Sana Minatozaki (Japanese: 湊崎 紗夏, Hepburn: 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 one of three Japanese members of the South Korean girl group Twice, formed in 2015 by JYP Entertainment.[2][3]

Sana
Sana in January 2022
Born	Sana Minatozaki (1996-12-29) December 29, 1996 (age 25) Tennōji-ku, Osaka, Japan
Occupation	Singer television host
Musical career
Origin	South Korea
Genres	K-pop J-pop
Years active	2015–present
Labels	JYP Warner Japan Republic
Member of	Twice JYP Nation
Musical artist
Korean name
Hangul	사나
Revised Romanization	Sana
McCune–Reischauer	Sana
Japanese name
Kanji	湊崎 紗夏
Romanization	Minatozaki Sana
Signature

Early life

Sana was born on December 29, 1996[4] in Tennōji-ku, Osaka, Japan,[5][6] as an only child.[7]

Sana wanted to become a singer and dancer early on and was inspired by K-pop groups such as Girls' Generation.[7] In addition to her native Japanese, she can also 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 (JYPE) employee at a shopping mall and was invited to participate in the annual JYP Japan audition 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 before her eventual debut with Twice.[10] At one time, she was expected to become a member of a new JYPE girl group; however, this project was cancelled.[10][12] In 2014, Sana appeared in Got7's music video for "A" as a waitress.[13]

2015–present: Sixteen, Twice, and solo activities

In 2015, Sana participated in the music survival show Sixteen, a reality television series to determine the 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 officially debuted with Twice in October 2015 with the title song "Like Ooh-Ahh" from their debut extended play The Story Begins.[16] Known for her energetic and cheerful personality,[2][5][17][18] 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.[8][19] 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.[20] She ranked 15th in the 2019 poll.[21][22] 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.[18]

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.[23] The cover, which includes an a cappella version, was released as a digital single through Warner Music Japan.[24] She released a version with Kobukuro themselves in March 2021.[25]

Endorsements

Outside of Twice, Sana was featured in several advertisements and has promoted various brands and products.[26][27] In 2021, Sana and Twice bandmate Dahyun became models for skincare brand A'pieu.[28] In March 2022, Sana became a model for cosmetic brand Wakemake.[29]

Bibliography

Photobooks

Discography

Singles

Songwriting credits

All song credits are adapted from the Korea Music Copyright Association's database unless stated otherwise.[33]

Filmography

Television shows

Notes

References

External links

• Media related to Sana Minatozaki at Wikimedia Commons

На других языках

[es] Sana (cantante japonesa)

[fr] Sana Minatozaki

[ru] Минатодзаки, Сана