BABYMETAL on Teen Vogue: "There will always be people who will criticize you"

BABYMETAL at Tokyo Dome performances are featured on Teen Vogue including brief interview  comments by Su-Metal & Moametal. The article describes BABYMETAL's concept, reviews the Tokyo Dome shows including a last paragraph with comments from Suzuka and Moa about critics. Read more below. 

BABYMETAL has a “no social media” policy for their shows. But even if you were allowed to take photos or videos during BABYMETAL performances, it would be a total waste of time and battery to attempt to capture the band’s perfectly coordinated choreography, video elements, and totally unique sound that somehow combines J-Pop with heavy metal.

Composed of Japanese teens Moa Kikuchi (AKA “Moametal”), 17; Suzuka Nakamoto (“Su-metal”), 18; and Yui Mizuno (“Yuimetal”), 17, the group is well on their way to total and complete world domination. The idol-slash-metal trio got off to an epic start when their eponymous premiere album debuted at number 2 on Billboard Japan and topped the World Albums chart, easily standing out with their hyper-fast vocals over a heavy metal band. Things have only gone up from there; the girls opened for Lady Gaga in 2014, announced an upcoming animated series of their own (talk about kawaii), and joined the Red Hot Chili Peppers on their winter UK tour. “I never thought we could get here so soon,” says Su-metal. “To be honest, it’s still unreal.”

The latest on the band’s impressive (and growing) resume? A sold-out world tour, culminating in a two-night extravaganza at Japan’s Tokyo Dome, attended by 110,000 utterly devoted fans.

The first thing I notice when I walk into the massive stadium is actually about a thousand things. With pyrotechnics, lights, multiple stages, and the girls’ red and black costumes (copied by cosplayers in the audience, natch), a live Babymetal show is sensory overload in its most kawaii form. Like a lot of Americans, I fell into a BABYMETAL hole after the trio shredded through “Gimme Chocolate” on The Colbert Show, but what I saw at the Dome was a completely different kind of fandom.

Half hardcore metal fans, half idol-maniacs, the crowd both nights headbanged, sang every lyric, and mimicked the girls’ dancing perfectly throughout every. single. song. Within a half second of “GJ!” starting, everyone (no exaggeration) raised their hands in the girls’ signature kitsune symbol and banged their heads perfectly, yet politely, to the beat.

Fans love BABYMETAL for their mix of sugary sweetness and heavy metal. With Gothic-Lolita uniforms, and lyrics about craving chocolate, ending bullying, and climbing the stairway to adulthood, Babymetal’s music is a far cry from what you might think when you hear the term “metal” music. The male-dominated genre has a notorious problem with misogyny and rape/murder fantasies, but Babymetal is taking the sound back, proving that women not only have a place in the genre, they can change it, too.

Of course, BABYMETAL — and female metal musicians in general — still have a long way to go. From message boards to major websites, debates for and against BABYMETAL rage on. Luckily, their kill ‘em with kindness approach to haters keeps the band going through the fire. “I don’t expect for people to like the same things, so I don’t feel a need to force people to understand who we are,” says Su-Metal. “That’s just the way life is!” adds Moametal. “Some people like us and some people don’t! There will always be people who will criticize you, but if you believe in yourself, that will become your strength.” That’s the nice thing about BABYMETAL’s positive vibes and strong self-confidence: it makes them pretty much untouchable.

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Article & Interview by: Teen Vogue.