Yang Hyun-suk
In August 2012, Bang auditioned for SBS' "K-pop Star Season 2". During the first round, BoA complimented his vocals by comparing to a young Michael Jackson. Park Jin-young praised his rhythm while Yang Hyun-suk was intrigued, commending his voice could reach the soul of the audience. He placed runner-up behind sibling duo Akdong Musician (AKMU). In June 2013, Yang Hyun-suk confirmed Bang had joined his label, thus, both first and second-place winners were now signed under YG Entertainment. That same year, he appeared on the finale of "WIN: Who is Next" with Lee Hi and Akdong Musician and sang "Officially Missing You" on October 27. Interactions with "Kpop Star" alumni, Lee Seung-hoon, resulted in appearances in unreleased clips from the show with Winner, formerly Team A. In January 2014, he also made a cameo appearance on "Winner TV".