TWICE's Nayeon Spills On The Unusual Way She Learned About Her Solo Debut

TWICE‘s Nayeon just released her mini album IM NAYEON, and in doing so she became the first member of TWICE to make their official solo debut.

Nayeon showed her bright and cheerful personality through her title track, “POP!” Although the idol is accustomed to sharing the stage with her eight fellow TWICE members, she easily shines during her solo stages.

TWICE has had a busy year. The group recently returned to Korea from their III world tour, which had them traveling the globe from December 2021 to May this year. Instead of taking a well-deserved rest from activities, Nayeon went full force into her solo promotions, revealing she had prepared for the album while on TWICE’s world tour.

Nayeon spoke with Vulture about her solo debut and revealed she unexpectedly learned about her new venture.

While various K-Pop idols have shared that plans for their solo debut were often an ongoing conversation with their company, it seems that wasn’t the case for Nayeon. She only knew when JYP Entertainment presented TWICE’s annual schedule.

When they told us the finalized plan for this year, that was when I realized that I have a solo album coming out in June. At first, it did feel unreal.

— Nayeon

Although she revealed it was unexpected, it was something she had been imagining for a while. It seemed fitting that Nayeon would be the first to kick off solo promotions as she was also the first person confirmed as a member of TWICE.

Promotional photo for TWICE’s debut single | *JYP Entertainment*

Nayeon shared that she wasn’t sure why JYP Entertainment chose her as the member to make their first solo debut, but her fellow TWICE members couldn’t have been more excited.

… They all really congratulated me as if it was a Twice album coming out. They trusted me a lot and were happy for me.

— Nayeon

She also hinted that we could see more individual activities from the TWICE members in the future.

I think that there will be more opportunities in the future for the other members to show off their individual capabilities [as solo artists].

— Nayeon