Babymetal first made a splash in the United States because the internet.
Who on earth, wondered intrepid explorers of “kawaii” culture, the Japanese word for all things cute and joy-sparking, were these teenage performers in matching outfits singing and dancing their hearts out over sludgy hard rock riffs?
Babymetal debuted live in 2010 and released its first single “Doki Doki Morning” a year later. As their fame in Japan grew, they started to attract attention overseas too, slowly building up a following big enough that on Friday, Oct. 11, they headline the Forum in Inglewood.
One of the three original members, Yuimetal, the stage name of Yui Mizuno, left the band a year ago for health reasons. But Su-metal, or Suzuku Nakamota, now 21, and Moametal, also known as Moa Kikuchi, now 20, answered a few questions by email before they arrived in Southern California for the show.
Q: What about performing metal music do you enjoy the most?
A: Su-Metal: It’s always fun to see fans getting into the rhythm, enjoying our performance, and seeing them sing along with us!
Q: You were quite young when Babymetal started — what was it like to be so young in a band like this?
A: Moametal: When I first became involved in Babymetal, I honestly hadn’t known what metal music was about so everything was new to me. But after 9 years, I’ve come to know a lot more about metal music and how incredible it is. I’m very honored to be a part of all of this since I was young.
Q: What was the reaction at first when people saw three young women like Su-Metal, Moametal and Yuimetal on stage going crazy with this kind of music?
A: Su-Metal: It seemed like the audience’s reaction was like, ‘What in the world?!’ Because they looked very surprised.
Q: How are fans in the United States the same or different than fans at home?
A: Moametal: No matter what country, the love our fans have is absolutely amazing and we are so lucky to have so much support from them. To be able to tour different countries and see our fans is always a valuable moment and we try our best to return the love!
Q: Who are metal bands or solo performers who you admire or inspired by?
A: Su-Metal: Metallica!
Q: If you could collaborate with any other group or musician who might it be?
Moametal: When we saw the Red Hot Chili Peppers recently in Japan during a festival, we discussed that we hope to do something together again so I hope that we can do another collaboration with them. Also, we’ve always wanted to collaborate with Bring Me the Horizon so to be able to have them for our November performance in Japan is something we’re looking forward to!
Q: How challenging or difficult in any way (physically, mentally, etc.) it is to sing and dance and perform in such a high-energy environment as a metal show.
A: Su-Metal: It is sometimes challenging to sync the rhythm to the singing, dancing, and breathing.
“Doki Doki Morning,” a video of which is above, was the band’s first single. One of their latest, “Pa Pa Ya!!,” is below. Together, they offer a good look at how Babymetal has grown up from its start as tweens to the young women they are today.
