Son Chae-young (Korean: 손채영; born April 23, 1999), known mononymously as Chaeyoung, is a South Korean singer and rapper. She is a member of the girl group Twice, formed by JYP Entertainment.
Life and career
Early life and pre-debut activities
Chaeyoung was born in Seoul, South Korea on April 23, 1999.[1][2][3] She took interest in the performing arts from a young age and used to model for a children's magazine.[1] Chaeyoung decided she wanted to become a singer before joining JYP Entertainment and took dance lessons for over one year.[1] At age 13, she passed the auditions and ended up joining the company. As a trainee, she appeared in the music videos for Got7's "Stop Stop It" (2014) and Miss A's "Only You" (2015).[4]
Chaeyoung participated in the reality television competition Sixteen in 2015.[5][6] Ranking sixth place out of the nine debut spots, she went on to join the newly formed girl group Twice as one of its rappers and singers.[5] On October 20, 2015, Twice officially debuted with the release of their first extended play (EP) The Story Begins.[7][1][4][8][5]
Chaeyoung became the first member of the group to receive writing credits when she wrote a rap verse for Twice's version of J. Y. Park's "Precious Love" as part of their 2016 EP Page Two.[9] Since then, Chaeyoung has participated in writing lyrics for multiple songs by Twice. For the group's second Japanese studio album &Twice, on the track "How U Doin'", Chaeyoung took part in composing for the first time, making her the first member to do so.[10] She also designed the limited edition cover of Page Two[11] and three different pairs of SPRIS shoes.[4]
As a soloist, Chaeyoung released covers of "Alone" by Cheeze[1] and "Off My Face" by Justin Bieber as part of the Melody Project series.[12] In 2022, she began learning to play the guitar in anticipation of a potential solo debut.[13] She then performed an unreleased solo track titled "My Guitar" on Twice's Ready to Be World Tour.[14] In October 2023, Chaeyoung collaborated with pop duo Coco & Clair Clair on a remix of their song "Pop Star".[15]
Endorsements
In September 2023, Chaeyoung was selected as a brand ambassador for Italian fashion house Etro in Japan.[16] In November, she was chosen as the brand muse for Japanese cosmetics brand CipiCipi.[17]
Personal life
Chaeyoung attended Hanlim Multi Art School with fellow bandmate Tzuyu, graduating in 2019.[18][19] In 2020, Chaeyoung's personal phone number was leaked on social media; JYP Entertainment released a statement about the incident, and she responded directly on Twice's Instagram page.[20][21][22]
On April 5, 2024, JYP Entertainment confirmed that Chaeyoung is in a relationship with rapper Zion.T.[23]
On March 18, 2023, Chaeyoung appeared wearing a shirt with imagery of QAnon, an American far-right conspiracy theory movement, during a promotion of "Set Me Free" on MBC's Show! Music Core.[26][27] The crop top showed a large Q in American-flag print with the words "We Go All" below it, a prominent slogan of the conspiracy theory group.[28] Three days later, on March 21, the singer posted a picture on Instagram in which she was wearing a T-shirt with Nazi imagery.[29] The T-shirt specifically featured an image of Sid Vicious, bassist of the Sex Pistols, wearing a tilted right-facing swastika identical to the one used by Nazi Germany.[30] Chaeyoung subsequently removed the Instagram post and issued an apology.[31][32] In the apology, she wrote, "I didn't correctly recognise the meaning of the tilted swastika in the t-shirt I wore."[33] Chaeyoung's label, JYP Entertainment, also issued an apology with regard to her Instagram post taking responsibility "for not thoroughly reviewing it from the label side."[34] The apologies by Chaeyoung and her label did not address the QAnon shirt.[35][36]
^Song, Mi-kyung (October 25, 2023). "TWICE チェヨン、米ポップデュオCoCo ＆ Clair Clairとコラボ！「Pop Star」リミックスバージョンをリリース" [TWICE's Chaeyoung collaborates with American pop duo CoCo & Clair Clair! "Pop Star" remix version released]. Yahoo (in Japanese). Archived from the original on November 1, 2023. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
^Choi, Bo-yoon (September 11, 2023). "트와이스 채영, 일본의 첫 에트로 앰배서더 발탁" [TWICE's Chaeyoung selected as Japan's first Etro ambassador]. The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). Archived from the original on September 29, 2023. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
^Choi, Ji-Ye (April 5, 2024). 트와이스 채영, 자이언티와 열애 인정 "호감 갖고 만나는 중, 서로 응원" [공식] [Twice's Chaeyoung admits to dating Zion.T, "Meeting with good feelings, supporting each other" [Official]]. Ten Asia (in Korean). Retrieved July 16, 2024 – via Naver.
^"찰떡이라는 아이돌 천주교 세례명.txt". Dispatch (in Korean). January 2018. Archived from the original on November 7, 2022. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
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