, known mononymously as Momo (; ja, モモ), is a Japanese singer, rapper and dancer based in South Korea. She is one of the three Japanese members of South Korean girl group

Twice Twice (; Japanese: トゥワイス, Hepburn: ''To~uwaisu''; commonly stylized as TWICE) is a South Korean girl group formed by JYP Entertainment. The group is composed of nine members: Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaey ...

under

JYP Entertainment JYP Entertainment Corporation () is a South Korean multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate founded in 1997 by J. Y. Park. It is one of the largest entertainment companies in South Korea, and operates as a record label, tale ...

Life and career

Early life and pre-debut activities

Momo Hirai was born in Kyōtanabe, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. She began dancing at the age of three, together with her elder sister, Hana. 写真 2015-10-23 8 17 00

Momo gained exposure to the South Korean music industry early, appearing in a music video for Lexy in 2008 and on the talent show ''

Superstar K ''Superstar K'' ( ko, 슈퍼스타 K) is a South Korean television talent show series which is held yearly. First held in 2009, Superstar K has increasingly gained more attention, considered the biggest audition program in South Korea. Superstar ...

'' in 2011. Momo and her sister were originally spotted by

in an online video in 2012. They were both asked to audition, although only Momo was successful, prompting her to move to South Korea in April 2012. Before joining Twice, she danced in a number of music videos as a "trainee". In 2015, Momo participated in the South Korean

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

show '' Sixteen'', created by JYP Entertainment and co-produced by

Mnet M-Net (an abbreviation of Electronic Media Network) is a South African pay television channel established by Naspers in 1986. The channel broadcasts both local and international programming, including general entertainment, children's series, ...

. She was initially eliminated in the show but was brought back at the end to become part of the final lineup girl group

Debut with Twice and recognition

In October 2015, Momo officially debuted as a member of Twice with the release of their first extended play (EP), ''

The Story Begins ''The Story Begins'' is the debut extended play by South Korean girl group Twice. It was released by JYP Entertainment on October 20, 2015, through KT Music. It features six tracks, including the lead single, "Like Ooh-Ahh", which was composed ...

'', and its lead single "

Like Ooh-Ahh "Like Ooh-Ahh" (stylized as "Like OOH-AHH"; ) is the debut single recorded by South Korean girl group Twice. It was released by JYP Entertainment on October 20, 2015, as the lead single from their debut extended play ''The Story Begins''. It was ...

". In

Gallup Korea Gallup Korea () or Gallup Korea Research Institute () is a South Korean research company. Founded by Park Moo-ik in 1974, the company became a member of Gallup International Association in 1997. It is best known for conducting public surveys on ...

's annual music poll for 2018, Momo was voted the 20th most popular idol in South Korea. She has been one of the most popular non-Korean

K-pop K-pop (), short for Korean popular music, is a form of popular music originating in South Korea as part of South Korean culture. It includes styles and genres from around the world, such as pop, hip hop, R&B, experimental, rock, jazz, gos ...

stars since her debut, and the ''

Chosun Ilbo ''The Chosun Ilbo'' (, ) is a daily newspaper in South Korea and the oldest daily newspaper in the country. With a daily circulation of more than 1,800,000, the ''Chosun Ilbo'' has been audited annually since the Audit Bureau of Circulations w ...

'' credits her popularity with helping improving relations between South Korea and Japan. Known for her physical fitness and body movements, she was nicknamed "Dance Machine" and is considered Twice's best dancer. In 2019, Momo received attention on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

after a video trailer of her was released and ranked as the tenth most popular female K-pop idol in a survey of soldiers completing mandatory military service in South Korea. In 2022, Momo was appointed as the brand muse of Wonjungyo, a cosmetic brand supervised by Wonjungyo, who is in charge of Twice's makeup.

Discography

Songwriting credits

All song credits are adapted from the

Korea Music Copyright Association The Korea Music Copyright Association (KOMCA) is a South Korean non-profit copyright collective for musical works, administering public performance and broadcasting rights, and mechanical recording and reproduction rights. Founded in 1964, it i ...

's database unless stated otherwise.

Filmography

Television shows

Hosting

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hirai, Momo 1996 births Living people Musicians from Kyoto K-pop singers JYP Entertainment artists Korean-language singers of Japan Spanish-language singers of Japan Japanese K-pop singers Japanese women pop singers 21st-century Japanese women singers 21st-century Japanese singers

Momo Momo may refer to: Geography * Momo (department), a division of Northwest Province in Cameroon * Momo, Gabon, a town in the Woleu-Ntem province of Gabon * Momo, Piedmont, a town in the province of Novara, in northern Italy * Joffrey Tower, in ...

Japanese expatriates in South Korea Japanese female dancers Japanese dance musicians