BABYMETAL

Babymetal (Japanese: ベビーメタル, Hepburn: Bebīmetaru), stylized in all caps, is a Japanese kawaii metal band formed in Tokyo in 2010. It consists of Suzuka Nakamoto as "Su-metal" (lead vocals, dancing), Moa Kikuchi as "Moametal" (backing vocals, dancing), and Momoko Okazaki as "Momometal" (backing vocals, dancing). The band is produced by Kobametal from the talent agency Amuse Inc. Their vocals are backed by instrumentation performed by a group of session musicians known as the "Kami Band". Babymetal was created with the concept of fusing the heavy metal and Japanese idol genres. Initially a sub-unit of the Japanese idol group Sakura Gakuin, which features school-aged members who leave upon graduation, the band became an independent act in 2013 following Nakamoto's graduation from Sakura Gakuin. The band originally consisted of Su-metal, Moametal, and Yui Mizuno as "Yuimetal". In 2018, after Mizuno had been absent from live performances for almost a year, Babymetal announced she had left the band due to health issues. During her absence, the band performed with one or more backup dancers; Okazaki, a former member of Sakura Gakuin who had served as one of those backup dancers, officially joined as the third member in 2023.