After the announcement, the main opinion of K-Pop fans and some fans including ONCE (TWICE's Fandom) was that the solo debut was too late.
TWICE will be opening their "second half" activities with Nayeon's solo debut. However, the solo activities of the TWICE members were considered late by the Korean media.
On June 9, 2022, Korean media outlet YTN Star released an article featuring Nayeon's upcoming solo debut on June 24. TWICE is a group that is known to strictly refrain from the members' individual activities.
But this time, JYP Entertainment hinted at the start of solo and unit group activities after Nayeon's solo album. Therefore, attention is paid to how Nayeon's solo activities will affect the group.
After the announcement, the main opinion of K-Pop fans and some fans including ONCE (TWICE's fandom) is that solo debut is too late.
People explained that compared to TWICE, which has only been doing group activities for the past seven years, there are actually a lot of girl group members who have expanded their base as either soloists or actresses, on top of group activities.
"First of all, the goal (solo debut) is to promote the group. This is a strategy to raise the awareness of the whole group by building the awareness of each member through individual activities," an official from the music industry told YTN.
"In addition, when each member has a strong desire to develop his own ability to survive in the entertainment industry, he is asked to do solo activities or acting," he continued.
Also, most fans want to meet more artists in some way. Idols carry out individual activities when their desires match the demands of fans.
When asked about the point that it was too late for TWICE to start their individual activities in their 7th year, the music official implied that the case was different for TWICE, as they were ready from the start as a group.
In particular, the official acknowledged that individual activities such as solo debuts were not required by TWICE beforehand because they were already popular from the start.
"If the whole group has not developed, then if one member appears through individual activities, the member's recognition will not necessarily have a positive impact on the group. It can have a negative impact," he said.
"Fortunately, TWICE has achieved results as a group since its debut. It was analyzed that there is no need to take risks from the activities of individual members," the official continued.
Understanding this point, TWICE solo is not aiming for more popularity, but rather to confirm their appearance as an artist and showcase their individual art outside of the group.
Starting with Nayeon, the female idol will be releasing her first mini-album, "IM NAYEON" on June 24. There is great hope that he will succeed in opening the second round of TWICE activities. (wk/chus)
