Babymetal

Babymetal (Japanese: ベビーメタル, Hepburn: Bebīmetaru)(stylized in all caps) is a Japanese kawaii metal band consisting of Suzuka Nakamoto as "Su-metal" and Moa Kikuchi as "Moametal". The band is produced by Kobametal from the Amuse talent agency. Their vocals are backed by heavy metal instrumentation, performed by a group of session musicians known as the "Kami Band" at performances.

The band was formed in 2010, with the original lineup of Su-metal (vocal and dance), Moametal (scream and dance), and Yui Mizuno as "Yuimetal" (scream and dance), with the concept of creating a fusion of the heavy metal and Japanese idol genres. Originally a sub-unit of the Japanese idol group Sakura Gakuin, Babymetal became an independent act in 2013, following Nakamoto's departure from Sakura Gakuin. Babymetal released their eponymous debut album in February 2014. Their second album Metal Resistance was released worldwide in April 2016. Babymetal has also embarked on several tours, with a majority of their tour dates taking place outside of Asia. The group released their third album Metal Galaxy in October 2019.

On October 19, 2018, Babymetal announced that Yui Mizuno had decided to leave the band due to poor health, following her absence from live performances since December 2017. Since her departure, the band has performed with backup dancers at live performances. In 2019, the band introduced three backup dancers called "Avengers" who performed in rotation at each live show to form a trio with Moametal and Su-metal.

Members
Babymetal's backing band "Kami Band" performance at Danforth Music Hall on May 12, 2015. From left to right: Boh, Mikio Fujioka, Hideki Aoyama and Takayoshi Ohmura Only the names of the core members of Babymetal are published officially. Core members


 * Su-metal (Suzuka Nakamoto) – lead vocals, and dancer (2010–present)
 * Moametal (Moa Kikuchi) – lead/background vocals, and dancer (2010–present)

Kami Band


 * Takayoshi Ohmura – guitar (2013–present)
 * Leda Cygnus – guitar (2013–present)
 * Isao Fujita – guitar (2015–present)
 * Boh – bass (2013–present)
 * Hideki Aoyama – drums (2013–present)
 * Anthony Barone – drums (2019–present)
 * Chris Kelly – guitar (2019–present)
 * CJ Masciantonio – guitar (2019–present)
 * Clint Tustin – bass (2019–present)

Avengers


 * Riho Sayashi – backup dancer (2019–2020)
 * Kano Fujihira – backup dancer (2019–2020)
 * Momoko Okazaki – backup dancer (2019–2021)

Past members


 * Yuimetal (Yui Mizuno) – lead/background vocals, and dancer (2010–2018)
 * Mikio Fujioka – Kami Band; guitar (2013–2018; died 2018)

Other musicians


 * Hidefumi Usami – programmer (2012–?)
 * Shin – drums (2012)
 * Ryo – bass (2012)
 * Shiren – guitar (2012)
 * Hiroki Arai – guitar (2012)
 * Ikuo – bass (2013)
 * Shinichi Kobayashi – guitar (2013)[citation needed]
 * Shuki Maeda – Kami Band; drums (2013)[citation needed]
 * Miz – Kami Band; violin (2013)
 * Kado Shuntaro – Kami Band; drums (2013, 2017)[citation needed]
 * Yuya Maeta – Kami Band; drums (2014)
 * Yasutaka Nomura – Kami Band; guitar (2014)[citation needed]
 * Isamu Takita – Kami Band; bass (2017)
 * Eiji Matsumoto – Kami Band; drums (2018)[citation needed]
 * Yusuke Hiraga – Kami Band; guitar (2018-2019)[citation needed]

Other dancers


 * Minako Maruyama – backup dancer (2018)[citation needed]
 * Minami Tsukui – backup dancer (2018)[citation needed]
 * Shōko Akiyama – backup dancer (2018)[citation needed]
 * Saya Hirai – backup dancer (2018)
 * Kotono Ōmori – backup dancer (2018)

Discography

 * Babymetal (2014)
 * Metal Resistance (2016)
 * Metal Galaxy (2019)

Tours[edit]
See also: List of Babymetal live performances


 * Babymetal World Tour 2014 (2014)
 * Babymetal Back to the USA / UK Tour 2014 (2014)
 * Babymetal World Tour 2015 (2015)
 * Babymetal World Tour 2015 in Japan (2015)
 * Babymetal World Tour 2016: Legend Metal Resistance (2016)
 * Babymetal US Tour 2017 (with Korn and Stone Sour) (2017)
 * The Five Fox Festival in Japan (2017)
 * Big Fox Festival in Japan (2017)
 * Babymetal World Tour 2018 (2018)
 * Metal Galaxy World Tour (2019–2020)

See also[edit]

 * List of J-pop concerts held outside Asia