#009 / From : Eunice Chong (Singapore)
I’ve been a fan of BABYMETAL since 2011 when Sakura Gakuin announced them as a sub-unit and released the “Doki Doki Morning” PV Preview on YouTube.
When I first saw the preview, it was really scary even though it’s just a short video, especially when I’ve never heard of any metal songs before. But I decided to continue follow them as they are a part of Sakura Gakuin, the first JPOP group I liked since 2010 Dec.
When BABYMETAL release a new song “Iine!!” after a year, I thought the song was really cool, especially the rapping part~ “Headbanger!!” is totally awesome too! But as I still thought the PV setting is really scary, I only listen to the songs most of the time and never watch the PV much.
2013 is the year for BABYMETAL. Remember when they released a teaser for “Ijime! Dame Zettai!” on their official YouTube channel, the intro was really cool and very unmetal-liked which I was very excited about it. When I first heard the song when it’s released, I fell in love for it as the song isn’t very “metallic” compared to the previous few. And when “Megitsune” was released at the middle of the year, I started notice more people talking about BABYMETAL, and that was when I started to realise that BABYMETAL is rising! This year, BABYMETAL has released their first full album and “GIMME CHOCO!!”, seeing how many English comments about the song and PV, and how BABYMETAL appeared on the” YouTube Reaction” made me realised that ‘Ah.. BABYMETAL is no longer just sub-unit of Sakura Gakuin but a unique group that has been liked all over Asia, Europe and America!’
My favourite BABYMETAL song is “Uki Uki Midnight” and I’ve seen BABYMETAL twice in real-life when they came to Singapore to attend the annual event “Anime Festival Asia”. The first time I saw BABYMETAL was during a fanmeet + autograph event. When I met them in real-life for the first time, my first reaction was like ‘How much powder did they apply?’ as I noticed they had thick layers of powder on their faces. When it was my turn to go up to them, I was at a lost and don’t know what to say. In the end, all I do is just make a kitsune sign and say “Hello” and “Thank you”. After the event, I was really happy to receive 2 autographed cds, but also regret a lot for not saying more things to the girls. So I decided to attend the Day 2 event which is to receive an autographed sticker from the girls. When I went up to them, YUIMETAL saw me and was like “Hello! Yesterday…”, and that was when I found out that she actually remembered me from the previous day activity. I was very happy and had more courage to talk to them. So while YUIMETAL continued to sign the sticker, I told her that I’ve been a big fan of Sakura Gakuin, I love BABYMETAL and I will always support them. I’m not sure whether she understands what I say but it’s really sweet to see her returning me a bright smile and waved her kitsune signs at me.
Being a METAL-RESISTANCE since the start allow me to see how much BABYMETAL has grown these few years. It makes me feel proud when I see them getting well-known in many countries. The reason I first like them was due to Sakura Gakuin. Even though BABYMETAL is no longer a sub-unit of Sakura Gakuin, I’d still give them my biggest support and can’t wait to see how the group will continue to conquer the world after YUIMETAL and MOAMETAL graduate from Sakura Gakuin next year.
Eunice Chong / Singapore
