This is a short summary of where each former Sixteen contestant is at right now.
Somi: The Entertainer
Somi was the most popular train after the show that didn't make it into Twice. Somi made it all the way to the finale of Sixteen only to be eliminated at the final stage. Her elimination was quite the surprise as for most of the show she was quite popular and did well. After Sixteen, She participated in the elimination show Produce 101 and became the first former Sixteen contestant to debut with the group I.O.I. She remained with this group from 2016 to early 2017. After this Somi signed a new contract with JYPE for solo activities on TV. She would release a collab with Eric Nam and participate in the reality show Sister's Slam Dunk forming the short lived group Unnies. Somi then joined another show called Idol Drama Operation Team which consisted of Idol group members trying to write and act in their own drama. The members ion the show made a girl group named Girls Next Door. To finish her busy 2017, Somi released a digital single and collabed with Jun K. from 2PM.
Somi officially left JYP in August of 2018, the conflict was rumored to deal with the fact that Somi wanted to remain a soloist but JYPE was interested in her joining a group, probably the soon to debut ITZY. In September of 2018, Somi joined the Black Label under YG Entertainment. Somi would officially debut as a soloist in June 2019 to great reviews. Sadly the outbreak of Covid-19 caused Somi's second release to be delayed until July 22nd. Somi would win her first music show win with this release on August 6th. In March 2021, Jean Somi showed her growing popularity when she was invited to the Blue House to celebrate the Korean Declaration of Independence. To celebrate the 5th anniversary of I.O.I, Somi reunited with I.O.I members to release the song “Yes, I love It” on May 4th. Soon after on August 4th, Jeon Somi released a new single titled “Dumb, Dumb,” to popular acclaim. She would follow this release with the announcement of her first Album, XOXO, on October 14th. The album, XOXO, was released on October 29th with the title track, “XOXO.” This song would do reasonably well, and this would be Somi’s first time entering the Billboard Global 200 at number 185. The year 2022 has been the quiet so far for Jeon Somi, but it is thought that she is actively preparing for her next release.
Park Ji-won: The Vocalist
During her run on Sixteen, Ji-won was known as one of the best vocalists in the competition behind Min-young and Ji-hyo. Ji-won was eliminated before the finale and was the first contestant from the show to leave JYPE. Ji-won continued her training from 2015 until her appearance in the public in another elimination show, Idol School. Park Ji-won appeared with two other Sixteen alums, Natty and Kim Eun-suh. Park Ji-won did well in the show, finishing 6th overall and debuting in the group fromis_9. Thus, Park-Jiwon became the second contestant eliminated from Sixteen to make her official debut on January 28th, 2018, with fromis_9. Ji-won is still promoting with fromis_9 and the group has performed well and is regarded as one of the top girl groups in Kpop.
Lee Chae-yeon: The Dancer
Lee Chaeyeon and her sister Lee Chaeryeong were well known in the industry due to their participation in K-pop Star 3, a Korean reality show. Chaeyeon was the first contestant eliminated from the show Sixteen but continued at JYPE for two years following the show. Chaeyeon made the decision to leave the company in 2017 as it looked increasingly unlikely that JYPE would debut two sisters in the same group. Chaeyeon left JYPE so that her sister would be able to debut with JYPE’s next girl group, ITZY. Soon after leaving JYPE, Chaeyeon became a trainee at WM Entertainment, home of girl group Oh My Girl. Chaeyeon trained at WM for a year before entering the spotlight again for the MNET survival show Produce 48. Chaeyeon was popular throughout the program and finished in 12th place, allowing her to debut in the show’s girl group, IZ*ONE. Chaeyeon became the third eliminated member to official debut when IZ*ONE released their first track on October 28th, 2018. Chaeyeon promoted with IZ*ONE from January 2018-April 2021, and soon after returned to WM Entertainment to continue her life as a trainee. To further improve her amazing dance skills, Chaeyeon made the decision to participate in the dancing survival show, Street Woman Fighter in August of 2021. Lee Chaeyeon was praised for her efforts on the show, but her team was eliminated in the 6th episode. Currently, Chaeyeon remains a trainee at WM Entertainment and for a while there were rumours of a girl group coming from WM Entertainment. However, WM entertainment was recently bought out by RBW Entertainment, and it looks unlikely that they will debut a girl group so soon after debuting their most recent girl group Purple Kiss. Lee Chaeyeon’s future remains uncertain, but she has a bright road ahead of her.
Lee Chaer-yeong: The Performer
Lee Chaeryeong, like her sister, gained popularity throught the Korean reality show, K-pop Star 3. She became a JYPE trainee due to this show and thus was selected to participate in the show Sixteen by JYPE. Lee Chaeryeong did well on the show but was eventually eliminated in the finale. However, Lee Chaeryeong became the only eliminated contestant to remain with JYPE. Her patience and training paid off when in February of 2019, Lee Chaeryeong became the fourth eliminated contestant from Sixteen to make her official debut with the JYPE girl group ITZY. Itzy is now recognized as one of the leading girl groups of the 4th generation, and Chaeryeong is an important member in said group.
Natty: The Youngest
Natty was the youngest member of the contestants on Sixteen and considered one of the best dancers. Natty was a standout contestant throughout the entirety of the show but was unfortunately eliminated in the final episode. Natty stayed with JYPE for a few years after being eliminated but left the company in early 2017. In July of 2017, Natty joined the survival show Idol School with fellow Sixteen contestants Eunsuh and Jiwon. Unfortunately, Natty again made it to the final episode before being eliminated finishing 13th on the show. Natty continued her training following her elimination. In April of 2020, it was announced that Natty had finally signed with Swing entertainment, the home of fellow Sixteen contestant Jiwon’s fromis_9. It was quickly announced that she would make her solo debut with the single “NineTeen,” on May 7th, 2020. This made Natty the 5th eliminated contestant from Sixteen to make their official debut. It was soon announced that Natty would release her comeback single “Teddy Bear” on November 12th, 2020. “Teddt Bear” would find little success however and sometime in 2021 or 2022, Natty parted ways with Swing Entertainment. Natty did not give up however and on July 12th of 2022, she announced on her Instagram that she had signed with S2 Entertainment, a new agency created in August of 2020.
Song Min-young: The Youtuber
Song Min-young was the one of the longest trained participants in Sixteen and widely regarded as the best vocalist of the group. She along with Twice members; Nayeon, Jeongyeon, and Jihyo, were slated to debut in JYPE’s next girl group 6mix. However, things to not go to plan and instead JYPE announced that she would appear in a survival show for the chance to debut in their next girl group. This deeply depressed Minyoung and her appearance on the show was largely marred by her unhappy atmosphere. However, Minyoung won over fans with her amazing singing and made it to the final episode only to be eliminated. Minyoung became the second former contestant to leave JYPE though she promised to continue to pursue her dreams. However, 6 long years passed before Minyoung would enter the public spotlight again. During this time, she would spend her time working odd jobs and continuing to work on her singing. She primarily used this time to take a break from music after 6 hard years as a trainee at JYPE. Finally in February 2021, Minyoung made a return to public life through her YouTube channel Myssong. She made her first official song debut with “Midnight” on her YouTube channel on November 7th, 2021. Since then Minyoung continues to make YouTube videos and has recently announced that she is working on the music video for her second song which is to be released sometime in the summer of 2022. Minyoung looks to have a bright future in the music industry.
Kim Eun-suh: The Unfortunate
Eunsuh was one of the least known contestants on sixteen and has the distinction, along with Chaeyeon, of never entering the Major group during the entire time she was on Sixteen. Eunsuh did not make it far in the show, being the second contestant eliminated. However, Eunsuh would remain with JYPE for two years after the show, finally leaving in 2017 along with Lee Chaeyeon. Kim Eunsuh would again attmept to debut by joining the reality program Idol School along with former Sixteen contestants, Natty and Park Ji-won. Eunsuh did well in the show but was unfortunate eliminated, finishing 14th. Eunsuh continued her trainee life but got into a controversy in late 2018, when she criticized Jeon Somi’s singing when she covered Sunmi’s “Gashina.” She stated on Facebook after watching Somi’s cover, “This is the first time I’ve felt that Sunmi could sing well.” Eunsuh was criticized for these comments and quickly apologized and explained that the comments were made by a friend using their shared facebook account. Since this incident, Eunsuh’s whereabouts are unknown though it appears she has continued dancing though an idol debut is looking less likely as time passes. Thus, Eunsuh is the only contestant from Sixteen not to make her official music debut in some way, shape, or form.
