Babymetal have officially recruited a third new member, Momoko Okazaki, who will go by the name of Momometal.
The kawaii metallers announced their new addition over the weekend on April 1 (AKA 'Fox Day'), during a show at the Pia Arena MM in Yokohama, Japan. Okazaki has served as one of Babymetal’s three backing dancers, known as the Avengers, since 2019.
Fans may also recognise Okazaki from Girls Planet 999, a South Korean reality tv show which she appeared on in 2021, although was shortly booted off in the show’s first elimination round.
As the band state, her new initiation as an official member takes them into their new era as a “reborn Babymetal”, following their declaration in 2022 that they would be “sealed from the world” after their 10th anniversary.
In an announcement post on Twitter, the band write: “BABYMETAL BEGINS - THE OTHER ONE – CLEAR NIGHT終了!!💨 UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN🤘”, alongside their first image as a new trio with Okazaki.
Babymetal first teased the arrival of a third new member during their comeback performance in Japan earlier this year. During the show, they brought out a mysterious third coffin onto the stage, with the silhouette of a person standing inside it.
Last month, the Japanese metallers released their fourth studio album, The Other One. It marked their second release since Yui Mizuno (Yuimetal) left the group in 2018.
This summer, Babymetal will embark on their first-ever headlining tour of Asia and Australia, as part of their 2023 world tour.
They will also be performing at this year’s Louder Than Life festival, which is set to take place in Louisville, Kentucky at Highland Festival Grounds at Kentucky Exposition Center from September 21 until September 24. Other acts on the bill include Foo Fighters, Green Day, Avenged Sevenfold, Weezer, Queens Of The Stone Age and Limp Bizkit.
