Sana (singer)

Sana Minatozaki (湊崎 紗夏, Minatozaki Sana, born December 29, 1996),[1] known mononymously as Sana (Korean: 사나; Japanese: サナ), is a Japanese singer based in South Korea. She is a member of the girl group Twice, formed by JYP Entertainment and she is one of Twice's three Japanese members.[2][3]

Minatozaki Sana
Sana performing "Cheer Up" in July 17th 2018.
Background information
Birth nameMinatozaki Sana
Born (1996-12-29) December 29, 1996
Tennōji-ku, Osaka, Japan
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • TV host
InstrumentsVocals
Years active2015–present
Labels
Associated acts
Japanese name
Kanji湊崎 紗夏
Korean stage name
Hangul
사나

Early life

Minatozaki Sana was born on December 29, 1996[4] in Tennōji-ku, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan.[5][6]

Sana is the only child in her family.[7] She wanted to become a singer and dancer, and was inspired by Girls' Generation.[7] In addition to her native Japanese, she is also able to speak Korean 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] Sana is fluent in Korean, having studied it since moving to South Korea.[10][13]

2015–present: Sixteen, Twice, and solo activities
Main articles: Sixteen (TV series) and Twice (group)

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][13][17] and has received recognition in South Korea and abroad.[8][18] 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][18] 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.[19] She ranked 15th in the 2019 poll.[20][21] 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.[17] Outside of Twice, she has done work promoting various brands and products.[5][13]

Discography
Main article: Twice discography

Songwriting credits
Year Song Album Artist With Ref.
2018 "Shot Thru the Heart" Summer Nights Twice Momo, Mina [22][23]
2019 "Turn It Up" Fancy You Earattack [22][24]
"21:29" Feel Special All Twice Members [22][25][26][27]

Filmography

Television shows
Year Title Network Role Ref.
2015 Sixteen Mnet Contestant [14]
2016 Idol Star Athletics Championships MBC Host [28]
2017 KBS Song Festival KBS [29]
2019 Idol Star Athletics Championships MBC
2020 Nizi Project: Season 2

Reactions

On the eve of Japan's transition from the Heisei era to Reiwa on May 1, 2019, Sana posted a message on Twice's Instagram account bidding goodbye to the era in which she was born, and welcoming the next.[30] According to one translation, Sana said: "I was born in the Heisei era so am sad to see it end. I would say 'Good job' to Heisei. Toward the first day of the new Reiwa era, I will spend the last day of Heisei with a fresh mind."[31] Sana's comments drew some online criticism from those who saw them as lacking in sensitivity toward South Korea because Japanese eras are named after the reigning emperor.[31][32] This is perhaps because the notion of Japanese emperors remains inseparable in the minds of some Koreans from the history of Imperial Japan and the Japanese colonial rule of Korea.[31] On the other hand, some fans defended her as someone commenting on current events, making no reference to the contentious past.[32]

gollark: Specs? HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHSGDJHASGFHJaf how humerous.
gollark: LyricLy is such an apiohumerohazard!
gollark: humor.
gollark: HAHAHAHAHAHA.
gollark: Of course not.

References
  1. "K-POPの最注目新人「TWICE」の日本人メンバーが可愛くて美しい＜プロフィール＞". Model Press (in Japanese). Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  2. Moon, Kat (September 20, 2019). "Everything to Know About K-Pop Group Twice". Time. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  3. "트와이스 "뽑힐 때 아무 생각이 없었다" ①". Star News (in Korean). Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  4. Kim, Soo-jin (December 29, 2018). "Happy 22nd birthday to K-pop star Sana! Here are the Twice band member's funniest moments on TV". South China Morning Post. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
  5. Robidoux, Brandy (October 27, 2019). "Who Is TWICE's Sana? The Talented Singer Is Fierce Both On Stage And Off". Elite Daily. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
  6. "TWICE (Profile)". JYP Entertainment – Twice. JYP Entertainment. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
  7. "Meet Sana from Twice – K-pop girl group's fun-loving and 'adorably blunt' star". South China Morning Post. May 12, 2018. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  8. Jung, Chul-hwan (February 20, 2018). "3 Japanese Girls at the Top of K-Pop: The Story Begins". The Chosun Ilbo (English Edition). Retrieved December 7, 2019.
  9. Jung, Chul-hwan (February 21, 2018). "3 Japanese Girls at the Top of K-Pop: Taking off to K-Pop Land". The Chosun Ilbo (English Edition). Retrieved December 7, 2019.
  10. Jung, Chul-hwan (February 22, 2018). "3 Japanese Girls at the Top of K-Pop: In the Lion's Den". The Chosun Ilbo (English Edition). Retrieved December 7, 2019.
  11. "[네이버 연예] 아이엠그라운드, 트와이스 소개 하기!". Naver (in Korean). Naver Corp. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  12. "9 things to know about TWICE's Jihyo". SBS. February 1, 2019. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
  13. "Meet Sana from Twice – K-pop girl group's fun-loving and 'adorably blunt' star". South China Morning Post. May 12, 2018. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
  14. Won, Ho-jung (April 29, 2015). "'Sixteen' compete for spot in JYP's next girl group". The Korea Herald. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
  15. "'식스틴' JYP의 미래 짊어질 9인, 걸그룹 트와이스 탄생[종합]". Nate (in Korean). July 8, 2015. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
  16. Park, Jin-hai (May 3, 2019). "TWICE 'Like OOH-AHH' MV hits 300 mil. views". The Korea Times. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
  17. "Sana de Twice es elegida la cantante más popular por los soldados de Corea del Sur". La República (in Spanish). November 10, 2019. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  18. Jung, Chul-hwan (February 23, 2018). "3 Japanese Girls at the Top of K-Pop: The 1st of Their Kind". The Chosun Ilbo (English Edition). Retrieved December 7, 2019.
  19. "2018년 올해를 빛낸 가수와 가요 - 최근 12년간 추이 포함" (in Korean). Gallup Korea. November 30, 2018.
  20. "Here's who Koreans voted as the top artists and idols of 2019". SBS. December 20, 2019. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  21. "2019년 올해를 빛낸 가수와 가요 – 최근 13년간 추이 포함" (in Korean). Gallup Korea. November 28, 2019. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
  22. "KOMCA – 10021899". KOMCA. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  23. "TWICE THE 2ND SPECIAL ALBUM Summer Nights TRACK LIST". TWICE JYPE. June 30, 2018. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
  24. "TWICE THE 7TH MINI ALBUM 'FANCY YOU'". TWICE JYPE. April 11, 2019. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
  25. "TWICE THE 8TH MINI ALBUM Feel Special Track List". TWICE JYPE. September 12, 2019. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  26. Herman, Tamar. "Twice 'Feel Special' On Inspiring New Single and EP: Listen". Billboard. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  27. Frances, Lai. "Asia's Top-Selling Girl Group Twice Reflect On Their Bond, Fourth Anniversary". PopCrush. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  28. "Twice′s Sana Selected as Exclusive MC for ′Idol Star Athletic Championships′". Toggle.
  29. Herman, Tamar (December 30, 2017). "BTS Performs Rock Remixes of 'DNA' & 'Not Today' at 2017 KBS Song Festival". Billboard. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
  30. "twicetagram". Instagram. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  31. Oh, Young-jin (May 1, 2019). "Korean fans slam TWICE member for comments on Japanese reign changeover". The Korea Times. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
  32. Kamiya, Takeshi (May 2, 2019). "Member of K-pop idol group draws flak for post about Heisei Era". The Asahi Shimbun. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
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