Park Ji-hyo (Korean: 박지효; born Park Ji-soo, February 1, 1997), known mononymously as Jihyo, is a South Korean singer. She is the leader and vocalist of the South Korean girl group Twice, formed by JYP Entertainment in 2015.
Jihyo released her debut extended play (EP) Zone and its lead single "Killin' Me Good" in August 2023. The EP debuted at number one on the Circle Album Chart in South Korea with 584,225 copies sold in the first week. It also debuted at number 14 on the Billboard 200 in the United States.
Early life and education
Jihyo was born on February 1, 1997, in Guri, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea as Park Ji-soo.[1][2][3] Her younger sister, Park Ji-young, better known by her stage name Lee Ha-eum [ko], is an actress and model.[4]
Career
2005–2015: Pre-debut activities
SM Entertainment scouted Jihyo after she placed second in a child star contest on Junior Naver.[5] After a year training at SM Entertainment, the employee who scouted her transferred to JYP Entertainment and Jihyo also transferred.[6] She joined JYP Entertainment in 2005 at the age of eight and trained for ten years,[7][8][9] during which she became the face of Innisfree's teen line with boy band Boyfriend,[1] and trained with K-pop acts such as Wonder Girls' Sunmi and Hyerim, Bae Suzy, Jo Kwon, and Nichkhun.
In 2014, Jihyo was set to debut in a six-member girl group called 6Mix with now-Twice members Nayeon, Jeongyeon and Sana, but the project was cancelled when two members left JYP Entertainment.[1][3][8] The following year, she joined the reality television show Sixteen, a competition to select the founding members of Twice.[10][11] She legally changed her name to Park Ji-hyo before the competition.[3][12][1] As one of nine successful participants, she went on to join the newly formed girl group Twice, and was voted by her bandmates as leader in an anonymous vote.[1][7][8]
2015–present: Debut with Twice and solo activities
In October 2015, Twice officially debuted with the release of their first extended play (EP), The Story Begins.[13] Its lead single "Like Ooh-Ahh" became the first K-pop debut song to reach 100 million views on YouTube.[14]
On March 6, 2022, Jihyo released her first song for a soundtrack, "Stardust Love Song", for tvN's Twenty-Five Twenty-One.[15] She released her second soundtrack song titled "I Fly" for SBS's Today's Webtoon on July 29.[16] On November 14, she released her third soundtrack track, "A Strange Day", for the Genie TV and ENA series Summer Strike.[17]
In January 2023, Jihyo was announced as the brand model for South Korean cosmetics brand Milk Touch.[18] In June 2023, it was announced that Jihyo would release her first EP, Zone, on August 18, with "Killin' Me Good" serving as the lead single,[19][20] becoming the second member of Twice to make a solo debut.[21] Prior to this announcement, Jihyo performed an unreleased track from the EP, "Nightmare", on Twice's Ready to Be World Tour.[22][23] The EP served as an R&B record that incorporate multiple genres.[24] It went to sell over half million copies in the first week.[25] On August 25, she achieved her first music show win as a soloist on KBS2's Music Bank.[26] Jihyo appeared in several episodes of the variety show I Live Alone in 2023, which earned her a Rookie Award nomination at the 2023 MBC Entertainment Awards.[27] She was also nominated for Best Dance Performance (Female Solo) and Best Female Artist at the 2023 MAMA Awards.[28]
Public image
Jihyo in 2019
On the Korean Business Research Institute's monthly "Individual Girl Group Members Brand Power Ranking" Jihyo placed second and third on the November 2018 and May 2019 search.[29][30]
Jihyo has drawn attention for her key role as both the leader and vocalist of Twice, with critics describing her as a "powerhouse vocalist" and praising her "impressive vocal range".[31][32][33][34]
^Lee Ji-soo (February 6, 2023). "신예 이하음, 알고보니 트와이스 지효 동생 '관심집중'" [Rookie Lee Ha-eum, turns out to be TWICE's Jihyo's younger sister 'attention'] (in Korean). Ilgan Sports. Archived from the original on February 6, 2023. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
^Kim, Hyeran (January 11, 2023). "올리브인터내셔널 '밀크터치' 트와이스 지효 모델 발탁" [Olive International 'Milk Touch' Twice Jihyo selected as model] (in Korean). Archived from the original on January 11, 2023. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
^Yoo, Byung-Chul (June 26, 2023). "트와이스 지효, 8월 18일 미니 1집 정식 발매...데뷔곡명은 '킬링 미 굿'" [TWICE JIHYO is releasing her official 1st Mini Album on August 18th...The title of the debut song is "Killin' Me Good"] (in Korean). Archived from the original on June 26, 2023. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
^Lee, Myung-joo (August 28, 2023). "지효, 'ZONE' 초동 53만...하프 밀리언셀러 달성" [Jihyo, 'ZONE' 530,000 in Initial Chodong... Achieved Half Million Seller]. Dispatch (in Korean). Archived from the original on September 2, 2023. Retrieved March 25, 2024 – via Naver.
^"TWICE ソロ写真集『Yes, I am Jihyo.』取り扱いに関して" [About the handling of TWICE solo photo book "Yes, I am Jihyo."] (in Japanese). TWICE Japan Official Website. July 26, 2021. Archived from the original on December 19, 2021. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
^Hwang, Hyo-yi (September 6, 2022). "강태오-박은빈'·'손석구-김지원'·'이준호-이세영' 베스트커플상은?" [Best Couple Award for 'Kang Tae-oh - Park Eun-bin', 'Son Seok-gu-Kim Ji-won', 'Lee Jun-ho-Lee Se-young'?] (in Korean). Sports Kyunghyang. Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved September 6, 2022 – via Naver.
^"AAA 인기상 후보100 사전투표 - 가수" [AAA Popularity Award Candidate 100 Advance Voting - Singer]. Star News (in Korean). September 5, 2023. Archived from the original on September 11, 2023. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
^Lee, Ha-na (April 10, 2024). "대상 주인은 스트레이 키즈, TXT 4관왕→트레저·더보이즈 3관왕(종합][ASEA 2024]" [Grand Prize winner is Stray Kids, TXT 4 wins → Treasure and The Boyz 3 wins (Overall)[ASEA 2024]]. Newsen (in Korean). Archived from the original on April 11, 2024. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
^"Seoul Music Awards – 모바일 투표 현황" [Seoul Music Awards – Mobile Voting Status]. Seoul Music Awards (in Korean). Archived from the original on November 8, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
