Suzuka Nakamoto, known by her stage namesSuzuka and Su-metal, is a Japanese musician, singer and model. She is best known as a member of the kawaii metal bandBabymetal. She is represented by the talent agency Amuse, Inc. and has been a member of three musical groups formed by the company: Karen Girl's, Sakura Gakuin, and Babymetal.
Biography
In 2002, Nakamoto won the Grand Prix in the Image Girl contest for Jewel Drop, a line of toycosmetics produced by Bandai, subsequently starring in several Jewel Drop commercials. In 2006, Nakamoto was admitted to Actor’s School Hiroshima. 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, future Morning Musume member and Babymetal support dancer, as they were considered the school's top two students at the time. In 2007, she was signed to the talent agency Amuse, Inc. after becoming a runner-up in the 2nd Star Kids Audition held by the company. In 2008, her agency formed a trio called Karen Girl's, and Suzuka was selected to be in it. The group was introduced as a little sister of the girl trio Perfume and sang several theme songs for the anime Zettai Karen Children, disbanding on March 31, 2009, after the anime ended its run. In April 2010, Nakamoto became a founding member of Sakura Gakuin, 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. Suzuka became a member of the “Heavy Music” club, which released songs under the name Babymetal, which also included fellow Sakura Gakuin members Yui Mizuno and Moa Kikuchi. In the spring of 2013, Nakamoto graduated from junior high school and therefore had to "graduate" from Sakura Gakuin. Her graduation concert was held on March 31 at the Tokyo International Forum. Suzuka now performs with Babymetal, which had been spun off from Sakura Gakuin following her graduation, under the stage name Su-metal. Babymetal's self-titled debut album was released in February 2014. Nakamoto ranked ninth place on the Oricon News ranking for “2018 Rankings for Anticipation of New Adults”, commenting on her "overwhelming singing ability".
