Twice’s Tzuyu at 21 – 5 things about K-pop’s Taiwan-born animal lover, archer and skateboarding video game star
The Tainan-born star found fame young after being discovered dancing by JYP Entertainment and winning a place in nine-piece K-pop girl group Twice – despite being eliminated from reality survival show Sixteen
Taiwanese-born K-pop diva Tzuyu is back in the limelight thanks to the release of her group Twice’s latest album “More & More”. Since the nine-piece band burst onto the scene in 2015, this maknae has been making headlines for her otherworldly looks and dance performances.
As Tzuyu turns 21 on June 14, here are five things to know about the beloved idol.
She was discovered through a dance recital
From a young age, Tzuyu loved to dance, so she signed up for classes and workshops. In 2012, her performance at Tainan’s MUSE Performing Art Workshop was uploaded online and a casting team from JYP Entertainment discovered the video. She was then given an opportunity to move from Taiwan to South Korea to begin her training.
She volunteers in animal shelters
In May, Tzuyu's schedule was jam-packed thanks to Twice's scheduled comeback in June. However, she still managed to volunteer in an animal shelter with Twice's Jeongyeon. We stan a queen that loves animals!
She is a great archer
During the Idol Star Athletics Championships (ISAC) in 2019, Tzuyu received a lot of praise thanks to her goddess-like aura and superb archery skills. Out of a perfect score of 10, she scored 9 thrice and 10 once for hitting the bullseye. Her commendable performance helped Twice rack up 77 points and led to their victory in the first round.
She is a lead dancer
Despite being eliminated from JYP's survival show Sixteen – which pit 16 hopefuls against one another for the chance to join the band that became Twice – Tzuyu was eventually chosen to join their final line up. She’s proven that Park Jin-young made the right decision by improving her skills and eventually becoming the lead dancer of the group.
At the 2019 SBS Music Awards, Tzuyu performed on a special stage with AOA’s Seolhyun. The powerful collaboration earned more than two million views on YouTube.
Fans created a mobile game in honour of her skateboarding skills
Tzuyu might have learned to skateboard for a Pocari Sweat advertisement, but her dedication to the sport impressed many. In honour of her new skill, fans created the video game Tzuyu Skate Twice. It features the adorable idol skateboarding in different levels in hope of attaining a high score.
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