Lisa from Blackpink – Thailand-raised K-pop singer who is the group’s main dancer and speaks four languages
The multitalented and multilingual Lisa is the youngest member of the group, was only 14 years old when she auditioned to become a trainee with South Korea’s YG Entertainment, and speaks Thai, Korean, English and Japanese
While K-pop is largely a South Korean pop culture phenomenon, the industry is becoming more international, with many idols reaching out to their booming global fan bases through live performances and learning different languages.
This week, the group continued their international outreach by releasing a Japanese-language version of their latest single Ddu-du Ddu-du. The original Korean and English version was released in June, and the music video for the song broke records for K-pop music videos by notching up more than 36 million views on YouTube within 24 hours of release.
In celebration of their latest Japanese single, we take a look at multitalented, multilingual Lisa Manoban from the popular K-pop band.
Her early life
Twenty-one year old Lisa, the maknae – or youngest member – of the group, was born in Bangkok, Thailand. Originally named Pranpriya Manoban, she first changed her name to Lalisa (“one who is praised”), before settling on her stage name of Lisa.
She was only 14 years old when she auditioned to become a trainee with South Korea’s YG Entertainment, and made her debut as a member of Blackpink when the group launched in 2016.