Ebihara Tsuzumi

## Ebihara Tsuzumi海老原(えびはら) 鼓(つづみ)

Ebihara Tsuzumi, December 2023

**Ebihara Tsuzumi** (海老原鼓) 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 10th in the finals.

## Biography

### Early Life

Ebihara Tsuzumi was born on January 22, 2007 in Kanagawa, Japan.

### 2023

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

On December 16, she placed 10th in the finals, making her a member of ME:I.

## PRODUCE 101 JAPAN Participation

### Teams

* **Audition Team:** Aoharu
* **Group Battle Team:** New bud (main vocalist)
* **Position Battle Team:** Heroes (sub vocalist)
* **Concept Battle Team:** NALALA (main vocalist)
* **Debut Evaluation Team:** CHOPPY CHOPPY (main vocalist)

### Rankings

Online votes
* **Week 2:** 3rd place
* **Week 3:** 5th place (-2)
* **First Ranking Announcement:** 6th place (-1)
* **Week 6:** 9th place (-3)
* **Second Ranking Announcement:** 7th place (+2)
* **Third Ranking Announcement:** 6th place (+1)
* **Final Ranking Announcement:** 10th place (-4)

On-site votes
* **Group Battle:** 1st place in team, 1st place overall
* **Position Battle:** 2nd place in team, 11th place overall (tied)
* **Concept Battle:** 1st place in team, 1st place overall

### First Voting Period

Ebihara's audition team, Aoharu, is introduced last. She is ranked by the other trainees as 1st place to everyone's surprise. She awes the trainers with her vocals and is evaluated at **A** class. During the level reevaluation test, Ebihara worries about memorizing the dance due to her inexperience, and she practices for a long time. Due to her effort, she is able to keep her level.

In episode 3, Ebihara is voted by the other trainees to sing a solo line in the show's theme song. Later on, Ebihara is originally chosen to be in Motohashi Meika's team for the group battle, but Sakurai Miu steals her later on. She gets the main vocalist position and receives the most votes that night.

In the first ranking announcement, Ebihara places 6th place with 1,429,741 votes. Sadly, her audition teammates did not make it past, leaving her the last one.

* **First Ranking Announcement (Hint):** "グループバトルでは伝説のステージを作り上げました。" (She created a legendary stage in group battle.)
* **First Ranking Announcement:** "練習生評価第１位、グループバトルでは練習生トップの１７２票で...(quote not finished) レベル分けテストからトレーナーにスター性を見出されていましたね。愛嬌満載のムードメーカーです。"She placed 1st in the trainee evaluation, and was in the top amongst the trainees in the group battle with 172 votes...(quote not finished) The trainers recognized her star quality starting from the level distribution test. She is a mood maker full of charm."

### Second Voting Period

In episode 6, Ebihara chooses to perform "Hero" for the position battle so that she can be the hero of Aoharu. While initially disappointed about not being chosen as the main vocalist, she worries about taking too much attention away from Ando Yui when the team arranges with LAS, with LAS wanting to add ad-libs for Ebihara to sing. Ando Yui is okay with Ebihara getting the ad-libs even though she also worries about not getting enough focus as the main vocalist. After a beautiful performance, Ebihara places 11th place overall, tying with Takami Ayane.

In episode 8, she ranks 7th place. She received a total of 1,599,394 votes.

* **Second Ranking Announcement (Hint):** "ずば抜けたボーカルセンスを持つ歌姫です。" (She is a songstress who holds an outstanding vocal sense.)
* **Second Ranking Announcement:** "第１回順位発表式では６位その翌は９位そして今回は２つランクアップしてとなりました。脱落した仲間たちに届けたいと挑んだヒーロー。たとえメインボーカルでなくともどこでも輝けることを証明しました。" (She placed 6th at the first ranking announcement ceremony, placed 9th the next week, and has ranked up two ranks this time. She is a hero who challenged herself to deliver a message to her friends that were eliminated. As such, she proved that she can shine anywhere even if she is not the main vocalist.)

### Third Voting Period

In episode 9, Ebihara stays in the "&ME" group as the main vocalist. While initially tying with Takami Ayane with the most on-site votes, she comes out as the overall winner when NALALA won and she received the concept battle benefits.

Propelled further with her benefit, she places 6th with a total of 371,393 votes. When choosing her position in the debut evaluation afterwards, she chooses the main vocalist position in "CHOPPY CHOPPY", uncontested by the other trainees.

* **Third Ranking Announcement (Hint):** "コンセプト評価ではインパクトを残した練習生です。" (This trainee left an impact in the concept battle evaluation.)
* **Third Ranking Announcement:** "歌い始めた瞬間から一気に盛り上げる彼女の歌声はステージに咲く大花火。聞く人の心をつみ余韻まで残します。&MEで個人１位に輝きベネフィット１０万票獲得９位から３つランクアップしました。" (From the moment she started singing, her singing voice instantly lit up the stage like huge fireworks. She captures the heart of listeners and leaves a lasting impression. She won 1st place in &ME and gained 100,000 votes as a benefit, moving up 3 places from 9th place.)

### Final Voting Period

In episode 11, Ebihara'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 first member to be revealed in ME:I, fulfilling her promise to Aoharu about debuting for them. She received 577,903 votes.

* **Final Ranking Announcement (Hint):** "天生の明るさでチームの雰囲気を和ませまた練習生です。" (This trainee calmed up her teams' atmosphere with her innate brightness.)
* **Final Ranking Announcement:** "初回よりトレーナー人にスター性を見出されていた原石。伸びやかでパワフルな歌声を響かせ様々な評価で１位を取りました。誰かも愛される愛嬌とリアクションで場を盛り上げるムードメーカーです。" (She was an unpolished gemstone whose star potential was recognized by the trainers from her first appearance. Her at ease and powerful singing voice won 1st place in many evaluations. She is a mood maker who enlivens the atmosphere with her charm and reactions that are loved by everyone.)

## Personal Life

* Family
* Friendships
* Name Meaning
* Nicknames

Ebihara's family are seen in episode 11 in their surprise support message to her. Her mother and father were also present at the finals.

On the show, Ebihara is close with her fellow "Body & Soul" teammates, including those from the opposing team. These include Aita Rin, Kenmotsu Nano, Sakurai Miu, and Yamamoto Suzu.

Her given name means "drum". Her dad gave it to her because he thought that she would like music.

The following list are nicknames that have been used to refer to Ebihara Tsuzumi:

* **Tsuzumin** (つづみん): Most common nickname used by fellow trainees and fans.
* **Ebi-chan** (えびちゃん): Other nickname used by fans.

## Trivia

* Her hobbies are to sleep, to eat, and to sing.
* Her special skills are playing the guitar, whistling, and making loud clicking sounds with her tongue.
* Her fandom name during PRODUCE 101 JAPAN THE GIRLS was しゅりんプ (stylized spelling of shrimp). The name comes from 海老 (ebi) from her surname meaning shrimp, and プ being in katakana is from 日プ, a common shortening of Japan PRODUCE 101.
* She received the exact same amount of on-site votes as Takami Ayane two times: in the position battle and in the concept battle (without winning benefits).
	+ Because of this and their vocal skills, fans often pair the two together, with Ebihara as the sun and Takami as the moon.
* Her pledge for debuting in the top 11 was holding a pajama party with the other members.
* She said she became good at singing by singing in the bath/shower every day.
* She said that hanging out and chatting with her friends and sleeping keeps her energized and happy.
* She eats plums often, and her favorite sweets is gummies.

### PRODUCE 101 JAPAN Achievements

* Taking every evaluation (not ranking announcements) into consideration, she has placed 1st the most times. (trainee evaluation, group battle, concept battle)

## References

1. ↑ "[1]" Ebihara Tsuzumi OFficial Profile.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "PRODUCE 101 JAPAN THE GIRLS Profile" PRODUCE 101 JAPAN. 2023-09-04.

 Agency

 Extended Plays