Shimizu Keiko

## Shimizu Keiko清水(しみず) 恵子(けいこ)

Shimizu Keiko, December 2023

**Shimizu Keiko** (清水恵子) 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 8th in the finals.

## Biography

### Early Life

Shimizu Keiko was born on November 27, 2005 in Aichi, Japan.

### 2020s

In the 2020s, Shimizu attended KPOP ART SCHOOL, a Japan-based music school focusing on K-Pop.

### 2023

On September 3, Shimizu was revealed to be a contestant of PRODUCE 101 JAPAN THE GIRLS.

On December 16, she placed 8th in the finals, making her a member of ME:I.

## PRODUCE 101 JAPAN Participation

### Teams

* **Audition Team:** Vitamin Bomb
* **Group Battle Team:** AWAKE (sub vocalist 1)
* **Position Battle Team:** Uchira (main rapper)
* **Concept Battle Team:** CLAW-me (rapper 1)
* **Debut Evaluation Team:** CHOPPY CHOPPY (rapper 3)

### Rankings

Online votes
* **Week 2:** 18th place
* **Week 3:** 12th place (+6)
* **First Ranking Announcement:** 12th place (=)
* **Week 6:** 11th place (+1)
* **Second Ranking Announcement:** 8th place (+3)
* **Third Ranking Announcement:** 11th place (-3)
* **Final Ranking Announcement:** 8th place (+3)

On-site votes
* **Group Battle:** 5th place in team, 35th place overall
* **Position Battle:** 1st place in team, 3rd place overall
* **Concept Battle:** 1st place in team, 12th place overall (tied)

### First Voting Period

In episode 1, Shimizu introduces herself loudly and proudly. When the monitors reveal that she was evaluated by the other trainees as 9th place, she takes a bow and waves her hand. When the trainers ask Shimizu about herself, she explains that as the only daughter in seven children, she had to find a way to stick out. The trainers initially evaluate her at level **A**, but Shimizu has difficulty learning the theme song, so she is demoted to level **B**.

Shimizu was chosen to be a member of AWAKE in the group battle. She learned to adapt with the concept of "TOKYO GIRL", and placed 35th overall.

In episode 5, she is revealed to have received 841,591 votes, barely out of the debut range at 12th place.

* **First Ranking Announcement (Hint):** "見ている人を自然に笑顔にする存在です。" (She naturally brings smiles to people who see her.)
* **First Ranking Announcement:** "登場から個性爆発強烈なインパクト残しレベル分けテストでは会場を笑顔に包みました。" (From the moment she appeared, she left a strong impact with her unique personality and filled the audience with smiles during the level distribution test.)

### Second Voting Period

In episode 6, Shimizu picked "Bijin" to perform in the concept battle. She is chosen as the center, and she places 1st place in the rap & vocal position.

She is voted by the national producers to perform "Koakuma (Baddie)" in the concept battle. In the second ranking announcement, she places 8th after obtaining 1,513,323 votes.

* **Second Ranking Announcement (Hint):** "ポジション評価のステージで自分自身をさらけ出した練習生です。" (This trainee went all out on the position battle stage.)
* **Second Ranking Announcement:** "第１回順位発表式では１２位とデビュー圏外でしたがその翌は１１位。そして今回は３つランクアップして８位となりました。皮肉を効かせたパンチラインでデビュー圏内入りした誰もが認めるラップの女王です。" (At the first ranking announcement ceremony, she placed 12th, which was out of the debut range, but the next week she placed 11th. This time, she moved up three places to 8th place. She is the undisputed queen of rap who made the debut range with cheeky punchlines.)

### Third Voting Period

In episode 8, Shimizu stays as a member of "Koakuma (Baddie)". At the end of the concept battle, she places 12th overall.

SHimizu stays in the debut range in the third ranking announcement, having received 265,607 votes and placing 11th place. When choosing her position in the debut evaluation afterwards, in a grand move, she chooses to be rapper 1 "Souzou Ijou", but Murakami Rinon takes her spot and makes her rapper 3 in "CHOPPY CHOPPY".

* **Third Ranking Announcement (Hint):** "コンセプト評価で自分の魅力を最大限に発揮した練習生です。" (This trainee showed off her charm to the fullest in the concept battle evaluation.)
* **Third Ranking Announcement:** "新しい自分を見せ続けるため小悪魔をどう表現するかギリギリまで悩んで挑んだステージ。オリジナルだからこそできるセクシーさの中に遊び心のあるパフォーマンスを披露しました。" (In order to continue to show a new side of herself, she struggled until the very last minute on how to express the baddie during this stage. She performed a sexy and playful performance that can only be achieved through original work.)

### Final Voting Period

In episode 11, Shimizu's family make a surprise video message to her while the trainees prepare time capsules. On the final stage, she performs "CHOPPY CHOPPY" and "FLY UP SO HIGH". She is the third member of ME”I to be announced, placing 8th place with 591,650 total votes.

* **Final Ranking Announcement (Hint):** "デビュー評価でラップを披露した練習生です。" (This trainee performed rap in the debut evaluation.)
* **Final Ranking Announcement:** "明るくユーモアにれる人柄で練習生からも国民プロデューサーからも愛されてきました。キャラクターだけでなく魂さる楽で圧巻のパフォーマンスを披露。全てをかけ目ーぱいスキルを磨き上げついにデビューを掴みました。" (She is loved by both trainees and national producers for her bright and humorous personality. She puts on an amazing performance that not only reflects her character but also her soul. She exerts all her effort into honing her skills and finally made her debut.)

## Personal Life

* Family
* Friendships
* Nicknames

In addition to her parents, Shimizu has six brothers, all of who made an appearance in episode 11. In an interview she did while at KPOP ART SCHOOL, she stated that her father is Korean, making her half Japanese, half Korean.

On the show, Shimizu Keiko has a close relationship with Murakami Rinon and Bando Fuka, who are her audition teammates.

The following list are nicknames that have been used to refer to Shimizu Keiko:

* **Kee-chan** (けーちゃん) : Used by fellow trainees.

## Trivia

* Her hobby is to draw pictures.
* Her special skill is moving only one eye.
* She thinks her charm being able to fit both cool and cute concepts.
* While she was in the low range of trainee popularity when the "LEAP HIGH! ~Asu e, Meippai~" fancams were uploaded, she shot into popularity once her 1 Minute PR video came out, with national producers fascinated by her emotive personality.
* Her pledge for debuting in the top 11 was having a radio show where she gives advice.
* She gets very nervous before going on stage, so she takes deep breaths to relax herself.
* She likes having silver and black nails with different designs on each fingernail.
* When she feels down, she forces herself to feel more excited.

## References

1. ↑ 🎀PRODUCE 101 JAPAN🎀第3回順位発表式" (in Japanese). Twitter. 2023-12-07.
2. ↑ "【KAS】＜後半＞”2005年生” KPOPアイドルになるために韓国へ！実際にオーディションで何をしますか？生の声をインタビュー🎤✨#韓国留学 #オーディション #kpop" (in Japanese). YouTube. 2023-04-11.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "PRODUCE 101 JAPAN THE GIRLS Profile" PRODUCE 101 JAPAN. 2023-09-04.
4. ↑ "1分PR┊✧ 清水恵子（SHIMIZU KEIKO）✧┊ PRODUCE 101 JAPAN THE GIRLS" YouTube. 2023-09-04.

 Agency

 Extended Plays