Im Na-yeon (; born September 22, 1995), known mononymously as Nayeon, is a South Korean singer. She rose to prominence as a member of the South Korean girl group

Twice Twice (; Japanese language, Japanese: トゥワイス, Hepburn romanization, Hepburn: ''Tuwaisu''; commonly stylized in all caps) is a South Korean girl group formed by JYP Entertainment. The group is composed of nine members: Nayeon, Jeongyeon ...

, created by

JYP Entertainment JYP Entertainment Corporation () is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational entertainment and record label Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1997 by Park Jin-young, J. Y. Park. Operating as a record label, talent ...

through the reality television show '' Sixteen'' (2015). Nayeon released her eponymous debut

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

(EP), '' Im Nayeon'', in June 2022. It peaked at number one on South Korea's

Circle Album Chart The Circle Album Chart, previously known as the Gaon Album Chart, is a record chart ranking the 100 most popular albums, extended plays and single albums in South Koreabased on their Record sales, physical sales. It is a part of the Circle Chart, ...

and number seven on the US ''Billboard'' 200, making her the first South Korean soloist in history to enter the latter chart's top 10. The lead single, "

Pop! Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albu ...

", reached number two on the

Circle Digital Chart The Circle Digital Chart, previously known as the Gaon Digital Chart, is the music industry standard record chart ranking the 200 most popular singles in South Korea. It provides rankings on a weekly, monthly, and yearly basis, which is based on ...

in South Korea and the top ten in six countries. In 2024, Nayeon earned her second number-one entry on the Circle Album Chart and top-ten entry on the US ''Billboard'' 200 with her second extended play '' Na''.

Early life

Im Na-yeon was born on September 22, 1995 in

Gangdong District Gangdong District () is one of the 25 List of districts of Seoul, districts that make up the city of Seoul. Gangdong, literally means "east of river". Jungbu (literally "central part") Express Motorway starts in and passes through Sangil-dong, w ...

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, South Korea. As a child, Nayeon participated in a modeling contest and was cast by

. Although her mother initially prevented her from entering

show business Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz or showbiz (since 1945), is a vernacular term for all aspects of the entertainment industry.''Oxford English Dictionary'' 2nd Ed. (1989) From the business side (including managers, agents, produce ...

given her young age, Nayeon secretly attended the agency's open audition on September 15, 2010, after which she became a trainee. In 2014, she was set to debut in a girl group called 6mix, but the group's debut was cancelled when two members left JYP Entertainment. She also made an appearance in the second episode of the 2012 television series ''

Dream High 2 ''Dream High 2'' () is a 2012 South Korean television series starring Kang So-ra, Jay B, Jeong Jin-woon, Park Ji-yeon, Hyolyn, and Park Seo-joon. It aired on KBS2 from January 30 to March 20, 2012, every Monday and Tuesday at 22:00 ( KST) for 16 ...

''.

Education

Nayeon graduated from Seoul Myeongwon Elementary School, Seongdeok Girls' Middle School, and

Apgujeong High School Apgujeong High School () is a public high school located in Seoul, South Korea. It was founded in 1987 as Gujeong High School (), and changed its name to Apgujeong High School on September 1, 2009. Notable alumni * Choi Si-won * Choi Jae-ho * ...

. Before her debut with Twice, she was a student at

Konkuk University Konkuk University () is a private university founded in South Korea in 1931. Konkuk University is known for its veterinary and art colleges at the Seoul campus. It has two campuses: one in Seoul and one in Chungju. The Seoul campus is located n ...

under the department of

Theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communi ...

and Film Arts. In 2018, during the '' What Is Love?'' showcase, she revealed that she took a "

leave of absence The labour law concept of leave, specifically paid leave or, in some countries' long-form, a leave of absence, is an authorised prolonged absence from work, for any reason authorised by the workplace. When people "take leave" in this way, they ar ...

" due to her busy schedule.

Career

2015–present: ''Sixteen'', Twice and solo debut

In 2015, Nayeon participated in the

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

show '' Sixteen'', a competition to determine the members of a new

girl group called

. As one of the nine successful participants, she made the final lineup. In October, Nayeon officially debuted as a member of Twice with the release of their first

(EP), ''

The Story Begins ''The Story Begins'' is the debut extended play by South Korean girl group Twice. It was released by JYP Entertainment on October 20, 2015, through KT Music. It features six tracks, including the lead single, " Like Ooh-Ahh", which was comp ...

''. On May 19, 2022, it was announced that Nayeon would debut as a solo artist on June 24 with her debut EP '' Im Nayeon''. The EP has seven tracks, including the lead single, "

", and collaborations with

Wonstein Jeong Ji-won (; born May 6, 1995), better known by the stage name Wonstein () is a South Korean rapper and singer. He debuted in 2018 with the single "Spider Web" under the label Beautiful Noise. He achieved mainstream popularity after participa ...

and Felix of

Stray Kids Stray Kids (often abbreviated to SKZ; ) is a South Korean boy band formed by JYP Entertainment. The band consists of eight members: Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han (musician), Han, Felix (rapper), Felix, Seungmin, and I.N. For un ...

. "Pop!" was a commercial success, peaking at number two on South Korea's

. On July 10, Nayeon earned her first ever music show win on SBS ''

Inkigayo ''Inkigayo'' (; English title: ''The Music Trend'', previously ''Popular Song'') is a South Korean music program broadcast by SBS. It airs live every Sunday. The show features some of the latest and most popular artists who perform on stage. ...

''. She won Best Female Artist at the

2022 MAMA Awards The 2022 MAMA Awards ceremony organized by CJ E&M and broadcast through its music channel Mnet, was broadcast live on November 29 and 30, 2022. The ceremony was held at the Kyocera Dome Osaka, Japan. The theme for the ceremony is titled "K-POP Wo ...

. Nayeon's second EP '' Na'' was released on June 14, 2024. It contains seven tracks including the lead single, "

ABCD The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network that serves as the flagship property of the Disney Entertainment division of the Walt Disney Company. ABC is headquartered on Riverside ...

", and collaborations with

Sam Kim Sam Kim () is an American singer-songwriter, producer, and guitarist based in South Korea. He signed to Antenna Music after finishing as the runner-up on the talent show ''K-pop Star 3'' in 2014. He made his official debut on April 10, 2016, wit ...

and Julie of Kiss of Life. In February 2025, Nayeon performed solo in Japan for the first time at Beat AX Vol.5, a music festival hosted by

Nippon Television JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as (NTV) or Nippon TV, is a Japanese television station serving the Kantō region as the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned and operated by the , a sub ...

Ariake Arena The is a multi-sport venue in Ariake, Tokyo, Ariake, Kōtō, Tokyo, Japan. It served as the Volleyball at the 2020 Summer Olympics, volleyball venue for the 2020 Summer Olympics and the Wheelchair basketball at the 2020 Summer Paralympics, wheel ...

. After her performance, her cover of

Ikimonogakari The romanization of the group's name does not have the hyphen according to Sony's websites for their albums. is a Japanese pop rock duo from Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan consisting of Yoshiki Mizuno and Kiyoe Yoshioka. The group started in Februa ...

's " Kimagure Romantic" became popular on social media, and the original song re-charted on various music streaming services. At the request of Ikimonogakari, Nayeon released her cover version as a digital single on May 30. Nayeon is scheduled to perform at the

Kaohsiung Kaohsiung, officially Kaohsiung City, is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsiung City has a population of approximately 2.73 million p ...

Beer Rock Festival on July 4, 2025, becoming the first Twice member to perform in Taiwan.

Public image

Gallup Korea Gallup Korea () or Gallup Korea Research Institute () is a South Korean research company. Founded by Park Moo-ik in 1974, the company became a member of Gallup International Association in 1997. It is best known for conducting public surveys o ...

's annual music poll for 2017, she was voted the sixth most popular

idol Idol or Idols may refer to: Religion and philosophy * Cult image, a human-made object that is venerated or worshipped for the deity, spirit or daemon that it embodies or represents * Murti, a devotional image of a deity or saint used during puja ...

in South Korea. In the 2018 poll, she again ranked sixth, receiving 6.7% of the votes. In 2019, she placed fifth, receiving 8.2% of the votes, and ranked as the eighth most popular female K-pop idol in a survey of soldiers completing mandatory military service in South Korea. Nayeon has been noted for being at the "center" of Twice's performances and constantly opening the group's songs.

Other ventures

Fashion and endorsements

Aside from various endorsements with her Twice bandmates, Nayeon has promoted various products and featured in numerous advertisements. During her trainee years, Nayeon was a model for brands such as Smart School Uniform and TN. In May 2021, she became a model and appeared in a promotional video for

Chaumet Chaumet () is a French luxury goods, luxury jewellery and watch house based in Paris. Chaumet is a jewellery and Watchmaker, watchmaking designer founded in 1780 by Marie-Étienne Nitot. Fourteen artisans ply their trade in the workshop on Pla ...

's Joséphine collection. In August, she became a model for Biotherm Korea, a South Korean beauty brand. In September 2022, she became a model for South Korean clothing brand Olive Des Olive. On January 30, 2023, Nayeon was announced as the official muse of

Givenchy Givenchy (, ) is a French luxury fashion and perfume house. It hosts the brand of haute couture and ready-to-wear clothing, accessories, perfumes and cosmetics of Parfums Givenchy. The house of Givenchy was founded in 1952 by designer Hubert d ...

Beauty. In May 2023, she became the Asia ambassador for Tommy Jeans. Nayeon has also appeared in magazines including ''Nylon Korea'', ''Cosmopolitan Korea'', ''W Korea'', and ''Elle Korea'', as well as for fashion brands such as

Ralph Lauren Ralph Lauren ( ; ; born October 14, 1939) is an American fashion designer, philanthropist, and billionaire businessman, best known for founding the brand Ralph Lauren (brand), Ralph Lauren, a global multibillion-dollar enterprise. He stepped do ...

Jill Stuart Jill Stuart (born 1955) is an American businesswoman and fashion designer based in New York City, where she has been operating since 1988. She established her eponymous label in 1993. She also has a significant international client base, partic ...

Fendi Fendi Srl () is an Culture of Italy, Italian luxury goods, luxury fashion house producing fur, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, fragrances, eyewear, timepieces and accessories. Founded in Rome in 1925 by fashion designers Edoardo Fendi and ...

, and

Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Malletier SAS, commonly known as Louis Vuitton (, ), is a French Luxury goods, luxury fashion house and company founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton (designer), Louis Vuitton. The label's LV monogram appears on most of its products, ...

. She was featured in the April 2022 issue of '' Harper's Bazaar Korea'' for Chaumet's Joséphine collection. The same month, she was officially named by the brand as the Friend of the Maison. In August 2023, she was announced as the muse of Austrian jewellery brand

Swarovski Swarovski (, ) is an Austrian producer of glass based in Wattens, Tyrol. It was founded in 1895 by Daniel Swarovski. The company is split into three major industry areas: the Swarovski Crystal Business, which primarily produces crystal glas ...

Philanthropy

In March 2020, Nayeon donated to the

Community Chest of Korea Community Chest of Korea () is a Korean nonprofit organization, launched in 1998. It is the only government-sanctioned charity within South Korea. It is the country's largest welfare institution. With a community-based fundraising effort, it supp ...

to help the fight against

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

outbreak. In 2023, she donated to

Save the Children The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization. It was founded in the UK in 1919; its goal is to improve the lives of children worldwide. The organization raises money to imp ...

to support relief for the 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquakes, and in January 2024, she became a member of the Honor Society of the Community Chest of Korea for donating over to the organization. In March 2025, Nayeon donated through the Community Chest of Korea to help the

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...

victims.

Discography

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

Collaborations

Soundtrack appearances

Other charted songs

Guest appearances

Songwriting credits

All song credits are adapted from the

Korea Music Copyright Association The Korea Music Copyright Association (KOMCA) is a South Korean non-profit copyright collective for musical works, administering public performance and broadcasting rights, and mechanical recording and reproduction rights. Founded in 1964, it ...

's database unless stated otherwise.

Videography

Music videos

Filmography

Television series

Television show

Web show

Bibliography

Photobooks

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1995 births Living people 21st-century South Korean women singers Dance-pop musicians English-language singers from South Korea Japanese-language singers of South Korea JYP Entertainment artists K-pop singers Konkuk University alumni MAMA Award winners People from Gangdong District Pyeongtaek Im clan Singers from Seoul South Korean dance musicians South Korean female idols South Korean women pop singers Twice members South Korean contemporary R&B singers Circle Chart Music Award winners