Murakami Rinon

## Murakami Rinon村上(むらかみ) 璃杏(りのん)

Murakami Rinon, December 2023

**Murakami Rinon** (村上璃杏) 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 2nd in the finals.

## Biography

### 2023

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

On December 16, she placed 2nd in the finals, making her a member of ME:I.

## PRODUCE 101 JAPAN Participation

### Teams

* **Audition Team:** Vitamin Bomb
* **Group Battle Team:** HypEST (main vocalist)
* **Position Battle Team:** Uchira (sub rapper)
* **Concept Battle Team:** Tokimekkii (rapper)
* **Debut Evaluation Team:** Souzou Ijou (rapper 1)

### Rankings

Online votes
* **Week 2:** 23th place
* **Week 3:** 20th place (+3)
* **First Ranking Announcement:** 17th place (+3)
* **Week 6:** 16th place (+1)
* **Second Ranking Announcement:** 17th place (-1)
* **Third Ranking Announcement:** 3rd place (+14)
* **Final Ranking Announcement:** 2nd place (+1)

On-site votes
* **Group Battle:** 3rd place in team, 14th place overall
* **Position Battle:** 3rd place in team, 15th place overall
* **Concept Battle:** 2nd place in team, 14th place overall

### First Voting Period

In episode 1, Mizukami is introduced in Vitamin Bomb, and she is evaluated by the other trainees as 84th place. But when she performs "OTONABLUE", Lee Honggi comments that she caught his eye and kept focusing on her. She was put in **B** class and kept it after the level reevaluations.

In episode 3, Murakami is chosen as the main vocalist for HypEST. YUMEKII thinks that she fits the song the most, to her excitement. Overall, she places 14th in the group battle.

In the first ranking announcement, she got a total of 583,977 votes, which placed her at 17th.

* **First Ranking Announcement (Hint):** "初回から順位を上げ続けている練習生です。" (This trainee has been rising in rank since the first week.)
* **First Ranking Announcement:** "(incomplete beginning)グループバトルでは曲への適性をトレーナーから褒められました。(incomplete end)" (In the group battle, the trainers praised her aptitude for the song.)

### Second Voting Period

In episode 6, Murakami decides to perform "Bijin" for the position battle, which her audition teammate, Shimizu Keiko, also chose. Her biggest worries are not standing out from the other two Uchira members and also struggles with writing freestyle rap. However, the team is surprised by a visit from Chanmina, who helps Murakami find how to put herself in the lyrics. She ranks 15th place overall in the position battle.

In episode 8, Murakami is voted by the national producers to perform "&ME". She also 17th place again in the second ranking announcement after receiving 1,007,773 votes.

* **Second Ranking Announcement (Hint):** "回を追うごとに目覚ましい進化でレベルアップしています。" (She has leveled up with remarkable progress each episode.)
* **Second Ranking Announcement:** "(incomplete beginning)甘い魅力ある声と強い女性の雰囲気をまとい。(incomplete end)" (She has a sweet and charming voice and a strong feminine atmosphere.)

### Third Voting Period

Due to the "&ME" team having too many members, Murakami is voted out of the group. She decides to go to "AtoZ" and takes the rapper position from Hatta Mena, having found her new skill in rap from the position battle. She places 14th place overall in the concept battle.

In a shocking twist, Murakami jumps all the way to 3rd place in episode 10. Having received 481,635 votes, she would have placed 2nd place if benefits were not into play.

* **Third Ranking Announcement (Hint):** "ステージでは自信に満ち溢れたパフォーマンスで魅了する練習生です。" (This trainee captivates people with her confident performance on stage.)
* **Third Ranking Announcement:** "2pickになってから脅威の追い上げを見せデビュー圏内へ。チーム再編成で移動になりましたが「どこにいても頑張れる」 という宣言通り、たった1日で振りを覚え個性的なラップで楽曲に新たなアクセントを加えました。" (After 2pick started, she has caught up in rank threateningly and is within the debut range. She had to move due to team reorganization, but as she said, "I will do my best no matter where I am", she learned the choreography in just one day and added a new accent to the song with her unique rapping.)

### Final Voting Period

In episode 11, Murakami performs "Souzou Ijou" and "FLY UP SO HIGH" on the final stage. She is revealed as a candidate for the ME:I's center, but is ultimately beat by Kasahara Momona and places 2nd.

* **Final Ranking Announcement:** No quote given.

## Personal Life

* Friendships
* Nicknames

On the show, Murakami Rinon has a close relationship with Takami Ayane. Despite them being in different audition teams, they have grown very close.

She is also close with her audition teammate Shimizu Keiko.

* **Rinrin** (りんりん): Most common nickname used by co-members and fans alike.

## Trivia

* Her hobbies are to sleep, to eat, and to collect cosmetics.
* Her special skill is saying tongue twisters.
* She had no training experience prior to the show.
* Her pledge for debuting in the top 11 was going on a food tour (食べ歩き) in South Korea.
* When drinking green tea (reference to her 1 minute PR video), she prefers to have it with ice cream-filled wafers.
* She says that her positive mindset is built up, which then overflows.
* She likes pink and purple make-up and layering blush on.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "PRODUCE 101 JAPAN THE GIRLS Profile" PRODUCE 101 JAPAN. 2023-09-04.
2. ↑ "1分PR┊✧村上璃杏 （MURAKAMI RINON）✧┊ PRODUCE 101 JAPAN THE GIRLS" YouTube. 2023-09-04.

 Agency

 Extended Plays