Sheki-Dol

Sheki-Dol was a Japanese pop group, active from 2000 to 2002. At the time, all Hello! project acts belonged to UP-FRONT Promotion, but Sheki-Dol belonged to Green Park Music (グリーンパーク・ミュージック). (Now called Espro (エスプロ)).They got their name from the combination of the words Akamichi Doll (赤道ドール; Equator Doll) and the phrase "Shake It", meaning girls with a hot image. The group started out as a duo with Ami Kitagami and Ibuki Ooki. They had participated in the 4th Morning Musume & Heike Michiyo Protegee Auditions (the same auditions that Matsuura Aya eventually won). They had their own radio show and performed their debut single at a Hello! project concert months before it was released as a single. They were also frequently featured in music magazines and fashion shoots. They were rumored to be "idol with contacts" as well as being rude to their fan base, resulting in fewer and fewer fans. They held a disastrous live performance where only 15 people attended. Mami Suenaga was added for the release of their second single, with Ibuki leaving shortly after (to start a modeling career under the name EVEKI) only to be replaced by Ari Sakai. They released their fourth and final single in December 2001 before disbanding in early 2002. The official reason was that one of its members needed medical attention. It was speculated, but not confirmed that Suenaga was pregnant. She later talked about this, saying she had a nervous break-down anfd anxiety attacks.