Following IZ*ONE’s disbandment, it was rumored that Miyawaki Sakura would be signing up with Big Hit Entertainment. There was a vague non-statement made about that report at the time, likely due to her still being under contract with both IZ*ONE & HKT48. But now an interview with fashion mag ViVi for the July edition has (accidentally) revealed her plans to graduate from HKT48, which would clear the way for her to sign elsewhere.
A part of her interview, with Japanese fashion magazine ViVi, was revealed along with several photos via a tweet from HMV & Books Online Books and said: Miyawaki Sakura who announced that she “graduated.” Her activities as a member of IZ*ONE came to an end recently and she returned to her original group HKT48, but she recently said that she will leave the girl group, according to the article.
The issue will go on sale on May 21, so we’ll likely have confirmation of this within the week at least.
If Big Hit is indeed debuting a girl group soon, Sakura would seem to be an addition that makes a ton of sense given her experience despite being only 23, as well as the popularity she would immediately bring.