She is best known for her appearance on survival program MNET’s “Produce 101 season 1” as a hardworking contestant. She joined as MBK Entertainment’s trainee, together with DIA’s Jung Chae-yeon and DIA’s Cathy (Ki Hui Hyeon), but later Dani was eliminated in 10th episode, ranked #24 out of 35 contestants.
Full Profile of Kim Dani
Real Name : Danielle Kim Stage Name : Kim Dani / Kim Danee (김다니) Nickname : Dani (대니, ダニ) Agency : MBK Entertainment Occupation : Singer, Actor, MBK Trainee Active : 2012 – now Nationality : South Korean, American Hometown : Los Angeles, California, United States Birth Place : Seoul, South Korea Birth Date : December 23, 1999 Zodiac Sign : Sagittarius Blood Type : A Height : 172 cm Weight : 50 kg Religion : Protestant Hobby(ies) : Drawing, Reading Speciality(ies) : Rapping, Dancing Languange : Korean, English Instruments : N/A Family : Younger sister Social Networks : Instagram & Twitter
Kim Dani as Member of T-ARA N4
In 2013, after Ahreum reportedly had withdrawn from T-ARA and T-ARA N4, Dani was said to be replacing Ahreum in T-ARA N4, but the agency finally decided not to add her to the group, ultimately leaving her nowhere, as a trainee under the agency. But Dani has since found work starring in CFs and music videos, singing with F-ve Dolls, appearing in small roles in a few K-dramas, and working as an official translator for T-ara N4 during their iconic American debut at pool party with Chris Brown and some sneaker stores in L.A. Until she finally made it as a contestant of MNET’s Produce 101, regaining her popularity back in 2016.
Kim Dani on MNET’s “Produce 101 Season 1”
Dani was known as the most hardworking trainee in the show. Evethough she had little screen time compared to other popular contestants, she always worked very hard to memorize all the choreography and her dancing was apparently looked good overall. With her tall body, long limbs, and charming face, the judge (Kahi) said that she resembles Uee (former After School) a lot.
Notable Appearances :
In the 1st episode, Dani and other MBK Trainees performed “Bad Girl Good Girl” by Miss A. She was placed in B Class. In the 3rd episode, Dani was reevaluated to A class. In the 4th episode, Dani got sick and was unable to attend practice. Fortunately she quickly recovered from her fever. In the 5th episode, the first group of eliminations happened and only 61 girls were allowed to survive. Luckily, Dani was 7th place. In the 7th episode, her group composed of Choi Yoo Jung, Jeon So Mi, Kim Do Yeon, Kim Chung Ha, Kwon Eun Bin, and Kim Seo Kyung, receiving the show’s first-ever encore call with the “Bang Bang” song. But she placed last (7th place) in her group for the position evaluation. In the 8th episode, the second set of eliminations happened during this episode. Dani placed 18th out of the 35 trainees that were allowed to survive. In the 10th episode, the third batch of eliminations happened and Dani placed 24th. Unfortunately, only 22 trainees were allowed to survive.
Kim Dani: Facts and Trivia
She has lived in California since she was 4 years old. She has a little sister. Her original dream was to be an actress. She was casted by MBK on a summer vacation when she went to see relatives in Korea for a while. Dani was standing at the crosswalk to cross the road with her family, and the boss of the company was passing by the car and stared at her. According to the president, he was impressed by her charismatic beauty at first sight and he unintentionally talked to her. For him, it was his first time doing such a thing in 30 years. CEO Kim Kwangsoo is said to have the Midas touch of the entertainment industry. When he first met Dani, he discovered that she attended dance lessons. He had no idea if she could sing or act, but declares that he found an “unrefined jewel.” When she was preparing to join T-ARA, she practiced dancing and rap for 7 hours a day. The agency also revealed that in her free time, she had been going around Korea with her parents to tour and learn more about the Korean culture. In 2012, when she was talking about joining Tiara, she could not speak Korean well. In drama school 2013, she was conscious in front of the camera and it led to some controversy (got caught up by netizens). In 2013, Dani joined T-ARA N4 as a temporary member, and was quickly removed from the group in October 2014 without any official promotion. She said she didn’t join DIA because the ‘cute’ concept didn’t suit her. Some of her friends are Jeon Somi (from Produce 101), Shannon (label mate MBK), Former Chocolat’s Tia, and basically other mixed race idols in South Korea. She also has a good relationship with Chris Brown. She said that most of her fans are from overseas. She stated in an interview “In the comments of the Instagram, 80% is a foreign language. Most of the accounts for cheering on Twitter are foreign fans. Although there is little activity and popularity in Korea, it seems that the history of living in LA in USA for more than 10 years has played a significant role“. She sang “Let It Go” from Frozen’s OST and Rihanna’s “Diamond” with Shannon at SBS MTV’s SPEED showcase ‘Speed Day’. She has a couple bracelet with Shannon. When Dani hangs out with her, they speak in English rather than Korean. Dani stirred up some controversy with her comment about being an outcast on ‘Human Documentary’, then she apologized and made it clear that there may have been some misinterpretation because of her not-so-fluent Korean speaking skills and there was no harmful intent behind her comment. She said what she learned the most from Produce 101 was “Everyone who appeared, not only me, will feel like that. I have really improved my skills. If I neglected a little, I was in a situation to be left behind, so I had to work really hard so I could develop that much“. She thinks the most crucial reason for her dropping out from Produce 101 was limitations in her singing ability. She also did not start dancing from the beginning, but she learned more and more fun by learning. But it seemed that it was not enough, she was out of luck and not really good at singing. There were rumors about her participation in ‘Produce 48’ (MNET’s Produce 101 Season 3), but she later spoke up and firmly stated via Instagram that the rumors were false.
Kim Dani’s Filmography
Dani made her acting debut in 2013 in the drama KBS2’s “School 2013”. Her mistake in the drama angered viewers, because she briefly glanced directly into the camera, she was caught with an awkward expression while all of her co-stars were focusing on one of the other characters. The mistake was quickly picked up by the press, with several articles hitting Korea’s major news portals about the negative netizen reaction to Dani’s slip-up.
Television Shows
(2016) MNET’s Produce 101 Season 1 – Contestant : Final Rank #24 (2016) K-Style TV – MC
Drama Series
(2013) KBS2’s School 2013 – as Kim Dani (student) (2014) SBS’s Naegen Neomoo Sarangseureowoon Geunyeo (내겐 너무 사랑스러운 그녀; My Lovely Girl) – as Lee Min Ah
Music Videos
(2012) T-ara – Day By Day (2013) F-VE DOLLS – Saranghanda? Anhanda! / Can You Love Me (2014) Davichi – Umjigijima / Don’t Move (2014) T-ARA & Chopstick Brothers’ – Little Apple
Kim Dani’s Discography
As Produce 101 Contestant – “Pick Me” / Digital Single (2015) As Produce 101 Contestant – “Yum Yum” (얌얌) / Various Album – 35 Girls 5 Concepts (2016) As T-ara’s N4 – “Can You Love Me?” (With F-ve Dolls) (2013)
Kim Dani’s Endorsements and Magazine Appearances
After Produce 101 ended, Dani landed her first CF together with two other former contestants, Sohee and Chaekyung. She also did pictorials and interviews with STAR1 magazine!
Commercial Film (CF)
Magazine
She appeared in the fashion magazine at “@STAR1” with her neat charm on June 2016. She created an elegant atmosphere with her unique and sneaky look [pictures here]. She graced ELOQ Korea’s LOOKBOOK in April 2016 [pictures here].
