“What is going on in Japan!?”
Baby Metal is a new idol group that fuzes traditional J-pop music and aesthetics with Metal. Considering that this musical group originatedĀ as a sub-unit of another Japanese pop idol group (Sakura Gakuin) and that the members are 3 young girls whose ages range from 12 to 14, the “metal” influence in their music is was clearly a marketing gimmick. These three girls, “SU-METAL” (14), “MOA-METAL” (12), and “YUI-METAL” (12), are to metal music as Avril Lavigne was to punk music. Their overall look is a mixture between sanitized mall goth and the slightly disturbing school girl lolita fantasy that dominates most young idol groups. Much like Menudo, these girls will probably be tossed to the side as soon as they hit a certain level of “maturity”.
Despite my usual distaste for both j-pop, idols, and metal music… somehow this song works for me. It has the perfect balance of “ridiculous” and catchy chorus to get me to listen to the whole song. Interestingly enough the band is being marketed to an english audience as well. Their first single “Doki DokiāMorning” (seen above) is available to purchase in the US itunes store and the record label also produced an english language promotional video that can be seen after the jump. I guess Japan has finally realized that the western perception that Japan is “bizarre” can be profitable.
Continue reading
