Kelly Clarkson praised for pausing interview to ask K-Pop's Tzuyu how to pronounce name
Topics: Celebrity, Music, Viral, Kelly Clarkson
Emily Brown
Featured Image Credit: NBC
Topics: Celebrity, Music, Viral, Kelly Clarkson
Fans have praised Kelly Clarkson for pausing her interview with the K-pop group Twice to ensure she was correctly pronouncing the singers' names.
Clarkson welcomed the group on The Kelly Clarkson Show this week, where they performed their single 'Moonlight Sunrise' after becoming the first K-pop group to play a North American stadium.
Twice was formed on a South Korean TV show called Sixteen, which saw hopeful singers compete for a place in the nine-member girl band, and they've since gone on to sell out two North American arena tours.
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Clarkson conducted her interview with the help of a translator, but she's been praised for her attention and care throughout the show as she focused on each singer and listened to what the translator was relaying back to the group.
The 'Since U Been Gone' singer addressed each member of Twice by name, though preempted any mistakes she might make by joking: "If I don't [get your names right], I'm sorry. I'm Texan."
Clarkson at one point spoke out to correct her pronunciation of Nayeon's name - which she initially pronounced 'neigh-yeon', but which actually pronounced 'nigh-yeon' - and later paused her interview to check with the translator how to correctly pronounce Tzuyu's name.
She began by pronouncing it as 'tzoo-yoo', before turning to the translator for confirmation.
The translator responded by explaining that Tzuyu could be pronounced phonetically based on the English way of writing the name, or how it is in Korean, where her name is Jjeu-Wee - or as some fans have affectionately dubbed her, Chewy.
"Jjeu-Wee? Oh, OK — wait, wait, what?" Kelly asked, confused over the pronunciations.
The translator insisted: "Tzoo-yoo is good," but Clarkson turned to the singer and asked: "How do you want me to say it?"
After settling on Jjeu-Wee, Clarkson said: "How you say it is adorable! OK, so, Jjeu-Wee — I think I said it right, I'm trying."
Fans praised the host for the way she handled her mispronunciation, with one viewer describing a clip of the exchange as 'the cutest video [they've] ever seen'.
"Props to Kelly Clarkson for trying to learn the right pronunciation of Tzuyu's name," another wrote. "She even asked Tzuyu herself how does she wanted her name to be pronounced."
After establishing how Tzuyu's name was pronounced, Clarkson went on to ask about the meaning behind Twice's latest single, 'Moonlight Sunrise', which Tzuyu described as a metaphor paralleling the 'fluttering heart feeling' people experience when they're in love.