Chou Tzu-Yu – Biography, Facts and Family Life of The Taiwanese Singer

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ProfessionKpop

Chou Tzu-yu, better known by her stage moniker Tzuyu, is a Taiwanese-born music sensation. She is a member of the 9-piece K-pop girl group, Twice, and probably the most prominent member of the group following some rather controversial incident. Tzuyu was at the center of a major controversy in China after she was shown on South Korean television holding the flag of the Republic of China. The incident which happened in 2015 sparked outrage in China leading Tzuyu to eventually apologize. However, her apology intensified the controversy as it led to a major outrage in her home country of Taiwan.

Chou Tzu-Yu Biography

Chou Tzu-yu was born on the 3rd of June 1999 in East District located in Tainan city, the oldest city in Taiwan. She attended Tainan Municipal Fusing Junior High School. As a young teenager in 2012, she caught the eye of talent scouts at the MUSE Performing Arts Workshop in her home city of Tainan. This marked a major turning point in her life and also marked the beginning of an illustrious showbiz career. She was sent to South Korea for training later that year and she later enrolled at Hanlim Multi Art School in Seoul, South Korea.

Following over two years of training, Chou Tzu-yu featured in the girls-only reality TV series, Sixteen (2015) created by JYP Entertainment and Mnet. 16 girls took part in the show which premiered in May 2015 and they were assessed based on their singing and dancing abilities during the 2-month duration of the show.

During the finale on July 7, 2015, nine contestants including Tzuyu were chosen to form the girl group, Twice. Tzuyu was initially not among the winners of the series but she was ultimately included in the final line up of the group based on the votes of the viewers. Other members of the group include Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, and Chae-young.

Twice debuted in October 2015 with the release of the EP, The Story Begins. Their chart-topping single “Cheer Up” was released in April 2016 and it went on to clinch several awards. Also in 2016, the group released 2 EPs Page Two and Twicecoaster: Lane 1, both of which exceeded the success of their debut EP.

The group released 2 EPs again in 2017 – What’s Twice? and Signal. They equally debuted in Japan with the release of their first compilation album #Twice in June 2017. This was followed by the release of two more EPs in 2018 – What Is Love? and Yes or Yes. Their second studio album, BDZ, was released in September 2018 and their second compilation album, #Twice2, was released in March 2019.

Her Family Life

Chou Tzu-yu’s mother and father are Huang Yen-Ling and Chou Yi-Cheng respectively. Her father is a self-employed merchant while her mother runs a coffee cafe in her home city. Her mother’s cafe has since turned into a tourist destination of some sorts following the soaring popularity of the young music star.

It is unclear if she has any siblings as there is very little information regarding her family life in the public domain. However, they are known to have a quite famous family dog named Gucci.

 

Facts To Know About The Taiwanese Singer 

1. Owing to her success with the music group Twice, Chou Tzu-Yu was ranked as the third most popular teen idol in South Korea for the year 2016.

2. In November 2015, Tzuyu appeared on the South Korean TV show, My Little Television, where she introduced herself as Taiwanese while waving the flag of the Republic of China alongside that of South Korea. This earned her the criticism of China-based Taiwanese singer, Huang An, who accused her of propagating the Taiwan independence movement.

3. She received further criticism from mainland Chinese internet users who accused her of benefitting from her mainland Chinese audience while maintaining a pro-independence stance. Following the public outcry, Tzuyu and her group were barred from Chinese television and she also lost a major endorsement deal with Chinese multinational company, Huawei.

4. On January 15, 2016, Chou Tzu-Yu apologized for her actions in a video which was released through her agency JYP Entertainment. The apology earned her the sympathy of the Taiwanese public with many alleging that it was made under duress.

5. Tzu-Yu’s apology also came a day prior to the Taiwanese general election and it is widely believed to have slightly affected the eventual outcome of the election. The incident was acknowledged in the acceptance speech of Tsai Ing-wen, the winner of the election.

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