Tzuyu

Before TWICE and the road through Sixteen

Tzuyu trained in Taiwan before moving to South Korea after being scouted. On Sixteen, she did not make the initial producer-selected seven but was added because she was the viewers’ most popular contestant. In 2015, a television appearance in which she held Taiwan’s flag triggered political backlash in China. At sixteen, she delivered a filmed apology. The incident remains essential context: an adolescent idol was made to absorb a geopolitical fight that adults and companies had created around her identity.

Music, performance and the work outside the group box

Tzuyu released her first solo EP abouTZU in 2024, led by “Run Away.” The title finally used her name as more than a visual tag and gave her space to carry full songs in a lower, steadier register. Her growth is easiest to hear across TWICE’s decade: early lines often used tone and image; later performances ask for more sustained vocal responsibility.

Inside TWICE, her role changed as the catalog moved from “Like OOH-AHH,” “Cheer Up” and “TT” into “Fancy,” “Feel Special,” “I Can”t Stop Me,” “The Feels,” “Talk That Talk,” “Strategy” and THIS IS FOR. A ten-year profile should show that movement. Positions are a starting map, not a prison sentence.

The panda side quest

Tzuyu’s side quests include dogs, archery clips, dry variety comments and solo behind-the-scenes footage where the member once treated as the quiet visual has to narrate her own decisions instead of letting eight louder people fill the silence.

Fandom notes and things the fact box misses

• Yoda: an early nickname based on her ears; fandom nickname logic has never required a committee report.
• Savage maknae: Tzuyu’s quiet delivery makes blunt observations land harder.
• Archery: her hair flip during an idol competition became more famous than some official stages.
• Taiwan: her nationality is not a fun-fact accessory. It shaped one of the harshest episodes of TWICE’s early history.