always the most exhausting time for students.

 

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From a nobody to “Canada’s got talent” finalist

Even before “Starlight Boys,” Wu is no stranger to dancing and being on TV.

His dancing career started with a hip-hop workshop at a community centre before he was seven, where the teacher encouraged his mum to sign him up for a full-fledged hip-hop dance school.

His mum decided to sign him up for ballet and jazz instead.

“I remember entering the class and saw the room filled with girls in tights, and I thought to myself, ‘what was going on?’. But I’m the type of person who does not leave a class without trying, and I ended up enjoying my time in ballet,” Wu shares.

At 13, he switched from ballet to hip-hop. Wu was even offered to attend a school that focused on both regular education and dance. But Wu and his mum agreed that attending a school that solely focused on education was the best option, and he could pursue dance on the side.

Wu attended St. George’s School, the oldest private school in Vancouver. It is an all-boys university preparatory school that focuses solely on academics and prepares students to enter prestigious universities in Canada and the US.

“Everyone in the school would often get into sports, debate, or public speaking as part of their extracurricular activities. For me, though, I was doing hip-hop or into entertainment,” says Wu.

“It made me stand out from the crowd.”

Wu excelled both academically and in dance during his high school years.

He received academic awards such as the French Special Achievement Award, AP Scholar with Honour, School Honour Roll, and Latin Honour Society. 

But it was hip-hop that would later make him famous in Canada.

Wu made his first TV appearance on NBC’s “World of Dance” (WOD) Season Four in 2020. His team, GRVMNT, reached the semi-finals.

In 2021, they participated in “Canada’s Got Talent” (CGT) Season Two and successfully received the golden buzzer from Canadian YouTuber and comedian Lily Singh. 

This time, Wu’s team made it to the finals. However, they did not make it as the top three winners.

After returning home from CGT, that was when he knew he wanted to pursue a communications degree in hopes that would later lead him to a career in entertainment.

He was drawn to the US West Coast and Stanford University, but when it came time to apply, he was told to lower his expectations. It was all because he had to miss weeks of school to compete on WOD and CGT.

That did not stop him. With his mum’s support and encouragement, he still applied.

Today, Wu is in his final year at Stanford University pursuing a double major, a BA in Communications and a BA in Film and Media Studies. He is also completing a minor in management science and engineering.

Leaving Stanford for “Starlight Boys”

Out of all the schools on the West Coast, Stanford stood out for Wu. The school allows students to explore what they want to do before committing to a major during their second or third year.

Wu spent his first and second years taking any class he wanted, such as computer science and psychology.

“There’s a variety of people in Stanford. If you were to look at LinkedIn, you could see they’ve worked in Google, NASA, or the entertainment industry while pursuing other interests unrelated to their jobs,” Wu shares.

Stanford encourages students to pursue interests beyond the university — even if that passion is a K-pop reality TV show “Starlight Boys.”

Wu first stumbled upon the survival show while watching Youth With You (YWY), a Chinese survival show. There was a little banner inviting international talent to participate.

He did. After passing the online auditions, he was invited to the show — much to his father’s chagrin.

“I heard I was the only contestant who passed the online casting system. I told my dad I wanted to participate in the show, but he was completely against it,” says Wu.

“He yelled at me, saying I spent three years at Stanford, and it would go to waste. I remember telling my dad one thing, that I can always come back to finish my education, but this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and dancing is my passion.”

While convincing his dad took time, everyone in Stanford was supportive, especially his peers, so Wu took the chance and left for South Korea.

As exciting as it all sounded, “Starlight Boys” was a whole new world for Wu.

He was competing against people with years of training or at least a couple of months of experience in an entertainment company — he had none.

“When I got onto the show, debuting was not on my mind. I came onto the show to demonstrate what I can do. I wanted to show people who Michael Wu is and what I can bring to the table. However, if I were actually to debut, then I would have put my whole heart into it and focus on being a K-pop idol,” he shares.

On “Starlight Boys,” he received the highest grade, an Allstar, in the first episode and even became Lee Seung Gi’s pick.

Lee Seung Gi is Starlight Boys MC, and is also a veteran in the Korean entertainment industry. He has released over seven albums and acted in 13 movies, such as A Korean Odyssey and Vagabound. Lee has also won several awards, including Best Male Entertainer for the 57th BaekSang Arts Awards and Grand Prize for 2022 KBS Drama Awards.

After the first round of voting, Wu was ranked 48th in the second episode. He then climbed the ranks by the eighth episode and ranked 10. But he was eliminated on episode nine right before the finals.

While fans were devastated, Wu did not take the loss to heart. He was happy as he made many unforgettable memories while on the show, especially the friendships he formed over the four months of filming.

If you had watched the show, you would have seen the bromance formed between Duan Xing Xing and Wu. He even ran around the room when he discovered he was on the same team as Duan.

“After my first performance, I ranked almost dead last because I had little fans and very few votes. I remember feeling sad, and Xing Xing would take me outside to talk and be in the sun,” Wu shares. 

“Having him around made my experience in the show so much better. I remember when I got eliminated, he cried. He’s never someone who cries, but seeing him cry hurt me a lot. But the thing is, I was not sad to get eliminated; I was just sad that I had to leave the people with whom I had formed a strong bond.”

It was a bittersweet experience. 

But that was not all he took away from the show. Wu knew that as soon as he returned to Stanford, he could apply what he learnt on Starlight Boys to his degree.

“It was unreal how little protection there is for talents. I knew from the get-go that when I arrived in South Korea, the protection for talents and staff was different from that of the US or Canada,” he says.

“You always get rest and eat on time. You don’t always have to be filming from 2 a.m. the previous day to 2 a.m. the next day.”

 

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“Starlight Boys” made waves on social media for all the wrong reasons, especially being a “trainwreck” of a survival show. Contestants were getting injured and sick. Some even begged fans not to vote for them due to mistreatment.

It was only in the second episode that trainee Sun Yinghao spoke out over the show’s first “brutal challenge,” where the boys were made to dance repeatedly for hours without any break. He even shared a letter online that hinted at his discontent with the show.

Sun was not the only contestant who voiced out their discontent. Several hours later, four contestants withdrew from the show, including Sun.

After graduation, Wu hopes to enter the talent representation or executive producing industry to protect talents in the US and overseas.

To him, academics is not just computer science or math. He believes it’s a way to improve ourselves by learning new skills, such as budget planning or business operations.

“Working as a talent representative, it’ll be great if you understand both the perspective of the entertainment and business owner. This is a unique perspective that I now can bring to the table,” Wu shares.

“From studying abroad at Stanford to participating in entertainment shows, I understand how to negotiate, budget and plan, and just how an entertainer thinks and operates.”

Advice from Michael Wu to those looking to study abroad

Studying abroad definitely changes you as a person. It makes you incredibly independent, and it throws you into an environment where you don’t know anything. You’re in a new system, and you have to understand how to build relationships and make friends. 

For me, I had to figure things out on my own. 

If you ever have the opportunity to study abroad, you should 100% do it.

I was an immature boy when I first moved abroad, and after participating in “Starlight Boys,” I came back a little more mature and more understanding of different people from all sorts of backgrounds.

Studying abroad exposes you to different cultures, interests, and perspectives. Be open-minded, and don’t immediately exclude or judge people. Try to communicate with them and always be friendly.

Always be open to accepting the culture of the country you’re in and embrace it.

Also, if you want to achieve something, I say go for it. Don’t be bothered by what other people say, especially if they try to stop you. If you enjoy it, do it and keep trudging on.

Don’t be afraid to pursue what you want, and always listen to yourself first.