Carmen’s mum story brought out some tears 
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[ARTICLE] Carmen Auditions for SM Without Telling Her Parents, Now Makes Her Debut in Hearts2Hearts
There’s a story about Carmen, a K-pop idol from Indonesia who debuted with the girl group Hearts2Hearts. It turns out that Carmen auditioned for SM Entertainment without informing her parents!
This was shared by Carmen's mother, Kadek Ayu Sri Handayani, in an interview with detikBali, as reported on Sunday (9/3/2025). The 18-year-old secretly auditioned via Zoom.
"She auditioned on her own, meeting via Zoom without our knowledge. It was only after she was accepted that she told us," said Ayu when detikBali met her at her restaurant in Canggu, Badung, Bali, on Saturday (8/3/2025).
Nyoman Ayu Carmenita, passed the first audition in 2020. She was then invited to Jakarta to participate in the final selection stage, which coincided with the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions.
Carmen was only accompanied by her sister, unlike other audition participants who were accompanied by their extended families.
"Other participants were brought in one bus, with grandfathers, grandmothers, aunts, and uncles. But there were only two of them. I couldn't come because I was busy, so only her sister accompanied her," added Ayu.
The final audition in Jakarta was a success, and the girl, born on March 28, 2006, left for South Korea shortly after. At the time, she was just 15 years old.
Her 55-year-old mother admitted that it was difficult to let her daughter go abroad, with many considerations, including education, weighing heavily on her decision.
However, Carmen did not drop out of school. She pursued homeschooling and successfully graduated from high school on June 1, 2024. She debuted with Hearts2Hearts in February 2025 at the age of 18.
Being a trainee was not easy. Sri mentioned that Carmen practiced and studied every day without taking a single day off. Despite the challenges, Carmen rarely complained to her family.
"Initially, my husband and I didn't want Carmen to go to Korea. It was so far away, and Jakarta was enough. At that time, she was only 15 years old—still very young. As parents, of course, we were worried. Every two days, I would call Carmen. I'd ask, 'If it's too much for you, just come home. You can still explore here since you're good at dancing, singing, and playing music.' But she always said, 'It's fine, I'm okay.' Whenever there were obstacles, she worked hard to overcome them," said the 55-year-old woman.
Now, Carmen is making history by entering the K-pop industry and debuting under one of the BIG 4 management companies.
and the first Indonesian idol in the big 
