Momo Hirai | |
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![]() 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 | |
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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 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]
For Momo's discography with Twice and MiSaMo, see Twice discography and MiSaMo § Discography. |
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 |
For Momo's filmography with Twice, see Twice § Filmography. |
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] |