Early life
Sana was born on December 29, 1996[4] in Tennōji-ku, Osaka, Japan.[5][6]
She is the only child in her family.[7] She wanted to become a singer and dancer, and was inspired by K-pop groups such as Girls' Generation.[7] In addition to her native Japanese, she is also able to speak Korean, having studied it since moving to South Korea, and basic English.[7]
Career
Pre-debut
Sana began training with EXPG in Osaka in 2009, originally planning to be a singer in Japan, rather than South Korea.[8] During her middle school years, she was scouted by a JYP Entertainment employee at a shopping mall and was invited to participate in the annual JYP Japan audition held the following day.[9] Sana passed the audition[9] and joined the JYPE trainee program in South Korea in April 2012.[10][11] She trained for over three years with JYP before her eventual debut with Twice.[10] At one time it was expected that Sana would become a member of a new JYP girl group.[10][12] However, this new project was cancelled and the group did not debut.[10][12] In 2014, Sana appeared in Got7's music video for "A" as a waitress.[13]
2015–present: Sixteen, Twice, and solo activities
Main articles: Sixteen (TV series) and Twice
In 2015, Sana participated in the music survival show Sixteen, a reality television series designed to select the founding members of Twice.[2][14] Out of the sixteen contestants, Sana was selected as one of the nine members of the newly formed girl group.[2][15] She debuted with Twice in October 2015 with the title song "Like Ooh-Ahh" from their debut extended play The Story Begins.[16] Sana is known for her energetic and cheerful personality[2][5][17][18] and has received recognition in South Korea and abroad.[8][19] Her popularity – in conjunction with that of fellow Japanese members Momo and Mina – has been credited with improving relations between Japan and South Korea.[8][19] In Gallup Korea's annual music poll for 2018, Sana was voted the 17th most popular idol in South Korea, making her the highest-ranked Japanese individual in that poll.[20] She ranked 15th in the 2019 poll.[21][22] In 2019, Sana was also ranked as the most popular female K-pop idol in a survey of soldiers doing mandatory military service in South Korea.[18] Outside of Twice, she has done work promoting various brands and products.[5][17] In February 2021, Sana became the first Twice member to release a single after she made a cover of "Sotsugyou", a 2020 single by Japanese band Kobukuro.[23] The cover, which includes an a cappella version, was released as a digital single through Warner Music Japan.[24] A version with Kobukuro themselves was released in March 2021.[25]
Bibliography
Photobooks
Title Release date Publisher Ref.
Yes, I am Sana. April 16, 2021 JYP Entertainment [26]
Discography
Main article: Twice discography
Singles
List of singles, showing year released, and album name
Title Year Album
"Sotsugyou (Cover)"[27][A] 2021 Non-album single
Composition credits
All song credits are adapted from the Korea Music Copyright Association's database unless stated otherwise.[29]
List of songs, showing year released, artist name, and name of the album
Title Year Artist Album Notes
"Shot Thru the Heart" 2018 Twice Summer Nights As lyricist
"Turn It Up" 2019 Fancy You
"21:29" Feel Special
"Do What We Like" 2020 Eyes Wide Open
"Conversation" 2021 Taste of Love
Filmography
Television shows
Year Title Network Role Ref.
2015 Sixteen Mnet Herself (contestant) [14]
2016 Idol Star Athletics Championships MBC Herself (co-host) [30]
2017 KBS Song Festival KBS [31]
2019 Idol Star Athletics Championships MBC [citation needed]
2020 Nizi Project: Part 2 TV Herself (host) [32]
