, known by her

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

Moametal, is a Japanese singer and dancer. She is best known as a member of the

kawaii metal Kawaii metal (also known as cute metal, J-pop metal, or kawaiicore) is a musical genre that blends elements of heavy metal and J-pop that was pioneered in Japan in the early 2010s. The genre combines both Eastern and Western influences that appe ...

band

Babymetal (stylized in all caps as BABYMETAL) is a Japanese kawaii metal band consisting of Suzuka Nakamoto as "Su-metal", Moa Kikuchi as "Moametal" and Momoko Okazaki as "Momometal". The band is produced by Kobametal from the Amuse Inc., Amuse talent a ...

, and was formerly a member of the

idol Idol or Idols may refer to: Religion and philosophy * Cult image, a human-made object that is venerated or worshipped for the deity, spirit or daemon that it embodies or represents * Murti, a devotional image of a deity or saint used during puja ...

group

Sakura Gakuin was a Japanese idol girl group formed in 2010 by the Amuse talent agency. The group's membership fell within the age range of Japanese compulsory education, typically containing between 10 and 12 members at a time who fall between the ages of ...

. She is represented by the talent agency

Amuse Inc. is a Japanese entertainment company that provides artist management services. The artists include idols, musicians, and more. Amuse produces TV and radio programs, commercial films, and movies. Other interests are in publication, music softwa ...

Early life

Kikuchi was born in

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

on July 4, 1999. She is an only child. Before she was born, her mother was approached by a

talent agent A talent agent, or booking agent, is a person who finds work for actors, authors, broadcast journalists, film directors, musicians, models, professional athletes, screenwriters, writers, dancers, and other professionals in various entertainm ...

, but never joined the entertainment industry.

Career

Kikuchi was signed to the talent agency

at the age of 8, after winning Semi-Grand Prix (becoming a runner-up) in the ''Ciao Girl Audition 2007'' held by the company. On August 2, 2010, at the age of 11, Kikuchi joined

, an idol group also managed by Amuse Inc. She joined at the same time as another future

member,

Yui Mizuno , formerly known by her stage name Yuimetal, is a Japanese musician, singer, and dancer. She is a former member of the kawaii metal group Babymetal and the idol group Sakura Gakuin. In October 2018, she left Babymetal due to an undisclosed illness ...

. Sakura Gakuin had not yet released its debut single. During their audition, Kikuchi and Mizuno performed a duo dance cover of "Over The Future" by

Karen Girl's was a Japanese three-member girl group formed in 2008 by the Amuse, Inc., Amuse talent agency. The group performed songs for the anime ''Zettai Karen Children'' for the duration of the show. History Karen Girl's was formed from elementary schoo ...

; two members of that group,

Ayami Mutō is a Japanese idol, singer, and model. She was represented by Amuse Inc. from 2004 to 2015, and has been a member of three musical groups formed by the company: Karen Girl's, Sakura Gakuin, and its first sub-unit Twinklestars. Biography Mutō ...

and

Suzuka Nakamoto , known by her stage name Su-metal, is a Japanese singer. She is best known as a member of the kawaii metal band Babymetal, and was formerly a member of Karen Girl's and Sakura Gakuin. She is represented by the talent agency Amuse Inc. Early lif ...

, had also recently joined Sakura Gakuin. Besides performing as a whole group, Sakura Gakuin members were also divided into smaller subgroups known as "clubs". Each club had its own musical group that recorded its own songs. Kikuchi and Mizuno first became members of the "Baton Club" and its musical group Twinklestars. As backing singers and dancers, they were later teamed with lead singer Suzuka Nakamoto in a "Heavy Music Club", with the associated music group being named Babymetal. Before the formation of this club, none of the three members knew what heavy metal was. Babymetal became an independent recording group in 2013. Kikuchi "graduated" from Sakura Gakuin in 2015, and now performs with Babymetal exclusively. Kikuchi and Mizuno have a writing credit under the name "Black Babymetal" on the first Babymetal album in 2014, having written "Song 4" together during a bus trip. The second Babymetal album, ''

Metal Resistance ''Metal Resistance'' is the second studio album by Japanese heavy metal band Babymetal. It was first released on , in Japan through BMD Fox Records, and on , worldwide through earMusic, RED Associated Labels (RAL), and Sony Music Entertainmen ...

'', was released in 2016. A third album, ''

Metal Galaxy ''Metal Galaxy'' is the third studio album by Japanese Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Babymetal. It was first released in Japan on October 8, 2019, with an international release following on October 11, 2019. The album was released through BM ...

'', followed in 2019.

Personal life

Kikuchi is an idol ''

otaku is a Japanese word that describes people with consuming interests, such as anime, manga, video games, computers or other highly enthusiastic hobbies. Its contemporary use originated with a 1983 essay by Akio Nakamori in '' Manga Burikko''. ...

'', which was notably mentioned as part of her introduction in the Sakura Gakuin song "Mezase! Super Lady". Her favorite group is °C-ute, and she is acquainted with her favorite former member of the group,

Airi Suzuki is a Japanese singer, actress, model, and radio personality associated with Up-Front Works. In 2002, she joined Hello! Project as a member of Hello! Project Kids and later debuted as the lead vocalist of the Japanese idol girl group Cute (Japan ...

. In interviews, she has also mentioned

Bring Me the Horizon Bring Me the Horizon are a British Rock music, rock band, formed in Sheffield, England in 2004. The group currently consists of lead vocalist Oli Sykes, drummer Matt Nicholls, guitarist Lee Malia and bassist Matt Kean (musician), Matt Kean. T ...

Limp Bizkit Limp Bizkit is an American nu metal band from Jacksonville, Florida. Its lineup consists of lead vocalist Fred Durst, drummer John Otto (drummer), John Otto, guitarist Wes Borland, turntablist DJ Lethal and bassist Sam Rivers (bassist), Sam ...

Måneskin is an Italian Rock music, rock band formed in Rome in 2016. The band is composed of lead vocalist Damiano David, bassist Victoria De Angelis, guitarist Thomas Raggi, and drummer Ethan Torchio. Performing in the streets in their early days, Mån ...

, and

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

as her favorite bands. She enjoys watching

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

and her favorite show is ''

Love Live! is a Japanese multimedia project created by Hajime Yatate and Sakurako Kimino and co-produced by Kadokawa Corporation, Kadokawa through ASCII Media Works; Bandai Namco Music Live through music label Lantis (company), Lantis; and animation studi ...

Associated acts

(2010–2015) **

Twinklestars was a Japanese idol girl group formed in 2010 by the Amuse Inc., Amuse talent agency. The group's membership fell within the age range of education in Japan, Japanese compulsory education, typically containing between 10 and 12 members at a tim ...

(Sakura Gakuin sub-unit) ** Mini-Pati (Sakura Gakuin sub-unit) *

(2010–present) ** Black Babymetal (Babymetal sub-unit)

Discography

With Sakura Gakuin

*'' Sakura Gakuin 2010 Nendo: Message'' (2011) *'' Sakura Gakuin 2011 Nendo: Friends'' (2012) *'' Sakura Gakuin 2012 Nendo: My Generation'' (2013) *'' Sakura Gakuin 2013 Nendo: Kizuna'' (2014) *'' Sakura Gakuin 2014 Nendo: Kimi ni Todoke'' (2015)

With Babymetal

*''

'' (2014) *''

'' (2016) * ''

'' (2019) * '' The Other One'' (2023) * ''Metal Forth'' (2025)

Notes

References

External links

Official profile at Amuse Inc.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kikuchi, Moa Babymetal members Sakura Gakuin members 1999 births Living people Japanese female idols Japanese women heavy metal singers 21st-century Japanese women singers Singers from Nagoya Kawaii metal musicians Amuse Inc. talents