, 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 ...

Su-metal, is a Japanese singer. 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

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 ...

and

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

Nakamoto was born in

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui has b ...

on December 20, 1997. Her mother works with gemstones and her father played in a rock band called Hooligans. She is the youngest of three sisters. One of her sisters,

Himeka Nakamoto is a Japanese mental health counselor, radio personality, author, and former idol. She was a first-generation member of the idol group Nogizaka46. Career In 2006, Nakamoto enrolled in Actor's School Hiroshima as part of the sixteenth batch, j ...

, is a former 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

Nogizaka46 is a Japanese female idol group produced by Yasushi Akimoto, created as the "official rival" of the group AKB48. They are the first group from the Sakamichi Series, which also includes sister groups Sakurazaka46 (formerly Keyakizaka46), Yoshim ...

; they studied together at the

Actor's School Hiroshima , commonly abbreviated to ASH, is a performing arts school in Hiroshima, Japan, founded in 1999. It is managed by the production company , a subsidiary of Shinhiroshima Telecasting, and is located within TSS Production offices. It has a longstan ...

(ASH) and sang together in a duo called Tween.

Career

In 2002, Nakamoto won the Grand Prix in the Image Girl contest for Jewel Drop, a line of toy cosmetics produced by

Bandai is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Taitō, Taitō, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Toys & Collectables America and Bandai UK, are respectively headquartered ...

, subsequently starring in several Jewel Drop commercials. In 2006, Nakamoto was admitted to

(ASH). She studied with another future Sakura Gakuin member, , with whom she had been acquainted before attending the school. She also had a rivalry with

Riho Sayashi is a Japanese actress, singer and dancer. She is a former member of the Japanese pop group Morning Musume and the duo Peaberry. In 2019, she became a touring member of Babymetal, including in their performance at Glastonbury Festival 2019. Ca ...

, future

Morning Musume , formerly and commonly known as and colloquially referred to as , is a Japanese girl group, holding the second highest overall single sales (of a female group) on the Oricon, Oricon charts as of February 2012, with the Oricon record of most to ...

member and

support dancer, as they were considered the school's top two students at the time. In 2007, she was signed to the talent agency

after becoming a runner-up in the ''2nd Star Kids Audition'' held by the company. In 2008, her agency formed a trio called

, and Nakamoto was selected to be in it. The group was introduced as a little sister of the girl trio

Perfume Perfume (, ) is a mixture of fragrance, fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), Fixative (perfumery), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agre ...

and sang several theme songs for the anime ''

Zettai Karen Children ''Psychic Squad'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Takashi Shiina. It was serialized in Shogakukan's manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' from July 2005 to July 2021, with its chapters collec ...

'', disbanding on March 31, 2009, after the anime ended its run. In March 2009, Nakamoto was cast in a musical stage adaptation of the 1972 Japanese novel by Atsuo Saitō. ''The Adventurers'' was performed again in June 2010, with Nakamoto playing the role of Shioji. In April 2010, Nakamoto became a founding member of

, an idol group created by her agency. The group members also formed sub-units called "clubs", each of which released their own songs as a unit. Nakamoto became a member of the , which released songs under the name Babymetal, and included fellow Sakura Gakuin members

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 ...

and

Moa Kikuchi , known by her stage name Moametal, is a Japanese singer and dancer. She is best known as a member of the kawaii metal band Babymetal, and was formerly a member of the idol group Sakura Gakuin. She is represented by the talent agency Amuse Inc ...

. In the spring of 2013, Nakamoto graduated from junior high school and therefore had to "graduate" from Sakura Gakuin (which limits girls up to the junior high age). Her graduation concert was held on March 31 at the

Tokyo International Forum The is a multi-purpose exhibition center in Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. The complex is generally considered to be in the Yūrakuchō business district, being adjacent to Yūrakuchō Station, but it is administratively in the Marunouchi district. Toky ...

. Nakamoto continued to perform with Babymetal, which had been spun off from Sakura Gakuin following her graduation, under the stage name Su-metal. Her first album with Babymetal was released in February 2014. Nakamoto ranked ninth place on the

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that ...

News ranking for "2018 Rankings for Anticipation of New Adults", commenting on her "overwhelming singing ability". In October 2022, with the release of the single "Divine Attack (Shingeki)", Nakamoto was credited for the first time as a lyricist on a song by Babymetal.

Personal life

Nakamoto tends to compare songs to colors. She is a fan of the metal band

Sabaton A sabaton or solleret is part of a knight's body armour, body armor that covers the foot. History Sabatons from the 14th and 15th centuries typically end in a tapered point well past the actual toes of the wearer's foot, following poulaines, f ...

Associated acts

(2008–2009) *

(2010–2013) *

(2010–present)

Timeline

Discography

With Karen Girl's

* ''Fly to the Future'' (2009)

With Sakura Gakuin

* '' Sakura Gakuin 2010 Nendo: Message'' (2011) * '' Sakura Gakuin 2011 Nendo: Friends'' (2012) * '' Sakura Gakuin 2012 Nendo: My Generation'' (2013)

With Babymetal

* ''

'' (2014) * ''

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 ...

'' (2016) * ''

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 ...

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

Filmography

Anime

* ''

'' (2009), cameo as herself with Karen Girl's – episode 40

Commercial

* ''Oshii! Hiroshima'' (2012)

Theater

* (2009) * (2010), Shioji

References

External links

Official profile at Amuse Inc.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nakamoto, Suzuka Babymetal members Sakura Gakuin members 1997 births Living people Japanese female idols Japanese women heavy metal singers 21st-century Japanese women singers Singers from Hiroshima Kawaii metal musicians Amuse Inc. talents Actor's School Hiroshima alumni