IU, the K-pop millionaire who gives much of her fortune away
They were discovered at a young age
Nayeon also caught the eyes of casting directors when she entered a child modelling competition, but her mother declined the initial offer for a shot at fame. However, Nayeon took another chance and applied for the 2010 JYP 7th Open Audition in secret, winning second place out of 30,000 applicants. During her trainee years, she went on to model for brands like Smart School Uniform and appeared in the drama Dream High 2.
How does Blackpink singer Jisoo like to spend her millions?
An international cast
One of Twice’s USPs is its international pedigree: Mina, Sana, Momo and Tzuyu are all non-Korean members of the group and each has her own story to tell that brought her to Korea.
Mina learned ballet for 11 years at Tokyo's prestigious Obayashi Sacred Heart School. She only came to like K-pop in middle school when she began practising MV dance moves with a friend. Still, she might never have expected to be approached by a casting manager while she was shopping with her mum at Osaka’s Hankyu Umeda Store. She dropped out of school and started training in 2014.
Another Japanese member, Sana, attended a dance academy in Osaka since sixth grade and was also asked by a JYP casting manger to try out for a global audition.
Momo, from Kyoto, started dancing when she was three years old and even appeared in Korean singer Lexy’s music video Ma People. After seeing her dance video online, JYP contacted her for an audition and she made it as a trainee.Which K-drama actor is on course to become the next Lee Min-ho?
Dancing queens
The talent scouts might have also taken note of a viral video Dahyun posted pre-fame, perfecting the so-called “eagle dance” at church.
Only the strong survive
But impressing casting agents, getting through auditions and earning a place on a cutthroat trainee programme doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll make it as an idol.9 new Korean movies to watch out for in 2021
In the case of Twice, the competition was open for all the world to see – and even weigh in on. In 2015, TV channel Mnet and JYP Entertainment launched a survival programme called Sixteen that saw 16 hopeful JYP trainees compete for seven spots in the group that would become Twice.
Every week, the girls were evaluated into major or minor groups, and one girl from a minor group had to leave the show, with the viewers’ popular vote weighted into the equation.
The result was unpredictable until the end and even the girls who eventually made it into Twice had to endure being part of the minor group at times. On the last episode, Nayeon, Jeongyeon and Dahyun were finally selected as major members to debut with Twice. But the surprise escalated as JYP director Park Jin-young decided to add two already eliminated members, Tzuyu and Momo, back into the final band – making the girl group an unusually large nine-piece, rather than the septet originally planned. Today, fans can’t imagine Twice any other way.ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tK%2FMqWWcp51kuqKzwLOgp52jZMC1xcueZpydnJqvs7XTsmaaqqSesK2xjmxoampoZ4RwwNaimp5lnZq6o7HRrGSfmZ2aeqm71mahoqCppHqvrdiepqdlo5a7onnTs6yyrV2Wu6V5zq2fnqo%3D