Lisa Manoban - K-pop Singers, Career and Childhood

Lisa Manoban was born Pranpriya Manoban on March 27, 1997, in Bangkok, Thailand. Her name was later changed to Lalisa, meaning praised, on the advice of a fortune teller in order to bring in prosperity. She also picked up the nicknames Liz, Pokpak, and Thailand Princess before adopting the stage name, ‘Lisa.’ She has an elder sister, who lives in Thailand.

She attended Praphamontree II School in Thailand. She was interested in music and dancing from a young age. She participated in a dance troupe with her childhood friend, BamBam, who went on to become a member of the South Korean boy band, ‘Got7.’

Lisa participated in the ‘YG Entertainment’ auditions in Thailand at the age of 14 and won the first place in the competition. She was invited to join the entertainment company as a trainee and move to South Korea, in 2011. Her parents encouraged her and supported her decision to relocate to South Korea at a tender age. She became the first non-Korean member of YG Entertainment.

She trained with the company for five years till 2016. During her training period, she also performed with various budding artists, including MV Taeyang of ‘Big Bang,’ Bobby and Mino of ‘YG Entertainment.’

She made her debut with the South Korean girl group, ‘BlackPink,’ under the label of ‘YG Entertainment’ in August 2016, when they released their first album titled ‘Square One.’ The album included the songs ‘Whistle’ and ‘Boombayah,’ which peaked at number one on the ‘Billboard World Digital Songs’ chart.

She was the group’s youngest member and worked her way up to become their lead rapper, vocalist, and dancer. The other members of the group are Kim Jennie (born in South Korea but raised in New Zealand), Rose (born and raised in New Zealand), and Kim Jisoo (born and brought up in South Korea).

The band’s single, ‘Dhu-du Dhu-du,’ was released originally in Korean and later in Japanese and English languages in order to reach out to a larger fan base. The song broke all K-pop records with over 36 million views on You Tube within 24 hours of its release and was nominated for the ‘Video of the Year’ at the ‘Break Tudo Awards.’

She regularly appears in the South Korean variety show, ‘Blackpink House,’ which is about the everyday off stage life of the members of her band. The show was first aired in January 2018 and has become popular with her fans.

Manoban appeared on the cover of the Japanese magazine, ‘Nylon,’ in June 2018, and was filmed for a video to promote the magazine.

She has featured in EPs titled ‘Blackpink’ and ‘Square Up’ that were released in 2017 and 2018 respectively.

Her hit singles include ‘Boombayah’ (2016), ‘Whistle’ (2016), ‘Playing with Fire’ (2016), ‘Stay’ (2016), ‘As if it’s Your Last’ (2017) and ‘Dhu-Du Dhu-Du’ (2018).

Black Pink has won a number of awards, including ‘Best Three New Artist’ (Asia) at the 2018 Japan Gold Disc Awards, ‘New Artist of the Year’ and ‘Bonsang Award’ at the ‘Seoul Music Awards’ in 2017 and 2018 respectively, ‘Best of Next Artist’ award at the 2016 ‘Mnet Asian Music Awards,’ ‘Best New Artist’ at the 2016 ‘Melon Music Awards,’ ‘New Artist of the Year’ at the 2017 ‘Golden Disc Awards’ and ‘World Rookie Award’ at the 2017 ‘Gaon Chart Music Awards.’

The song, ‘Whistle,’ won the song of the Year – August, at the 2017 ‘Gaon Chart Music Awards’ and ‘Best Music Video’ at the 2016 ‘Mnet Asian Music Awards.’

Her song, ‘Playing with Fire,’ was selected as the ‘Song of the Year’ – November, at the 2017 ‘Gaon Chart Music Awards’ and the single ‘As if it’s Your Last’ won the ‘Digital Bonsang’ at the 2018 ‘Golden Disc Awards.’

Lisa Manoban is a follower of Buddhism. She speaks fluent Thai, Korean, Japanese, and English, and is fond of western food and culture.

She has a number of friends but is yet to get into a serious relationship with anyone.

Prior to joining the ‘YG Entertainment,’ she modelled for ‘NONAGON’ with iKON and was a member of the ‘We Zaa Cool’ dance group in Thailand.

Her stepfather, Marco Brueschweiler, is a certified Swiss Master Chef, and is a member of the World Chef Association. He runs a catering school in Bangkok and conducts food festivals and competitions worldwide.