Debut solo album from K-pop girl group Twice’s Jihyo tops iTunes charts in over 20 countries
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
South Korean singer Jihyo from K-pop girl group Twice debuted her solo album Zone last Friday.
PHOTO: _ZYOZYO/INSTAGRAM
Follow topic:
SEOUL – South Korean singer Jihyo from K-pop girl group Twice is making waves as a solo artist, with her debut album Zone hitting the top spot on various music platforms.
Upon its release last Friday, the seven-track album spanning different genres from R&B to Latin topped the iTunes worldwide chart in 21 countries, including Singapore, France, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines and Spain.
Zone also clocked almost four million streams on Spotify.
Jihyo, 26, is the second of the nine-member girl group to go solo, following Nayeon, who released her album Im Nayeon in June 2022.
“When the company told me I’d be making a solo album last year, rather than giving me a direction, they told me to decide what I wanted to do,” Jihyo said at a press conference in Seoul last Friday.
“It was difficult at first, but eventually, I went with an album that could show new sides of myself as a vocalist. All the songs are from different genres and I tried to make my voice sound as different as I could for each of them.”
On dance anthem Killin’ Me Good – penned by her label JYP Entertainment’s founder-producer JY Park – she said: “I believed that, as a singer, I had to enjoy my performance first to give good energy and emotions to the people watching me. Many suggested I do a ballad for my first solo piece, but I wanted to dance.
“It would be meaningless for me to release a solo album if I didn’t dance. My biggest joy as a singer is performing and entertaining people through dancing.”
Other tracks on Zone include Talkin’ About It (featuring American singer-rapper 24kGoldn), Closer and Don’t Wanna Go Back (a duet with South Korean singer Heize).
A solo career is a dream for many K-pop idols, and it took nine years for Jihyo to accomplish it. It has been almost 19 years since she first joined JYP Entertainment as a trainee.
She said: “I’ve already achieved everything by putting out an album I’m satisfied with that portrays me as a solo singer. Rather than saying ‘please play it many times’, I want to say ‘please enjoy’.” THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
