Kotone (Hangul: 코토네, Kanji: 琴音) is a Japanese idol and the eleventh revealed member of tripleS. She was revealed as S11 on January 2, 2023.
Kotone made her debut in tripleS' fourth sub-unit, EVOLution with the mini album, MUJUK, and the title track, “Invincible”, on October 11, 2023.
She is a member of the sub-units, EVOLution, Visionary Vision, Hatchi, Alphie and neptune.
History[]
Early life[]
Kotone was born as Kamimoto Kotone (嘉味元 琴音) on March 10, 2004 in Kokubunji, Tokyo, Japan. Sometime in her early teenage years, Kotone became interested in K-Pop and frequently used to watch K-Dramas and K-YouTube to learn the language. She auditioned for many different agencies but failed them all before she was accepted as a contestant on Girls Planet 999.
At some point Kotone also worked at a restaurant part-time, though it is unknown when.[1]
2021: Girls Planet 999[]
On July 7, Kotone was shown as a contestant on the Mnet girl group survival show Girls Planet 999 through the show's prologue trailer. On July 19, she was confirmed with the release of her official profile.
Kotone performed BLACKPINK's “Boombayah” for the Planet Demo Stage, SEVENTEEN's “Pretty U” for the Connect Mission, and Show Me The Money 9's “VVS” for the Combination Mission. For the Creation Mission, she was in the unit 7 LOVE Minutes, along with Xinyu, where she performed the original song “U+Me=LOVE”.
Kotone was almost eliminated during the second round of eliminations but was saved by the planet pass, which was given by the planet masters. However, she was eventually eliminated during episode 11, which aired on October 15, after not making it through the third round of eliminations.
After she was eliminated she headed back to Japan, where she seemingly stayed until she became a small s under MODHAUS in late 2022.
2023: Reveal, Debut & AUS Tour[]
On December 30, 2022, S11's teaser drop was released.[2] On January 2, Kotone was revealed as group's eleventh member through her introductory video.[3] She moved into the TOKYO HAUS on January 5.
On April 26, Kotone was determined as the fifth member of sub-unit, EVOLution, through the Two Big WAVes Grand Gravity.
On October 11, Kotone made her official debut with tripleS' fourth sub-unit, EVOLution, with their mini album, <⟡>, and the title track, “Invincible”. Along with the rest of EVOLution, she participated in the Australian leg of the <Authentic> Tour from the December 20-23.
2024: Seoul Tour, ASSEMBLE24, Visionary Vision & Japan Dimension[]
Between February 3-4, Kotone participated in the South Korean leg of the <Authentic> Tour along with EVOLution, LOVElution and NXT members.
On April 17, Kotone's first concept photo for ASSEMBLE24 was released. She will make her comeback on May 8, 2024 with the title track, "Girls Never Die".
On June 16, Kotone was determined as a member of the sub-unit, Visionary Vision, through the Visionary Vision Grand Gravity. She debuted in this sub-unit on October 23, with the studio album Performante and the title track "Hit the Floor".
On August 25, Kotone was determined as a member of the upcoming Japanese sub-unit, through the Japan Dimension Grand Gravity (Lemino).[4] She debuted in this sub-unit on November 20, with the single album Untitled and the title track of the same name.
2025: ASSEMBLE25, Hatchi comeback, neptune debut, Year-end hiatus[]
On May 12, Kotone made her comeback with tripleS' second studio album, ASSEMBLE25, and the title track, "깨어 (Are You Alive)".
From September 3 to 22, she, together with Alphie, embarked on the tripleS Alphie Alpha Percent World Tour.
On September 8, Kotone was determined as a member of neptune, through the msnz Grand Gravity. She debuted with this subunit on November 24 with the single "Fly Up" from the mini-album Beyond Beauty.
On September 17, she, together with Hatchi, released "Password", the title track of Hatchi's first EP, SecretHimitsuBimil.
On November 26, only two days after her debut with neptune, MODHAUS issued a statement informing that Kotone would be suspending all her activities during the promotion period of msnz, as well as her remaining promotional events with Hatchi, for the rest of the year. Continued fatigue and stress-related symptoms, along with a consultation with a medical specialist, were cited as the main reasons she was advised to take sufficient rest for the time being.[5]
2026: Return[]
On January 5, MODHAUS released a statement informing Kotone's return from her hiatus, officially resuming her activities with tripleS.[6]
Discography Participation[]
Korean[]Studio Albums[]
Mini Albums[]
|
Japanese[]Mini Albums[]
Single Albums[]Digital Singles[]
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English[]
Digital Singles[]
Filmography[]
| Year | Name | Network | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Girls Planet 999 | Mnet | Herself (Contestant) |
| 2023 | Strong Girl: Badge War | 1theK Originals YouTube Channel | Herself |
| 2024 | Strong Girl: Badge War Season 2 | 1theK Originals YouTube Channel | Herself |
| Summer Vacation of Visionary Vision (VV Haus) | tripleS Official YouTube Channel | Herself | |
| 2025 | Strong Girl: Badge War Season 3 | 1theK Originals YouTube Channel | Herself |
| Year | Name | Channel | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Ruan and Kotone's Emergency Meeting | Shibuya Cross FM | MC |
