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)
== Awards and nominations ==
Year	Nominee / work 	Award 	Result
2014	Babymetal 	2014 MTV Europe Music Awards — Wild Card for Best Japanese Act 	Pre-nominated
2014	Babymetal 	NEO Awards 2014 — Best Musical Act 	Won
2015	Babymetal 	7th CD Shop Awards — Grand Prix 	Won
2015	Babymetal 	Loudwire 4th Annual Music Awards — Best New Artist of the Year Award 	Won
2015	Babymetal 	Kerrang! Awards 2015 — Spirit of Independence Award 	Won
2015	Babymetal 	Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards 2015 — Breakthrough Award 	Won
2015	Babymetal 	2015 MTV Europe Music Awards — Best Japanese Act 	Nominated
2015	Babymetal 	2015 MTV Video Music Awards Japan — Best Metal Artist 	Won
2015	Babymetal 	GQ Men of the Year 2015 Award, Special Prize "Discovery of the year" 	Won
2015	Babymetal 	Vogue Japan Women of the Year 2015 	Won
2015	Babymetal 	NEO Awards 2015 — Best Musical Act 	Won
2015	Babymetal 	Loudwire 5th Annual Music Awards — Most Devoted Fans of 2015 	Won
2015	Babymetal 	Loudwire 5th Annual Music Awards — Best Live Act of 2015 	Won
2015	"Road of Resistance"	Loudwire 5th Annual Music Awards — Best Metal Song of 2015 	Won
2016	Metal Resistance 	Loudwire — Most Anticipated Release of April 2016 	Won
2016	Metal Resistance 	2016 MTV Video Music Awards Japan — Best Album of the Year -Japan- 	Won
2016	"Karate" 	2016 MTV Video Music Awards Japan — Best Metal Video (Japan) 	Won
2016	"Karate" 	2016 MTV Video Music Awards Japan — Best Group Video (Japan) 	Nominated
2016	Babymetal 	Kerrang! Awards 2016 — Best Live Band 	Won
2016	Babymetal 	Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards 2016 — Best International Band 	Nominated
2016	Babymetal 	2016 Alternative Press Music Awards — Best International Band 	Nominated
2016	Babymetal 	2016 AIM Independent Music Awards — Best Live Act 	Won
2016	Babymetal 	Revolver Music Awards 2016 — Best New Talent 	Nominated
2017	Metal Resistance 	Loudwire 6th Annual Music Awards — Best Metal Album of 2016 	Won
2017	Metal Resistance 	Loudwire 6th Annual Music Awards — Best Metal Song of 2016 - "Karate" (music video)	Won
2017	Babymetal 	Loudwire 6th Annual Music Awards — Rock Goddess of the Year 2016 — "Su-metal" 	Won
2017	Babymetal 	Loudwire 6th Annual Music Awards — Best Live Act 2016 — "Babymetal" 	Won
2017	Babymetal 	Loudwire 6th Annual Music Awards — Most Devoted Fans 2016 	Won
2017	Babymetal 	Loudwire 7th Annual Music Awards — Most Dedicated Fans 2017 	Won
2017	Babymetal 	2017 MTV Europe Music Awards — Best Japan Act 	Won
2020	Metal Galaxy 	2020 MTV Video Music Awards Japan — Best Album Of The Year 	Won
2020	Metal Galaxy 	 	
2020	Metal Galaxy 	 	
2020	Metal Galaxy 	 	
2020	Metal Galaxy 	 	
2020	 	 	
2020	 	 	
== See also[edit] ==
* List of J-pop concerts held outside Asia
Category:Singers
Category:Females
Category:Musicians
Category:Musicians from Tokyo
Category:J-Pop artists
Category:Japanese
Category:Japan
Category:Unikitty!
Category:Unikitty
Category:Heavy Metal
Category:Rock bands
Category:Bands