Chanmina

Biography

Mina Otomonai (乙茂内 美奈, Otomonai Mina; born October 14, 1998), known professionally as Chanmina (Japanese: ちゃんみな; Korean: 챤미나), is a South Korean and Japanese rapper and singer. She debuted in 2016 independently, before releasing her major label debut album Miseinen in 2017.

1998–2015: Early life

Mina Otomonai was born in South Korea, to a Japanese father and a South Korean mother, and lived in South Korea until she was three years old. As her mother is a professional ballerina, she spent her childhood traveling around South Korea, Japan and the United States. Due to her mother's influence, Chanmina began learning ballet, piano and violin from the age of three.
Moving to Nerima, Tokyo during her elementary school years, she discovered the song "Day by Day" (2008) by Korean band Big Bang, and felt moved by the song, inspiring her to become a rapper. Chanmina originally planned to move to South Korea to become a K-pop musician in her second year of high school, however her friend, female rapper Messhi, convinced her to stay in Japan.

2016–2017: Career beginnings and major label debut

In 2016, Chanmina participated in Bazooka!!! Kōkōsei Rap Senshūken, a high school rap competition broadcast on BS Sky Perfect!, and her independently released debut single "Miseinen" featuring Messhi, managed to top iTunes Japan's hip-hop song rankings chart. She was a featured artist on TeddyLoid's 2016 single "Daikirai", which was her first major label release.
In January 2017, Chanmina signed a major label record deal with Victor Entertainment. Her solo major label debut single "Fxxker×Fxxker1 February 2017 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Fxxker3:08" was released on February 1, 2017, followed by her debut studio album Miseinen on March 8, 2017. Her debut studio album was mildly successful upon its release, peaking at number 59 on the Oricon Albums Chart and number 27 on the Billboard Japan Hot Albums chart. In the same year, Chanmina released her first extended play (EP) Chocolate×CHOCOLATE15 November 2017 · EPSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracks1GREEN LIGHT3:162MY NAME3:163WHO ARE YOU3:504CHOCOLATE3:025LIGHT IT UP3:046TO HATERS3:327LAST NIGHT3:198FRIEND ZONE3:08, which was recorded in Los Angeles. The EP became her first top-ten album, peaking at number ten on the Hot Albums chart. She later appeared as a featured artist on Mivyavi's "No Thanks Ya" from his 2017 studio album, Samurai Sessions Vol. 2.

2018–2024: Label transfer and growing international success

In 2018, Chanmina departed from Victor Entertainment. Signing with Warner Music Japan, she released her first single under the label, "Doctor×Doctor28 September 2018 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Doctor3:03". On November 30, 2018, she released "Pain Is Beauty×PAIN IS BEAUTY30 November 2018 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1PAIN IS BEAUTY3:55", which she first performed during her Princess Project 2 tour. In January 2019, she announced her first maxi single, "I'm a Pop", released on February 27, 2019. The maxi single included three B-side tracks, including an English version of "Doctor". In June 2019, she announced her second studio album, Never Grow Up×Never Grow Up7 August 2019 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 22 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11Call3:002I’m a Pop3:113PAIN IS BEAUTY3:554Never Grow Up3:165Yesterday3:296君が勝った3:227My Own Lane2:448GIRLS3:159Can U Love Me3:0810Like This3:0011Doctor3:0312CAFE3:2713アーカイブに保存した曲3:3114SAD SONG3:37Disc 21I’m a Pop2MY NAME3CHOCOLATE4Doctor5Never6WHO ARE YOU7Sober8OVER. The title song from the album, which was released as a single, was used as the theme song for the Japanese drama Jigoku no Girlfriend and became a sleeper hit, reaching over 10 million views on YouTube eight months after the song's release, and receiving a gold certification for streaming from the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ). Never Grow Up was released on August 7, 2019, debuting at number 21 on the Hot Albums chart and number 23 on the Oricon Albums Chart.
In December 2019, Chanmina announced the release of two EPs, Note-book: Me. and Note-book: U.. The two EPs were released on February 19, 2020, following the release of two promotional singles "Voice Memo No. 5" from Note-book: Me. and "Picky×Picky7 February 2020 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Picky2:52" from Note-book: U.. She released an acoustic version of "Never Grow Up" in April 2020, following the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in the cancellation of her tour. In July 2020, Chanmina announced her second maxi single, "Angel×Angel24 July 2020 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Angel3:11". A music video for "Angel" was released on July 23, 2020. In September, she released "Rainy Friday", a B-side track from "Angel", as a promotional single. Near the end of 2020, she released a holiday single "Holy Moly Holy Night×Holy Moly Holy Night4 December 2020 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Holy Moly Holy Night4:04" with Sky-Hi.
In February 2021, Chanmina announced her third maxi single "Bijin". The single was released on April 14, 2021, initially failing to enter the Billboard Japan Hot 100 until the next year when Chanmina performed the song on The First Take. Following her appearance on the program, the music video for "Bijin" surged in views, gaining over 2 million views in a week. The song later went on to debut and peak at number 65 on the Japan Hot 100. Chanmina also appeared on a remix of Saweetie's "Best Friend", released on April 23, 2021. In May 2021, she announced her first solo concert at Nippon Budokan, The Princess Project: Final. In August 2021, Chanmina announced her third studio album, Harenchi. A full track list was revealed the following month. In September 2021, Chanmina's song "I'm a Pop" was featured in the Netflix film Kate, leading to the song achieving new commercial success in the United States on the Billboard World Digital Songs chart. In October, Chanmina released her third studio album, Harenchi. Following its release, the album debuted at number 16 on the Oricon Albums Chart while debuting at number 11 on the Japan Hot Albums chart.
In August 2022, Chanmina teased her first Korean-language single. In September 2022, she released "Tokyo 4AM×TOKYO 4AM2 September 2022 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1TOKYO 4AM3:21", recorded in English and Japanese. The song served as the theme song for the Japanese drama -50kg no Cinderella. Shortly after the release of "Tokyo 4AM", she announced the title of her first Korean single, "Don't Go×Don't Go23 September 2022 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Don't Go2:35" featuring Ash Island. She followed "Don't Go" with her second Korean single "Mirror×Mirror28 October 2022 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Mirror3:34", released in October 2022. On March 8, 2023, Chanmina surprise released the single "You Just Walked In My Life" on her debut anniversary. On March 21, 2023, she announced her third studio album, Naked×Naked26 April 2023 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 17 tracks1Good3:332RED2:4234441:504Wake up call2:025Don’t go2:376サンフラワー3:187You Just Walked In My Life2:598naked now2:259Mirror3:3410FUCK LOVE2:4911Miso Soup2:3312B級3:1613クズになったらしいじゃん3:3914美人 (Remix)2:3915TOKYO 4AM3:2216Love Face3:4417I’m Not OK2:38. Alongside the album announcement, she revealed the launch of her own imprint under Warner Japan, No Label Music. In April, Chanmina released a live video performing an unreleased song, "I'm Not OK". The song was later released as a promotional single to digital stores. Shortly after, she released Naked, which charted within the top 20 of both the Oricon Albums Chart and Hot Albums chart. In August of that year, she released "Death Anniversary", the theme song for the drama Hayabusa Fire Brigade. "Death Anniversary" became her best-performing single on the Japan Hot 100, peaking at number 26. Her third Korean single "Biscuit×Biscuit24 November 2023 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Biscuit" was released on November 24, 2023. In 2024, Chanmina released a series of singles: "Forgive Me×FORGIVE ME26 April 2024 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1FORGIVE ME2:23", "20" with Ash Island, "NG" and "Forever×FOREVER15 October 2024 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1FOREVER3:09".

2025–present: Transfer to Sony

In January 2025, Chanmina formed the girl group Hana through the audition show No No Girls. In April 2025, Chanmina signed with Sony Music Japan label Mastersix Foundation. Her imprint, No Label Music, relaunched under the record label. She teased a new song on social media, later revealed to be "Work Hard×WORK HARD30 April 2025 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1WORK HARD2:54". The song served as the opening theme for the Japanese original net animation series Bullet/Bullet, her first song used for an animated series. In May, she released "I Hate This Love Song×I hate this love song30 May 2025 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1I hate this love song3:18", the image song for the 2025 Japanese film adaption of I Have a Secret. In August 2025, she appeared as a featured artist on pH-1's third studio album, What Have We Done, on the track "Baka".
In January 2026, Chanmina released "Test Me×TEST ME14 January 2026 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1TEST ME2:51", the opening theme song for the third season of Oshi no Ko. On January 30, a large billboard was displayed at department store 109 in Shibuya teasing Chanmina's fifth studio album. Later that day in a press release, she officially announced Legend, originally scheduled for release in the spring.

Personal life

Chanmina is trilingual, speaking Korean, Japanese and English.
On July 7, 2024, she announced her pregnancy and marriage to Korean rapper Ash Island. On November 1, she gave birth to her first child, a baby girl.