She placed first in Produce 101
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In 2016, Somi participated in the first season of Mnet’s girl group survival show Produce 101 as a trainee under K-pop giant JYP Entertainment. Among a total of 101 trainees, she placed first overall after winning the largest amount of public votes, securing her position as the centre member in Produce 101’s temporary project girl group I.O.I, which marked her official debut in the K-pop industry.
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I.O.I officially disbanded in January 2017, and Somi returned to JYP Entertainment for solo activities. She terminated her contract with JYP in August 2018 and soon began her soloist career by signing with YG Entertainment’s independent subsidiary label, The Black Label, which is helmed by renowned rapper and producer Teddy Park, the mastermind behind Blackpink’s viral tracklist.
She almost debuted in other K-pop girl groups
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Did you know that Somi was almost in TWICE and ITZY? Before she competed in Produce 101, Somi participated in Mnet’s reality survival show Sixteen, where she competed against fifteen female trainees from her agency JYP Entertainment to debut in JYP’s first girl group after Miss A, now known as TWICE (2015 – now). She was eliminated in the final round and continued as a trainee until ranking first in Produce 101. After the disbandment of I.O.I, Somi returned to JYP Entertainment and was speculated to be in the initial line-up of ITZY (2019 – now) before she terminated her contract with the agency in 2018.
She is a taekwondo blackbelt
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In 2018, Somi became a 4th-degree black belt in taekwondo. The K-pop singer was introduced to taekwondo by her Dutch-Candian father, a 4th-degree black belt who resided in Seoul to practice the sport. She soon fell in love with this Korean martial art and even transferred from an international school to a local elementary school to pursue it. One of her very first TV appearances was actually a taekwondo demonstration with her school team on the Children’s Day Special for KBS2’s variety show Let’s Go! Dream Team Season 2.
Her dad was in a K-drama
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Before Somi’s debut, her dad, Matthew Douma, was already a familiar face to the Korean public. He played Captain Jordan of the U.S. Army Delta Force in the popular K-drama Descendants of the Sun (2016). After Somi’s debut, the father-daughter duo went on to appear in different variety shows together, including KBS2’s Happy Together and SBS’ Law of the Jungle.
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Her dad also made a cameo as a sheriff in the music video of Somi’s single XOXO.
She is good friends with TWICE’s Chaeyoung, AB6IX’s Daehwi and more
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Somi is quite the social butterfly in K-pop! During her trainee period at JYP Entertainment, she became great friends with members of the girl group TWICE and has been seen supporting them during music shows and concerts. Somi is incredibly close to TWICE’s Chaeyoung, with whom she went on a brunch date as part of her reality show I AM SOMI.
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She is also close with AB6IX’s Daehwi, her fellow JYP trainee and high school schoolmate. Somi was spotted crying tears of joy in the audience of Produce 101 Season 2 when Daehwi was named in the final lineup of the show’s project boy group Wanna One. Since then, they have also filmed a Fanta commercial together.
Somi’s other K-pop celebrity friends include Stay Kids’ Bang Chan, aespa’s Giselle, Chungha and more.
She is a Prada global ambassador
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In October 2022, Somi was named a Prada global ambassador and starred in the brand’s campaign for the “Eternal Gold” fine jewellery collection alongside American poet Amanda Gorman and Stranger Things actress Maya Hawke. Most recently, she attended the Prada Womenswear Autumn/Winter 2023 show in Milan, rocking a brown mini dress and sleek oversized blazer styled with heeled Mary Janes for a girly touch.
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Kaitlyn LaiCredit
Lead Image: John Phillips via Getty Images