Babymetal’s history began in 2009, when Kei Kobayashi, also known as Kobametal, a renowned music producer in Japan, was impressed by Suzuka Nakamoto’s performance with the idol group Karen Girls. He saw that Suzuka, who was only 11 years old at the time, would be perfect as the vocalist for the band he planned to create. The band he envisioned would blend J-Pop idol group style with heavy metal. Babymetal was subsequently formed in Tokyo in 2010 as a subunit of the idol group Sakura Gakuin. Yui Mizuno (Yuimetal) and Moa Kikuchi (Moametal) completed Babymetal’s lineup as backing vocalists and dancers. Interestingly, when Babymetal was formed, none of its members were familiar with metal music.
Shortly after their formation, Babymetal gave their first live performance at the Sakura Gakuin Festival on November 28, 2010. From their formation until 2013, Babymetal successfully released 5 singles, all of which were very well received by music fans in Asia, and even in Europe and America. Their energetic and accessible music led to Babymetal being invited to perform at the Summer Sonic Festival in August 2012, where they became the youngest artists to ever perform at the event. In November 2012, the Anime Festival Asia in Singapore marked Babymetal’s first performance outside Japan. From that day forward, Babymetal officially entered the international scene.
Suzuka Nakamoto graduated from middle school in March 2013, which also meant her graduation from Sakura Gakuin, Babymetal’s parent group. Considering Babymetal’s rising popularity in 2013, their management decided that instead of disbanding, Babymetal would continue as an independent band outside of Sakura Gakuin. Their performances at Summer Sonic Festival in August 2013 and the heavy metal festival Loud Park in October 2013 were among their first shows as an independent act rather than a Sakura Gakuin sister group. Babymetal finally released their self-titled album in 2014 as their debut album. The album featured songs with elements of speed metal, industrial metal, and digital rock.
DragonForce’s guitar duo Herman Li and Sam Totman were involved in Babymetal’s debut album. The “Babymetal” album received an extraordinary response, selling 37,000 copies in Japan in its first week of release. The debut album also reached fourth place on the Oricon Weekly Album Chart and second place on Billboard Japan. Not stopping there, the “Babymetal” album also topped the iTunes Metal charts in Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Even more impressively, the album reached position 187 on the United States Billboard 200 chart on March 22, 2014. This was an remarkable achievement for musicians pioneering a new genre of music.
Explore More:
This success transformed Babymetal’s music genre, stage presence, and concept into a phenomenon that captivated people worldwide. Babymetal attracted the attention of metal music enthusiasts and critics across the globe. They launched their first world tour, with concerts scheduled in major cities including France, Germany, England, and the United States. In Canada, they even shared the stage with Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax. Amid their busy world tour schedule, their second album titled “Metal Resistance” was released in 2016. Their second album featured more diverse musical styles, including glam metal, symphonic metal, groove metal, rap metal, and more.
Metal Resistance was once again exceptionally well-received, reaching number 39 on the Billboard 200 in its first week of release. This became the highest ranking achieved by a Japanese artist since Kyo Sakamoto in 1963. In the United Kingdom, Metal Resistance reached number 15 on the UK Album Chart, the highest position ever achieved by a Japanese band. Kobametal, Babymetal’s creator and producer, subsequently received the Excellence Award from the Association of Media in Digital (AMD) for the album’s sales success. The day after Metal Resistance’s release, Babymetal became the first Japanese artist to perform at Wembley Arena. They also broke records as the artist with the highest merchandise sales in Wembley’s history.
In the same year, their debut album was named the best album of the 21st century by Metal Hammer magazine readers. Babymetal concluded their 2016 world tour with two nights at Tokyo Dome, attracting around 55,000 people each night. Their massive audience appeal and unique image led Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, and Korn to choose Babymetal as support acts for their respective tours. In late 2017, Babymetal performed at Hiroshima Green Arena. This was their first show in Suzuka’s hometown and also celebrated her 20th birthday. The performance marked Babymetal’s first show without a complete lineup, as Yui was ill.
In May 2018, Babymetal launched their own record label called Babymetal Records. A few days later, they began their 2018 world tour, unfortunately again without Yui who was still sick. After releasing a new single, they officially announced Yui’s departure from Babymetal. Yui Mizuno later explained her desire to pursue a solo career. Their third album and first without Yui, “Metal Galaxy,” was released in 2019. They truly explored new elements that were vastly different from their previous releases. This album was truly like being in another galaxy. Brilliantly, Babymetal had incorporated sound elements from various countries they visited during their world tour.
Their fourth album titled “The Other One” was released in March 2023. “The Other One” is a special album because it has many unique features and advantages compared to their previous albums. The album includes Suzuka Nakamoto’s first original composition titled “Divine Attack.” “The Other One” is also an album with a mature and fresh concept following their one-year hiatus. Moreover, “The Other One” is an album celebrating their 10-year career in the entertainment industry since the release of their debut album in 2013. In April 2023, Momoko Okazaki, who had been a backup dancer since 2019, was promoted to core member with the stage name Momometal. Since then, Babymetal’s official lineup has returned to what it was before Yuimetal’s departure.
Although throughout their career many music genres have been associated with them, such as alternative metal, death metal, power metal, new metal, and speed metal, Babymetal is more appropriately titled as the pioneer of kawaii metal. The themes they present in their songs are very interesting, such as Japanese teenage girls’ issues about self-confidence, anti-bullying, and so forth. Each Babymetal song is considered to contain positive moral messages, especially in their newer songs which are regarded as more mature. Ultimately, Babymetal is like an oasis in the desert of today’s saturated metal music scene. It’s been an extraordinary blessing to witness Babymetal grow from their teenage years to their current great success.