Momo Hirai

Momo Hirai (平井 もも, Hirai Momo, born November 9, 1996), known mononymously as Momo (Korean: 모모; Japanese: もも), is a Japanese singer and dancer based in South Korea. She is a member of the girl group Twice, formed by JYP Entertainment. Momo is one of Twice's three Japanese members.[1][2]

In this Japanese name, the family name is Hirai.
Momo Hirai
平井もも
Momo performing Cheer Up in July 2018
Background information
Born (1996-11-09) November 9, 1996
Kyōtanabe, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • Dancer
InstrumentsVocals
Years active2015–present
Labels
Associated acts
Japanese name
Kanji平井 もも
Korean stage name
Hangul
모모

Early life

Momo Hirai was born in Kyōtanabe, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan.[3][4] She began dancing at the age of three, together with her elder sister.[4]

Career

Pre-debut
Main article: Sixteen (TV series)

Momo had some early exposure to the South Korean music industry, 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, and only Momo was successful, prompting her to move to South Korea in April 2012.[5][7] Before joining Twice, Momo 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, hosted by JYP Entertainment and co-produced by Mnet.[1][8] Though she was initially eliminated in the competition, she was brought back at the end of the competition and joined the newly-formed girl group Twice.[1][4][9]

In October 2015

Career with Twice
Main article: Twice (group)

In October 2015, Momo officially debuted as a member of Twice with their first extended play, The Story Begins.[10] The lead single "Like Ooh-Ahh" was the first K-pop debut song to reach 100 million views on YouTube.[11]

Recognition

In Gallup Korea's annual music poll for 2018, Momo was voted the 20th most popular idol in South Korea.[12] She is one of the most popular non-Korean K-pop stars,[4] and her popularity has been credited with improving relations between South Korea and Japan by the Chosun Ilbo.[7] Known for her physical fitness and body movements, she is nicknamed the "dance machine".[13][14] In this regard, Momo has been described before as being Twice's best dancer.[1][4][14][15] In 2019 Momo received coverage for trending on Twitter after a video trailer of her was released.[1] In 2019, Momo was ranked as the tenth most popular female K-pop idol in a survey of soldiers doing mandatory military service in South Korea.[16]

Personal life

On January 2, 2020, Label SJ and JYP Entertainment confirmed that Momo is currently dating Kim Hee-chul from the group Super Junior.[17][18][19]

Discography
Main article: Twice discography

Songwriting credits
Year Song Album Artist With Ref.
2018 "Shot Thru the Heart" Summer Nights Twice Sana, Mina [20][21]
2019 "Hot" Fancy You Kang Eun-jeong [20][22]
"Love Foolish" Feel Special Shim Eunji [20][23]
"21:29" All Twice members [20][23][24][25]

Filmography

Television shows
Year Title Network Role Note Ref.
2015 Sixteen Mnet Contestant [1]
2016 Hit the Stage Episode 1–4 [26]
2017 Real Class - Elementary Kid Teachers SBS Cast Lunar New Year special (2 Parts) [27]

Event hosting
Year Title Partner(s) Network Ref.
2016 Suwon K-pop Super Concert Kim Hee-chul, Zhou Mi, Chaeyoung SBS MTV [28]

References
  1. Moon, Kat (September 20, 2019). "Everything to Know About K-Pop Group Twice". Time. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  2. "트와이스 "뽑힐 때 아무 생각이 없었다" ①". Star News (in Korean). Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  3. "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＞" (in Japanese). Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  4. "Momo from Twice, K-pop's biggest Japanese star – her story so far". South China Morning Post. April 21, 2018. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
  5. 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 6, 2019.
  6. "8 things you didn't know about TWICE birthday girl, Momo!". SBS. March 9, 2017. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  7. 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 6, 2019.
  8. Won, Ho-jung (April 29, 2015). "'Sixteen' compete for spot in JYP's next girl group". The Korea Herald. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  9. 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 6, 2019.
  10. Kim, Yu-jin (October 20, 2015). "TWICE unveils debut album 'The Story Begins'". The Korea Herald. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  11. Moon, Kat (October 9, 2019). "K-Pop Powerhouse TWICE Opens Up About How Their New Album Is More Personal Than Ever". Time. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  12. "2018년 올해를 빛낸 가수와 가요 - 최근 12년간 추이 포함" (in Korean). Gallup Korea. November 30, 2018.
  13. Ko, Dong-hwan (March 4, 2019). "Momo super-fit to be a star". The Korea Times. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
  14. Mendez, Michele (November 28, 2019). "Who Is Momo? TWICE's "Dance Machine"s Story Is An Emotional Rollercoaster". Elite Daily. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  15. "Momo de TWICE sobre su experiencia recibiendo clases de canto: "Lloré mucho"". La República (in Spanish). June 12, 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  16. "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.
  17. "슈퍼주니어 김희철♥트와이스 모모, 열애 인정 "친한 선후배에서 최근 호감"[공식입장]". Naver (in Korean). January 2, 2020. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  18. Lee, Jan (January 2, 2020). "Super Junior's Heechul and Twice's Momo admit to dating". The Straits Times. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  19. Lee, Gyu-lee (January 29, 2020). "Super Junior's Kim Hee-chul talks about romance with Momo". The Korea Times. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  20. "KOMCA – 10021791". KOMCA. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  21. "TWICE THE 2ND SPECIAL ALBUM Summer Nights TRACK LIST". TWICE JYPE. June 30, 2018. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
  22. "TWICE THE 7TH MINI ALBUM 'FANCY YOU'". TWICE JYPE. April 11, 2019. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
  23. "TWICE THE 8TH MINI ALBUM Feel Special Track List". TWICE JYPE. September 12, 2019. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  24. Herman, Tamar. "Twice 'Feel Special' On Inspiring New Single and EP: Listen". Billboard. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  25. Frances, Lai. "Asia's Top-Selling Girl Group Twice Reflect On Their Bond, Fourth Anniversary". PopCrush. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  26. Choi, Na-young. "태민·효연·보라·호야·유권 등, 엠넷 '힛더스테이지' 출연[공식발표]". OSEN (in Korean). TV Report. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  27. "'초등학쌤' 강남·헨리·모모, 한글 수준 평균 6세". OSEN (in Korean). TV Daily. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  28. "I.O.I·트와이스·여자친구 등 출격…수원 K팝 슈퍼콘서트, 걸그룹 대축제". SBS Entertainment News (in Korean). June 14, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
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