Kato Cocoro

## Kato Cocoro加藤(かとう) 心(こころ)

Kato Cocoro, December 2023

**Kato Cocoro** (加藤心) is a Japanese idol as a member of ME:I, the group formed in PRODUCE 101 JAPAN THE GIRLS. She made it in the final lineup after placing 11th in the finals. Prior to the show, she was a member of the K-pop group Cherry Bullet. During PRODUCE 101 JAPAN THE GIRLS, her name was romanized as "**Kato Kokoro**", but it was changed to "Kato Cocoro" after she joined ME:I.

For more in-depth information about Kato Cocoro during her time in Cherry Bullet, visit her page on the Cherry Bullet Wiki.

## Biography

### Early Life

Kato Cocoro was born on November 1, 2000 in Aichi, Japan.

She was a student at the Avex Artist Academy in Nagoya, and was scouted by FNC in 2016.

### 2018

On November 22, Kato was revealed as the eighth member of Cherry Bullet.

### 2019

On January 21, she debuted in Cherry Bullet with their album "Let's Play Cherry Bullet."

On December 13, it was announced that Kato would leave the group after deciding to terminate her contract with FNC Entertainment, her agency. She claims in episode 2 that this was due to health problems.

### 2023

On September 3, after almost four years of silence, Kato was revealed to be a contestant of PRODUCE 101 JAPAN THE GIRLS.

On December 16, she placed 11th in the finals, making her a member of ME:I.

## PRODUCE 101 JAPAN Participation

### Teams

* **Audition Team:** rebloom
* **Group Battle Team:** New bud (leader/sub vocalist 1)
* **Position Battle Team:** realize (leader/center/main vocalist)
* **Concept Battle Team:** NALALA (leader/center/rapper 2)
* **Debut Evaluation Team:** CHOPPY CHOPPY (sub vocalist 2)

### Rankings

Online votes
* **Week 2:** 2nd place
* **Week 3:** 1st place (+1)
* **First Ranking Announcement:** 2nd place (-1)
* **Week 6:** 2nd place (=)
* **Second Ranking Announcement:** 2nd place (=)
* **Third Ranking Announcement:** 8th place (-6)
* **Final Ranking Announcement:** 11th place (-3)

On-site votes
* **Group Battle:** 2nd place in team, 14th place overall
* **Position Battle:** 2nd place in team, 24th place overall
* **Concept Battle:** 4th place in team (tied), 4th place overall (tied)

### First Voting Period

Kato's audition team, rebloom, is the penultimate group revealed, shocking many trainees who recognize her from Cherry Bullet. She is ranked by the other trainees as 52nd place, much to her disappointment. She also is the last team to be evaluated by the trainers, with the trainers worrying if Kato still has the room to improve. She proves the trainers her might by maintaining her **A** in the reevaluation.

When deciding teams for the group battle in episode 3, Kato is originally picked by Kurihara Kano, but is stolen by Sakurai Miu. Kato is appointed leader and acts as a big sister for not just her teammates but for the other trainees, as well. In episode 4, she places 14th place overall.

In episode 5, she is revealed to have received 1,746,334 votes, making her the runner-up.

* **First Ranking Announcement:** "心さんはふんわり優しいオーラに包まれていますが、練習生にとって一目を置かれるお姉さんです。経験者ならではの磨かれた実力と芯の強さがあります。" (Kokoro is enveloped by a soft and kind aura, and she is a big sister who the trainees look up to. She has the refined power and core strength that only experienced people have.)

### Second Voting Period

In episode 6, Kato is again appointed leader for her team in the position battle. She is also the main vocalist of the group, as she wanted to shine, which is why she chose "Omokage" in particular. Kato displayed great leadership and placed 11th place in the vocal position.

In episode 8, Kato is once again chosen as leader for her team and the runner-up, having received 2,130,005.

* **Second Ranking Announcement:** "第１回順位発表式に引き続き、今回も２位となりました。ポジション評価では作詞、作曲の経験を生かして変曲をリードし技術や精神面でもメンバーを支えました。本番ではミスさえも感じさせないパフォーマンスで見る人笑顔に優しく透き通った歌声で会場全体を包み込みました。" (Following the first ranking announcement ceremony, she placed 2nd place this time as well. During the position battle evaluation, she used her experience in songwriting and composing to lead the arrangement and supported the members both in terms of skill and emotionally. During the performance, she performed while feeling like she did not even make a mistake and enveloped the entire venue with her soft and clear singing voice that made them smile.)

### Third Voting Period

In episode 8, Kato stays as a member of "&ME". At the end of the concept battle, she ties with Yamamoto Suzu at 4th place overall, having received benefits for her team winning.

Shockingly, Kato drops down to 8th place in the third ranking announcement after she received 292,933 votes. When choosing her position in the debut evaluation afterwards, she chooses to be sub vocalist 2 in "CHOPPY CHOPPY".

* **Third Ranking Announcement (Hint):** "コンセプト評価で&MEを披露した練習生です。" (This trainee performed &ME in the concept battle evaluation.)
* **Third Ranking Announcement:** "コンセプト評価ではセンターを務めラップに初挑戦。順位に見合う実力を身につけたいと上位の順位におごることなく深夜まで1人練習を続けました。" (She performed as the center in the concept battle evaluation and tried out rapping for the first time. Wanting to have the skills to match her ranking and not wanting to be arrogant with a high rank, she continued to practice by herself until late at night.)

### Final Voting Period

In episode 11, she performs "CHOPPY CHOPPY" and "FLY UP SO HIGH" on the final stage. After the top 10 trainees have their names announced, Kato's is the last one called, to her surprise. She thanks the national producers while crying tears of joy.

* **Final Ranking Announcement (Hint):** "キラキラとしたパフォーマンスの裏にはひたむきな努力がありました。" (Behind her twinkling performances is dedicated effort.)
* **Final Ranking Announcement:** "デビュー権者という大きな肩書きを背負って挑んだオーディション、この世界にもう一度挑戦するのはどれだけ勇気が必要だったことでしょう？信頼できる仲間と恋愛再びデビューへの扉が開かれました。" (How much courage did it take on the challenge of an audition in this world again, bearing the huge title of being able to debut? With her love to her trusted peers, the door to debut has been opened to her again.)

### Penalties

From December 5-7, Kato had her fancams temporarily taken down due to accumulating 10 penalty points (5 from self-indulgent actions, 5 from acts and remarks that may interfere with the program).  The specific actions she did were not disclosed.

## Personal Life

* Family
* Friendships
* Name Meaning
* Nicknames

In episode 11, she is shown to have a mother and a brother.

On the show, Kato Kokoro has a close relationship with Kasahara Momona, with the two of them training together in the same audition team. They have expressed affection towards each other many times on the show. Even when her chance of debuting was slim, she was happy when Momona placed 1st.

"Kokoro" means heart in Japanese.

The following list are nicknames that have been used to refer to Kato Kokoro:

* **Coco-chan** (ここちゃん): Most common nickname used.
* **Coco** (ここ): Alternate nickname.

## Trivia

* Her hobby is to paint with oil pastels and acrylics and to play the guitar.
* Her special skill is knowing Korean.
* Before she debuted in Cherry Bullet, she was in a dance crew called Nagoya Nine.
* She performed an original song in her 1 Minute PR video.
* Her favorite foods are chocolate gummies and her mother's cooking.
* Her pledge for debuting in the top 11 was going strawberry picking with the other members.
* When she needs to recharge, she immerses herself in doing things she like, such as drawing while listening to music and snacking while watching anime).
* She normally draws scenic landscpaes.

### PRODUCE 101 JAPAN Achievements

* Before the third ranking announcement, she had the highest rank average in her season, with an average rank of 1.8th place.

## References

1. ↑ "加藤心「推しカメラ」公開停止のお知らせ (in Japanese). Official PRODUCE 101 JAPAN THE GIRLS Website. 2023-12-05."
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "PRODUCE 101 JAPAN THE GIRLS Profile" PRODUCE 101 JAPAN. 2023-09-04.
3. ↑ "1分PR┊✧ 加藤心 （KATO KOKORO）✧┊ PRODUCE 101 JAPAN THE GIRLS" YouTube. 2023-09-04.
4. ↑ "LEAP HIGHアイコンタクト┊✧ 加藤心 （KATO KOKORO）✧┊ PRODUCE 101 JAPAN THE GIRLS" YouTube. 2023-09-28.

 Agency

 Extended Plays