, known mononymously as Sana (; ja, サナ), is a Japanese singer based in South Korea. She is one of three Japanese members of the South Korean girl group Twice, formed in 2015 by JYP Entertainment.

Early life

Sana was born on December 29, 1996 in Tennōji-ku,

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

, Japan, as an only child. Sana stated that she wanted to become a singer and dancer early on and was inspired by K-pop groups such as

Girls' Generation Girls' Generation (), also known as SNSD, is a South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment. The group is composed of eight members: Taeyeon, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona, and Seohyun. Originally a nine-piece ensembl ...

. In addition to her native Japanese, she speaks Korean and basic

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Career

Pre-debut

Sana began training with

EXPG is a Japanese management and entertainment company founded by the six original members of Japanese boy group Exile (Japanese band), Exile in 2003. The president is Hiroyuki Igarashi, the leader of the Exile. The name "LDH" is an acronym of "Love ...

in Osaka in 2009, originally planning to be a singer in Japan, rather than South Korea. During her middle school years, she was scouted by a JYP Entertainment (JYPE) employee at a shopping mall and was invited to participate in the annual JYP Japan audition the following day. Sana passed the audition and joined the JYPE trainee program in South Korea in April 2012. She trained for over three years before her eventual debut with Twice. At one time, she was expected to become a member of a new JYPE

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of who ...

; however, this project was cancelled. In 2014, Sana appeared in Got7's music video for "A" as a waitress.

2015–present: ''Sixteen'', Twice, and solo activities

Minatozaki Sana at Twiceland Encore Concert in Seoul on June 17, 2017

In 2015, Sana participated in the music survival show '' Sixteen'', a

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 ...

series to determine the members of Twice. Out of the sixteen contestants, Sana was selected as one of the nine members of the newly formed

. She officially debuted with Twice in October 2015 with the title song " Like Ooh-Ahh" from their debut extended play '' The Story Begins''. Known for her energetic and cheerful personality, she has received recognition in both South Korea and abroad, and her popularity has been credited with helping to improve relations between Japan and South Korea. In Gallup Korea's annual music poll for 2018, Sana was voted the 17th most popular idol in South Korea, the highest-ranked Japanese individual in the poll. She ranked 15th in the 2019 poll. In 2019, Sana also ranked as the most popular female K-pop idol in a survey of soldiers completing mandatory military service in South Korea. In February 2021, Sana became the first Twice member to release a solo single after she covered "Sotsugyou", a 2020 single by Japanese band Kobukuro. The cover, which includes an

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

version, was released as a digital single through Warner Music Japan. She released a version with Kobukuro themselves in March 2021.

Personal life

Side projects

Outside of Twice, Sana was featured in several advertisements and has promoted various brands and products. In 2021, Sana and Twice bandmate Dahyun became models for skincare brand A'pieu. In March 2022, Sana became a model for cosmetic brand Wakemake.

Bibliography

Photobooks

Discography

Singles

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

Notes

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1996 births Living people People from Osaka Musicians from Osaka K-pop singers JYP Entertainment artists Korean-language singers of Japan Japanese K-pop singers Japanese women pop singers 21st-century Japanese women singers 21st-century Japanese singers Twice (group) members Japanese expatriates in South Korea