Momo Hirai | |
---|---|
![]() Momo in April 2024 | |
Born | November 9, 1996
Kyōtanabe,
Kyoto Prefecture, Japan |
Occupations |
|
Musical career | |
Origin | South Korea |
Genres | |
Instrument(s) | Vocals |
Years active | 2015–present |
Labels | |
Member of | |
Website |
twice |
Korean name | |
Hangul | 모모 |
Revised Romanization | Momo |
McCune–Reischauer | Momo |
Japanese name | |
Kanji | 平井 もも |
Romanization | Hirai Momo |
Signature | |
![]() |
Momo Hirai ( Japanese: 平井 もも, Hepburn: Hirai Momo, 平井 桃; born November 9, 1996) known mononymously as Momo ( Korean: 모모; Japanese: モモ), is a Japanese singer, rapper, and dancer based in South Korea. She is a member of South Korean girl group Twice under JYP Entertainment. [1] [2]
Momo Hirai was born in Kyōtanabe, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. [3] [4] She began dancing at the age of three, together with her elder sister, Hana. [4]
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 in 2011. [5] Momo and her sister were originally spotted by JYP Entertainment in an online video in 2012. [4] [5] [6] They were both asked to audition, although only Momo was successful, prompting her to move to South Korea in April 2012. [5] [7] Before joining Twice, she danced in a number of music videos as a "K-Pop trainee". [4] [6] In 2015, Momo participated in the South Korean reality television show Sixteen, created by JYP Entertainment and co-produced by Mnet. [1] [8] She was initially eliminated from the show but was brought back by Park Jin-young at the end to become part of the final lineup of girl group Twice, due to her performance abilities. [1] [4] [9]
In October 2015, Momo officially debuted as a member of Twice with the release of their first extended play (EP), The Story Begins, [10] and its lead single " Like Ooh-Ahh". [11] On February 9, 2023, JYP announced that Momo, alongside bandmates Sana and Mina, will officially debut in Japan on July 26 as a sub-unit named MiSaMo with the extended play titled Masterpiece. [12] Prior to the trio's debut, on January 25, they released the track "Bouquet" as part of the soundtrack of TV Asahi's drama series Liaison: Children's Heart Clinic . [13]
Momo revealed that she was influenced by her older sister Hana from an early age; where she began dancing with her at the age of three. [9] She also revealed that the J-pop singer Namie Amuro is her role model and that she "wanted to be like her someday." [9] She noted that she loves 2NE1 and Rain, explaining, "I always wanted to thrill people with my dance, and K-pop dance thrilled me." [9]
In 2022, Momo was appointed as the brand muse of Wonjungyo, a cosmetic brand supervised by Won Jung-yo, who is Twice's makeup artist. [14] In October 2022, she was announced as the brand ambassador of the Japanese sports brand, Onitsuka Tiger. [15] In May 2023, Momo made an appearance as a model to promote the Japanese news app SmartNews. [16] In June 2023, Momo was selected as Japanese ambassador for the Italian fashion brand Miu Miu. [17]
Known for her physical fitness and body movements, she was nicknamed "Dance Machine" among her fans, [18] [19] and is considered Twice's best dancer. [20] [21] [19] [22]
In Gallup Korea's annual music poll for 2018, Momo was voted the 20th most popular idol in South Korea, [23] the second highest-ranked Japanese individual in the poll, behind Twice bandmate Sana. [24] She has been one of the most popular non-Korean K-pop stars since her debut, [4] and the Chosun Ilbo credits her popularity with helping improve relations between South Korea and Japan. [7] In 2019, Momo received attention on Twitter after a video trailer of her was released for Feel Special [1] and ranked as the tenth most popular female K-pop idol in a survey of soldiers completing mandatory military service in South Korea. [25] In 2023, she surpassed Naomi Watanabe and became the first Japanese person to hit 10 million followers on Instagram only after eight months of opening her page on said platform. [26]
All song credits are adapted from the Korea Music Copyright Association's database unless stated otherwise. [27]
Title | Year | Artist | Album | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
"Shot Thru the Heart" | 2018 | Twice | Summer Nights | As lyricist |
"Hot" | 2019 | Fancy You | ||
"Love Foolish" | Feel Special | |||
"21:29" | ||||
" Celebrate" | 2022 | Celebrate | ||
"Funny Valentine" | 2023 | MiSaMo | Masterpiece |
Year | Title | Role | Note | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2015 | Sixteen | Contestant | [1] | |
2016 | Hit the Stage | Episode 1–4 | [28] | |
2017 | Real Class – Elementary Kid Teachers | Cast | Lunar New Year special (2 Parts) | [29] |
Year | Title | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
2016 | Suwon K-pop Super Concert | with Kim Hee-chul, Zhou Mi and Chaeyoung | [30] |
Momo Hirai | |
---|---|
![]() Momo in April 2024 | |
Born | November 9, 1996
Kyōtanabe,
Kyoto Prefecture, Japan |
Occupations |
|
Musical career | |
Origin | South Korea |
Genres | |
Instrument(s) | Vocals |
Years active | 2015–present |
Labels | |
Member of | |
Website |
twice |
Korean name | |
Hangul | 모모 |
Revised Romanization | Momo |
McCune–Reischauer | Momo |
Japanese name | |
Kanji | 平井 もも |
Romanization | Hirai Momo |
Signature | |
![]() |
Momo Hirai ( Japanese: 平井 もも, Hepburn: Hirai Momo, 平井 桃; born November 9, 1996) known mononymously as Momo ( Korean: 모모; Japanese: モモ), is a Japanese singer, rapper, and dancer based in South Korea. She is a member of South Korean girl group Twice under JYP Entertainment. [1] [2]
Momo Hirai was born in Kyōtanabe, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. [3] [4] She began dancing at the age of three, together with her elder sister, Hana. [4]
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 in 2011. [5] Momo and her sister were originally spotted by JYP Entertainment in an online video in 2012. [4] [5] [6] They were both asked to audition, although only Momo was successful, prompting her to move to South Korea in April 2012. [5] [7] Before joining Twice, she danced in a number of music videos as a "K-Pop trainee". [4] [6] In 2015, Momo participated in the South Korean reality television show Sixteen, created by JYP Entertainment and co-produced by Mnet. [1] [8] She was initially eliminated from the show but was brought back by Park Jin-young at the end to become part of the final lineup of girl group Twice, due to her performance abilities. [1] [4] [9]
In October 2015, Momo officially debuted as a member of Twice with the release of their first extended play (EP), The Story Begins, [10] and its lead single " Like Ooh-Ahh". [11] On February 9, 2023, JYP announced that Momo, alongside bandmates Sana and Mina, will officially debut in Japan on July 26 as a sub-unit named MiSaMo with the extended play titled Masterpiece. [12] Prior to the trio's debut, on January 25, they released the track "Bouquet" as part of the soundtrack of TV Asahi's drama series Liaison: Children's Heart Clinic . [13]
Momo revealed that she was influenced by her older sister Hana from an early age; where she began dancing with her at the age of three. [9] She also revealed that the J-pop singer Namie Amuro is her role model and that she "wanted to be like her someday." [9] She noted that she loves 2NE1 and Rain, explaining, "I always wanted to thrill people with my dance, and K-pop dance thrilled me." [9]
In 2022, Momo was appointed as the brand muse of Wonjungyo, a cosmetic brand supervised by Won Jung-yo, who is Twice's makeup artist. [14] In October 2022, she was announced as the brand ambassador of the Japanese sports brand, Onitsuka Tiger. [15] In May 2023, Momo made an appearance as a model to promote the Japanese news app SmartNews. [16] In June 2023, Momo was selected as Japanese ambassador for the Italian fashion brand Miu Miu. [17]
Known for her physical fitness and body movements, she was nicknamed "Dance Machine" among her fans, [18] [19] and is considered Twice's best dancer. [20] [21] [19] [22]
In Gallup Korea's annual music poll for 2018, Momo was voted the 20th most popular idol in South Korea, [23] the second highest-ranked Japanese individual in the poll, behind Twice bandmate Sana. [24] She has been one of the most popular non-Korean K-pop stars since her debut, [4] and the Chosun Ilbo credits her popularity with helping improve relations between South Korea and Japan. [7] In 2019, Momo received attention on Twitter after a video trailer of her was released for Feel Special [1] and ranked as the tenth most popular female K-pop idol in a survey of soldiers completing mandatory military service in South Korea. [25] In 2023, she surpassed Naomi Watanabe and became the first Japanese person to hit 10 million followers on Instagram only after eight months of opening her page on said platform. [26]
All song credits are adapted from the Korea Music Copyright Association's database unless stated otherwise. [27]
Title | Year | Artist | Album | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
"Shot Thru the Heart" | 2018 | Twice | Summer Nights | As lyricist |
"Hot" | 2019 | Fancy You | ||
"Love Foolish" | Feel Special | |||
"21:29" | ||||
" Celebrate" | 2022 | Celebrate | ||
"Funny Valentine" | 2023 | MiSaMo | Masterpiece |
Year | Title | Role | Note | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2015 | Sixteen | Contestant | [1] | |
2016 | Hit the Stage | Episode 1–4 | [28] | |
2017 | Real Class – Elementary Kid Teachers | Cast | Lunar New Year special (2 Parts) | [29] |
Year | Title | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
2016 | Suwon K-pop Super Concert | with Kim Hee-chul, Zhou Mi and Chaeyoung | [30] |