Any ONCE will immediately know what you’re talking about when you mention SIXTEEN. It was a survival show run by JYP Entertainment in 2015 where he pitted the company’s trainees against each other to decide the members of a seven-person girl group. I know what you’re thinking, TWICE has nine members right? The reason for this will become apparent later.
1. Jihyo
Jihyo had been a trainee for over ten years by the time she participated in SIXTEEN. She was known for her sassy attitude on the show, performing a cover of Meghan Trainor’s “All About That Bass” as a response to JYP making a comment about her weight.
Jihyo successfully made it into TWICE. As a matter of fact, she was highly coveted in the last challenge by both teams because of her amazing vocal ability.
2. Nayeon
Nayeon hasn’t changed much since her SIXTEEN days. She is still sassy and acts like the maknae even though she was the oldest participant.
Nayeon comfortably got into the SIXTEEN lineup. J.Y. Park was a big fan of hers right from the start and was eager to have her debut, and that was clearly a good choice.
3. Jeongyeon
Jeongyeon was a lot more tomboyish on SIXTEEN, she was shown skateboarding around Seoul and her attitude was fierce. She’s still these things but she doesn’t get to show it a lot with some of TWICE’s cuter concepts.
Jeongyeon bounced between the major and minor teams but never looked in danger of elimination. She debuted with the rest of TWICE.
4. Sana
Sana spent the majority of her time on the “Major” team, far from being eliminated. After her famous “talent” performance where she pretended to be a cooking show host and made J.Y. Park a spring roll, he was smitten by her.
Despite some struggles and emotional moments, Sana made it into TWICE thanks to her talents and loveable personality.
5. Mina
Mina was the trainee with the least amount of training time before she appeared on SIXTEEN. She had only trained a few months so she was an immediate underdog. Despite this, she was able to blow JYP and the viewers away with her ballet and other talents.
Mina finished the show in the “major” category which actually ended up a disadvantage as J.Y. Park deemed them to have performed worse in the final performance. Despite this, she was chosen to be a member of TWICE because of her strong individual performance.
6. Dahyun
Dahyun immediately put everyone on notice when she did her famous “eagle” dance in her first performance accompanied by a clever rap.
She only improved as the show progressed and in the end she was chosen as one of the original seven members.
7. Chaeyoung
Chaeyoung came in all guns blazing in SIXTEEN with incredible rap skills for a rookie and a fierce personality. Similarly to Jeongyeon we don’t get to see that side of her too often anymore but when it does come out ONCEs love it.
Chaeyoung is a natural idol and because of this, as well as her rap skills, she was an easy addition to TWICE.
8. Tzuyu
Tzuyu initially didn’t make it into the final lineup of TWICE despite being on top of the fan vote every week. After announcing his seven choices for TWICE, J.Y. Park added Tzuyu because of her popularity with the fans. She was at a loss for words when J.Y. Park announced it.
9. Momo
Momo also wasn’t chosen by J.Y. Park himself. On the advice of his trainers and staff he brought Momo, who had been previously eliminated, back to be a member of TWICE. She was very emotional upon hearing this.
10. Somi
Somi made it to the finals of SIXTEEN but failed to make the final lineup. She remained with JYP as she participated in the first season of Produce 101, placing first and debuting with the temporary group I.O.I.
Somi eventually left JYP and joined Teddy Park’s “The Black Label”, a subsidiary of YG Entertainment. She made her long-awaited solo debut in May 2019, and she has since held several positions on variety shows as well.
11. Chaeyeon
Chaeyeon was the first contestant eliminated from SIXTEEN. JYP felt she didn’t currently have the temperament or emotional maturity to be an idol after she broke down over criticism of her posing for pictures.
Chaeyeon would leave her sister Chaeryeong behind and leave JYP to join WM Entertainment. She participated in Produce 48 and shocked the world with her dancing skills. She finished 12th on the show and debuted as a member of IZ*ONE.
Once IZ*ONE’s contract expired, she appeared on Street Woman Fighter as part of team WANT.
12. Chaeryeong
Chaeyeon’s sister Chaeryeong made it further than her older sister and got all the way to the final of SIXTEEN. She didn’t make it into TWICE however.
Chaeryeong stayed with JYP and has now debuted with ITZY who was considered the top female rookie group in 2019 and is now one of Korea’s most popular female idols.
13. Jiwon
Jiwon was eliminated just before the finals of SIXTEEN. She left JYP and joined Off The Record entertainment.
She then participated in the Mnet survival show Idol School where she placed fourth, allowing her to debut in fromis_9.
14. Eunsuh
Eunsuh was the second elimination from SIXTEEN, being removed from the show after the “1v1 Battle” segment. She then went on to participate in Idol School but placed 14th and didn’t make the final lineup of fromis_9.
While it is unclear whether she is still a trainee or not, she occasionally posts updates of herself and her dancing to her personal Instagram, but hasn’t updated her Instagram since December 2020.
15. Natty
Natty was the youngest contestant on SIXTEEN and made it all the way to the finals without being eliminated. She only narrowly missed out on debuting with TWICE.
The Thai trainee eventually left JYP and participated on Idol School and placed 13th, once again narrowly missing out on debut, this time with fromis_9.
In May 2020, Natty finally got her chance, making her debut with Swing Entertainment as a soloist.
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16. Minyoung
Minyoung is a very talented musician and vocalist who made it to the finals of SIXTEEN but wasn’t chosen by JYP to debut in TWICE. She eventually left JYP and appears to have given up on being an idol. There are rumors that she returned to the United States to focus on her studies.
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