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==Members==
==Members==
* [[Suzuka Nakamoto|Su-metal]] - [[singing|vocals]]
* [[Moa Kikuchi|Moametal]] - [[singing|vocals]]
⚫
* [[Suzuka Nakamoto|Su-metal]] - vocals
* [[Yui Mizuno|Yuimetal]] - vocals
* [[Yui Mizuno|Yuimetal]] - vocals
⚫
* [[Moa Kikuchi|Moametal]] - vocals


==Discography==
==Discography==

Revision as of 23:15, 4 August 2014

This article is about the Japanese band. For the band's debut album of the same name, see Babymetal (album).
Babymetal
From left to right: Yui Mizuno, Suzuka Nakamoto, Moa Kikuchi
From left to right: Yui Mizuno, Suzuka Nakamoto, Moa Kikuchi
Background information
Origin Japan
GenresJ-pop,[1] heavy metal,[2] death metal[3]
Years active2010–present
LabelsToy's Factory
MembersSu-metal
Yuimetal
Moametal
Websitebabymetal.jp

Babymetal (stylized BABYMETAL) is a Japanese metal vocal and dance group, consisting of Suzuka Nakamoto as Su-metal, Yui Mizuno as Yuimetal and Moa Kikuchi as Moametal. The concept of the group is a fusion of metal and idol.[4] The three teenage girls and their group are managed by Amuse talent agency. They released their debut album of the same name February 2014.

History

2010-2012: Origins and formation

The group was initially formed as a subunit of the female idol group Sakura Gakuin, aiming to realize a "fusion of metal and idol [music]".[4][5][6] None of the three members knew what metal music was before the inception of the band.[7] Suzuka Nakamoto once said in an interview to MTV 81, "The first time we heard the idea for Babymetal, we were like “What the?!”".[8][9]

According to Kobametal (the band's producer), Babymetal's name came to him by revelation (as a "divine message"). It is a play on the words "heavy metal". "Baby" may indicate cuteness, "metal" – intensity. Also, he has come to like interpreting it as "newborn metal".[10] In an interview for Razor TV while in Singapore in late 2013, the band members also used the latter interpretation. They stated their brand of metal was a newborn genre, and that was what "baby" in "Babymetal" stood for.[7]

Babymetal's first indie CD single, titled "Babymetal × Kiba of Akiba", ranked 3rd in the Oricon weekly indie chart and number one in the Tower Records Shibuya weekly indie ranking.[11] The band's major debut single "Ijime, Dame, Zettai" sold 19,000 copies in its first week and debuted at number 6 in the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart.[4]

2013-present: Debut album, growth in popularity and viral success

Main article: Babymetal (album)

In the spring of 2013, Suzuka Nakamoto graduated from junior high school and therefore had to "graduate" from the group Sakura Gakuin (that consists of girls of up to junior high). However, their management decided that Babymetal would not dissolve and would continue its activities as a band.[5] The group released its next single, titled "Megitsune" on Wednesday, June 19.[12] On November 20, 2013, Babymetal released its first live DVD/Blu-ray Disc. The disc contains three different concerts.[13] The Blu-ray Disc version debuted at seventh place in the weekly Oricon Blu-ray Disc charts (and at the second place among music Blu-ray Discs).[14]

On August 10 and 11, 2013, Babymetal performed at the "Summer Sonic 2013" rock festival which was held in Tokyo and Osaka.[15] Reportedly, Metallica members came to watch their show.[16][17] It was Babymetal's second time playing at the festival; in 2012, they became the youngest artists ever (with the average age of 12) to perform there. Later, in October 2013, Babymetal also became the youngest artists ever to perform at the Heavy Metal Music Festival, Loud Park.[18] In November 2013, Babymetal released a promo video for the Japanese premiere of Metallica's movie Through the Never.[19]

On February 26, 2014, Babymetal released it first, self-titled album. It contained 13 tracks and was also available in a limited edition that included a DVD with music videos and live footage.[20][21] The album was very well received by music critics[22] as well as the public, selling over 37.000 copies in Japan on its first week and debuting at number 4 in Oricon[23] and number 2 in Billboard Japan.[24] It also topped iTunes Metal charts in the US, UK and Germany and on March 22 reached number 187 on the US Billboard 200 chart, something (entering the chart) that very few Japanese artists have achieved.[25][26] Their album also made it into the Heatseekers chart at number 4. [27]

As of July 2014, the video for their song "Gimme chocolate!!" has received over 12 million views on YouTube. [28]

On March 1 and 2, 2014, the band gave two concerts at Budokan. With the average age of 14.7, they became youngest-ever female act to give a show there. The two concerts were attended by 20,000 people. At the March 2 concert, a European tour, to take place in the summer, was announced.[29][30]

For the beginning of their world tour, Babymetal performed shows in Paris and Cologne, which also served as the 15th birthday celebrations for Yuimetal and Moametal respectively. [31] Babymetal made their debut appearance in the United Kingdom at the Sonisphere Festival 2014. They performed on the main Apollo stage alongside bands such as Deftones, Carcass and Iron Maiden on July 5.[32][33] They made their debut appearance in the US on July 27 with a headlining show at The Fonda Theatre in Hollywood.[34] They have also been confirmed to take part in HEAVY MONTRÉAL 2014 in Canada on August 9 alongside the likes of Metallica and Slayer as well as Summer Sonic 2014 in Japan on the Mountain Stage with bands including Avenged Sevenfold and Megadeth.[35] Babymetal is also going to be the opening act to five of Lady Gaga's concerts in her "artRAVE: the ARTPOP ball" tour.[36][37]

Musical style

The music group are most commonly associated with the genre's death metal, heavy metal and jpop, but have also incorporated various other sub-genres into their music such as symphonic death metal, melodic metal, 'melodic speed metal', synthpop, trance and idol music.[9][19][38][39][40] They have also been dubbed by their record label and fans as "kawaii metal" because of their Japanese teen pop style fused together with metal genres.[41][42]

Before the trio formed, they previously had no experience into the metal genre. Yui Mizuno admitted that beforehand the concept of heavy metal actually scared her, but later stated that "It’s fun and I see why people enjoy it so much! I still don’t completely understand it, but I'm interested." Kobametal, the band's producer, aimed to create a fusion of heavy metal genres and mix them with Japanese idol music, quoting "At Amuse, we have this group called Perfume and I really like them. But I thought, if I’m gonna make a group, how would I do it? I really like metal, so I figured I’d try mixing metal and idol music."[43]

Patrick St. Michel from MTV 81 praises the "pure, headbang-inducing energy" of the group's live performances and describes their style like this:

The teenage trio merge the seemingly disparate sounds of heavy metal and idol pop, creating music anchored both by throat-mauling screeches and cuddly choruses.

— Headbanging with BABYMETAL at Rock In Japan 2013[44]

Metalhammer described their act using the formula "Short skirts, school girl charm and squeaky voices - just like in the manga comics. But they mix the whole thing with Metal.".[45]

Live performances

File:BLACK BABYMETAL.jpg
Moa Kikuchi and Yui Mizuno as Black Babymetal

The dancing trio all perform vocal roles; Suzuka Nakamoto is the clean vocalist of the trio while Moa Kikuchi and Yui Mizuno perform scream vocals with additional clean vocals.[43][46] The trios usually dress up in punk lolita style outfits of red and black. Nakamoto, the tallest of the three, is typically in the centre, with the other two members positioned either side of her.[43][47] In addition, Kikuchi and Mizuno make up a sub-group called "Black Babymetal" (stylized as BLACK BABYMETAL).[48][49] The dancing is choreographed by the trio's dance teacher Mikiko, who is renowned for her choreography with Perfume and owns her own dance company called 'Eleven Play'.[50][51]

Instead of the sign of the horns, the band uses the hand gesture of the fox (or more accurately the kitsune) to symbolise the band's divine inspiration.[43][52] When asked about this divinity (the 'Fox God') they replied, "We’ve actually never met the Fox God, but because of his blessing, we were able to become Babymetal."[9] In their concerts, Babymetal are assisted by a backup band, which is either a pretend band called Babybone, dressed in black-and-white skeleton outfits, who mime playing instruments [53] or a live band called Full Metal Band (also known as the "Gods of Metal" or "Kami Band").[16][17][54] There is also a backup dance group called Sisterbone that may join them on stage.[55]

Members

Discography

Babymetal discography
Studio albums1
Singles5
Video albums1
Music videos7

Studio albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions
Jpn
Oricon
[56] 		Jpn
Bill-
board
[24] 		US
[57] 		US
Hard Rock
[58] 		US
Heat
[59] 		US
World
[60] 		UK Indie Break
[61] 		UK Rock
[62]
Babymetal 4 2 187 12 4 2 7 37

Singles

Title Year Charts Album
JPN
[63]
"Doki Doki Morning" 2011 — Babymetal
"Babymetal × Kiba of Akiba" (with Kiba of Akiba) 2012 46
"Headbangeeeeerrrrr!!!!!" 20
"Ijime, Dame, Zettai" 2013 6
"Megitsune" 7

Video albums

Title Album details Charts
JPN
Blu-ray
Live: Legend I, D, Z Apocalypse 7[64]

Music videos

Title Year
"Doki Doki Morning" 2011
"Ii ne!" 2012
"Ii ne!" (Live in Tokyo 2012)
"Headbangeeeeerrrrr!!!!!"
"Ijime, Dame, Zettai" 2013
"Megitsune"
"Gimme Chocolate" 2014

References

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  3. ^ "Metal-Wahnsinn in Japan Babymetal werben für Metallica". Metal Hammer (in German). 2013-11-20. Retrieved 2013-12-07. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ a b c "TOP10入りデビューするライブ重視の個性派アイドル～Cheeky Parade、BABYMETAL". ORICON BiZ online (in Japanese). Oricon. 2013-01-21. Retrieved 2013-04-18.
  5. ^ a b " [BABYMETAL] The end was the beginning of the new story of BABYMETAL. It has begun at that night. Here is the report from the night at Zepp Tokyo!". Kawaii Girl Japan. 2013-02-14. Retrieved 2013-11-15.
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  8. ^ Note: Her words are translated from Japanese, so she didn't actually say "What the!?", didn't actually say it like this in English.
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  16. ^ a b Kawaii Girl Japan (2013-10-04). "[Kawaii girl Japan]BABYMETAL is off to the Top Metal Festival in Japan! Performance at LOUD PARK 13 Confirmed". Retrieved 2014-05-14.
  17. ^ a b "METALLICA movie x BABYMETAL, "Gods of Metal" collaborative commercial released". Barks (in Japanese). 2013-11-21.
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  50. ^ Azusa, Takada. "Chemistry three of BABYMETAL produces was felt strongly" (Interview). Natalie.mu (in Japanese). Natalie. Retrieved 30 June 2014. Tteyuu MIKIKO teacher, choreographer has worked the choreography threesome artists Perfume's Japan is in charge.
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