Happy Birthday Momo: From SIXTEEN to TWICE and MISAMO; Explore her inspiring journey

From not making it to the finale of SIXTEEN, to shining as the main dancer of TWICE and then in a sub-unit MISAMO, MOMO has made her mark in the K-pop industry with each passing year. Read more here!

By Saumya Saxena

Updated on Nov 09, 2023 | 05:02 PM IST | 638.5K

TWICE's Momo; Image Courtesy: Momo's Instagram

As Momo celebrates her 27th birthday on November 9, she has been making waves in the K-pop industry every year since her debut in October 2015 as the main dancer of TWICE. She started not making it to the SIXTEEN finale, but went on to shine as a TWICE member and then in MISAMO.

MOMO commemorates turning 27 today

Momo Hirai, popularly known as Momo, was born in Japan's Kyoto Prefecture. At the age of three, she started dancing with her older sister, Hana. She first became known in the South Korean music scene when she starred in a music video for Lexy in 2008 and then on Superstar K, a talent show, in 2011. In April 2012 Momo relocated to South Korea, where she performed as a K-Pop trainee in several music videos before joining TWICE.

Momo took part in the 2015 season of Sixteen, a South Korean reality television program co-produced by Mnet and produced by JYP Entertainment. After being first eliminated from the show, she was later added back to the final lineup of TWICE as a result of viewer poll feedback and her exceptional performance.

Momo made her official debut with TWICE in October 2015 with the release of their first EP, The Story Begins and its lead single, Like Ooh-Ahh. On February 9, 2023, JYP revealed that Momo along with bandmates Sana and Mina, will make their formal Japanese debut on July 26 as a sub-unit called MISAMO, performing an extended play titled Masterpiece. Before making their stage debut, the trio released Bouquet on January 25 as a part of the TV Asahi drama series Liaison: Children's Heart Clinic's soundtrack.

The influence and artistry of Momo

With her hard work and perseverance, Momo has earned herself the writing credits for numerous TWICE songs like Shot Thru the Heart, a track from their 2018 album Summer Nights, Hot from 2019 album Fancy You, Foolish from another hit album of 2019, Feel Special, to name a few.

Aside from the musical front, Momo is known for her jaw-dropping dance videos. She stands out because of her ability to brilliantly control the stage, making it seem effortlessly smooth.

Here’s a list of some exceptional performances by Momo

Vampire Momo’s Bloody Dance: In 2016, Momo participated in the Korean television show, Hit The Stage where she gave a phenomenal opening performance dancing in the role of a vampire. In the video, TWICE members can be seen cheering on their main dancer.
Dangerous Love: Later in the show, Momo was joined by TWICE mate Mina and together they garnered massive audience praise for their performance on Dangerous Love.
Momo’s Performance Project: With just a 2.5-minute video, Momo solidified her mark as TWICE’s main dancer by performing one of the toughest choreographies Lee Jung Lee and J-Ho on the tracks Tadow by Masego & FKJ and Bad by Christopher respectively. Dressed in black and white at the beginning of the video and then raising the temperature in a red suit, Momo swiftly captivated the audience with her moves flowing like water.

Momo was ranked as the second-highest Japanese person in the Gallup Korea annual music poll for 2018, behind her Twice bandmate Sana, and the 20th most popular idol in South Korea. Since her debut, she has been one of the most well-liked non-Korean K-pop stars, and the Chosun Ilbo attributes the improvement in South Korean-Japan relations to her fame.

Momo garnered attention on Twitter in 2019 following the release of a video trailer for Feel Special. She also happened to rank as the tenth most popular female K-pop idol in a survey conducted among South Korean soldiers completing their mandatory military service. It took her eight months to surpass Naomi Watanabe and become the first Japanese person to reach 10 million Instagram followers in 2023.

Check out these interesting facts about Momo

Momo is known as the ‘dancing machine’ and ‘eating machine’ of TWICE.
She is unknown to bike riding, but is a good pianist.
Many mistakenly believed Momo and Sana to be twins since they both joined JYP Entertainment on the same day.
Momo detests drinking water, eating cucumbers, and eating watermelon and loves to eat pig's feet and braised chicken. However, during her trainee days, she ate only ice cubes to lose weight.
Momo adores plush toys. She brought an entire box of them with her when she moved into the dorms, but Jeongyeon only permitted some.
Momo seeks a lot of attention from fellow TWICE members.
The TWICE members often joke about Momo’s habit of making small circles with her hands to illustrate concepts.
Because of her raccoon-like appearance, Momo is also known by the nickname Moguri.
Momo and Super Junior’s Heechul were confirmed to be dating in January 2020 before they announced their break up in July 2021 owing to busy schedules.