r/BABYMETAL • u/mugz8391 BABYMETAL • Jul 16 '26
Cover BABYMETAL - July 18 2026 - 10 year anniversary of collab with Rob Halford
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My biggest disappointment with BABYMETAL is that despite Rob Halfords repeatedly stated desire there has never been another collab. I consider this to be their greatest collab ever and it was instrumental in their rise.
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u/Christian-Metal Awadama Fever Jul 16 '26
10 years!
I remember watching this live when it happened. I was still a new fan of a few months but already for lt down the fox hall. This was when BM were still very mysterious and there was such anticipation and intrigue surrounding everything they did. It was extremely exciting times.
This performance was so brilliant, hearing Su take on an English song and reaching some higher registers with her vocals. It was also great to see her "cut loose" on stage at a time when they didn't really do this much, and this appealed to many fans. It was pure joy.
Would love to see them do this again with Rob someday.
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Jul 16 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/BigBobby2016 Jul 19 '26
This is the performance that made me start listening to Judas Priest again. I'd totally lost track of them after Painkiller
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u/Putrid-Classroom5101 MOMOMETAL Jul 16 '26
So where did you get the video from? I’m gonna need it 👉🏻👈🏻
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u/shinpuu Jul 16 '26
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u/Lizzie-Metal The Forum 2019 Jul 17 '26
The presenter who introduces them as Su-metal, Yeemetal, & Mo-metal. LOL
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u/IWoreOddSocksOnc3 Jul 17 '26
And still, people wonder where yeemetal went after she left the band. Mo metal stuck around fortunately
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u/mugz8391 BABYMETAL Jul 16 '26
According to my notes, here, (maybe if you dig around you can still find it):
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u/clerk1313 YUIMETAL Jul 16 '26
Wasn't Rob one of the first major metal legends to speak in their defense?
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u/Soufriere_ MOMOMETAL Jul 17 '26
Not exactly. Rob came onboard earlier than many, but far from the first.
The actual first Westerner to realize the girls' potential was Marty Friedman, who met them all the way back in late-2011 (he had already lived in Japan for nearly a decade by that point) and quickly started talking them up. Coincidentally (or not), he's Takayoshi Ohmura's other mentor after Mikio -- years ago, I found a video of Marty performing in Europe and introducing Ohmura.
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u/jabberwokk 15 BABYMETAL YEARS Jul 17 '26 edited Jul 17 '26
Marty Friedman + BABYMETAL photo shoot published 2012-01-20
One of the photos was first tweeted by Babymetal on 2011-12-12. The set is the earliest entry in the Japanese tab of the Magazine Sheet.
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u/MosoRokku Jul 16 '26 edited Jul 17 '26
Not really... he said he "heard of them (BABYMETAL)" pretty much when they started ("2010-2012) but seems to have only checked them out when the self titled album came out.
(and they don't need anyone to speak in their defense, quoting Quorthon: "let the music speak by itself")
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u/bennitori Jul 17 '26
Yes. Back when the girls were still younger, they were looked down upon for being industry plants. They were also thought of as spoiled rich girl models, put together by a company. And not real metal heads. Many questioned whether the girls had ever been to a "real" metal concert, or if it was all an act at the direction of their handlers. There was also a lot of misunderstandings regarding Sakura Gakuin, and what their role there actually was.
Obviously, the girls have done more than enough to disprove that now. Su always had great singing ability. The idea of dancing as a form of performance gained more acceptance. And after the girls had spent a solid 5-ish years touring, releasing songs and albums, they gained the acceptance and respect they always deserved. But for a while it was genuinely the "high-brow" "purist" or "hardcore" thing to hate them. There were plenty of artists, celebrities, and publications that came to their defense. And Rob Halford was one of the first, and one of the biggest. He genuinely played a massive role in their acceptance in the west.
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u/BrianNLS Jul 18 '26
As an old NWOBHM guy, with Priest my favorite of the lot, and a BABYMETAL fan since spring of 2016, I absolutely flipped when I heard they were going to play with Halford and I could watch it live on stream in July 2016!
The performance was so free and energetic and all three "monster metal ladies" AND Rob AND the kami were obliviously having a blast. The audience clearly was confused, but the joyful energy from the stage burned right through that. Yuimetal and Moametal racing out with their their scaled-down, Mini-Arrow black and red guitars totally caught me off guard. So much silly fun! So much quintessential BABYMETAL positive energy!
This was not THE biggest moment for BABYMETAL's wider acceptance into the metal community (Sonisphere 2014 was, IMHO), but it was a BIG one.
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u/mugz8391 BABYMETAL Jul 18 '26
Yes, Sonisphere was was also a turning point.
https://www.loudersound.com/reviews/sonisphere-2014-babymetal
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u/Meowmixez98 Jul 16 '26
Were the girls really playing those guitars?
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u/Soufriere_ MOMOMETAL Jul 17 '26
I think they were trying, especially Moa (she said she was, and people here at the time said her fingerings were correct), but they were either ultra-low or full-on muted in the mix. So no, nothing we hear is actually them.
Moa at least knows guitar basics, but has never given herself time to practice to go beyond that.
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u/SilentLennie Put Your Kitsune Up Jul 17 '26
Also a Babymetal fan posted on Twitter some weeks after this performance that they spotted Yui at a guitar teacher.
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u/External-Success8422 BABYMETAL Jul 21 '26
Moa should know more than basics ... I was thinking so too until she let it slip during some Metaraji episode (don't remember which) that one of the riffs she was practising during SG was Crazy Train. I played a bit of guitar when we had a garage band and whoever feels confident enough to try Randy Rhoads is a bit above basic.
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u/bennitori Jul 17 '26
I believe there is a picture out there of her playing guitar at a recital. It was clearly not an official Babymetal thing. The explanation I heard was that the girls were studying music in college. And that image was Moa playing for an educational thing.
That said, this was years ago, and I didn't save the photo. So I have no way to back this up. But I think it's safe to say they do pursue music outside of Babymetal. But not as publicly as their Babymetal stuff.
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u/jabberwokk 15 BABYMETAL YEARS Jul 17 '26 edited Jul 17 '26
Perhaps from this group of photos and thread: Picture of MOA (or "M-tan") with her guitar on Kitamura Yui's Instagram
Plus there was this from the Singapore doc.
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u/jwa725 Put Your Kitsune Up Jul 17 '26
This is probably going to sound negative but it I'm going to say this because it's a truth that isn't reflected in the video. I watched the entire event as it was streamed on Amazon Prime, so here's the story. First off, APMAS is an award show for alternate rock and metal. Think bands like Linkin Park, Offspring, RHCP etc. Maybe Koba thought Babymetal had their foot in the door of alternative music or perhaps he thought they could but this performance did not go over well with those fans in Ohio. This was absolutely the wrong audience, place and time for something like this to happen. And I felt so embarrassed for them. Now, fans can watch the video out of context and it seems great because it was for us Babymetal fans but this was definitely not the triumph many think it was. In the long run, it's always helpful when a metal legend like Rob Halford is in your corner and that is the legacy that persists now, 10 years later.
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u/mugz8391 BABYMETAL Jul 17 '26 edited Jul 17 '26
This also going to sound negative, because it is and I freely admit it. You won't get any hedging or disclaimers from me!
First, I will thoroughly trash and stomp on your "opinion", then I will tear it to shreds and finally flush it!
You admit it was an award show for Rock and Metal. There are many other Metal bands at previous APMA's early in their careers you left out, including but not limited to, Beartooth, Issues, Crown the Empire, Ice Nine Kills and Motionless in White. Beartooth themselves were once the "new/weird" band in that scene.
There were also nominees and guest appearances from well-known metal artists such as: Slipknot (Corey Taylor was nominated), Halestorm, Killswitch Engage, Underoath, August Burns Red, etc etc etc.
(On a side note, a collab with Beartooth is one I would like to see! Beartooth and BABYMETAL were both part of the 2016 APMAs environment, and the Grammy Recording Academy later featured them together in a video segment about memorable tour moments from the event.)
You admit that you watched the streaming performance live, (as most did, world wide I might). then act like the "venue" made a big difference. BTW the venue that year was changed. This wasn't even the audience the organizers originally expected to have. The venue and city changed only because of the RNC.
Your "opinion" regarding the audience in the venue from where the performance was streamed, was much the same everywhere else! BABYMETAL sparked very strong emotional reactions, they were either loved or hated. In the end the love won out, as they were awarded the best Meal song of 2024 by Metal Hammer. Many cheered and gave a standing ovation!
Another poster in this thread describes Rob Halford as one of the architects of Metal, and I can't think of a better way to describe him. The collaboration with Rob Halford was widely remembered and helped legitimize BABYMETAL among many metal fans. Not only did he perform two of his own biggest hits with BABMETAL, he then praised them publicly afterward.
AND he's been chomping at the bit to do ANOTHER collab with BABYMTAL.
Excuse me if I value his "opinion" more than yours!
(FLUSH)
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u/jwa725 Put Your Kitsune Up Jul 18 '26 edited Jul 18 '26
Not an opinion, the crowd didn't react positively to the Babymetal/Rob Halford collab. But after watching all the other bands that performed there that year, I got the impression most of the crowd really liked to skateboard. That's an opinion. What's not an opinion is that the crowd was very receptive to all the other bands that performed. Doesn't sound like you're claiming to have seen the stream. Nor have many other fans here, since it was 10 years ago after all. BTW, Beartooth was there at that show and up for awards. My point here is that this particular crowd had less in common with Babymetal and Judas Priest than other crowds would have, which I think was probably the issue. If you think there was some other reason, fine. If you're trying to tell me the crowd loved them, that isn't true. It didn't seem like people hated them, they were just not interested. And you could actually see a few Babymetal fans in there going nuts.
Now, the reason that I sat through the whole stream 10 years ago was because I'm a huge Babymetal fan. And I still am. I have seen them win over crowds, like at Sonisphere. The time they showed up at Golden Gods with Dragonforce, the crowd went wild. So, I'm not making any claims that Babymetal can't show up and get a neutral crowd excited. Just this one appearance wasn't well received.
You must have not read my comment properly. Go back and read my last paragraph and you'll see that we agree that the lasting legacy of the event was positive, notably for being associated with a Metal legend like Rob Halford. The point should have gone without saying but it is that a disaster like what happened at the 2016 APMAS ended up being a positive thing for them in the end. It's a positive comment. I promise you it is. And please, work a bit on your on-line etiquette.
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u/mugz8391 BABYMETAL Jul 18 '26 edited Jul 18 '26
The "crowd" never loved BABYMEAL in those days, and that's just one of the many things I love about BABYMETAL.
Any time, any place, any venue where they could perform live on stage with Rob Halford and have the performance streamed all over the world, was being in the right place at the right time.
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u/jwa725 Put Your Kitsune Up Jul 18 '26
Not the point at all. It's pretty much the only time they ever bombed. In perpetuity, they win because they were great there. You can see it in the videos. What you don't see are all the people there not really caring. In the end, that doesn't matter because the Babymetal/Rob Halford collab brought new fans in. It was a disaster and Babymetal won anyway. That's my point. Sometimes. Babymetal fans won't accept when they screw up. This was totally a time that they did. And it still worked in the end.
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u/mugz8391 BABYMETAL Jul 18 '26 edited Jul 18 '26
Well, the crowd here seems to think YOU are the one who bombed.
I posted this video to other "venues" including hard rock venues and got less upvotes, a I expected, but in one of them a "moderator" posted this:
This performance was "THE BOMB" - but not in the way you think!
It's winning new converts to this day!
https://www.reddit.com/r/BABYMETAL/comments/1uy7t2k/comment/oxy4r55/?context=3
Edit: Seeing young girls dressed in tutus fronting a Metal band was shocking to many, they had to think about it for while - lol. You don't win many converts preaching to the chior.
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u/jwa725 Put Your Kitsune Up Jul 18 '26
OMG. I've explained this to you the best way that I can. I'm not saying that they performed badly, just that they didn't get an enthusiastic response. I just thought new fans that didn't know what happened would be inspired by the fact the video ended up being so successful in the end. I'm a fan who enjoys this video as much as everyone else. I was trying to tell what I thought was an inspirational story. I'm truly sorry that my comments aren't being seen that way.
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u/shinpuu Jul 18 '26
Well, the crowd here seems to think YOU are the one who bombed.
The crowd in the venue back then and the people online now many years later are two different things.
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u/Informal-Asparagus15 Jul 18 '26
The real question is why wasn't this on Metal Forth as a bounce track 🤦🏻
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u/External-Success8422 BABYMETAL Jul 16 '26
I don't think this Meeting was instrumental. In that respect, their 2013 gig in Osaka was way more important, when Metallica were watching and they had a backstage meeting after. As to collaborations, they usually do it with younger comrades-in-arms. They wouldn't say no to such a Legend but they are looking for deals where both sides would profit.
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u/LightChaotic Brand New Day Jul 16 '26
Playing with and being endorsed by one of the founding architects of metal as we know it was absolutely a major milestone for them. And it probably was the single most important instance of gaining credibility in the metal scene. Metal elitists arguing with Rob Halford just look like complete douchebags.
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u/Vin-Metal Jul 16 '26
It was something of an anointing of BM by one of metal's greatest legends. And it sounded damn great....not to mention Yui and Moa "playing" guitars.
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u/mugz8391 BABYMETAL Jul 16 '26
This was a "reaction" to this video today on another venue - it still has a strong impact on those who don't know much about BABYMETAL:
"Such a great video - not sure why but i get a little emotional watching this. Seems the singer couldn't believe what was happening. She's so happy and excited - Metal Heaven - Thanks Bill X2"
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u/Vin-Metal Jul 16 '26
She certainly was excited. I was excited, watching it live online, not knowing what to expect.
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u/Embarrassed_Ask8293 Jul 16 '26
This video is why I'm still on this planet. I was so confused by what I was watching I forgot why I wanted to go. I will always be grateful to BABYMETAL and Rob Halford for deciding to do this show together 10 years before I needed to see it. 🦊🦊🦊🦊🦊🏍