Son Chaeyoung

Biography

Son Chae-young (Korean: 손채영; born April 23, 1999), known mononymously as Chaeyoung, is a South Korean singer and rapper. She is a member of the girl group Twice, formed by JYP Entertainment in 2015.
Chaeyoung released her debut studio album Lil Fantasy Vol. 1 and its lead single "Shoot (Firecracker)" in September 2025.

Early life and pre-debut activities

Chaeyoung was born in Seoul, South Korea on April 23, 1999. She took interest in the performing arts from a young age and used to model for a children's magazine. Chaeyoung decided she wanted to become a singer before joining JYP Entertainment and took dance lessons for over one year. At age 13, she passed the auditions and ended up joining the company. As a trainee, she appeared in the music videos for Got7's "Stop Stop It" (2014) and Miss A's "Only You" (2015).

2015–present: Sixteen, Twice and solo activities

Chaeyoung participated in the reality television competition Sixteen in 2015. Ranking sixth place out of the nine debut spots, she went on to join the newly formed girl group Twice as one of its rappers and singers. On October 20, 2015, Twice officially debuted with the release of their first extended play (EP) The Story Begins.
Chaeyoung became the first member of the group to receive writing credits when she wrote a rap verse for Twice's version of J. Y. Park's "Precious Love" as part of their 2016 EP Page Two. Since then, Chaeyoung has participated in writing lyrics for multiple songs by Twice. For the group's second Japanese studio album &Twice, on the track "How U Doin'", Chaeyoung took part in composing for the first time, making her the first member to do so. She also designed the limited edition cover of Page Two and three different pairs of Spris shoes.
As a soloist, Chaeyoung released covers of "Alone" by Cheeze, "Off My Face×Off My Face22 October 2021 · OtherSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Off My Face2:37" by Justin Bieber, and "Weatherman×Weatherman6 October 2023 · OtherSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Weatherman2:36" by Eddie Benjamin as part of the Melody Project series. In 2022, she began learning to play the guitar in anticipation of a potential solo debut. She then performed an unreleased solo track titled "My Guitar×My Guitar2023 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1My Guitar2:15" on Twice's Ready to Be World Tour. In October 2023, Chaeyoung collaborated with pop duo Coco & Clair Clair on a remix of their song "Pop Star".
On June 10, 2025, JYP Entertainment announced that Chaeyoung was preparing for her solo debut. Her debut studio album, Lil Fantasy Vol. 1, was released on September 12, with "Shoot (Firecracker)" serving as the lead single. The album was a critical and commercial success for Chaeyoung, debuting at number 3 on South Korea's Circle Album Chart, and being named as one of the best K-pop albums of 2025 by Idology, Rolling Stone, and Billboard. She also featured on rapper Sokodomo's single "Wake Up", released on November 20. On November 21, JYP Entertainment announced that Chaeyoung had been diagnosed with vasovagal syncope and due to health concerns would be taking a hiatus until the end of the year.
In August 2026, Chaeyoung announced that she had left JYP Entertainment and had established her independent label, Lil Fantasy, for her solo activities. She stated she would remain active as a member of Twice.

Endorsements

In September 2023, Chaeyoung was selected as a brand ambassador for Italian fashion house Etro in Japan. In November, she was chosen as the brand muse for Japanese cosmetics brand CipiCipi.

Personal life

Chaeyoung attended Hanlim Multi Art School with bandmate Tzuyu, graduating in 2019. In 2020, Chaeyoung's personal phone number was leaked on social media; JYP Entertainment released a statement about the incident, and she responded directly on Twice's Instagram page.
On April 5, 2024, JYP Entertainment confirmed that Chaeyoung is in a relationship with singer-songwriter Zion.T.
She is Catholic and her baptismal name is Katarina.

T-shirt controversies

On March 18, 2023, Chaeyoung appeared wearing a shirt with imagery of QAnon, an American far-right conspiracy theory movement, during a promotion of "Set Me Free" on MBC's Show! Music Core. The crop top showed a large Q in American-flag print with the words "We Go All" below it, a prominent slogan of the conspiracy theory group. Three days later, on March 21, the singer posted a picture on Instagram in which she was wearing a T-shirt with Nazi imagery. The T-shirt specifically featured an image of Sid Vicious, bassist of the Sex Pistols, wearing a tilted right-facing swastika identical to the one used by Nazi Germany. Chaeyoung subsequently removed the Instagram post and issued an apology. In the apology, she wrote, "I didn't correctly recognise the meaning of the tilted swastika in the t-shirt I wore." Chaeyoung's label, JYP Entertainment, also issued an apology with regard to her Instagram post taking responsibility "for not thoroughly reviewing it from the label side." The apologies by Chaeyoung and her label did not address the QAnon shirt.

Songwriting credits

All song credits are adapted from the Korea Music Copyright Association's database unless stated otherwise.