Receiving high expectations, but is TWICE Jihyo’s solo debut a disappointment compared to Nayeon’s?

TWICE Jihyo’s not doing well with her solo debut

On August 18th recently, Jihyo, the leader of TWICE, officially debuted as a solo artist with the album “Zone” and the title track MV “Killin’ Me Good.” As the second member of TWICE after Nayeon to promote solo, Jihyo, with her captivating vocals and a large fan base, garnered high expectations from the public. However, her solo debut achievements have been rather underwhelming, especially when compared to Nayeon’s debut track “POP!”

In terms of YouTube performance, the MV for “Killin’ Me Good” gained views at a relatively slow pace, despite TWICE’s fandom being regarded as one of the strongest communities within Kpop’s third generation. After a week of release, Jihyo’s MV only accumulated 9.4 million views.

What’s more noteworthy is that despite releasing a mini-album and promoting the title track, Jihyo didn’t perform well on the digital music platforms in South Korea. “Killin’ Me Good” dropped off MelOn after just one day, reaching a peak position of #131. When other girlgroups are doing well on domestic charts, Jihyo’s achievement has shocked and disappointed fans. Despite being considered catchy and easy to listen to, “Killin’ Me Good” didn’t go viral. Other than her fanbase, few knew that Jihyo had released her debut work.

This led netizens to inevitably compare the solo debut of the two TWICE members, Nayeon and Jihyo. It’s clear that Nayeon’s achievements are significantly more prominent. “POP!” maintained a steady position on music charts upon its release, garnering 202 million views up to now. “POP!” also became a social media trend and a favored summer song among audiences.

Faced with Jihyo’s lackluster performance, TWICE fans had to candidly acknowledge the considerable disparity between the group’s leader and Nayeon. Moreover, Nayeon’s debut was meticulously crafted by JYP. The song has a catchy melody and an interesting choreography. Jihyo’s style, on the other hand, is quite common and lacks distinctiveness. Additionally, “Killin’ Me Good” doesn’t have notable high notes, a “killing part,” or an impressive dance break to showcase Jihyo’s skills.

Furthermore, in recent years, TWICE’s popularity has notably waned. From being the leading group of the third generation, JYP’s girl group has lost its allure, and the group’s achievements are considered to be inferior to those of the newer generation girl groups. Many fans observe that JYP seems to have lost market sensitivity in the process of producing for their artists.

Knetizens’ reactions:

• Overall, Jihyo isn’t likely to succeed in a solo career. From a business perspective, investment naturally goes towards individuals who can bring in more profits.
• Jihyo’s singing style remains outdated; I really dislike that they let her sing like that. If she changes to a gentler singing style and releases a new song following the current pop music trend, she might attract more global fans. But this is a song that only fans like, it’s a shame. Moreover, Park Jinyoung’s lyrics are really annoying.
• Nevertheless, it seems this song reflects about 70-80% of Jihyo’s self. Though she can’t showcase her strengths, it’s clear that Jihyo is currently happy. Seeing her sing on “Lee Mujin Service,” you can tell that Jihyo is a person who remains committed to the music genre she loves. In general, Jihyo is doing what she loves. Therefore, don’t compare Jihyo to Nayeon anymore.
• Looking at TWICE, ITZY, and NMIXX, all with low achievements, you can see that JYP has lost its market acumen. It’s not easy for all groups to be ‘flop’ like this.
• I’ve seen Jihyo’s singing style remain the same since 2015.
• TWICE’s albums aren’t well-received anymore.