TWICE’s Jihyo enters iTunes charts with her first solo OST

TWICE’s Jihyo tops iTunes song charts worldwide!

On March 7, 2022, tvN drama Twenty Five Twenty One released its sixth original soundtrack, Stardust Love Song, written by Yoon Young Joon and sung by TWICE’s leader and main vocalist, Jihyo. 

It didn’t take long for the song to enter various iTunes charts. The song debuted at number 13 on the worldwide iTunes album chart. It further peaked at number 1 in various countries including Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, India, Malaysia, Peru, Philippines, and Saudi Arabia. The song also reached at top 10 on the iTunes song chart in Vietnam, Norway, Taiwan, Indonesia, and Hong Kong.

Stardust Love Song marks Jihyo’s first-ever solo OST and a music project since her debut as a member of TWICE. Jihyo made her debut in 2015 in the girl group, TWICE, under JYP Entertainment. TWICE was formed via the Mnet survival show, Sixteen. A total of 16 JYPE female trainees competed against each other to win a spot in the final lineup. Jihyo was considered as one of the toughest competitions by every contestant as she had been a trainee for 10 years. Idols like Sunmi, Suzy, and Nichkhun, had trained with Jihyo and rooted for her as well, as they had seen her potential from a very young age. 

Jihyo is known for her heavenly vocals and fierce stage presence. It’s a running gag among fans that she performs as if her “rent is due the next day”. The vocalist knows how to hype up a crowd and keep them engaged. She was chosen as the leader of TWICE by an election, where 6 out of 9 members voted for her. She has made a name for herself as one of the best leaders in K-pop, and earned the nickname “God Jihyo”. She never shies away from expressing her opinions freely, calling out trolls on the internet, and protecting and comforting her members whenever required. 

As is she wasn’t talented enough as a singer and dancer, Jihyo is also an exceptional lyricist. Her first time contributing to a song as a lyricist was for Eyes Eyes Eyes from TWICE’s 2017 mini-album Signal. She next co-wrote the song 24/7 along with member Nayeon for the group’s first full album Twicetagram. HO! was the first time Jihyo wrote a song all by herself. Girls Like Us, from TWICE’s 2019 mini-album, Fancy You, was Jihyo’s third solo track as a lyricist. The song talks about the problems and dreams of young girls and how one should fear no one. Overall she has 11 songs under her belt as of the group’s last album, Formula of Love: O+T=<3 (2021).

Other artists who have lent their voices for Twenty Five Twenty One’s OSTs include SEVENTEEN’s DK, NCT’s Taeil, and BIBI.

Twenty Five Twenty One follows five characters from 1998 to 2021 as they figure out adult life, love, and their dreams. The drama is led by Nam Joo-hyuk and Kim Tae-ri, whose characters meet at the age of 21 and 18 years old and end up losing contact with each other. Both of them reunite at the age of 25 and 21 years old and fall for each other. 

The drama airs every Saturday and Sunday at 21:10 KST on tvN and Netflix.