On May 5, 2015, she became a contestant on JYP's newest survival show, SIXTEEN. Unfortunately, in the final episode, she didn't make it to the final line-up. However, based on a unanimous decision, JYP, along with the trainers and the A&R team, brought her back and included her in the group.
They officially debuted on October 20, 2015 with their first mini album The Story Begins. Controversy arose as fans became skeptical of the motivations behind the decision of the addition of Tzuyu and previously eliminated Momo. Tzuyu was a fan favorite throughout the series and JYP included her due to her popularity and star quality.
The following day after the final episode, JYPE released a short statement about the addition of the two girls into the final lineup of the group: "We apologize for failing to clearly communicate the selection process, and we'd like to explain it in detail once again. The condition to be chosen as a final member was the votes made by the audience and viewers. However, leading up to the final episode, we thought that the seven members selected officially may leave something to be desired.
So, in addition to the seven, we decided that one member would be added solely from viewer's opinions (Tzuyu) and one from solely Park Jin Young's opinion (Momo). " On November 28, 2015, Tzuyu, along with her non-Korean fellow members from TWICE appeared on the internet variety show My Little Television. During the program, Tzuyu held up a Taiwanese flag to show her nationality.
Member Mina, Sana, and Momo did the same for their country, Japan. However, Tzuyu's action was picked up by the Taiwanese China-based singer Huang An, who opposes Taiwanese independence from China (as most Chinese did), and described Tzuyu on his Weibo account as a Taiwanese independence supporter. In response to the controversy, JYP China stated on their official Weibo account that, until the misunderstanding have been resolved, TWICE's activities in China would be halted.
As an apology, a video of Tzuyu was released on JYPE's channel on January 15, 2016. In the video, she is seen standing in front of a gray wall, facing the camera in a casual attire. Speaking Chinese, she begins with a short self introduction, followed by "I'm sorry", and continuously saying how proud she is about being Chinese.
The video had a very polemical YouTube rating, alongside the general public stirring backlash against the video. Many political figures in Taiwan, including presidential candidates and the outgoing president, released statements supporting Tzuyu. Huang An was given backlash of his own, while JYP Entertainment's website suffered a DDoS attack.
Both Huang An and JYP Entertainment were faced with subsequent legal threats over the flag incident. On August 2, 2024, JYP Entertainement unveiled the opening trailer for Tzuyu's solo debut mini album, AbouTzu, which was released on September 6. On September 9, 2025, it was revealed that Tzuyu will be collaborating with on the digital single "Blink".
Log in to join the conversation.
Tzuyu Fan Board
Write PostNo posts yet.
Be the first to write one!