HANA, the seven-member girl group formed through CHANMINA produced audition show ‘No No Girls’, have announced their pre-debut digital single, ‘Drop’, set for release on January 31st.
On January 19th, the group appeared on Nippon TV’s morning show Shuichi, where they delivered the first televised performance of the track alongside their producer, CHANMINA. Korean member JISOO participated remotely from Korea, while the remaining six members performed live in the studio.
Formation of HANA at the ‘No No Girls’ Final
The final event of ‘No No Girls’, held at Yokohama’s K Arena on January 11th, saw seven contestants selected from the ten remaining finalists to form HANA. The group will make their official major debut in spring 2025 under Sony Music Japan.
The winning members—CHIKA, NAOKO, JISOO, YURI, MOMOKA, KOHARU, and the lucky 31st place semi-finalist MAHINA—were introduced at the event, with CHANMINA reassuring both fans and contestants that this was just the beginning.
“This is not the end, it’s just the beginning… They really tried so hard to bloom… It will never end, I’ll show you that I can grow a flower that never withers.”
The audition series, run by artist management company BMSG and produced by CHANMINA, gave girls a chance to have their shot at fame. CHANMINA stated that she wanted any girl who had previously heard “no” to apply, which inspired the name ‘No No Girls’.
Thousands of applications were whittled down over the course of the last year, to the remaining handful of girls. The chosen 30 (later becoming 31), were featured across 15 episodes, showing their struggles and triumphs as they trained under CHANMINA and SKY-HI. In this final performance, just 10 girls remain.
The final performances saw standout moments, including KOKONA impressing with a pole-dancing routine to CHANMINA’s ‘TO HATERS’, CHIKA delivering her own take on ‘Bijin’, and KOKO moving the audience with an emotional rendition of ‘Dahlia’, her voice breaking as she sang.
Following the individual performances, each contestant had the opportunity to share their thoughts on stage, with many expressing gratitude to CHANMINA and SKY-HI. Judges and industry professionals also provided feedback throughout the night.
CHANMINA also further showed her resilience throughout the ‘No No Girls’ process, continuing to work hard mentoring the girls while dealing with the difficulties of pregnancy.
Meet the Members of HANA
In addition to their upcoming single release, the official HANA fan club is now open, offering an annual membership for 6000 yen (approx. £31). Members will receive access to exclusive behind-the-scenes content, personal messages from the group, priority ticket access, and limited fan club-only merchandise.
The full two-hour final of ‘No No Girls’ is available to watch on YouTube.
HANA
Drop
Release Date: 31/01/25
Label: Sony Music Japan
