Earlier this week, rising K-pop girl group TWICE made their debut appearance on The Kelly Clarkson show, and fans loved it. Host Kelly Clarkson has received tons of applause from TWICE fans for her respectful attitude when calling the individual names of the girl group.
Pronunciation Matters
Kelly Clarkson might have just won herself some new Korean fans after her warm attitude towards the girl group. While conversing with TWICE on the Kelly Clarkson show, Kelly made it a priority to pronounce the names of each star singer correctly — which is pretty sweet.
RELATED STORIES
I’m Texan
Before Kelly began her conversation with the group, the star host let out a disclaimer that she might not get their name pronunciations right. She jokingly said, “If I don’t, I’m sorry. I’m Texan.”
Addressing Nayeon
During the conversation with the group, while addressing Nayeon, Kelly mistakenly pronounces her name as Neigh-yeon (like “neigh” in the neighborhood).
The Correct Way To Say “Nayeon”
While interpreting the message to Nayeon, the translator pronounces the name correctly as Nigh-yeon (nigh, like when something is close). At that moment, Kelly quickly corrected her previous pronunciation. She said, “Nayeon (Nigh-yeon), sorry.”
Lead Dancer Tzuyu
Later in her discussion with the group, when Kelly starts a conversation with the group’s lead dancer Tzuyu , she catches herself mid-speech while mispronouncing her name. She initially pronounces it as “Tzoo-yoo,” before turning to the translator to confirm if she got that right.
Wait, What?
Sadly, Kelly doesn’t get the pronunciation right. The translator quickly says, “Tzuyu or Jjeu-Wee.” Unintentionally Kelly says Jjeu-Wee before quickly adding, “Oh, OK — wait, wait, what?” while being surprised.
Asking Tzuyu For Assistance
After a brief confusion with the translator on how it is pronounced in Chinese or Korean, Kelly turns to Tzuyu and says, “How do you want me to say it?” The translator speaks to Tzuyu, and she responds, “It’s Jjeu-Wee.”
Pronunciation Difference
The brief confusion of what the translator tried to explain is the complexity of pronouncing the name in Chinese or Korean. In Korean, Tzuyu is written as 쯔위, while in Chinese, it is written as 子瑜. The pronunciation will sound different for each language, but Tzuyu opts for the Korean pronunciation as Jjeu-Wee.
In English
To correctly pronounce Jjeu-Wee in English, the name will take a similar tone as the word “Chewy.”
Kelly’s Compliment
Kelly, being in a high spirit of learning and respectfulness to the group, says to Tzuyu after hearing the proper pronunciation from her, “How you say it is adorable! Okay, so, Jjeu-Wee — I think I said it right, I’m trying.”
Moonlight Sunrise
After the proper pronunciation of her name had been established, Kelly asked Tzuyu about the meaning of their latest song, Moonlight Sunrise . Tzuyu explains to Kelly that it’s simply a metaphor to represent the butterfly feeling when someone’s in love.
Translator Explains
The translator for the group tells Kelly while reiterating Tzuyu’s speech in English, “So ‘ Moonlight Sunrise ‘ is a song about wanting to know the other person’s heart. And they use the metaphor of moonlight and sunrise to parallel that fluttering-heart feeling when you’re in love.”
Cheers And Applause
Upon hearing the translated meaning by the interpreter, Kelly and the entire crowd burst into a sweet, cheerful hoot and warm, loud applause for Tzuyu and the group.
The Coming Together
Still, in discussion with TWICE, Kelly turns to the group leader, Jihyo, asking how the group started and what brought them together. Jihyo responds to Kelly’s question by revealing they came together during an audition program called Sixteen .
Sixteen
Kelly happily responds to Jihyo by saying she, too, came from an audition show, and they all share something in common. She says, “Oh, awesome… I was on an audition show. So we have this in common.”
Favorite Things To Do
After a less than 15 seconds conversation with Jihyo, Kelly throws a general question to the group, hoping to get responses from each member. She asks the group, “What are some of your favorite things to do, to eat, like when you visit the US?”
Sana’s Response
Responding to Kelly’s question, Sana gives the first answer. She reveals to Kelly that she loves seeing their fans, referred to as “ONCES,” and eating Takis (a rolled corn tortilla chip) whenever she sees one.
Momo And Dahyun
Momo follows Sana, and she shares that she likes visiting grocery stores in the US for shopping. Meanwhile, Dahyun lists all her favorite foods she loves having in the US. These include hamburgers, pizza, chocolate, potato, and pasta.
Their Performance
The show ends with TWICE performing their new single, Moonlight Sunrise , after Kelly welcomes them on stage, saying, “Now performing their new single, Moonlight Sunrise , give it up for TWICE.”
