Sakura Miyawaki


Sakura Miyawaki is a Japanese singer and actress. She is a first generation member of the Japanese idol girl group HKT48 and became a member of Japanese-South Korean girl group Iz*One after finishing second in survival reality television show Produce 48 in 2018.
As one of the group's leading members, Miyawaki became the center of AKB48's 43rd single "Kimi wa Melody" which is also AKB48's 10th Anniversary Memorial single in January 2016. In 2017, together with Jurina Matsui from SKE48, the two next generation aces that are also known as "JuriSaku" were chosen to be the WCenter for AKB48 group commemorative 48th single "Negaigoto no Mochigusare".
In 2018, Miyawaki joined the show Produce 48 and was selected as the center of the show's theme song, "Nekkoya". She placed 2nd and debuted on October 29, 2018 as a member of Iz*One.

Career

Miyawaki joined HKT48 as a first generation trainee in July 2011. She made her first official appearance as an HKT48 member on October 23 at a national handshake event for the song "Flying Get". She made her theater debut on November 26 with a revival of SKE48 Team S stage "Te wo Tsunaginagara".
Miyawaki was officially promoted to full member status of HKT48 Team H on March 4, 2012, along with 15 other trainees.
In 2012, Miyawaki became the first HKT48 member to have ranked in the AKB48 general election. She received 6,635 votes, placing her at the 47th position. Later that year, she landed her first A-side participation on AKB48's 28th single "Uza". Although she did not make the A-side for the 29th and 30th singles, she appeared on the A-side for the 31st single, "Sayonara Crawl", released on May 22, 2013, and placed 26th overall in AKB48's 2013 general election with 25,760 votes.
Miyawaki's first A-side participation with HKT48 was on its first single "Suki! Suki! Skip!" and Melon Juice.
On 11 January 2014, it was announced during the first day of HKT48's Kyushu 7 Prefecture Tour at Oita, that Miyawaki would be transferred to the newly formed Team KIV. Later, at AKB48's Group Grand Reformation Festival, she was promoted to vice captain of Team KIV and given a concurrent position in AKB48 Team A.
Miyawaki participated in the 2014 AKB48 general election and placed 11th overall with 45,538 votes, landing her a position on the A-side for "Kokoro no Placard". In that year's rock-paper-scissors tournament, Miyawaki lost in the 3rd round of the preliminary competition. However, management decided she would share the center position with winner Mayu Watanabe for AKB48's 38th single, "Kiboteki Refrain", and became the first local HKT48 member to center on an A-side single.
In 2015, Miyawaki was given a lead role in AKB48's drama Majisuka Gakuen 4 along with Haruka Shimazaki. The season premiered on January 19. She placed 7th overall in the general election the same year with 81,422 votes.
In July 2015, she released her first photobook, titled Sakura which reached number 1 on the weekly Oricon photobook chart and number 3 on the general book chart.
On AKB's 43rd single, "Kimi wa Melody", released March 9, 2016, she got her first solo center on an AKB48 single.
In 2018, Miyawaki participated and placed second in reality girl group survival show Produce 48 and became a member of Korean-Japanese idol group Iz*One that debuted in October that same year. She and the other two Japanese members of the group will take a hiatus from their respective Japanese groups until their contracts with Iz*One expire in April 2021. She has also started her own video gaming channel on YouTube.
Following the Mnet vote manipulation investigation, Miyawaki's Japanese radio show was temporarily hosted by AKB48 members under the title AKB48 Hope on BayFM78. This arrangement lasted until her return on February 19, 2020.

AKB48 general election placements

Since debuted in July 2011, Miyawaki already take a part in fourth edition of AKB48's annual general election. These are Miyawaki's ranking placements:
EditionYearFinal rankNumber of votesPosition on singleSingleRef
42012476,635Next GirlsDoremifa Onchi
520132625,760UndergirlsAi no Imi o Kangaete Mita
620141145,538SenbatsuKokoro no Placard
72015781,422SenbatsuHalloween Night
82016678,279SenbatsuLove Trip / Shiawase o Wakenasai
92017482,803Senbatsu#Sukinanda
1020183141,106SenbatsuSentimental Train

Discography

Stage units

; Team H 1st Stage "Te wo Tsunaginara"
; Team H Waiting Stage "Hakata Legend"
; HKT48's Himawarigumi 1st Stage "Pajama Drive"
; Team A 5th Stage "Renai Kinshi Jōrei"
; Team KIV 1st Stage "Theater no Megami"
; HKT48's Himawarigumi 2nd Stage "Tadaima Renaichū"
; Team A 7th Stage "M.T. ni Sasagu"
; Team KIV 2nd Stage "Saishū Bell ga Naru"
; HKT48's Himawarigumi 3rd Stage "Yūwaku no Garter"
; Team KIV 3rd Stage "Seifuku no Me"

Film

TV dramas

Variety show

Solo photobooks

Radio Hosting

:ja:今夜、咲良の木の下で|Tonight Under the Sakura Tree, Bay FM