Who is Twice?
Twice is the global K-pop superstar girl group with nine members that consist of: Im Nayeon, Yoo Jeongyeon, Hirai Momo, Minatozaki Sana, Park Jihyo, Myoui Mina, Kim Dahyun, Son Chaeyoung, and Chou Tzuyu. Their hit Korean tracks, “Fancy” and “What is Love?”, have over 800 million streams combined. And, Twice’s first original English single, “The Feels”, has a little over 390 million streams. Those songs helped their fame and made them more beloved.
Twice’s Origin
Twice was one of the earlier unique K-pop groups. Instead of being formed privately by their company, Twice was formed from the JYP Entertainment survival show– SIXTEEN. It was May of 2015, and the show contained 16 trainees from the company who all competed and showed their talent to secure one of the seven spots in the girl group, Twice. The winners were: Nayeon, the oldest member, is the lead vocalist, face, and center of the group. Jihyo, the leader of the group, was a trainee for ten years. With all those years of training, she has outstanding vocals and is the main vocalist of the group. Jeongyeon is also a lead vocalist. Sana, one of the three Japanese members, is a sub vocalist. As the only extrovert in Twice, she has a very bubbly and outgoing personality. Dahyun, the lead rapper, was chosen because of her charm. She wasn’t the best at singing or dancing, but she had lots of charisma and poise that captivated the audience’s attention. Chaeyoung is the main rapper. Many saw her as a threat in SIXTEEN because she was in the top seven most of the show. Lastly, Mina, the second Japanese member, had the shortest training period, one year. She trained ballet for eleven years from a young age, so she ended up becoming a main dancer in Twice. Those were the seven members set to be in twice. However, JYP decided to add two more members at the end: Momo and Tzuyu. Tzuyu, now the youngest member of the group and a sub vocalist, was chosen because of popularity. She was ranked number one by the audience’s online voting. She’s the only Taiwanese member and she’s the visual of the group with her captivating appearance. The last member of Twice and the last Japanese member was Momo. Originally, she was eliminated from episode 6 of SIXTEEN, but JYP brought her back on the last episode and decided to add her. And with that, Twice eventually debuted on October 20, 2015, with their first mini album, The Story Begins.
Twice’s Uprising
Twice’s first song, “Like Ooh-Ahh”, didn’t gain the recognition it deserved, so it ended up not winning any awards. However, in their second mini album, Page Two, the song “Cheer Up”, got them their first music program award on May 5, 2016. They then went on to win over 100 awards and even became the first K-pop girl group in Billboard history to chart on Artist 100 for 35 weeks. From that, they gained the Breakthrough Artist Award at the 2023 Billboard Women In Music Awards. Some of the members even have ambassador or sponsorship positions in some major companies. For example, Dahyun with Michael Khors, Sana with Prada and Graff, Nayeon with Tommy Hilfiger, Mina with Fendi, and many more.
Twice’s Struggles
Even though Twice’s lives seem perfect, they also deal with struggles like us. K-pop companies have been known to force strict diets on their idols. Even starving them at times, so they can keep their slim shape. Jeongyeon was on hiatus due to neck injuries in 2020, and when she came back, people noticed she had gained quite a bit of weight. She got lots of body shaming and hate that she lost a lot of confidence. Speaking of confidence, Mina also went on hiatus in 2019 because of her severe anxiety. Someone by the name of Miah when asked if they liked Twice said, “No, I hate them.” For eight years, Twice has been through a lot, but still managed to stay strong and work towards success. After this, you should check out for yourself and see why Twice is so popular.
