With ‘One in a Million’, The Women of TWICE Finally Share Their Stories

In a revealing new documentary, the members share why a decade of TWICE was never guaranteed.

JYP Entertainment

Near the end of TWICE’s new documentary One in a Million, JIHYO, the group’s leader, makes a startling admission: She felt guilty when she learned that fans were confident the group would renew their contracts with JYP Entertainment. The she asks pointedly, “Would our fans think of me differently if I had decided not to renew?”

When it was announced that TWICE would renew in 2022 (and again this year), the group became one of the longest-running and most successful in K-pop. But, as the girls make clear throughout the documentary, their longevity was never a given. 

In another candid scene, NAYEON describes once believing that the group's end was "inevitable". There is no modern girl group who has remained as popular or defied the odds for as long as TWICE. Why would the members ever hope to last longer than their seven-year contract dictated?

Yet, as One in a Million makes clear, the group's contract negotiations were tumultuous. JIHYO' guilt underlies a deeper question: What if the girls didn't want to continue?

“I was a holdout," JEONGYEON announces later before she details how depression nearly pushed her out of the industry entirely. I'm taken by these moments of candor because they're rare in K-pop documentaries.

Of course, One in a Million is a billboard for the upcoming TWICE world tour, which is doing scores of dates in North America in 2026 – but it is also a chance for the members to show how, as they've matured, they've cut their own path. You can see this most clearly in three of the members' stories: CHAEYONG, as she details her artistic vision for her first album, JEONGYEON's breakdown, and JIHYO's challenge to juggle a high-stress job as a leader with a need to find herself creatively. 

It's a good thing that the girls are good at sharing their stories because few interviews with those in TWICE's orbit can clearly articulate why they have struck a cultural zeitgeist. Those who seem the most clueless are the American music industry personalities interviewed and used as PR machines.  In one of the most cringe-worthy moments, a white male record exec says smugly, "When I think of TWICE, I think of 'love.' Their fans love them so much." The woman sitting next to him gasps. "Damn," she says breathlessly as if he dropped the hardest bar she's ever heard. 

Zach Sang, a talk show host who has never met an artist whose music he dislikes, sounds as if he's never heard more than one TWICE album when he claims they're unique because "they are different with every comeback, but still remain TWICE."

Yet I would argue that TWICE's strength has been their consistency. Their sound — bright, effervescent pop with a capital P — has never changed. As they've matured, their music has also become more sophisticated. (Tracks like "I CAN'T STOP ME", released five years into their career, are a turning point) But they have always retained that bright, high-energy sound. This substance is primarily thanks to the architect of TWICE: Jin-young Park, better known as JYP.

Park is featured sparingly in the documentary, mainly to provide soundbites on how special the girls are and why they succeeded in the U.S. But his contributions as the girls' producer and top songwriter are never mentioned. He's written some of their biggest hits, including "Feel Special" and "Alcohol Free", but his creative vision for the group is never discussed. And that is a shame because TWICE has been one of JYP's most successful projects after years of masterminding K-pop idols' careers, dating back to RAIN's debut in 2002. After spending decades pushing for K-pop's worldwide popularity, it is a strange omission not to hear Park explain why TWICE went further than any other group.

The most thrilling moments of One in a Million, then, come when the members are left to share their individual stories. JEONGYEON discusses, for the first time, how difficult her time off from the group was. The members corroborate this story with some startling revelations. "I don't know if I should share this," JIHYO says of the time, "but I really thought I was going to lose my friend." JEONGYEON describes her breakdown as a period that she can't remember, as if it were akin to a black hole. JIHYO agrees with this assessment, "JEONGYEON doesn't remember this," she recalls at one point, but it was the group's decision for her not to participate in several concerts. "We didn't want to hurt each other anymore." 

JEONGYEON was able to get through this period, she says, because of her mother and the girls' support. She recalls a touching comment from NAYEON that brought her comfort: "Everyone on this stage likes you," she told JEONGYEON at her lowest point. 

I've always seen JIHYO as the heart of TWICE, and it was nice to see her receive flowers from the members for her persistence and strength. "I'm a good leader because of my members," she says humbly at one point. But she is the true moodmaker of the group: able to convey so many emotions just through her voice. Onstage, she has the rare ability to be both incredibly accessible — joyful, grateful, or overwhelmed with emotion. 

But she's also perceptive about each member and the group as a whole; I found her observations the most interesting and complex. Of TZUYU being the lone member from Taiwan: "We have three Japanese members who could talk to one another in their language," but TZUYU, she said, has no one. When MOMO admitted that she was insecure about her voice, JIHYO believes that hers is actually the most unique in TWICE. "We're lucky to have her," she said.

JIHYO is also candid about not being happy with her debut mini-album. There were too many decisions to make, and after nearly a decade with the group, she found it challenging to define herself as an artist. "For that," she says, "I have many regrets." But that is also how you learn, she allows.

CHAEYONG, the maknae, does not have this problem. One of my favorite sections of the film is the creation of her mini-album LIL FANTASY. She worked on the album off and on for years, "tucking away songs" she wanted to use on a project. Eventually, she says, she presented the album to the executives at JYP. "I said I needed to release this album as an artist" to be happy, she recalls. "And they let me." 

CHAEYOUNG admits that she doesn't fit the mold as an idol. Her tattoos and grungy style raised eyebrows for a while. "But I think that makes her stand out," JIHYO exclaims at one point. 

What One in a Million conveys very effectively is that TWICE actually is a unique group because of its members. Watching the documentary, I'm reminded that, while on the surface TWICE seems quite conventional, there is a tension in how each member expresses themselves that makes them stand apart.

These distinctions give TWICE the motivation to continue. There is more to accomplish together; more music to make that reflects each member's dynamic personality. And as they've grown older, they've become a new standard for girl groups: A woman's career doesn't have to end once she turns 30. As NAYEON intones when she discusses her decision to renew, this is where TWICE can chart a new path for girls.