Kawaii Metal, For Those That Find Metal Intimidating
Kawaii metal is simply a mixture of J-pop and metal music genres. Think of the music as being loud and crazy mixed with cute singing and bright melodies. That’s Kawaii metal. The first two bands that come to mind when I think of Kawaii metal are BABYMETAL and LADYBABY/DEADLIFT LOLITA/BABYBEARD (explanation on the naming later). Kawaii metal can be a great segue into metal because when most people hear metal music they think about loud and obnoxious music with devilish themes attached to them. I think of Kawaii metal as more soothing while still packing a punch!
The band BABYMETAL is credited as being the pioneer of Kawaii metal. This all wouldn’t be possible without the mastermind behind the band, Kei ”Kobametal” Kobayashi. He is the one that realized the talent of the first member of the band, Suzuka Nakamoto, for her amazing ability to sing and later on the scream and dance (their roles mentioned in the BABYMETAL wiki) duo, Yui Mizuno and Moa Kikuchi, who make up the rest of BABYMETAL. At the time of their formation, Kawaii metal hadn’t really been realized as a genre of music. BABYMETAL’s huge success got them recognized as the pioneer of Kawaii metal. Their most watched song on Youtube with over 140 million views is called “Gimme Chocolate!!” which is about craving chocolate, but knowing that too much of it isn’t healthy for you.
BABYMETAL, the sub-unit/club of the idol group Sakura Gakuin, was formed in 2010 under the talent agency of Amuse. The band first consisted of Suzuka Nakamoto until Yui Mizuno and Moa Kikuchi (who joined Sakura Gakuin 4 months after Suzuka was appointed to the newly formed idol group Sakura Gakuin) were transferred from the Baton Club to the Heavy Music Club. The three of them together would perform as BABYMETAL. After Sakura Gakuin was disbanded, BABYMETAL would still keep their band name and perform to the world as a band rather than an idol group. Since the band’s inception, they have produced 4 albums in total: BABYMETAL, METAL RESISTANCE, METAL GALAXY, and THE OTHER ONE.
Out of all three of these bands or groups, only one person is seen consistently throughout. That person’s name is Richard Magarey who goes by the name Ladybeard. While he is known for his pro-wrestling career, that isn’t what I’m going to be talking about. The Australian-born man has been part of two Kawaiicore (another name for Kawaii metal) groups and is currently part of the group BABYBEARD which consists of Nakayama Suzu (Suzu), Hinata Kotomi (Kotomi), and none other than Richard Magarey (Ladybeard). Their debut song is NIPPON KARA KONNICHIWA.
Some people might love and some people may despise it. Like with all music though, if you love it you never stop listening to it! It doesn’t matter if you like it and someone else doesn’t. Listen to it because it brings you joy! Never be afraid to express yourself through music because you never know what you may learn about yourself or what that music may inspire you to do or become. Music can be interpreted in many ways and the reason why I love Japanese music is because of their beautifully crafted lyrics. Learning what a song translates to is eye-opening to me. The surprise I get from translating a Japanese song that I have been listening to on repeat is a joy that never gets old.
Sources:
https://babymetal.fandom.com/wiki/BABYMETAL
https://babymetal.fandom.com/wiki/Nakamoto_Suzuka
https://babymetal.fandom.com/wiki/Kikuchi_Moa
https://babymetal.fandom.com/wiki/Mizuno_Yui
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babymetal
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzuka_Nakamoto
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moa_Kikuchi
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yui_Mizuno
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobametal
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladybeard
https://jpop.fandom.com/wiki/BABYBEARD