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Shibata Aruna, also known simply as Aruna, is a Japanese-French trainee under Fashion Enterprises Entertainment. She is a member of the project girl group VIIXEN.
She was also best known for participating on the Survival shows MY ROOKIE IDOL and WORLD CLASS.
Early Life and Career[]
Shibata Aruna was born on May 18, 2003, in Saga City, Saga Prefecture, Japan to a Japanese father and a Japanese-British mother. She is an only child.
Spending the first 5 months of her life in Japan, when she was 6 months old, she and her family moved to Zaragoza, Spain since her parents believed she would have a better life in Europe. However, after Spain did not fit her parent's expectations, right before her 1st birthday, she and her family moved to Toulouse, France, where she spent the majority of her life. During her early life, she used to attend public school, however, she was bullied for her looks. Later, she was homeschooled by her parents, and attended online classes. She started singing at the age of 7. She always had a passion for music, as she often mainly listened to French music and other types of European pop in her house. During free time from her online school, she would often attend local music festivals in France and sometimes Karaoke bars. At age 12, she first discovered K-pop with a Twice song during December 2015, and went to the K-pop rabbit hole. In 2016, she made a YouTube account were she covered songs, and also posted vlogs on her account.
2017: Junior Eurovision[]
In 2017, she jump started her career and made her solo debut as an artist under her French name "Marlene Fleur Shibata". She represented France in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in Tbilisi, Georgia, with the song "Mon rayon de soleil", were she got 5th place with 152 points.
2018: Tv success, 2nd Single[]
In 2018, she became a model for various companies, where she appeared on commercials and advertisements in France.
In 2018, she released her second single "Les Coeurs Fleurissent", which continued her successful music career.
2019-2021: Hiatus[]
In 2019, she announced her hiatus from the industry to focus on her Studies due to Father's request. During 2020, she posted song covers and vlogs on her YouTube channel.
2022: Fashion Enterprises Entertainment[]
In March 2022, during an audition that took place in Paris, she auditioned for Fashion Enterprises Entertainment with "Breathin" by Ariana Grande and got accepted as a trainee.
2023: MY ROOKIE IDOL[]
In 2023, she was announced as a contestant on the survival show MY ROOKIE IDOL.
In the 4th episode, it was revealed that she was unfortunately eliminated, placing 16th overall, thus missing out on the finale by one spot.
2024: WORLD CLASS[]
On August 18, 2024, she was announced as a contestant in WORLD CLASS apart of the G-group.
On the finale, it was revealed that she placed 3rd place overall, thus making her able to debut with VIIXEN.
Discography[]
Singles[]
- Mon rayon de soleil (2017)
- Les Coeurs Fleurissent (2018)
Producing and writing credits[]
| Artist | Song | Album | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | |||
| VIIXEN | "Sweetie" | MERRY VIIXMAS | Writing |
Awards and nominations[]
| Year | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| HKRT Year End Awards 2024 | |||
| 2024 | Best Female Rapper | Aruna | Nominated |
Trivia[]
- She can speak French, Japanese, and English fluently, and can also speak Korean, Spanish, Italian, German, and European Portuguese.
- Ethnically, Her father is Japanese, while her mother is half-Japanese and half-British.
- Her favorite foods are Crêpes, Pain au chocolats, Crème brûlée, and Tempura.
- Her favorite music artists are Twice, LE SSERAFIM, BIBI, SEVENTEEN, NCT, Ariana Grande, Sabrina Carpenter, Madison Beer, Lady Gaga, and Britney Spears.
- Her role model is currently LE SSERAFIM's Yunjin.
- She has a Maltese dog named Moon.
- She has an Nintendo Switch.
- Her favorite vacation spot is St. Augustine, Florida in the United States.
- She would like to visit Greece.
- Her favorite song at the moment is "Nonsense" by Sabrina Carpenter.
- Her favorite cartoon character is Patrick Star from SpongeBob SquarePants.
- She swears a lot, but mostly on accident.