Sana (singer)

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]

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]