Copyright

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First published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2020

FIRST EDITION

Text © Jamie Heal 2020

Cover design by Caroline Young © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2020

Cover photographs © Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images (headshots), Han Myung-Gu/Wire Image/Getty Images (Mina), Aflo Co. Ltd./Alamy Stock Photo (group photo), Shutterstock.com (Polaroid)

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Jamie Heal asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

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Source ISBN: 9780008404772

Ebook Edition © October 2020 ISBN: 9780008404789

Version: 2020-09-10

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CONTENTS

1  Cover

2  Title Page

3  Copyright

4  Note to Readers

5  Contents

6  An Intro to K-pop

7  PART ONE: THE TWICE STORY

8  1 6Mix and Sixteen

9  2 Debut

10  3 The Story Begins

11  4 Once

12  5 Cheer Up

13  6 A Winning Formula

14  7 One in a Million

15  8 Welcome to Twiceland

16  9 The Nation’s Favourites

17  10 What is Love?

18  11 Summer Nights

19  12 Cheers and Tears

20  13 Feel Special

21  14 More & More

22  PART TWO: THE TWICE MEMBERS

23  15 Nayeon

24  16 Jeongyeon

25  17 Momo

26  18 Sana

27  19 Jihyo

28  20 Mina

29  21 Dahyun

30  22 Chaeyoung

31  23 Tzuyu

32  Picture Section

33  List of Searchable Terms

34  About the Publisher

LandmarksCoverFrontmatterStart of ContentBackmatter

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An Intro to K-pop

Korean pop music – K-pop – is a broad term that covers a huge number of solo artists and groups. They are diverse in terms of musical genre – encompassing R’n’B, dance, hip-hop, ballads, rock and indie – and vary in style, size of group and, increasingly, nationality, with many groups having members from Japan, China and other countries. What nearly all these groups – including Twice – share is the culture of K-pop. This culture has grown over the last 20 years or so to produce and promote not only the music of these artists, but also their dance skills, their looks and their personalities. The following is a brief guide to some of the landmarks, concepts and events that may help anyone who is new to this fascinating genre to understand K-pop.

ENTERTAINMENT COMPANIES

Like Western record labels, entertainment companies are agencies that manage and fund the recordings and promotion of K-pop acts. There are many such companies, but for over ten years the so-called ‘Big Three’ – SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment and JYP Entertainment – have dominated K-pop, although recently BTS’s company Big Hit Entertainment has become a major player. These companies manage groups, solo artists and actors, often under strict contracts which restrict activities such as diets, dating and social interactions.

TRAINEES

The entertainment companies are constantly scouting and auditioning for new talent. Often signed as young teenagers, those who are selected can spend many years intensively learning vocal, dance and other useful skills, such as languages, as well as attending school for their education. Being a trainee can be gruelling work, with monthly evaluations that can lead to many failing to make the grade and being rejected. Those who remain do so in the hope that they will be chosen by the company to ‘debut’ (see below).

GROUP ROLES AND LINES

K-pop groups commonly have four or more members. Although all will sing and dance, each will be given a specific role within the group. There will be singers, dancers and visuals (those whose looks alone get them noticed). Each group will have a leader (often, though not always, the oldest member) and a maknae, the youngest member, who is treated as the baby of the group and expected to be super-cute. Often, fans will also pick out sub-groups or ‘lines’, which can be based on their roles, such as the vocal line, being the same age and so sharing a birth year – as in the 98 line – their nationality – as seen in Twice’s Japanese, or J-line – or any characteristics that link them.

DEBUT

The company – its producers, choreographers, stylists, vocal tutors and other experts – work with the selected members towards a launch date known as the debut. This debut is often make or break; a big chance to make an impression in a crowded market. Many companies will spend months preparing the ground for a debut. They will release teaser photos and videos of each member of the group in advance, or even clips or whole pre-debut videos. On debut day the act will perform at a special showcase, with media appearances and performances on music shows following over the next month.

IDOL

An idol is a mainstream K-pop star, as opposed to a hip-hop artist, rock musician or acts from other ‘outsider’ genres. Idols are expected to be multi-talented, able to act, sing, dance and look good. They are also expected to interact with fans, in person and on social media, and participate in variety shows.

AEGYO

Aegyo, pronounced ‘egg-yo’, is the use of cute voices, facial expressions and gestures to show affection or to flirt. Female (and some male) idols are expected to perform aegyo on variety shows, at fan meetings and in concerts. It can often take the form of baby voices, using hands to make symbols such as hearts or kisses, or creating a super-cute face by making pretend dimples or forming a ‘V’-shaped chin.

GIRL CRUSH

Girl groups traditionally had a cute and innocent image, and often dressed in schoolgirl-style uniforms or girly, candy-coloured outfits. However, the 2010s groups, such as Miss A, f(x) and 2NE1, took on a more hard-edged, confident, individual and sexy image, more akin to that of Western artists. This vibe became known as ‘girl crush’. As the decade progressed, some groups, such as Red Velvet and Girls’ Generation, portrayed both cutesy and girl-crush concepts.

MUSIC SHOWS

There are music shows on national and cable South Korean television nearly every day. They have different formats, but all enable the groups to perform their latest release and sometimes other songs, too. They show music videos, but performances (even if groups often lip sync) in front of a live audience are an essential element. Each show also presents a prize to the most popular act – to ‘win a music show’ is the first ambition of any K-pop idol. Many shows often have Christmas or other seasonal specials in which groups can perform covers of hits or join other artists in one-off performances.

VARIETY SHOWS

Idols can show off their personalities and sense of fun by appearing on one of South Korea’s numerous variety shows. These can be straightforward chat shows, but more often they involve challenges, games, pranks and opportunities for idols to demonstrate their skills. Shows such as Weekly Idol, Running Man and Knowing Bros feature popular dance games in which idols dance to other groups’ choreography or speeded-up versions or randomly selected parts of their own songs.

V LIVE

Launched in 2015, this app provides a streaming service for K-pop fans. Artists are able to post videos or recordings and talk live to fans, who can themselves post comments which are sometimes read aloud in the stream. These livestreams can be advertised in advance or they may be impromptu broadcasts flagged by phone notifications. Twice are frequent users of the service. They often stream from their dorm, but also from concert dressing rooms, backstage at TV shows, from airports and even during taxi journeys. Many of the broadcasts are subtitled for international fans.

AWARD SHOWS

K-pop has a multitude of annual award shows that recognise artists’ status, recordings and performances over the year. The most prestigious are MAMA (Mnet Asian Music Awards), MMA (Melon Music Awards), Korean Music Awards, Seoul Music Awards and the Golden Disc Awards. These are glittering events where idols pose for photographers on the red carpet and sit together in a VIP section. Many acts perform one or a medley of songs and fans loudly support their favourites. Awards are decided upon in various ways – usually sales, streams and online votes are included – so they often provoke controversy.

FANDOMS

K-pop fans support their artists with a passion, and established acts have their own fandoms with their own names. Twice have Once, BTS have Army and Blackpink have Blink. Anyone can belong to a fandom, there is no membership and members can participate as much or as little as they choose. Online forums are the main channel of communication where fans are urged to stream their group’s videos, vote for them in music shows and awards, arrange chants and banners for concerts, and generally support the group’s members. Fandoms often collect sizeable charity donations in the name of their idols.

COMEBACKS

An act doesn’t need to have been absent for long to have a comeback, it’s just the release and promotion of new material. Often this will be tied into a change of ‘concept’ – this can be anything from a new hair colour to a totally new musical genre, but often involves a theme that encompasses outfits, style and music.

GENERATIONS

K-pop is considered to have four generations. The first generation emerged with the start of K-pop as we know it in the 1990s, with the pioneering Seo Taiji and Boys. It included girl-group successes S.E.S. and Fin.K.L. The second generation inspired the Korean Wave (hallyu) of the 2000s and gave birth to legends such as Girls’ Generation, 2NE1 and Wonder Girls, while Big Bang and Super Junior were the most popular boy bands. The third generation was spearheaded by EXO and then BTS, and saw Twice as well as Blackpink, Red Velvet and others find international success, while from 2018 onwards, a fourth generation emerged, led by girl groups (G)I-dle, Iz*One and Itzy and boy bands Stray Kids and Ateez.

PART ONE

1
6Mix and Sixteen

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA: 18 OCTOBER 2015

Nine girls sit in front of the camera. They have been living together in an apartment – sharing two, three or four to a bedroom – for three months now. Their ages range from 16 to 19, their nationalities from Korean to Japanese to Taiwanese; some have been friends for years, others have only really known each other for six months. They look like any other group of teenage girls – very pretty teenage girls.

As the livestream begins, most of the talking is done by those in the front row, except the blonde girl in the centre who stares intently at the camera with her big round eyes. The four in the back row make supportive yelps and thumbs up and hearts and kisses with their fingers. They are all giggly, shy and very, very excited.

These girls are a new girl group and in two days’ time they will be releasing their first ever single and EP. It will be the start of an incredible journey …

At the heart of the Twice story is a man in his forties named Park Jin-young. Often known by his initials, JYP, he is a South Korean singer-songwriter with three top ten albums and five top ten singles, including ‘Who’s Your Mama?’, a 2015 number one hit. Born in 1971, he is a prolific songwriter and producer for many Korean artists and groups, but, most importantly in the Twice story, he is the founder and CEO of JYP Entertainment.

Park Jin-young founded JYP Entertainment in 1997, but it was the massive success of boy band g.o.d and singer Rain, both integral to the first hallyu wave of the early 2000s, that established the company as a major K-pop player. In 2007, JYP Entertainment launched its first girl group, Wonder Girls. Originally a five-member group with an average age of 16, they were a sensation. They mixed hip-hop, R’n’B and retro styles, constantly swapped visual concepts and had hit after hit, including their debut ‘Irony’, ‘Tell Me’ – which was propelled by member Sohee’s iconic ‘Omona’ line – followed by 2008’s ‘So Hot’ and ‘Nobody’. They even became the first ever K-pop group to break into the US Billboard Hot 100 when ‘Nobody’ reached number 76. Wonder Girls dominated K-pop in the following years, with only SM Entertainment’s Girls’ Generation matching their success.

JYP Entertainment followed Wonder Girls with other successful launches, particularly another girl group, Miss A, and boy band 2PM. Miss A’s debut ‘Bad Girl, Good Girl’ became a K-pop classic with singer Suzy destined to become the darling of the nation. JYP himself was a popular figure, making cameo appearances in music videos and on his artists’ tracks, and he was always a welcome guest on TV variety shows. Among all the entertainment companies, JYP Entertainment enjoyed the best press. They had a reputation for treating trainees and their stars with respect. JYP was known for selecting idols for debut on the basis of their personality, not just their appearance, and listening to his idols’ views and opinions. After all, JYP was still a recording artist himself.

K-pop never stands still, though, and by the end of 2013 things were not looking quite so rosy for JYP Entertainment. 2PM were still enjoying reasonable success, but on the girl-group side, both Wonder Girls and Miss A were in an extended hiatus and it wasn’t known when or whether they would return. According to some, JYP Entertainment were in danger of losing their Big Three company status. They needed a major new act, so they debuted a new boy band, Got7, in January 2014, and announced plans for two new groups to debut in April: a boy band named 5Live (who would eventually debut in 2015 as Day6) and a girl group called 6Mix.

JYP Entertainment had high hopes for 6Mix. According to press information supplemented by rumour, the group was made up of six long-standing trainees. The first to be confirmed was American-Korean Lena, who at 20 was two years older than the others and had already featured as a rapper on Sunmi’s ‘Full Moon’. Then there was Cecilia, an Australian-Chinese trainee, and four long-standing Korean trainees: Jisoo (whose stage name was Jihyo), Jeongyeon, Nayeon and Minyoung. The group was well balanced, they had trained together for many years and were well prepared for their debut.

Then, on 16 April 2014, tragedy hit South Korea. A ferry bound for the holiday destination of Jeju Island, off the coast of Korea, sank, and 304 passengers and crew died, most of them high-school students. As a shocked nation went into mourning, JYP Entertainment knew it was no time to launch a new group, so they quietly postponed their plans. However, the delay had an impact on 6Mix and Cecilia left the company soon afterwards. Some say she had second thoughts about being an idol, others claim she was suffering from a debilitating knee injury, but she returned to China where she now has a successful career as an actor under the name Song Yan-fei.

6Mix was not finished yet, though. JYP Entertainment had plenty of trainees to choose from and Sana, a Japanese trainee already known to the others, was selected to fill the empty spot. Sana had already been placed in an all-Japanese group which was working towards a debut, but her move left them in limbo. Two – Momo and Mina – stayed at JYP Entertainment, but Sika, Riho and Mone soon left (Sika would eventually debut in 2018 with girl group Fanatics). Meanwhile, the new 6Mix line-up began training together through the autumn of 2014.

Somewhere in the JYP Entertainment offices that winter a decision was made to rethink the plans surrounding their first girl group since Miss A in 2010. In February 2015, instead of news of a debut date, K-pop followers learned that a new girl group was to be formed through a TV survival show to be broadcast in the spring. Contestants would all be JYP trainees and would comprise a selection of younger girls who had been working towards a 2017 debut, what was left of the Japanese group and the current members of 6Mix. There would be one notable absentee; sometime in this period, Lena, a lynchpin of the 6Mix concept, left the company, although like Cecilia she would find some future success as an actor in China.

On 10 April 2015, JYP Entertainment dropped a teaser video announcing Sixteen, a ten-episode TV survival show on Korean TV channel Mnet. This ‘new girl-group project’ aimed to whittle down 16 trainees to a seven-girl group. It promised to be revealing – and brutal. JYP was to test what remained of his 6Mix elite against other trainees, to see who had the confidence and talent to perform under immense pressure. The aim was to create a group that had demonstrated their skills and established a fan base ahead of their debut.

The Korean public love talent shows. Superstar K had long been popular, but since 2011 K-pop Star had eclipsed it by promising the winner a debut with the company of his or her choice. JYP himself had been a judge on all four series of K-pop Star and his comments were always incisive yet sensitive. JYP Entertainment had also used the survival show format before to good effect. The 2011 series Hot Blood Men had focused on the training of a boy band called One Day. However, before debuting them JYP had split the band into two: 2AM and 2PM. He wasn’t afraid to change his mind and had been proved right when both groups went on to great success.

JYP had every hope that this new series would produce an act that would be just as successful. The contenders were the best of his company’s female trainees – an older group, who were all around 18, and a younger group, who were 15 or under. They were announced one by one, with their own short teaser, and at last we got to meet the remaining members of 6Mix: Nayeon, whose teaser line ‘I am a girl … that is good to date!’ made her an instant favourite; ten-year veteran trainee Jihyo; vocal powerhouse Minyoung; bright and bubby Japanese girl Sana; and, the last of the 16 to be revealed, the chic and classy Jeongyeon. In addition, there were two other Japanese trainees: Momo had been training in Korea since April 2012 and had a reputation for being a super-talented dancer, while Mina had only been at JYP for ten months and was a complete unknown, even to keen K-pop followers, who just had her brief but fierce teaser dance to go on.

In the younger group there were three other Korean-born long-term trainees: Dahyun, who was already known to many since a video of her ‘eagle dance’ in church went viral years earlier; Jiwon, another strong singer who had been a trainee at JYP for three years; and the diminutive rapper Chaeyoung, who, though only just 16 years old, had also been at JYP since 2012.

The other seven trainees were all 15 years old or younger. They were, however, a talented bunch. They included the sisters Chaeryeong (13) and Chaeyeon (14), who had both been signed by JYP after appearing in K-pop Star 3 in 2013; the sweet, chubby-cheeked Eunsuh (14); Somi (14), a Korean-Canadian with evident star quality whose teaser views made her the second favourite before the show started; and the distinctive Taiwanese Tzuyu (pronounced ‘Chewy’) who, a month shy of her 16th birthday, had already been at JYP for three years. The youngest of them all, however, was Natty from Thailand, who had just turned 13, but had the confidence and potential to justify her place in the group.

The format of the show pitched competing trainees into fluid major and minor teams, which reflected their chances of eventual success. Majors were given a symbolic pendant, but more importantly a whole set of privileges. They were treated like real idols with luxury dormitories, clothing expenses and daytime access to practice studios. Minors, on the other hand, were treated like poor cousins. Their dorms were cramped and smelly, they had to shop from street markets and, perhaps worst of all, they could only visit the practice studios between nine at night and nine in the morning. This tension drove the show, as a series of challenges allowed minors to prove themselves and take the pendant and the elite place of a major – the decisions were made by JYP after taking viewers’ online votes into consideration.

Before the series started in May 2015, JYP revealed that the new girl group would be called Twice – because they would touch people’s hearts twice, once through the ears and once through the eyes. Sixteen promised surprises and drama, with JYP admitting he had no idea who would make the final group. The first majors had been selected by his staff based on ‘past training scores’ and consisted of Nayeon, Minyoung, Jiwon, Momo, Mina, Chaeyoung and Dahyun. There was some surprise that Jeongyeon had been excluded from this elite group, but complete shock that Jihyo had been forced to join the minors (she herself was reduced to tears).

The next ten episodes, aired from May through to July, were devised to assess the girls as potential idols. Singing and dancing were obviously of prime interest, but they were also tested for teamwork, promotion, photoshoots and charisma. As the show progressed fans got to know each of the contestants through fly-on-the-wall clips that accompanied their performances – the nerves, arguments and even jealousies among the girls revealing what a harsh, dog-eat-dog series this was.

In the opening round contestants had to prove they were a star and viewers immediately discovered their favourites, from Dahyun, who reproduced her famous eagle dance, to Sana, who amusingly parodied a cooking show as she made spring rolls for JYP, and 13-year-old Natty, who showcased her skills with a dance she had choreographed herself.

The subsequent photoshoot round brought the chic Jeongyeon, who roller-painted her white t-shirt, and Mina, who wowed the judges by posing as Snow White’s Evil Queen, to people’s attention. Others felt JYP’s ire for failing to charm in front of the camera, but it was Chaeyeon, the older of the Chae sisters, who became the first to be eliminated.

The third round brought the cruellest moments yet: one-against-one battles in which a minor challenged a major for their place. Put on the spot, it was the older trainees’ experience that came to the fore. Nayeon impressed with her charisma and stable vocals in a cover of Ariana Grande’s ‘Santa Tell Me’. Momo put her dance skills on display moving to Ariana’s ‘Problem’ and Dahyun showed she had more than just a novelty eagle dance with an energetic performance of Pentatonix’s ‘La La Latch’. Jihyo, back in the majors after a stirring vocal performance in round one, rose to the occasion. The photographer had made pointed remarks about her weight, so Jihyo chose to sing Meghan Trainor‘s body-positive anthem ‘All About That Bass’.

Eunsuh was the next unfortunate trainee to suffer elimination. She clearly had talent, but inexperience and nerves had prevented her showing enough of it. As the halfway mark of the series approached, the majors now consisted of Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Jihyo, Mina, Somi, Chaeryeong and Natty. However, the Taiwanese Tzuyu was winning viewers over with her beauty and a fabulous performance of the Pussycat Dolls’ ‘Sway’ saw her rise to second place in the online vote.

There was no let-up. Next each group was split into two competing teams. The behind-the-scenes footage was illuminating as the teams worked out their choreography, especially when Minyoung and Dahyun went AWOL from practice and temporarily created a serious rift with practice fanatics Tzuyu and Sana. Incredibly, their team’s performance of ‘Problem’ by Ariana was good enough to beat Pharrell’s ‘Happy’, the choice of Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Mina and Chaeryeong.

In the other head-to-head, Jiyho’s leadership skills came to the fore as she helmed a team with two non-Korean speakers. Kitted out in red suits and bow-ties, they impressed with ‘Uptown Funk’ against Momo, Jiwon and Chaeyoung, who covered ‘The Way You Love Me’ by Keri Hilson, using a table as a prop for some raunchy choreography. The audience plumped for Jihyo’s girls, but interestingly in both cases JYP, who reserved particular praise for Jiwon, personally favoured the other team.

The two losing teams now had to compete to see who would be eliminated. To the surprise of many, poor Momo was the victim. She had bewitched many with her dance skills and JYP seemed reluctant to eliminate her, but he said he did so on the basis of her unstable vocals. The others were clearly upset and shocked, and the Japanese girls were almost inconsolable. Had JYP shot himself in the foot by excluding this ‘dance machine’ from his future girl group?

Next up was something a little more fun. A camping trip meant the girls could all relax – but not too much, because JYP was still watching. After fun games of charades and duelling with plastic hammers while riding giant floaties in the pool, the boss revealed that this, too, was a type of challenge. He explained he was not only looking for great singers and dancers, but also people who did right by others and were true to themselves. To this end, the girls voted for their favourite three fellow contestants. The results were revealing. Virtually all agreed that Jiyho perfectly matched the qualities that JYP highlighted, while Jeongyeon, Minyoung and Nayeon were praised for their helpfulness.

The penultimate challenge again pitted two groups from each team against each other. This time they faced the added task of promoting their performance to attract an audience. Among the highlights were the visit to Nayeon’s former high school where she, Jeongyeon and especially Tzuyu (after they gave her some femme fatale tips) completely wowed the schoolboys. The audience were not disappointed as the trio delivered a brilliant cover of Miss A’s ‘Hush’. When the round was completed, JYP reserved great praise for Chaeyoung’s rap in Wonder Girls’ ‘Nobody’, for Jihyo’s perfect voice (but not her weight) and for Mina’s improved confidence. Sadly, it was Jiwon who walked, JYP clearly believing she had some work to do before debuting.

The final challenge saw majors and minors pitted against each other in full girl-group mode. Each was given a song JYP thought would challenge them and a further number which they would both perform, so a direct comparison could be made. The majors – Chaeyoung, Mina, Minyoung, Natty, Sana and Somi – were mentored by Miss A’s Fei and given ‘Must be Crazy’, a song JYP said requires a keen sense of rhythm, while the minors – Chaeryeong, Dahyun, Jeongyeon, Nayeon, Tzuyu and Jihyo (borrowed from the major team to even up the numbers) – were mentored by 2PM’s Jun.K and were tasked with the more vocally challenging ‘Truth’.

Both performances were pretty legendary and are often compared favourably with the Twice versions which would soon appear. JYP was pleased with the minor team’s performance, picking out the contributions from Jeongyeon and Tzuyu, but once again he also made a point of commending the major team’s Chaeyoung. It all came down to the final episode, broadcast on 7 July 2015, as the teams performed back-to-back versions of ‘Do It Again’.

Dancing to a brand-new song with set choreography, the girls had to work out the tone and mood for themselves. They had all met up the night before for a watermelon party and it became emotional as they reminisced over both their trainee and Sixteen experiences. With so much resting on one final performance, each team played to their strengths. Lacking the vocal power of their opponents, the majors went all out for fun, packing their performance with aegyo (cuteness) and acting. In contrast, the minors smashed it vocally with Nayeon, Jeongyeon and Jihyo pulling out all the stops. That didn’t escape JYP, who mentioned those three as he gave the minor team his vote. His final decision, however, took into consideration the combined opinions of the live audience, online voters and the JYP staff.

While the audience awaited the final result, the two teams united for the show’s theme, ‘I’m Gonna Be a Star’, before the members who had already been eliminated – Chaeyeon, Eunsuh, Jiwon and Momo – joined them on stage to perform Beyoncé’s ‘7/11’. And then came the moment that the whole series had been building up to – the members of Twice were revealed. The final line-up was to be Nayeon as the show’s best vocalist; Jeongyeon, whose talent and enigmatic personality had stood out; Jihyo, who JYP described as ‘perfect and ready to debut’; the charismatic and lovable Dahyun; Sana, with her out-there personality and debut-ready skills; and Mina, who JYP Entertainment staff identified as having the most potential. That left Chaeryeong, Minyoung, Natty, Somi and Tzuyu eliminated. Except …

In a series that was filled with shocks and surprises, the biggest was still to come. JYP had decided to add two more members, making a nine- rather than seven-member group. The first addition was Tyuzu, who had featured in the live audience’s final seven and topped the online poll. The second was a bigger shock. The JYP staff had unanimously chosen to include Momo, who had been eliminated early in the series. There were shockwaves across the internet as fans discussed the result. Was it fair? Had the audience been cheated? Had it been JYP’s intention all along to add members? Opinions differed, but most agreed on one thing. When it came to girl groups, JYP knew what he was doing and he had selected nine girls who were ready to take on the world …

Postscript: What happened to …

The Sixteen format required some trainees to be eliminated. It is testament to JYP Entertainment that every one of the contenders gave a good account of themselves and endorsed JYP’s claims of wanting good, all-round people at the company. In the event, only four were eliminated as the series progressed – and Momo, of course, was reinstated – but it was still a traumatic experience. JYP promised that those who were eliminated would be given another chance in two years’ time, but most of them now realised their dreams of debuting for the company were over.

Chaeryeong

Just 13 when Sixteen began, Chaeryeong was probably included to give her experience. However, she impressed with her dancing, singing and charisma, and made it to the end of the series. It was enough for her to stay with the company and it proved a good move for her and JYP Entertainment. In February 2019 she debuted with Itzy, JYP’s next girl group. They made quite a splash in Korea, Japan and internationally, and were named Best New Artist at all the major award shows in 2019.

Chaeyeon

The first to be eliminated, Chaeyeon had little chance to show off her talent. She left JYP after the show, but reappeared on another talent show, Produce 48, in 2018, and came 12th. As a result, she debuted in the 12-member girl group Iz*One in October 2018. The group established themselves as a successful group in Korea and Japan, with their 2020 comeback album Bloom*Iz charting well in both countries.

Eunsuh

Only 14, Eunsuh struggled to progress from her initial cute image, and when she made an obvious mistake in her choreography in the one-to-one challenge, her time on Sixteen was up. She tried again on the 2017 talent show Idol School, but still failed to make the final group.

Jiwon

A strong singer, many believed Jiwon had a good chance of succeeding on Sixteen, but nerves seemed to get the better of her. She was the last to be eliminated, with JYP citing her off-beat dancing and unstable vocals as the reason for letting her go. In 2017, she, too, entered Idol School and came sixth, which led to her joining Fromis_9, who debuted in January 2018. Their early releases made the top five in Korea, and in 2018 and 2019 the group were nominated for several new artist awards.

Minyoung

Poor Minyoung. Was it just never meant to be? Her dream of debuting with 6Mix evaporated, but she was given a second chance on Sixteen. It seemed a formality that her strong vocals and experience would see her make it into Twice, but the pressure of the show seemed to affect her. Minyoung failed to establish herself as a major player with the viewers or JYP and she missed out again. After Sixteen, Minyoung gave up the idea of debuting and returned to her studies.

Natty

The youngest of all the Sixteen contestants, Natty collected many fans as the series progressed with her energy, personality and no little talent, especially as a dancer. After the show, Natty left JYP and she, too, tried her luck on Idol School in 2017. She made it to the last round, but again ultimately missed the cut. Still young and popular in Thailand, Natty has time on her side and in April 2020 signed with Swing Entertainment, with the intention of debuting as a solo artist.

Somi

Somi was unlucky not to make the final Twice line-up, having spent most of the series in the major team. JYP sensed she had star quality but suggested she needed a little more time before debuting. He was right. In 2016 she represented JYP in the first season of the talent show Produce 101 and won, becoming a member of girl group I.O.I. They debuted in May 2016 and made a strong impact, but they disbanded after little more than six months together. Somi continued to raise her profile hosting TV variety shows but held on to her musical ambitions. In 2019 she left JYP Entertainment for rival company YG to pursue a solo career.

2
Debut

No matter the discussions on the fairness of Sixteen – JYP Entertainment felt the necessity to make an official statement the day after the show’s finale to clarify what had happened. JYP had spoken. Momo and Tzuyu had been added to the seven successful trainees selected by the audience and staff and would take their places in Twice. While everyone had their favourites, and some were disappointed to see certain trainees fail to make the group, it was generally agreed that JYP had ended up with a selection that complemented each other and contained a mix of proven talent and enormous potential. Whether it was luck or judgement, JYP had landed on nine girls who, between them, ticked all the boxes.

The group was well balanced in age, with Nayeon the oldest at 20; the 96-liners (those born in 1996), Jeongyeon, Momo and Sana, were all still 19 years old; the 97-liners, Jihyo and Mina, were 18; and Dahyun was 17. That left the 16-year-olds, Chaeyoung and the group’s youngest member, Tzuyu. Known in Korea as the maknae, the youngest had special dispensation to be extra cute and not carry any responsibilities especially in a K-pop group. Although five of the group were Korean, Mina, Momo and Sana were from Japan and Tzuyu was from Taiwan – ideal for building on the hallyu or Korean Wave – the rise in interest in Korean culture in East Asia.

They were also varied in personality. Jihyo was sensible and caring, a natural leader; the group’s extrovert, Dahyun, was goofy and naturally funny; and Nayeon seemed to be eternally cheerful and, despite being the oldest, eager to mess around and have fun. Jeongyeon had her chic image to preserve, but liked to tease the others, while Sana managed to be witty and cute at the same time. The others – especially Mina – were more reserved, but fans who had watched Sixteen knew that Tzuyu had a wicked sense of humour which was bound to emerge sooner or later. These were early days and when they weren’t performing the girls, especially the younger members, were understandably shy in front of the cameras.

Sixteen had given the audience a good indication of what each individual excelled at and what they might offer Twice. In a group with a large number of members it was expected that some would have specific roles, as well as performing the choreography together. Jeongyeon, Jihyo and Nayeon had the confidence and vocal stability to be the lead vocalists; Mina and Momo had displayed incredible dance skills; Chaeyoung and Dahyun were clearly the designated rappers; and Sana and Tzuyu’s dance and vocal skills had come on in leaps and bounds during the series.

The girls had no time to recover from Sixteen. They went straight from the show into rehearsals for their first releases as Twice. As is common for any K-pop group, all nine of them soon moved into a dorm in the South Korean capital, Seoul, where they would live together. At least it was a ground-floor flat and the house next door was empty, so it wasn’t such a problem that they were sometimes a noisy bunch. They sorted out who would room with who with little fuss. The youngsters, Chaeyoung, Dahyun and Tzuyu, took one room; Jihyo, Mina, Nayeon and Sana shared the large room; while best friends Jeongyeon and Momo took the final room.

Like any new roommates they soon began to discover each other’s habits – good and bad. Chaeyoung fell asleep instantly and could sleep forever. Nayeon not only talked in her sleep but also slept with her eyes wide open. Mina liked staying in bed whether she was sleeping or not, while Tzuyu was the early riser who could be relied upon to get the others up. Meanwhile, Jeongyeon and Momo, who shared a bed in their room (separated by Momo’s huge teddy bear), became known as ‘the married couple’. Surprisingly, it was the cool-looking Jeongyeon who became the ‘mother’ of the group, cleaning and tidying the flat and chivvying the others to do their share of the chores.

JYP needed to reveal his new group to the world before people moved on to the next survival show or lost interest in their favourites from Sixteen. This gave the girls little time to rehearse and record the new material, to learn and master the choreography to the songs, and to shoot the all-important music video. The girls were expected to look their best for their first appearance, so many of them were on strict diets. However, they were practising so hard that they were losing weight anyway. Momo, who surprised them all with the amount she ate, still managed to lose seven kilos in this hectic period. Everything had to be perfect before Twice made their debut – one of the most important dates in the career of any K-pop artist.

Through July and into August, the members appeared on Twice TV, a short, five-part series shown on V LIVE. The first four episodes profiled each of the girls as they talked about their journey so far, while the last episode featured them all having a meal with JYP. He said he liked to take all his acts to dinner as he worries about them, especially the girl groups. He explained that he expects JYP Entertainment artists to strive to become better people and he read out letters from each of the members of Twice, revealing how they felt about debuting. He reassured them that if they worked as hard and performed as well as they had promised in their letters, they would become the best group in the world.

He also asked them to vote for the leader of Twice. He said a leader must put themselves last for the sake of the group; represent the group in discussions with the company staff; and set an example to other members, sorting any issues that arise. After the meal the members voted for Jihyo to be their leader, with Jeongyeon receiving the second-highest number of votes.

A K-pop act only gets one chance to debut – the moment of the unveiling of the artist or group, an opportunity to make a big splash. The pop world is ready to be impressed, eager to spot the next big thing and generally looks favourably on nervous young artists stepping into the limelight for the first time. If the debutantes can create a good first impression, their careers are off to a flying start and everything is easy and exciting. If they flop, they face an uphill battle. It’s not impossible to come back after bombing on a debut, but those who have managed it are few and far between.

A successful debut launches the act into the collective pop consciousness. It communicates the concept and image of a group or singer as simply as possible to attract as many fans as possible. It probably won’t top the charts or set any streaming records, as it’s difficult to compete with existing acts, but hopefully it will make a big enough impact to be noted by Korean and international K-pop fans.

How an act debuts depends on the strategy and budget of their company. Debut day for artists with great ambition will involve a live showcase in front of an invited audience of lucky fans and a question-and-answer session with the media – the whole thing may even be livestreamed for fans across the world to watch. The act will then be expected to perform their debut single (and sometimes other songs) on one or more of the weekly Korean TV music shows. There is a show broadcast most days, with the most influential being M Countdown, Show! Music Core, Inkigayo, Music Bank, Show Champion and The Show. These are all incredibly popular and performances will often appear on YouTube for repeated viewing. There they will join the debut music video, which is another massive opportunity to impress new fans.

The great K-pop girl groups in whose footsteps Twice were hoping to follow all had explosive debuts. Major company SM’s Girls’ Generation’s 2007 debut ‘Into the New World’ was an anthemic and high-energy song that went to number five in Korea. In 2009 the term ‘monster rookies’ was invented for YG Entertainment’s 2NE1, after twin videos of their fun and catchy debut ‘Fire’ received a million views in a day. JYP’s own Miss A’s iconic 2010 debut ‘Bad Girl, Good Girl’ was a great showcase, and, just a year before Twice prepared to debut, Red Velvet (SM again) had demonstrated debuts could achieve international success when ‘Happiness’ went to number four in Billboard’s World Digital charts. The bar had been set pretty high.

These groups were all still active (although 2NE1 were on a semi-hiatus) as Twice prepared to debut and there were other new girl groups keen to steal their thunder. Wanna B debuted in July 2015, April in August and DIA were unveiled in September, while Lovelyz, CLC, Mamamoo and GFriend had all debuted successfully in the past year. It was a crowded market.

Sixteen had given Twice an advantage. It was a tremendously popular show and all the girls had each picked up a number of fans. Whereas lots of groups head into their debuts from a standing start, K-pop fans already knew who Twice were. On 7 October 2015 JYP Entertainment launched the band’s official website and announced that the group would debut with a mini-album. Over the next two weeks there were a series of teasers – photos and short videos – that helped fans become more familiar with the members.

The main image of the group featured them in a line, all with hands on hips, staring intently at the lens like they meant business. Dressed in variations of red, black and camouflage they looked fresh and edgy in an assortment of graphic-embellished and lace-fringed crop tops, short skirts and shorts, plenty of wrist straps and bangles, and black platform boots. Nayeon, the only one wearing fishnet hold-ups, took centre position, flanked by Sana and Jeongyeon. The latter still had her short hair, but had dyed it rose pink, while Momo, at the left end of the line, was now sporting striking blonde locks.

Each of the girls was individually photographed in their teaser outfit (that Sixteen challenge had paid dividends!) and fans were able to get a closer look. Sana looked stunning as she crouched with her finger on her lips and her hair tied up in two fun bunches. Tzuyu, her dark hair falling over one eye, looked intriguing as she bit her lip, while a slightly mournful Jihyo showed off her new auburn hair. The others looked slightly awkward, but they had plenty of time to get that right, and it didn’t matter anyway because the outfits and make-up were perfect.

Each of the girls also had a 20-second video teaser in which a zombie intruder interrupted them as they were doing an ordinary activity. The humorous twist was that the girls were totally unfazed by the intrusion. Among fans the favourite was Dahyun’s teaser, which had her dancing alone in her living room. As she starts her now-famous eagle dance, two zombies materialise and, of course, they can’t resist joining in. Another popular clip featured Jeongyeon, clearly being cast as the group’s edgy member. She is sitting on the sofa watching TV and eating popcorn when her zombie appears. She tries feeding him some popcorn, but when he spits it out she gives him a taste of his own medicine, screaming and scaring the living daylights out of him!

For the nine members of Twice, 20 October must have come around so quickly. It had been a whirlwind six months for them, but they had been well prepared by the company and been given advice on what to expect by members of Miss A and second-generation group Wonder Girls. The day would not only see the release of their debut mini-album and single, but also their showcase at Uniqlo Ax Hall in Seoul, where they would perform on stage in front of the fans for the first time. If that wasn’t enough to set the nerves on edge, it would also be broadcast live on V LIVE.

Park Jin-young had come up with a new genre to describe Twice’s music. He called it colour pop, a fresh sound forged from a combination of rock, R’n’B and hip-hop, with infectious if unconventional lyrics. Many waited to hear their debut single to decide if colour pop was a real thing or simply JYP Entertainment promoting its new act. The title, ‘Like Ooh Ahh’, certainly contained a promise of fun and exuberance.

Perhaps the biggest surprise was that Twice were not going to debut with one of JYP’s songs. He was a prolific writer and had penned songs for g.o.d, Rain, 2PM, Wonder Girls, Got7, Miss A and even for Western artists such as Will Smith. However, JYP often leaned on retro influences in his songs so, determined to create a fresh sound for his new group’s debut single, he turned to an emerging production team who had already begun to make waves.

They were called Black Eyed Pilseung (which translates as Black Eyed Victory), a clever Korean take on will.i.am’s group Black Eyed Peas. Black Eyed Pilseung were a duo made up of Rado and Choi Kyu-sung. Under his real name, Song Joo-young, Rado had debuted with boy band Someday in 2009 before moving behind the controls to work on hits for 4minute, Apink and Trouble Maker, while Choi Kyu-sung was building a reputation having produced hits for T-ara, Beast and Hyuna. Forming Black Eyed Pilseung in 2014, they were behind ‘Touch my Body’, a number one in Korea for girl group Sistar, and ‘Missing’ a top-ten hit for boy band Teen Top. They had then worked for JYP Entertainment on songs for Miss A and Got7, and JYP was convinced they were the ideal team to create colour pop.

It was nearly time. The music video was due to drop at midnight on 19 October, and to welcome it the girls held a pyjama party in their dorm at 11.30 p.m., broadcast on V LIVE. Snuggled up on their sofa, each hugging their plushies, they talked about life in the dorm together and their midnight feasts and dance parties. As midnight approached, despite saying they were nervous, they became more and more excited and high-spirited. When the song was finally revealed they were elated, singing and dancing along – all except for Jeongyeon, for whom the moment was too much. She burst into tears.

It must have been hard for the excited girls to sleep, but the next day was debut day, their showcase and their first live performance of ‘Like Ooh Ahh’. At the concert hall, they fulfilled all the fans’ expectations. Looking superb in their red and camouflaged outfits, they came across as individuals and as a synchronised group with energetic choreography and vocals that didn’t miss a beat. There was only one moment that didn’t go to plan. As Jihyo’s first line arrived, she was overcome with emotion and started to cry. She had waited ten long years for this moment and fans immediately realised what this meant to her.

Now we discovered what colour pop was. It was an updated version of the bubblegum sound. It was fun, upbeat and singalong. It had a super-sweet feel, too, but that was cleverly undercut with changes of pace. It was, however, distinctly third-generation K-pop, with its driving beat, rap parts, the R’n’B feel of the verses and the effortless integration of clapping, rock guitar and synth sounds. Even a flute was made to seem a natural part of the instrumental. Jiyho and Nayeon had the lion’s share of the vocal lines with Chaeyoung and Dahyun taking the small rap part. Not that the others didn’t contribute; chiming in with alternate lines, they added a ‘girls together’ vibe, bringing humour and spikiness to the number.

The song itself, with lyrics from relatively new writer Sam Lewis, focused on the girls’ desire to fall in love – but not with guys who are only interested in them because they’re pretty. It introduced Twice as modern girls who knew how attractive they were and that they didn’t have to settle for second best. It wasn’t exactly girl crush, but it had plenty of elements of that independent spirit.

The showcase also saw Twice present other songs from the mini-album. They performed the ballad ‘Like a Fool’, a difficult song to sing on your debut. Nerves clearly got to some, with Jeongyeon and Sana suffering more than most. In fact, Sana was visibly upset after failing to reach a high note on one of her lines. However, the stability of Jiyho, Mina and Nayeon helped them pull through, and as the song progressed they all grew stronger. They were much more confident tackling three of the songs which had featured in the Sixteen finale: the mid-tempo ‘Truth’ brought a kaleidoscope choreography that made the most of the nine-member group; with a more R’n’B vibe, ‘Must Be Crazy’ allowed them to let loose and have fun; and they turned ‘Do it Again’ into a hair-flipping, high-energy party with Momo taking centre stage – there were plaudits for her fantastic dance moves and for pulling off a rap part as well.

Online, the reaction to the showcase was positive. Fans were gobsmacked at how pretty every single member of Twice was, declaring them the best-looking girl group ever! Others noted the freshness of their image and sound. And JYP Entertainment certainly seemed to have succeeded in overcoming one major hurdle: with so many girls in a group, how do you make each of them distinctive? Fans could pick each one out by their hair or their outfit and revelled in the girls’ individuality. Twice had arrived – and in some style.

3
The Story Begins

On the same day as their showcase, Twice had released their video for ‘Like Ooh Ahh’. A YouTube music video was an essential device to reach out to fans, especially international fans. The global availability of YouTube ensured that the excited and the curious living outside South Korea – from the USA and Europe to the Middle East and especially in Japan and other parts of Asia – could see what the fuss over JYP’s new girl group was all about.

The music video had developed into the major tool for promoting an artist. An entertaining, interesting or visually appealing video could gain millions of views and significantly boost an act’s profile. The pressure to produce a captivating video that bore repeated viewing for Twice’s debut single was therefore immense.

Responsibility for producing the video was given to Naïve Productions, a company that had worked with all JYP’s major acts, including Miss A and Got7. Their job was to communicate Twice’s concept – fresh, colourful and fun – and introduce the members to a global audience. With Halloween approaching, they opted to surround the girls with zombies (explaining why the undead had co-starred in the girls’ teasers) to add humour and excitement.

The video begins with a single-take shot as the camera pans around an abandoned school to introduce each of the members. The grey background contrasts with the sharpness of the girls’ high-school-styled outfits, among them Nayeon in a short yellow-and-black tartan skirt, Sana in a cheerleader dress and Jiyho in gym gear, with the full school uniform given to youngest member Tzuyu. The second section finds them back in their debut outfits with the full nine performing the song’s choreography on the roof at dusk in front of baying, fenced-off zombies. This is intercut with their escape on the school bus, which, for some reason, takes them to a fairground for the final scene. There they dance with the zombies, pacifying them by showing them how to have some fun.

It is a simple plot, very loosely related to the song’s lyrics – at least if the zombies represent those guys who want the girls’ attention just because they’re so attractive. However, it is incredibly effective. It matches the energy and upbeat feeling of the song and, of course, the Twice members look fantastic. Equally importantly, they look unique, with fans now able to pick out their favourites – and not just the obvious red-haired Jiyho or Jeongyeon with her pink bob. There’s Dahyun with her red highlights, Chaeyoung with her side-parted, shoulder-length hair or the unmistakable long legs of Tzuyu.

The video also communicates another vital element of Twice: these girls like to have fun. From Nayeon’s beguiling wink at the opening to Sana’s self-mocking failure to imitate Mina and Momo’s balletic poses, to the bonus finale with clips of each of them dancing in the aisle on the bus, if producers Naïve had set out to charm viewers they had totally succeeded. Beautiful, vivacious and just a little quirky – who wouldn’t be eager to find out more about Twice?

Confirmation that the video had pushed all the right buttons came almost immediately. Within 24 hours ‘Like Ooh Ahh’ had been viewed over a million times and that total doubled after two days. Among K-pop videos only solo singer Taeyeon’s ‘I’ was more popular around the globe. Their video wasn’t breaking any records (yet), but Twice were most definitely on the world map.

Meanwhile the mini-album, The Story Begins, had dropped. Lasting just over 20 minutes it contained six tracks: ‘Like Ooh Ahh’ and the other songs performed at the showcase – ‘Do it Again’, ‘Going Crazy’, ‘Truth’ and ‘Like a Fool’ – as well as the yet-to-be-performed live ‘Candy Boy’. Aside from the ballad ‘Like a Fool’ (in which the vocals, in contrast to their showcase version, are spot on and moving), the up-tempo, good vibes and high-energy concept were maintained throughout, but the sound mined a host of genres – hip-hop, funk, R’n’B and EDM – so it was hard to classify. Perhaps it was colour pop!

Both the single and the mini-album made an instant impression on the charts. The Story Begins went straight to number four on South Korea’s Gaon Album Chart and ‘Like Ooh Ahh’ debuted in the charts at number 22. Both also registered on the Billboard World charts and in Japanese charts. For Twice, though, this was just the start. The hard work now began with promoting the single. This meant more nerve-racking performances for the novice members and an exhausting schedule of early morning make-up sessions, endless rehearsals, tense recordings and hours of sitting backstage waiting to be called.

The first of these performances – known as ‘debut stages’ – took place two days after the showcase, on the Mnet channel’s weekly pop programme M Countdown. Years later fans would marvel at the one girl chanting on her own as their performance commenced. It’s hard to imagine now, but their fan base was minuscule compared to the established acts on the show. M Countdown had given them a Halloween set, but there were no zombies here, just nine girls giving their all on the dancefloor and singing live. They had swapped the debut outfits for a mostly black and grey look that still maintained the cute but sexy concept. Jihyo stood out in her ‘After Dark’ t-shirt and hold-ups, while Momo took viewers’ breath away in her cut-off denim shorts and tight crop top.

As was often the case on the music shows, Twice also performed a second song, ‘Do it Again’, on M Countdown. They re-emerged in fetching red, blue and black athleisure outfits (very much on trend in autumn 2015). This time the choreography was completely girly, full of skips and jumps, while the performance was marked by rapping from Chaeyoung and Momo, with Sana left alone on stage at the end to show some top aegyo. Some fans were now beginning to wonder, were Twice going to be a cutesy girl group or a more edgy girl-crush group?

Over the next week they repeated their exertions on Music Bank, Show! Music Core, Inkigayo and The Show. Each time they seemed more relaxed and confident about singing live (many acts, especially rookie groups, lip sync on these shows). They also appeared in different outfits each time. Generally, they wore crop tops and tight or flared skirts or shorts (Jeongyeon’s somehow being shorter than the others’!). None of them wore the same outfit, but there was always a colour or pattern that gave them a group identity. On Show! Music Core, for example, where there was a yellow and black theme, Mina and Chaeyoung wore yellow-and-black-check crop tops, Tzuyu and Dahyun wore flared yellow, white and black patterned skirts, and Sana had the same pattern on a dress.

Audiences were amazed at just how good they all looked. They were used to K-pop groups having one or two ‘visual’ members who were noted for their looks, but with Twice it was impossible to see who that was – they were all equally beautiful. Fans would pick their ‘bias’ – their favourite member – then change their mind after the next show. The ‘bias-wreckers’ – members who would make fans question their choice – were often Mina, Momo, Dahyun or Jeongyeon, but every single member was guaranteed a mention in discussion forums.

The next thing fans noted was the choreography. Devised by renowned K-pop choreographer Lia Kim, it utilised all nine girls in a series of fun dance moves. Fans attempting to do the dances themselves soon discovered that they were not quite as complicated as they looked (although Twice were dancing in high heels!) and once they had mastered the flute playing, the making a heart with their hands, the throwing kisses, the Marilyn Monroe holding her skirt move, the ‘ooh ahh’ leg twist and the jumps and shakes, it all came together. The breakdown wasn’t quite so easy to imitate, though. Momo was a class act and her neck-jerking, hair-flicking solo dance was the work of a professional.

Music shows were only the half of it. The six weeks of promotion were filled with magazine interviews and photoshoots, fan signings, live radio shows and recorded TV broadcasts. For the nine members of Twice, who just five months previously had still been trainees, this was all very novel. The evening before their M Countdown debut they took part in a photoshoot for Elle – their first magazine shoot. One set of pictures was taken on a sports field after nightfall. The girls were cold, but excited, and came across as a group with boundless energy. Another set of pictures was taken in a studio and these shots were exquisite. Dressed in shiny black and lace, the girls exuded a femme-fatale vibe and posed like born models – they had come a long way since the Sixteen photoshoot challenge.

Fan meetings were another new phenomenon for the fledgling group. K-pop acts were expected to meet their supporters, and outside the studio after their debut stage over 200 people sat patiently waiting for them. The girls emerged wrapped in blankets, waved and each said a few slightly awkward words to the assembled fans. They looked visibly shocked at how many had turned up. It was enough to bring Sana to tears, but the numbers were only going to get bigger.

The new fans were overjoyed to discover there was a second series of Twice TV to coincide with their debut. Running weekly until Christmas, the episodes documented what the group had been getting up to, including photo sessions for the album, behind the scenes at their debut stage, the Elle magazine photoshoot and the filming of their first commercial – for a school uniform brand called Skoolooks. With later episodes following them to the zoo and the fairground rides at Everland, South Korea’s largest theme park, viewers were able to see them at work and at play.

Some episodes were pure fun, especially the parody of Sixteen which opened the series. Each of the girls played another member, except for Momo, who was excellent in the role of Park Jin-young. Nayeon was hilarious as Sana and Mina took her impression of Tzuyu as far as it could go. In episode five they wrote their own profiles and showed off their individual skills, including Nayeon’s girl-crush pose and Sana’s massage skills. In another episode the challenge was to make a 15-second film. Mina’s suggestion of a ghost film was voted the best (ahead of Momo’s idea of a commercial for pigs’ trotters!) and the result was genuinely scary, especially Tzuyu pulling an eyeball-less stare.

Fans loved the Twice TV series, but what people really wanted to see was Twice on television and in particular on variety shows. The South Koreans love their variety shows and have so many to choose from. Some are straightforward chat shows, but the favourites challenge guests in order to reveal different facets of their personalities. The challenges can be silly and fun or tough and testing, and the hosts are always ready to tease and mock the guests, however big a star they might be.

Twice’s very first variety show was on YouTube channel Kthe1’s Let’s Dance, and they announced themselves with their chant. Like many K-pop groups, Twice had their own greeting, which translates as ‘One in a million – hello we are Twice’, and they had spent the summer rehearsing it. The show required the girls to play some simple games to decide which duo got to teach the mystery man, who wore black and a motorcycle crash helmet, different elements of the ‘Like Ooh Aah’ choreography. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Dahyun and Jihyo won the loudest voice challenge, while Nayeon and Tzuyu triumphed in the dance challenge, in which they had to remember the choreography for random hits. If this was a test, they passed with flying colours, showing they could be funny, cute and talented, often all at the same time.

What fans were really waiting for was an appearance on Weekly Idol, one of the longest-running and most popular of all the variety shows. The 60-minute show poked fun at its guests, while giving them a chance to show fans their true personalities. It had launched so many K-pop acts on the journey to stardom and the fact that Twice had debuted a mere 50 days before being invited onto the show was an indication of the impact they had made with ‘Like Ooh Ahh’.

The show was hosted by popular TV personality Defconn and Sungkyu from boy band Infinite. He was only MCing for his second week, after the departure of regular host Jeong Hyeong-don, and it was perhaps his nervousness that helped Twice feel more confident, because rather than the timid young girls that viewers might have expected to see, they were buzzing with energy and personality, and great entertainment value.

The show begins with Weekly Idol introductions, where each member of the group introduces themselves through their nickname. Some of the descriptions were obvious: Mina, who had trained as a ballet dancer, was the Black Swan Ballerina; Tzuyu the Tall Maknae; Sana was Cutie-Sexy; and Nayeon Bright Energy. Others needed a little explanation. Dahyun called herself Energetic Tofu, because her skin was pale like tofu; Momo was Performance and Belly, not because she liked revealing her abs, but on account of her insatiable appetite; and Jiyho was the Mic, because she didn’t need a microphone as her voice was so loud. That left the besties, Chaeyoung and Jeongyeon. They had picked up a reputation as the No Jam (or No Fun) Brothers, because they often laughed at jokes that the others just didn’t get.

The main segment of the show, called Idol of the Week, set the guests challenges from a menu of games designed to demonstrate their talents or charisma. As first-timers on the show, Twice avoided some of the difficult tasks, such as dancing the choreography from a random selection of their songs at double speed or performing the choreography of one hit to a different song. What they did get was dancing another group’s choreography. It was something they would have done many times for fun or in practice as trainees, but remembering the moves on prime-time TV could be difficult – not for dance machine Momo, though, who was up straightaway to EXO’s ‘Call Me Baby’, or Nayeon, who had no trouble recalling the moves to AoA’s ‘Heart Attack’. By the time Miss A’s ‘Display’ came on, virtually all of them took to the dancefloor. Only Nayeon stayed seated and she came to life for the final track, ‘Bad’, dancing with host Sungkyu, who had sung on the original hit.

Twice had gone on Weekly Idol to introduce themselves to the Korean public (and international fans who caught the episode later on YouTube). They wanted to present an image of beauty and energy. The first of these was easy. Even though they were dressed down for the show in jumpers, jeans and comfortable skirts, they still looked gorgeous. The second was more difficult, but they rose to the occasion in the Crazy Dance challenge. Just required to go crazy to ‘Like Ooh Ahh’, they did it with style and humour. Tzuyu stole Dahyun’s eagle dance; Jihyo fizzed around the stage brilliantly; Momo displayed her breakdancing skills; and Dahyun became a hair-flicking, arm-flinging blur who didn’t stop even when the music finished. For all their efforts, Jeongyeon was pronounced the winner for her lolloping and crouching dance, which had the other members in hysterics. How could they possibly say she was no fun?

Finally, they had to take on the special talents round. It was one thing to claim you had a skill, but proving it in front of the cameras was something else. Poor Jeongyeon was quickly brought down to earth when she was asked to prove she could play the buk drum, a traditional Korean percussion instrument. Although she clearly knew how to play it, the hosts jokingly mocked her skills. Tzuyu demonstrated that she excelled at pulling model poses, only for Jiyho and Jeongyeon to pull their own poses – to everyone’s amusement. The real stars of the round, though, were Chaeyoung, whose caricature drawing of the hosts was very impressive, and Sana, who displayed her calligraphy skills, even creating a poster declaiming the slogan, ‘No Sana, No Life’. In Korean sana means ‘to live’ and fans had quickly adopted the phrase.

Weekly Idol rounded off a successful if not sensational debut for JYP’s new girl group. After some initial success, ‘Like Ooh Aah’ had fallen in the charts but was increasingly looking like a sleeper hit – a release that remains in the charts, gradually becoming more and more popular. In November, the single had started to climb the charts again, reaching number nine, despite tough competition. Meanwhile, in the Philippines, Japan, Taiwan and other Asian countries, international K-pop fans were picking up on Twice. On 14 November, the music video for ‘Like Ooh Aah’ passed ten million YouTube views. To mark this pretty amazing achievement, JYP dropped Twice Special Video ‘C’, which showed the girls, in their original video high-school outfits, performing the whole dance in the dilapidated schoolroom.

Over 50 days the smiles and copiable dances of the Twice girls had caught the attention of many K-pop lovers, and the infectious melodies and chorus of ‘Like Ooh Aah’ had been played on radio, TV and in shops across Korea and beyond. They had already begun to fulfil JYP’s mission to captivate fans twice, through the eyes and through the ears, but their story had only just begun …

4
Once

K-pop fans are among the most passionate in the world. Sure, the West has witnessed the mass devotion of Beliebers or Directioners, but nothing on the scale of K-pop fandoms. Having a network of thousands who eagerly await every release and show is essential to an act’s success in K-pop, and the fandom is a cherished and nurtured body.

Being a K-pop fan is often an active as well as a passive activity. These fans do not only follow their idols, listen to their recordings, read or watch interviews and attend fan meetings, they actively play a part in promoting them. They might stream the music videos to increase the number of views, vote for the act on award shows or collectively lobby radio or TV stations to feature their favourites. Many, although understanding and respecting that their idols are people too, feel a deep relationship with a group or particular idol and it is a feeling that is often reciprocated by the stars, who feel nourished by the love they receive.

The growing Twice fandom already had their own nickname for Twice, calling them ‘Teudoongie’ – a word combining Teu, the first syllable of Twice in Korean, and doongi, a word meaning cutie – but what they really wanted was an official name for their fandom. K-pop fan-club names are usually a little more creative than Little Mix’s Mixers. BTS have Army, Blackpink have Blink, while some are even more imaginative – take TVXQ’s Cassiopeia or Seventeen’s Carat. On 4 November 2015, Twice released their official fandom name through their Instagram account. JYP Entertainment had approved the idea that Jiyho had floated in the debut countdown V LIVE broadcast: Twice fans were to be known as ‘Once’.

The Instagram message read, ‘A lot of fans liked “Once”. Once and Twice. Once then Twice. They seem to go together. If you love us even Once we’ll repay you with Twice our love. It’s difficult to connect with people and getting people to love is the most difficult of all. We’ll work hard so that you can look at us Once and fall in love with us Twice. Be with us until the end. We love you.’

Twice’s early fans took to the name immediately. It brought them together as a fandom and enabled them to meet each other and talk about the group. The main forum for this was online fan cafés. Fan cafés are an important part of K-pop culture as they give fans an opportunity to gather information about new releases, fan meetings or sightings of idols, and to voice their own opinions on the act. Occasionally members of the group themselves even post on the sites, but unfortunately, as they’re generally conducted in Korean, they are of limited value to international fans.

The fan cafés of successful groups might amass over 200,000 members, but a group just establishing themselves, as Twice was in late 2015, might have around 25,000. However, this is still enough to mobilise support for a group and, with the award season approaching, Once had arrived just in time. As a fandom they could encourage fans to vote for Twice and for those attending the ceremonies to be loud in their support for the girls.

Award shows are a high point in the K-pop calendar, with companies, acts and fans alike determined to make an impression. Winning an award is an important recognition of achievement and a place in the K-pop firmament is determined as much by awards won as chart hits, record sales or arena tours. There are many awards available, ranging from the single of the year to the best overall and global acts. Bonsangs are prizes awarded to up to a dozen acts who have excelled in certain categories, but the most cherished awards are the daesangs, which are special prizes reserved for the very top groups or artists.

For such a new group as Twice, the only prize they had any real chance of winning was a newcomer award. Generally speaking, until 18 months or even two years have passed since their debut, groups are termed ‘rookie acts’. However, even within this, group competition can be fierce. Twice had only debuted a month or so before the award season began and were competing against groups such as CLC, who already had two top ten EPs, Lovelyz, who had released three charting singles, and GFriend, who had debuted back in January and were seriously popular. Even if they didn’t take home a trophy, though, attending and being seen with established K-pop idols was a prize in itself, and if they performed at the ceremony it would give a real boost to their status in the industry.

In early November, Twice lost out to GFriend at the Melon Music Awards (MMAs), but – amazingly – at the Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMAs), which took place in Hong Kong in early December, they were nominated for the Artist of the Year award. Realistically, they had no chance of winning, with K-pop giants EXO, Big Bang and Girls’ Generation all in contention. However, the Rookie of the Year award, decided by votes on the MAMAs website, was firmly in their sights – as long as Once rallied to the cause.

It was Twice’s first awards show and they were determined to enjoy it, hanging out with their JYP Entertainment friends Got7, who were performing. JYP himself also took to the stage for a medley of songs, including a dance he performed with a female dancer to ‘Who’s Your Mama?’. Standing up and dancing, the Twice girls did their best to support the boss, but when the dance got a little too suggestive some of them just couldn’t watch, hiding their face behind their hands in embarrassment.

Fortunately, they had recovered by the time they took to the stage to receive the Best New Artist – Female award, their first ever trophy. The girls were dressed smartly, mainly in black jackets and skirts, but what grabbed the attention were some dramatic hair colour changes: Tzuyu’s long straight hair was now a crimson-red, Chaeyoung’s shorter hair was a dark blue and Sana’s locks were a beautiful dark pink.

While Nayeon jumped forward to collect their award, as Twice’s leader it was Jiyho’s responsibility to give the group’s acceptance speech. She might have told the audience that she was nervous, but she spoke like she had been picking up awards for years. She thanked Park Jin-young, who was now sitting in the audience with a smile a mile wide, gave the first official call-out to Once and modestly insisted that Twice still had much to improve upon, promising that they would work hard to become better people and performers.

As they reached two months since debut and approached their first Christmas together as a group, Twice announced a special gift for Once. On 21 December they uploaded three cover videos of JYP classics. One was a dance video set to 2PM’s ‘ADTOY’ (‘All Day I Think of You’). Featuring Momo, Chaeyoung, Jeongyeon, Sana and Tzuyu, dressed identically in long white shirts and short black shorts, it takes place in a floodlit night-time garden. With a choreography based around five chairs, the five members perform a highly synchronised dance that alternates between cute and seductive.

Meanwhile, in the second video the other four members – Dahyun, Jiyho, Mina and Nayeon – were indoors in a room decorated for Christmas. Dahyun was at the piano, Jiyho stood next to her like a soloist and the others perched on the sofa as they performed a cover of Wonder Girls’ 2011 hit ‘Be My Baby’. While Dahyun surprised many with her piano-playing ability, Jiyho’s confident and stable lead vocal was just as Once had learned to expect, and Nayeon’s soft tones and Mina’s sweet, almost angelic, voice complemented beautifully.

The trio of covers was completed by a whole-group effort in which they sang Got7’s ‘Confession Song’ from 2014. This was cute and fun Twice in their Christmas jumpers, standing around the Christmas tree, playing with the balloons and preparing party treats. Impressively, Chaeyoung and Dahyun added a rap which they wrote themselves, but Dahyun earned the most laughs for singing the ‘Hajima’ line at the beginning. It was a line from another Got7 single, ‘Stop, Stop It’, and Dahyun had had a lead role in the music video. Once appreciated the reference.

Christmas in K-popland means TV specials, and with Twice’s appealing visuals and feelgood vibes they were much in demand. They recorded two performances for the Music Bank special that was broadcast on Christmas Day. One was a new version of ‘Like Ooh Aah’ with additional choreography elements, while the other was a cover of a 1997 hit by Baby V.O.X. called ‘YaYaYa’. Kitted out in pink and white fluffy woollen tops and A-line skirts, this was as girly as Twice had so far been seen. Tzuyu’s voice really shone in the sugary sweet song, but the concept surprised some Onces: this image wasn’t what they expected of the group.

Before the year ended, Twice were able to tick off another K-pop tradition. They participated in the SBS (Seoul Broadcasting System) Christmas special Gayo Daejun, which has been a Korean TV festive favourite since 1997. Originally an awards show (the show’s title translates as ‘Battle of the Bands’), since 2007 it had been more of a celebratory festival featuring the best K-pop acts around. The 2015 edition was no exception, with massive names such as Psy, Girls’ Generation, Shinee, EXO, Apink, AOA and VIXX topping the bill, alongside JYP Entertainment heavyweights 2PM and Got7. It also featured the best up-and-coming acts, including GFriend, Red Velvet, Lovelyz, Monsta X, Seventeen, iKon and, of course, Twice.

The live extravaganza took place on 27 December 2015 and it was the newest of all the acts that kicked off the show – Twice. They had pre-recorded a video especially for the show and it was a real gem. Entitled ‘A History of K-pop with Twice’, it started in the 1930s, with Jihyo and Tzuyu in vintage dresses and long gloves demonstrating the swing dance. It then progressed decade by decade with different pairs, dressed in the fashions of the time and performing the relevant dance style of the era. It was fun and superbly produced with, arguably, Dahyun and Mina’s seventies disco dance, Chaeyoung and Sana’s nineties hip-hop, and Mina and Momo’s 2010s EDM catwalk being the pick of the dances.

When it came to their Gayo Daejun performance, Twice stuck with ‘Like Ooh Ahh’ but rang the changes. The girls were dressed in a mix of red and black tartan cheerleader-style outfits with their team name Twice or the Twice logo emblazoned across their chests. They put their all into a powerful and energetic remix of the track, but unfortunately the filming let them down; the producers had cut the bridge and dance break, while the camera operators missed the intro.

Those familiar with JYP Entertainment’s strategy knew the company always tried to get as much as it could out of every release. Before the year was out it had dropped dance videos of both the Music Bank version of ‘Like Ooh Ahh’ (‘Remix Ver.1’), which had less gimmicky choreography than the original and some impressive formation changes, and the cheerleader (complete with pom-pom intro), high-energy Gayo Daejun version (‘Remix Ver.2’). What’s more, as a result of the festive performances, the single began to rise up the Korean charts again, so JYP Entertainment decided to promote the song again on the various music shows. By the first week of 2016, ‘Like Ooh Ahh’ was at number nine on the Melon (streaming) charts – the highest position yet! It brought new opportunities, too. Jihyo and Nayeon were invited to be guest MCs on an episode of M Countdown and the same show gave them a chance to perform ‘Candy Boy’ as a second song.

One measure of how successful a debut it had been is the number of product endorsements the group had been signed up for. Before they even debuted they were promoting the school uniform brand Skoolooks (which raised some controversy, with complaints that the advertisements were too suggestive). They then promoted the cinema chain CGV, the online action game Elsword and KB Kookmin Bank’s credit card, and also became official ambassadors for Snoopy: The Peanuts Movie, dancing alongside Charlie Brown and Snoopy in a trailer and attending the premiere on Christmas Eve.

Twice were flying high. It had been a dream three months. Their single was performing well and they were winning over more fans every day. What could possibly go wrong? Unfortunately, in the high-profile world of K-pop the answer is almost anything. Through naivety, youthful high spirits, romance and passion, or occasionally criminal behaviour, it can be all too easy for K-pop idols to cause controversy or scandal. Tzuyu, the group’s youngest member and still only 16, was about to learn the hard way.

In November, Twice had appeared on a TV variety show called My Little Television. The members introduced themselves, with the Japanese duo holding up their national flag and Tzuyu waving a Taiwanese flag to show her nationality. It only appeared in an online section of the show and no one thought anything of it. Then, in January, a Chinese-based Taiwanese artist called Huang An pointed out on the Chinese social media platform Weibo that Tzuyu had waved the flag of independent Taiwan. This was a problem as the Chinese government does not recognise Taiwan as a separate state. Huawei, the Chinese smartphone manufacturer, immediately terminated their endorsement deal with Twice and Tzuyu’s forthcoming appearance on a Chinese New Year TV show was cancelled.

Poor Tzuyu had jeopardised Twice’s future in a country where they could potentially have thousands of fans. JYP Entertainment immediately defended her, citing her young age, insisting she had no political agenda and issuing an apology to China, blaming themselves for not giving their artist proper guidance. A video was then uploaded to YouTube in which a sombre Tzuyu apologised, saying, ‘There is only one China … I am proud to consider myself thoroughly Chinese.’ She concluded, ‘I’m terribly sorry for the harm I have caused and I feel ashamed.’ For Tzuyu and Twice the matter had been dealt with, but in Taiwan many supported their young star, feeling she had been bullied into apologising by the company.

However, there was no time for Tzuyu or Twice to feel sorry for themselves as their January schedule was packed. Their place as idols was confirmed by their participation in high-profile shows – some of which didn’t even involve singing or dancing. Among them were the cookery show Top 3 Chef King and Same Bed, Different Dreams, in which Dahyun and Nayeon gave advice to reconcile teens and their parents (this episode featured a mother who was worried her son was throwing away a potential baseball career because he was obsessed with Twice!).

K-pop is nothing but original in devising entertainment formats in which stars can excel or embarrass themselves. Since 2010, the Idol Star Athletics Championships (Idol Games) has been a regular and very popular event. This is a mini-Olympics which pitches idol against idol in a bid to win medals at a selection of sporting events. In January 2015, Twice took their place among the 50 top K-pop groups, competing individually for their group and for a team. Twice were placed in a team called Beat to the End with BTS, Got7 and Bestie. The early events were not a great success for the girls. Chaeyoung was just edged out of the bronze medal in the 60-metre sprint by Binnie from Oh My Girl and Tzuyu completely missed the target in archery when her arrow got caught in her hair – the video clip of the incident went viral, though, so it was a victory of some sort!

The Twice girls, however, proved they are – literally – fighters, with a team of Jeongyeon, Momo and Nayeon entering the Ssireum event. Ssireum is a traditional form of wrestling in Korea where competitors grab each other’s belts and attempt to pull or push their opponents to the ground. You might think it’s hardly a sport for demure girl singers, but they went at it with gusto. Twice defeated Girl’s Day and then Apink to set up a battle with EXID in the final. Jeongyeon and Nayeon were both beaten and although Momo, who had failed to win a bout up until then, defeated Exid’s best wrestler, Hyelin, Twice had to settle for a silver medal.

It had been a whirlwind three months for Twice. They had debuted, seen their single become a fixture in the charts, won a rookie award, rode out controversy over the Skoolooks and Taiwan flag incidents, and established themselves as true idols with charisma as well as musical talent. The history of K-pop, however, is as littered with one-hit wonders as the Western pop charts, and the question now being asked of Twice was whether they could sustain their success with their next single …

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