BABYMETAL
- BABYMETAL is a girl trio consisting of SU-METAL (lead singer), YUIMETAL & MOAMETAL.
- Its theme is the fusion of heavy metal music and (J-pop) idols.
- The official notation is written in uppercase without a space.
- The pronunciation is "bébiméṭl" not "béɪbiméṭl" because it is a pun of "heavy metal" and "baby", but its staff seem not to care if people outside Japan pronounce it "béɪbiméṭl".
- The Japanese notation is "ベビーメタル" (bebiimetaru). The Japanese fans often call abbreviatedly "ベビメタ" (bebimeta).
- In 2010 autumn, it was formed as the heavy music club (重音部; juuon-bu) among the extra-curricular activities (or the sub groups) of an idol girl group "Sakura Gakuin" (さくら学院; cherry blossom school).
- On 2010 Nov. 28th, BABYMETAL debuted at Sakura Gakuin's first school festival concert.
- In 2011 Jul.- 2012 Aug., BABYMETAL performed mainly at Sakura Gakuin's concerts and in Idol Festivals (2 or 3 songs).
- On 2011 Oct. 24th, its first single "Doki Doki * Morning" (as towel with DVD) was released.
- On 2012 Jul. 21st, its first solo concert (6 songs) was held at Rockmaykan, Tokyo.
- On 2012 Oct. 6th, Dec. 20th & 2013 Feb. 1st, solo concerts named "Legend I", "D", & "Z" were held, and the live backing band "Kami Band" accompanied the songs for the first time.
- On 2012 Nov. 10th, its first overseas concert was held in Anime Festival Asia Singapore 2012.
- On 2013 Feb. 1st, it was announced that its activity would be time-limitedly extended after Miss Suzuka should graduate from Sakura Gakuin in 2013 Mar., but the time limit was not announced.
- In 2013 Jul.- Oct., BABYMETAL performed in several rock festivals with the live backing band.
- On 2013 Nov. 20th, its first live BD (Legend I,D,Z) was released (the limited DVD on Oct. 19th).
- On 2013 Dec. 28th, its first overseas solo concert was held in Singapore.
- On 2014 Feb. 26th, its first CD album was released.
- On 2014 Mar. 1st&2nd, its milestone concerts were held at Bodôkan, Tokyo.
- In 2014 Jul.- Aug., its first world tour was held (4 solo concerts & 2 rock festivals: Paris, Koeln, "Sonisphere UK", London, Los Angeles & "Heavy Motreal").
- In 2015 May&Jun., its first CD album was released also in Europe & North America.
- On 2016 Apr. 2nd, its concert is to be held at Wembley Arena, London.
- Its early three songs are also included in Sakura Gakuin's CD albums (and two in DVDs).
MOAMETAL, SU-METAL, YUIMETAL, 2011
YUIMETAL, SU-METAL, MOAMETAL, 2013
MOAMETAL, SU-METAL, YUIMETAL, 2015
- Please note that these below explanations for names are general interpretations. Usually parents decide the sound first, and then choose the favorable kanji.
- Private matters written below are said or written by themselves in some interviews or in Sakura Gakuin's journal.
- Activities as a member of Sakura Gakuin or BABYMETAL are excepted.
SU-METAL
- Her real name is "中元 すず香" (なかもと すずか; Suzuka NAKAMOTO).
- "すず" (suzu) is "鈴" (bell) or "涼" (suzushii; cool (of temp.)) and "香"(ka) means fragrance.
In an interview (thanks to Anonymous san on 2014 May 6), she said her "suzu" means a bell, but it is uncertain whether her parents had really told her so or it was just her casual remark. - She is called "suː" (long vowel) and written in kana "すぅ" (the second is small u), so "SU-METAL" is pronounced as "suːmeṭl".
- She was born on 1997 Dec. 20th.
- She has grown up in Hiroshima City (West Japan).
- In 2002 Nov., she won the grand pix of Bandai Jeweldrop (toy cosmetics) image girl contest, and she appeared in its ads in 2003.
- In 2006 spring, she started taking lessons of dance and singing at Actor's School Hiroshima.
- In 2007 spring, she won the second prize of Amuse's starkids audition and she contracted with Amuse Inc. for artist management.
- In early 2008, she was chosen as a member of Karen Girl's (可憐Girl's) with one year older MUTÔ Ayami & SHIMA Yuika to sing the opening themes of the anime "Zettai Karen Children" (絶対可憐チルドレン; Absolutely Lovely Children).
- In 2008 Jun.- 2009 Mar., Karen Girl's released two CD singles & one CD album, and appeared in one big anime song festival & several events, and it was dissolved because the anime ended.
- In 2009 Mar. & 2010 Jun., she performed in a musical drama "冒険者たち" (Bokensha-tachi; a.k.a. The Adventure of Ganba).
- In 2010 Apr., she joined Sakura Gakuin as an original member.
- In 2012 Mar., she moved to Tokyo with her mother & second sister, leaving her father & first sister in Hiroshima.
- On 2013 Mar. 31st, she graduated from Sakura Gakuin because of its age limitation.
- She has two older sisters. The second is Himeka NAKAMOTO (中元 日芽香 a.k.a. Hime-tan) who joined an idol girl group "Nogizaka46" (乃木坂46) in 2012 Mar.
- She has said
manyseveral times she wants to be a singer-songwriter in the future, and she mentioned YUI (who sang "Good-bye Days" etc.) in 2013 Mar. and Gabrielle APLIN in 2014 Feb.
YUIMETAL
- Her real name is Yui MIZUNO / 水野 由結 (みずの ゆい).
- "結"(yui, yuu) means binding some things in one, doing up hair, customary collaboration in farming, etc. "由"(yuu, yoshi) means a reason/cause, but I guess this kanji is added only to read "結" as "yui" since it can be also read as "musubu" (the meanings are alike).
- She was born on 1999 Jun. 20th.
- She has grown up in Kanagawa Pref. (probably in Kawasaki City, near Tokyo, since she is a fan of a pro football club "Kawasaki Frontale").
- In 2007, she appeared in a kids fashion magazine "Kids Style" as an amateur model.
- In 200X, she started taking dance lessons (apart from Amuse Inc.)
- In 2008, she appeared in a TV CM of children's clothing after she contracted with Amuse Inc.
- In 2009, she performed in some TV dramas as a child actress.
- In 2010 May&Jun., she performed in a stage drama "おくりびと" (Okuri-bito).
- In 2010 Aug., she & Miss Moa joined Sakura Gakuin (four months delay was a gimmick and they were substantially original members).
- On 2015 Mar. 29th, she graduated from Sakura Gakuin because of its age limitation.
- She has one older brother & one younger brother.
- She is a huge fan of Karen Girl's, and she says its "Over The Future" encouraged her very very much when one of her family was seriously ill in 2008.
- She is a huge fan of Ariana GRANDE since she watched a TV drama "Victorious" (in 2013?).
MOAMETAL
- Her real name is Moa KIKUCHI / 菊地 最愛 (きくち もあ).
- "最" (mottomo) means "most" and "愛" (ai) means love. Usually "最愛" is read as "sai-ai" and means "the most loved ...", but her parents meant "最も愛を大切に" (Mottomo ai o taisetu ni!; Cherish the love most!), and this is her catchphrase.
- She was born on 1999 Jul. 4th.
- She has grown up in Nagoya City (Central Japan).
- In 200X, started taking classic guitar lessons (but she seems not to have had enough time for guitar practice).
- In 2007 Aug., she won the second prize of the Ciao Girl audition, and she contracted with Amuse Inc.
- In 2007?-2009?, she went to Amuse's Osaka branch once a month to take lessons.
- In 2008-2010, she appeared in Ciao (a girls' comic magazine) as a fashion model, and in some TV CM (McDonald's, etc).
- In 2010 Aug., she & Miss Yui joined Sakura Gakuin (four months delay was a gimmick and they were substantially original members).
- In 2011 autumn, she moved to Yokohama (near Tokyo) with her family.
- On 2015 Mar. 29th, she graduated from Sakura Gakuin because of its age limitation.
- She has no sister & no brother.
- she loves idols and animes since she watched an anime "Kirarin Revolution" (きらりん☆レボリューション; Sparkling Revolution; 2006-2009) in which a girl became an J-pop idol.
- She is a huge fan of ℃-ute (Cute; one of sister groups of Morning Musume.), especially Airi SUZUKI (鈴木愛理), since BABYMETAL & C-ute appeared together in an idol festival in 2012 Apr.
Which is Yui chan and which is Moa chan?
- Miss Yui's hair has a natural wave. / Miss Moa's hair is straight.
- Miss Moa's face is relatively triangular. / Miss Yui's face is relatively round.
- YUIMETAL wears a glove on the right hand & MOAMETAL on the left now, but they wore it oppositely until 2014 Mar.
- MOAMETAL often stands stage left & YUIMETAL on stage right, but their positions differ depending on the tunes and they interchange their positions even in one tune.
- Miss Moa's voice is brighter. / Miss Yui's voice is softer.
- MOAMETAL's voice comes from the right channel and YUIMETAL's from the left in "4 no Uta" & "IJIME, DAME, ZETTAI" of the first CD album.