Sena Kana is a Japanese pop singer. Her 2018 single, "Truth or Dare", appeared on various European charts, including at number 1 on France's Digital Song Sales chart. Her 2019 single, "Up", featured

Wiz Khalifa Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by his stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter and actor. Raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he signed with the local independent label Rostrum Records to re ...

and

Sheppard Sheppard can refer to: Places * Sheppard, Wisconsin, an unincorporated community, United States * Sheppard Avenue in Toronto, Canada named for Joseph Shepard (1765-1837). Hence: ** Sheppard subway line ** Sheppard West (TTC), formerly Downsvie ...

. The song was certified Gold in the United States, making Sena Kana the first Japanese female solo artist to achieve that feat. In 2020, Sena Kana released her debut EP titled ''Serenity'', which was executively produced by Jason "Poo Bear" Boyd. Boyd was also featured on the project's second track "Undisputed". Kana released ''Show Me'', her second EP, in November 2021. It debuted at number 112 on the US ''Billboard'' 200.

Early life and education

Sena Kana was born in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, Japan. As a child, she showed an interest in

musicals Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

like ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. ...

''. In school life, she was cast in the lead role in several plays, and later attended a music academy in Japan where she studied vocal music.

Career

Sena Kana began releasing music in 2017 with the single, "Live Your Dreams". The song reached number 1 on the European iTunes charts. The music video for "Live Your Dreams" was filmed in

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, with the

Oslo Opera House The Oslo Opera House () is the home of the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet, and the national opera house in Norway. The building is situated in the Bjørvika neighbourhood of central Oslo, at the head of the Oslofjord. It is operated by S ...

as a backdrop. In 2018, she released another single, "Truth or Dare". That song reached the top of the France Digital Song Sales chart and appeared on several other European charts, as well. In March 2019, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' premiered Sena Kana's next single, "Up", featuring American musical artist, Wiz Khalifa, and Australian band, Sheppard. The song was produced by Lindsey Jackson and Katalyst. It ultimately accrued over 85 million streams in the United States and was certified Gold. Sena Kana became the first Japanese female to have a Gold-certified single in the United States as a solo act. On August 31, 2020, Kana released her debut EP ''Serenity''. The four-track extended play was executively produced by songwriter and producer Jason "Poo Bear" Boyd. Boyd was also the only featured act on the EP, appearing on the second song, "Undisputed". Production duo Katalyst ( Ken Lewis and Brent Kolatalo), whom worked on Kana's "Up", also returned for ''Serenity'', mixing and mastering the extended play in its entirety.

Discography

Extended plays

Singles

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Living people Singers from Tokyo 21st-century Japanese women singers 21st-century Japanese singers Japanese women pop singers J-pop singers Year of birth missing (living people)