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Real Sound will be publishing articles introducing and analyzing each ME:I member
ME:I Member #7: Iida Shizuku, unexpected growth by utilizing her strengths
Among the debutant members selected by the national producers (viewers), some have consistently marked high rankings, while others have made surprising breakthroughs. Iida Shizuka is completely in the latter pattern.
Her initial ranking was 31st. By the end of the program, she was ranked in the top 10 for the first time, which was within her debut range, and she ended up finishing the audition in 7th place.
Since this is the result of a vote by the national producers, it is not only because of her skills and growth, but also because of her charm, which is loved by many people. We would like to examine what it is about her that people love about her, and what kind of appeal she will bring as a member of the group in the future.
Iida's name is synonymous above all with singing. She made headlines when she performed SPEED's "Body & Soul" in the group battle stage. Her singing voice, which is so elongated and stable that it is hard to imagine from her slender body, has surprised many national producers, trainers, and trainees. The buzz, however, was by no means exclusively positive. Vocal trainer Lee Hong-gi commented somewhat harshly, "I guess it was classical music," as he could not get rid of his peculiarities due to her background as a former Takarazuka Music School candidate and current music student. Comments such as, "It was an opera," and "It's a classical version," were scattered on social networking sites.
The group battle was a challenge for Iida, who was not able to take lessons as much as she would have liked due to her poor physical condition. With her regrets from that time in mind, Iida performed Amuro Namie's "Hero" in the following position battle. Iida's visual appearance, with her blond bob and completely changed hairstyle, and her "de-classic" singing style became the talk of the town. While she sang the high note part with a steady and elongated voice, she also charmed the national producers with her voice tone that matched the song.
With her background, the focus tends to be on Iida's singing voice, but in fact, the author feels that her dance skills have also grown considerably. For example, when looking at the fan camera for the program's theme song "LEAP HIGH!", Iida shows off her own good qualities with a cute expression and dance moves.
In contrast, "CHOPPY CHOPPY," performed in the finals, was bursting with Iida's signature smile in numerous patterns. To add to this, Iida's dancing, which had been generally soft, was now more fluid, with a greater awareness of her fingertips and toes. I got the impression that the resolution of the music had been improved while maintaining her good qualities.
I feel that the reason for her popularity lies in the unknown growth potential that cannot be predicted from her calm and easygoing personality. She is a delight to root for because she effortlessly surpasses the expectations of the viewers, who wonder what she will show next.
I imagine that after her debut, she will be able to use her characteristic elongated singing voice to sing ballads, and her positive expression to change from one song to another in cute songs, as she pleases. In my personal opinion, I would like to see her try cooler songs and more mature songs that she did not show during the show.
https://realsound.jp/2024/02/post-1560685.html
https://realsound.jp/2024/02/post-1560685.html_2
