is a song by the Japanese heavy metal band

Babymetal (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese kawaii metal band consisting of Suzuka Nakamoto as "Su-metal" and Moa Kikuchi as "Moametal". The band is produced by Kobametal from the Amuse talent agency. Their vocals are backed by heavy metal instrume ...

. The song was released in Japan as an independent

DVD single A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

on October 22, 2011, serving as the first single off the debut album ''

''.

Background and release

The song introduced all three members to

heavy metal music Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With roots in blues rock, psychedelic rock and acid rock, heavy metal bands developed a ...

; Nakamoto commenting how she had never heard such musical heaviness before, while

Mizuno () is a Japanese sports equipment and sportswear company, founded in Osaka in 1906 by Rihachi Mizuno. Today, Mizuno is a global corporation which makes a wide variety of sports equipment and sportswear for badminton, baseball, boxing, cycling ...

initially had more interest in dancing to the music rather than singing. During song production, the signature Kitsune hand gesture (similar to the

sign of the horns The sign of the horns is a hand gesture with a variety of meanings and uses in various cultures. It is formed by extending the index and little fingers while holding the middle and ring fingers down with the thumb. Religious and supersti ...

) was formed. Vocals for the song were recorded on October 30, 2010. The song's first release was in the

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 ...

album '' Sakura Gakuin 2010 Nendo: Message'', released on April 27, 2011, as part of the Juonbu ("heavy music") sub-unit. The song was later announced as a limited-edition

on October 12, 2011, and later released also as a standard digital download available on October 22 and 23, 2011 for pre-sale at the Sakura Gakuin Festival ☆ 2011 held at Mt. Rainier Hall "Shibuya Pleasure Pleasure", and later sold in limited quantities on ASmart, Amazon, Tower Records Online, and Tower Records Shinjuku starting October 24. The limited edition included a DVD with the "Doki Doki ☆ Morning" music video and a cut of the original video focusing on the choreography for live performances of the song, and a towel embossed with either the logo of the band or the label Juonbu Records. The single was later released as a CD single on April 6, 2012, packaged with a T-shirt. The song was later released as a promotional single in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

on December 13, 2015.

Composition

The song has a "modern heaviness" sound in its music, with dark, atmospheric instrumentals that reverse into a catchier and brighter melody with lyrics such as "Rin rin rin! Ohayō, wake up" (Ring ring ring! Good morning, wake up). Kikuchi noted how the tone of the song was directly opposite to Japanese kei-on music (light music); as a result, the band formed under the label Jūonbu (heavy music club) to signify the contrast. Nakamoto, whose vocals were recorded separately from those of Mizuno and Kikuchi, needed to speak quickly but clearly in the verses.

Reception

The song managed to peak at number 80 on the ''

Billboard Japan ''Billboard Japan'' is a sister organization of the U.S.-based music magazine ''Billboard''. It is operated by the Japanese Osaka-based company Hanshin Contents Link (a subsidiary of Hanshin Electric Railway), holding an exclusive licence from ''Bi ...

'' Top Independent Albums and Singles chart on the week dated November 7, 2011.

Music video

Directed by Shimon Tanaka, shooting for the video was completed by October 2011. According to Nakamoto, Tanaka had wanted to appear in the video, but found the choreography difficult to execute. The video was released in an abridged form to the

Toy's Factory is a Japanese record label founded in the late 1980s as a subsidiary of the entertainment company VAP, based in Japan. On May 30, 1990, it was established as an independent company. Toy's Factory, as of the first half of 2012, is the four ...

YouTube channel on October 12, 2011, with the full version posted on the official Babymetal channel over a year later, on November 8, 2012. ''Metal Injection'' ranked the music video at number nine on the list of "The Top 15 Metal Viral Videos of the Year" on December 8, 2011.

Live performances

The song premiered at the Sakura Gakuin concert Sakura Gakuin Festival ☆ 2010 at the Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse No. 1 on November 28, 2010. Regarding the group's first performance of the song, Su-metal explained, "What I remember clearly was during the interlude ��we all pretend to fall to the ground...I was afraid that people would just laugh at us and it would be embarrassing, but their reaction made me feel happy and at that time I thought this is who Su-metal is, this is what Babymetal is."

Track listings and formats

DVD single # "Doki Doki ☆ Morning" (music video) () – 3:53 # "Doki Doki ☆ Morning" (Air Metal Dance ver.) – 4:04 Digital download # "Doki Doki ☆ Morning" () – 3:45 CD single # "Doki Doki ☆ Morning" () – 3:45 # "Doki Doki ☆ Morning" ( Air Vocal ver.) – 3:48 UK promotional single # "Doki Doki ☆ Morning" (album version) – 3:44 # "Doki Doki ☆ Morning" (UK radio edit) – 3:32

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from album liner notes of ''Sakura Gakuin 2010 Nendo: Message'' and ''Babymetal''. *

Suzuka Nakamoto , known by her stage names Suzuka and Su-metal (both stylized in all caps), is a Japanese musician, singer, songwriter and model. She is best known as a member of the kawaii metal band Babymetal. She is represented by the talent agency Amuse, Inc ...

(SU-METAL) –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

(lead) *

Moa Kikuchi is a Japanese musician, singer, model, and actress. She is represented by the talent agency Amuse, Inc. She is a member of the kawaii metal group Babymetal and a former member of the idol group Sakura Gakuin. Biography Moa Kikuchi was signed ...

(MOAMETAL) – vocals (lead and background) *

Yui Mizuno is a Japanese musician, singer, model, and actress. 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. She is managed by the Amuse, Inc. ...

(YUIMETAL) – vocals (lead and background) * Millennium Japan (millennium-JAPAN) – producer * SOH (O! S-D) – guitar,

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

* Norikazu Nakayama () – lyrics, music * Norizo () – music * Motonari Murakawa () – music, arrangement * Seiji Toda (S.O.L.I.D sound lab) () –

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, ...

and

audio mixing Audio mixing is the process by which multiple sounds are combined into one or more channels. In the process, a source's volume level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated or enhanced. This practical, aesthetic, ...

* Yuji Nakamura () – assistant engineer

Charts

Cover versions

On March 4, 2012, the song was covered by fellow Sakura Gakuin members Marina Horiuchi,

Ayaka Miyoshi is a Japanese actress, model and former idol. She is represented by the talent agency Amuse, Inc. and from 2010 to 2012 was a member of the agency's girl group Sakura Gakuin. Discography : ''For Ayaka Miyoshi's discography as a member of Saku ...

, and

Airi Matsui is a Japanese actress, model, and former singer. She is signed to the agency Amuse, Inc. and is a former member of Japanese idol group Sakura Gakuin. In 2015, Matsui endorsed the Ghana (chocolate), Ghana chocolate brand. She also released her ...

as a "Shuffle Unit" during the Sakura Gakuin concert Sakura Gakuin Hōkago Anthology at the Nihonbashi Mitsui Hall, where members of different sub-units would cover other sub-units' songs. On December 8, 2013, Hana Taguchi, Saki Ooga, and Aiko Yamaide covered the song as another "Shuffle Unit" in the concert Sakura Gakuin 3rd Anniversary: Live at the Amuse Musical Theater. Kiba of Akiba covered the song on the joint single "

Babymetal × Kiba of Akiba is a joint single by Japanese heavy metal band Babymetal and ''otailish'' death pop band Kiba of Akiba. The single was first released in Japan on March 7, 2012 to promote the album '' Sakura Gakuin 2011 Nendo: Friends''. Release Babymetal an ...

Release history

References

External links

Discography
on the Babymetal official website ** **
Discography
on the TOY'S FACTORY official website ** {{authority control Babymetal songs Toy's Factory singles 2010 songs 2011 singles Japanese-language songs