ILLIT may have just debuted, but fans are already dying to learn more about every member in HYBE’s newest girl group. One of the main dancers in the group is Moka (real name Sakai Moka), who is one of two Japanese members in ILLIT.
Keep reading to learn more about Moka.
Who Is Moka?
Sakai Moka was born on October 8, 2004, in Fukuoka, Japan, making her a Libra.
Originally, Moka was a trainee at HYBE Japan beginning in 2020, and trained for three years before competing on R U NEXT? which eventually created ILLIT. She is one of two Japanese members in the K-pop group, alongside Iroha.
According to the members, she is the “mom” of the group.
During an interview with Elle Korea, Moka was asked when she realized she felt confident in preparing for ILLIT’s debut.
“When I practiced with the members and felt that we had a pretty good teamwork. That’s when I felt confident,” she declared.
Who Are ILLIT?
The group was formed from R U Next?, a survival show which originally aired in September 2023, which had over 20 K-pop trainees compete against one another in order to debut as HYBE’s next girl group.
ILLIT was formerly known as ILL-IT, and is managed by HYBE sub-label Belift Lab. The group’s name is a mashup between the words “I’ll” and “it,” meaning that you have the potential to be anything if you have the will to do so.
The group officially debuted on March 25, 2024, with their EP SUPER REAL ME, and includes members Moka, Yunah, Minju, Wonhee and Iroha, with former member Youngseo leaving the group in January 2024.
“Following in-depth discussions about future activities, Belift Lab and Youngseo have come to a mutual agreement to terminate the exclusive contract,” Belift Lab announced on Weverse on January 7, 2024.
“I’ll-It will be debuting as a five-member group. We are committed to fully supporting I’ll-It’s debut and subsequent engagements,” the company continued. “This mutual decision has been made after careful consideration, honoring the artist’s wishes. We kindly ask for no unwarranted speculations or misunderstandings.”
I’LLIT is the third girl group to debut under HYBE, BTS’ music company, following Le Sserafim from Source Music in May 2022 and NewJeans from ADOR in July of the same year.
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