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Morikawa Yuki, promoting theatrics, 2024
Morikawa Yuki, promoting Standards Recomposed, 2023
Morikawa Yuki, promoting ROSE BLOOM, 2023
Morikawa Yuki, promoting GIRLS/GIRLS / Ambitious, 2022
Morikawa Yuki, promoting Like Dancing, 2022
Morikawa Yuki, promoting FOREVER, 2022
Morikawa Yuki, promoting Pretty Girl, 2022
Morikawa Yuki, also known as YUKI, is a Japanese soloist under Connection Entertainment. She debuted in South Korea on February 18, 2022, with the mini-album Pretty Girl, and debuted in Japan on May 7, 2022.
Morikawa Yuki, December 2021
History[]
Early life[]
Morikawa Yuki was born on April 24th, 2003, in Hokkaido, Japan. Ever since she was young, Yuki has been involved in music. Due to both of her parents having an adoration of music, they made it a big part of her life. Her parents have expressed that they believe music plays a big role in who someone becomes as they grow up and they wanted Yuki to have that as part of who she is. As soon as Yuki could talk, she was singing. She liked to singing nonsense songs and tried her best to sing along with the radio despite not getting most of the lyrics correct. At age 5, Yuki began taking singing lessons. Her parents confessed that initially, they wanted her to take lessons so that she would stop constantly singing all the time around the house. This did not work, as Yuki grew more confident in her singing and would just sing more, but her parents grew accustomed to it. Yuki enjoyed holding mini concerts for her family, showing off the tiny bits of songs she practiced. Her parents knew she had natural singing skill, but realized she had natural stage presence as well.
Yuki began taking more interest in instruments. At age 7, Yuki began taking violin lessons. Although it was difficult for her to learn at first, Yuki loved the violin. Along with that, she began taking piano lessons at age 8, filling her free time with music. She won a few awards at some piano competitions, but despite her skill, she never continued with the piano professionally. At the age of 11, Yuki discovered K-pop. She was invested in the concept of being an idol, and loved the K-pop sound. Yuki began taking Korean lessons and decided she wanted to be a K-pop idol. Her parents supported her decision, and brought up the Connection Entertainment audition to her in 2016.
Pre-Debut[]
In 2016, Yuki auditioned for Connection Entertainment. She was accepted, despite not having much experience in dance. She moved to South Korea when she was 13 to live in the trainee dorms. In a company focused on dance, Yuki was a bit intimidated, but she soon learned that the reason the company had such good dancers was because they had good instructors. At the 2016 Connection Entertainment Trainee Festival, Yuki placed third for vocals out of the female trainees despite only having been a trainee for a few months. During this time, Yuki became friends with now Aspeix members Matthew and Inmyeong. At the 2017 Connection Entertainment Trainee Festival, she ranked fourth for vocals out of the female trainees. Fans who attended commented on her improvement in dance. During 2018, Yuki became friends with now Aspeix members Seomin and Cyan. She became especially close with Cyan as he is also Japanese. At the 2018 Connection Entertainment Trainee Festival, she ranked fifth for vocals out of the female trainees. According to people who went to the performances, her vocal condition was worse than it normally was. Yuki revealed that she had a cold on the day of the festival and couldn't perform well.
During 2019, Yuki befriended the other Aspeix member Hanseong. Trainees at Connection Entertainment were allowed to hold livestreams beginning in 2019 and Yuki began to hold livestreams. Although she wasn't the most popular trainee, Yuki managed to gain some fans from her livestreams. She and Cyan would hold livestreams together for their Japanese fans often. At the 2019 Connection Entertainment Trainee Festival, Yuki placed second for vocals out of the female trainees. As mentioned by fans who went to the performances, Yuki's voice had improved a lot and was beginning to sound like a K-pop idol's voice. At the 2020 Connection Entertainment Trainee Festival, Yuki placed second again. As the performances were broadcasted live, many fans could watch. There were many fans who commented on Yuki's vocal skill and how her voice was one of the best out of Connection Entertainment's trainees in 2020. Yuki gained a lot more fans from this. Fans began to talk online about wanting Yuki to debut soon.
During 2021, Yuki was one of the trainees who was considered to audition for Idolix Season 2. She didn't end up auditioning as Connection Entertainment wanted her to debut sooner and stay in the company. Throughout the year, Yuki began preparations to debut. At the 2021 Connection Entertainment Trainee Festival, Yuki placed first for vocals out of the female trainees. Many fans commented on how her voice was in top condition and that her dancing had improved a lot. Connection Entertainment decided to have her debut earlier than they had planned due to this.
Career[]
Pretty Girl, FOREVER, Like Dancing, GIRLS/GIRLS / Ambitious[]
On December 14th, 2022, Connection Entertainment announced that Yuki would be debuting as a soloist in South Korea on February 18th, 2022. Throughout December and January, Yuki began promoting her debut. Fans began to ramp up hype for her as she was still considered not well known. Connection Entertainment was still a lower tier popularity company so they didn't have that many company fans. Yuki's fans worked hard to make her name known. Yuki felt very appreciative of her fans and the support they were showing towards her. Yuki gave back to her fans by releasing a special singing video.
On February 18th, 2022, Yuki debuted with the mini-album Pretty Girl. The release sold 30k copies on the first day. This was unexpected, but Yuki's Japanese and international fans had contributed a lot to the sales. The music video for the title track gained 1.7 million views in its first 24 hours, which was lower than what her fans were aiming for. Although her sales fell throughout the first week, leading to around 14k more copies sold, the music video gained a drastic jump in views on its second day.
On February 22nd, Yuki performed a special performance of Boss by NCT U with Lilli on Music Rank. She was complimented on her vocals and charisma, but the performance didn't go viral. On February 25th, Yuki placed 2nd on Smile Groove Music Show, which was her first ever placement on a music show. She performed a special performance of How You Like That by BLACKPINK that day as well with Lilli. On February 26th, Yuki performed yet another special performance, this time of Delcacomanie by MAMAMOO on Music Rank.
On May 7th, Yuki had her Japanese debut with the single FOREVER. Her Japanese fans showed their buying power and the single sold 12k copies on its first day. It soared to number one on the May 7th Oricon chart, earning Yuki her first sales chart top. She did a couple of promotions in Japan for the single and grew her Japanese fanbase a bit more.
On May 16th, Yuki joined I-CONNECT. On May 22nd, Yuki announced her fandom name to be YuKyuties. The name is a combination of her name and the word cutie. A fan had used a similar name for their username, and Yuki was inspired by it. On May 25th, Yuki was a guest on You Can SOLVIZ.
On May 31st, Yuki was the guest for episode 7 of Vocal Core. The show, hosted by Geonu, showcased the vocal talents of idols. Yuki didn't expect to be considered to be on the show, as she was not as popular as the other guests who had been on the show. Yuki covered Xi²'s TYPE-B, EIZA's Can Do, P1Harmony's Peacemaker, and Taeyeon's 11:11 (with Geonu). Yuki expressed afterwards that meeting Geonu was like a dream, and that she was honoured to be on Vocal Core. Yuki's appearance on Vocal Core was the start of a change in her career, as many people who didn't know her began to pay attention to her music.
On July 14th, 2022, Yuki released her second Korean mini-album Like Dancing. Unlike her debut, this release was full of collaborations with other idols. The release sold around 35k copies in its first day. The music video for the title track showed a larger jump in numbers, with 3.5 million views in its first 24 hours. Yuki was on the cover of SEOUL EDGE Tokyo Edition on July 15th, which prompted a slight jump in expected second day sales. The music video, however, continued to gain a significant amount of views. On the charts, the song was slowly but surely climbing. Also on July 15th, Yuki performed in a special performance of Crazy by 4minute on Smile Groove Music Show with G.NI, Dongwoon, Gyumin, and Mirae. On July 16th, Yuki was a special host for Music Rank, where she performed in a special performance of Hot Issue by 4minute with G.NI, Ahn Minhui, Ana.N, and Chaewon.
On July 17th, Yuki received her first ever win for Like Dancing on Hallyumak. As it had only been three days since the release, Yuki was very surprised. The song had been entering the top 10 of a couple different charts, and the music video was getting a lot of attention online. To her surprise, on July 19th, Yuki had her second win on Music Rank. She had a high SNS and broadcast score, and her physical and digital points were boosted by consistent sales and charting. On July 20th, Yuki was a guest on Take a Sip!, where she made the drink Roseberry Tea. She also got her third win on Beat Bop. On July 22nd, Yuki performed I Love You, I'm Sorry and Discovery Awaits with Ni.U on Smile Groove Music Show, as well as placing 2nd on the show. On July 23rd, Yuki placed 2nd on Music Rank. Her sales were still considerably high due to gaining more recognition, and the music video kept steadily gaining views. Also on July 23rd, Yuki performed Like Dancing, Dancer, and Cherry Blossom Hearts at IDOL-CON 2022. On July 24th, Yuki received her fourth win for Like Dancing on The Shining Star. On July 25th, Yuki won her fifth win for Like Dancing on TOP ICON. On July 26th, Yuki gained her sixth win for Like Dancing on Music Rank.
Throughout the rest of the summer, Yuki focused on working on her next Japanese release, as well as a couple other projects. On August 1st, Yuki released Vibin' as a part of the Summer Smiles Project. On August 17th, Yuki was a guest on Seoul in Their Eyes. She stayed relatively quiet during her break, enjoying time away from promotions.
On October 11th, Yuki released her second Japanese single GIRLS/GIRLS / Ambitious. The single had huge first day sales, selling 50k copies. This was due to Yuki's sudden popularity rise, but it was still very unexpected. Because of this, she placed 2nd on the Oricon chart. On the weekly Oricon chart, she placed third.
The 2022 awards season was exciting for Yuki's fans. The first award show of the season was the Asia Rising Artist Awards on November 30th. At this show, Yuki was nominated for a total of 14 awards. She won the Best Collaboration award for FLOWING with Ahn Minhui, the Best Dance Performance award for Like Dancing, and the Top 10 Fan Choice Artist award. Next up was the Shining Groove Awards which took place on December 17th. Yuki won the Rookie Fan Choice award. As the show doesn't reveal nominations beside the voting awards, that was the only award that she knew she was nominated for in the show. The next show was The Collective Performing Arts Awards which was on December 18th. Yuki was nominated for 4 awards. She won the Viral Artist Award. On December 26th, Yuki participated in the Hallyu House Festival. She performed Like Dancing, LIPSTICK SMILE, and Dancer. The MBS Artist Awards also took place on December 26th. Yuki was nominated for 8 awards. She won Song of the Year for Like Dancing and the Best Dance Performance award for Like Dancing, with Song of the Year being her first main award. Next was the Seoul Music Performance Awards which took place on December 27th. Yuki was nominated for 8 awards. She won Song of the Year for Like Dancing, the Best Collaboration award for Discovery Awaits with Ni.U, and the Best New Female Soloist award.
Road to ZERO Trainer[]
From March until May 2023, Yuki was the vocal trainer on Road to ZERO.
On May 7th, 2023, Yuki released her third Korean mini-album ROSE BLOOM with the title track BLOOM. ROSE BLOOM sold 62k copies on its first day, and kept up consistent sales through the first week. The music video for BLOOM gained 5.7M views in its first 24 hours, and the music video continued to gain a steady influx of views throughout the week. Yuki received seven wins for BLOOM, with wins on The Shining Star, Music Box, and Hallyumak, and two each on The Core Music Show and MBS Rankdown.
After promotions for ROSE BLOOM, Yuki decided to have a quiet summer and took a creative hiatus. She briefly returned on August 3rd to post a dance cover medley for Geonu's birthday.
Awards[]
| Year | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Best Soloist | YUKI | Nominated |
| Best Collaboration | FLOWING | Won | |
| Best Collaboration | Discovery Awaits | Nominated | |
| Best Lyricist | YUKI | Nominated | |
| Best Vocal Performance | Pretty Girl | Nominated | |
| Best Dance Performance | Like Dancing | Won | |
| Best Debut Song | Pretty Girl | Nominated | |
| Top 10 Fan Choice Artist | YUKI | Won | |
| Legacy Award - Solo | YUKI | Nominated | |
| Best Favourite Guests | YUKI | Nominated | |
| Best Screen - Soloist | YUKI | Nominated | |
| Worldwide Style Icon - Soloist | YUKI | Nominated | |
| Artist of the Year | YUKI | Nominated | |
| Song of the Year | Like Dancing | Nominated | |
| 2023 | Best Rising Soloist | YUKI | Nominated |
| Excellent Singer | YUKI | Won | |
| Worldwide's Artist Style Icon | YUKI | Nominated | |
| Top 10 Fan Choice Artist | YUKI | Won |
| Year | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Song of the Year | Like Dancing | Won |
| Q3 Song Award | Like Dancing | Nominated | |
| Rookie of the Year | YUKI | Nominated | |
| Dance Performance of the Year | Like Dancing | Won | |
| Music Video of the Year | Like Dancing | Nominated | |
| Collaboration of the Year | Unhealthy Love | Nominated | |
| Collaboration of the Year | FLOWING | Nominated | |
| Performer of the Year | YUKI - Like Dancing | Nominated |
| Year | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Rookie Fan Choice | YUKI | Won |
| 2023 | Best Artist | YUKI | Won |
| Year | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Song of the Year | Like Dancing | Won |
| Best Solo Dance Performance Award | Like Dancing | Nominated | |
| Best Solo Vocal Performance Award | Pretty Girl | Nominated | |
| Best Collaboration Award | Discovery Awaits | Won | |
| Best Collaboration Award | I Love You, I'm Sorry | Nominated | |
| Best Collaboration Award | Unhealthy Love | Nominated | |
| Hottest Trend Award | YUKI | Nominated | |
| Best New Female Soloist Award | YUKI | Won | |
| 2023 | Worldwide Listeners' Choice | YUKI | Nominated |
| Best Female Soloist | YUKI | Nominated | |
| Best Solo Dance Performance | BLOOM | Nominated | |
| KCC Female Icon Choice | YUKI | Won |
| Year | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Soloist of the Year | YUKI | Nominated |
| Song of the Year | Like Dancing | Nominated | |
| Viral Artist Award | YUKI | Won | |
| Idol's Pick Award | YUKI | Nominated |
| Year | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Best New Female Soloist | YUKI | Nominated |
Idol Connections[]
Yuki is known for having connections with lots of other idols, whether it's friendships or acquaintances.
Kim Ryan: Collaborated together for FANcy on Like Dancing, are both fans of each other, met during Yuki's Pretty Girl promotions
Aspeix: All of the Aspeix members trained with Yuki
Ni.U: Collaborated together for I Love You, I'm Sorry on Like Dancing and Discovery Awaits on The Ni.Unity, Yuki is a big fan of her
Lin Jianyu: Jianyu has expressed that he likes Yuki's music, Yuki voted for him on Project Euphoria
Lilli: Performed together during promotions
Geonu: Yuki performed on Vocal Core, both MC'd together on an episode of Music Rank
Mia Lee: Collaborated together for KISS KISS on Like Dancing
Yurin: Collaborated together for Flower Girl on Like Dancing
Ahn Minhui: Collaborated together for FLOWING on Like Dancing
Jibo: Collaborated together for PLASTIC"I Love You" on Like Dancing
Gyumin: Yuki expressed that she thought meeting Gyumin while on You Can SOLVIZ was really cool, and that she'd like to talk with him more
MIIX: Yuki thought MIIX was really interesting on You Can SOLVIZ and would like to meet him more
Kwon Aheon: Trained with Yuki
Trivia[]
- Yuki's MBTI type is ESFJ.
- She was a trainee for 6 years.
- Yuki was meant to be sent to audition for Idolix Season 2, but Connection Entertainment decided it would be better to debut her as a soloist.
- She is fluent in Japanese, and is almost fluent in Korean.
- Yuki's name comes from the kanji 愉, meaning fun or happiness, and the kanji 樹, meaning trees. Her parents wanted her to be someone who is very happy, and is gentle like nature.
- She specializes in singing, and was the highest ranked Connection Entertainment female trainee in singing during the 2021 Connection Entertainment Trainee Festival. She ranked #3 in 2016, #4 in 2017, #5 in 2018, and #2 in both 2019 and 2020.
- Yuki can play the violin and the piano.
- She loves roses and owns a lot of rose themed items.
- Yuki considers herself a fashion expert, and tries to follow trends in her own style.
- She is considered to be very fun to be around and makes others smile easily by other trainees.
- Yuki is a fan of pop music.
Discography[]
Korean[]
- Pretty Girl (Mini-Album)
- Like Dancing (Mini-Album)
- Vibin' (Single)
- ROSE BLOOM (Mini-Album)
- Standards Recomposed (Extended Play)
- theatrics (Extended Play)
Japanese[]
- FOREVER (Single ALbum)
- GIRLS/GIRLS / Ambitious (Single Album)
Concerts[]
2022[]
YouTube Series[]
- YUKI's Idol Shoutout
- YUKI Cover
- Behind YUKI
Covers[]
2022[]
- 마음의 아픔 (Heartache) by Geonu
- Loving You by Sequoia
- UFO by rm8z