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 Kawaii metal (also known as idol metal, 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 influenc ...

group

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 ...

and a former member of the

idol Idol or Idols may refer to: Religion and philosophy * Cult image, a neutral term for a man-made object that is worshipped or venerated for the deity, spirit or demon that it embodies or represents * Murti, a point of focus for devotion or medit ...

group

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 1 ...

Biography

Moa Kikuchi was signed to the talent agency Amuse, Inc. at the age of 8, after winning Semi-Grand Prix (becoming a runner-up) in the ''Ciao Girl Audition 2007'' held by the company. On August 2, 2010, at the age of 11, Kikuchi joined

, an idol group also managed by Amuse, Inc. She joined at the same time as another future

member,

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. ...

. Sakura Gakuin had not yet released its debut single. During their audition, Kikuchi and Mizuno performed a duo dance cover of "Over The Future" by

Karen Girl's was a Japanese three-member girl group formed in 2008 by the 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 school children a ...

; two members of that group,

Ayami Mutō is a Japanese idol, singer, and model. She was represented by Amuse, Inc. from 2004 to 2015, and has been a member of three musical groups formed by the company: Karen Girl's, Sakura Gakuin, and its first sub-unit Twinklestars. Biography Mut ...

and

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, In ...

, had also recently joined Sakura Gakuin. Besides performing as a whole group, Sakura Gakuin members were also divided into smaller subgroups known as "clubs”. Each club had its own musical group that recorded its own songs. Kikuchi and Mizuno first became members of the "Baton Club" and its musical group Twinklestars. As backing singers and dancers, they were later teamed with lead singer Suzuka Nakamoto in a "Heavy Music" club, with the associated music group being named

. Before the formation of this club, none of the three members knew what heavy metal was.

became an independent recording group in 2012. Kikuchi "graduated" from

in 2015, and now performs with Babymetal exclusively. Kikuchi and Mizuno have a writing credit under the name "Black Babymetal" on the first Babymetal album in 2014, having written "Song 4" together during a bus trip. The second Babymetal album, '' Metal Resistance'', was released in 2016. A third album, ''

Metal Galaxy ''Metal Galaxy'' is the third studio album by Japanese 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 BMD Fox Records in ...

'', followed in 2019.

Personal life

Kikuchi is an idol ''

otaku is a Japanese word that describes people with consuming interests, particularly in anime, manga, video games, or computers. Its contemporary use originated with a 1983 essay by Akio Nakamori in '' Manga Burikko''. may be used as a pejorat ...

'', which was notably mentioned as part of her introduction in the Sakura Gakuin song "Mezase! Super Lady". Her favorite group is °C-ute, and she is acquainted with her favorite former member of the group,

Airi Suzuki is a Japanese singer, actress, model, and radio personality associated with Up-Front Works. In 2002, she joined Hello! Project as a member of Hello! Project Kids and later debuted as one of the lead vocalists of the Japanese girl group Cute i ...

. In interviews, she has also mentioned

Bring Me the Horizon Bring Me the Horizon (often abbreviated as BMTH) are a British rock band formed in Sheffield in 2004. The group consists of lead vocalist Oliver Sykes, guitarist Lee Malia, bassist Matt Kean, drummer Matt Nicholls and keyboardist Jordan Fis ...

Limp Bizkit Limp Bizkit is an American rap rock band from Jacksonville, Florida. Its lineup consists of lead vocalist Fred Durst, drummer John Otto, guitarist Wes Borland, turntablist DJ Lethal and bassist Sam Rivers. The band's music is marked by D ...

, and

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

as her favorite metal bands. In her spare time, Kikuchi also likes to watch

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

and her favorite show is ''

Love Live! is a Japanese multimedia project created by Hajime Yatate and Sakurako Kimino and co-produced by Kadokawa through ASCII Media Works; Bandai Namco Music Live through music label Lantis; and animation studio Bandai Namco Filmworks (formerly kno ...

'', which is a series about idols. Kikuchi is an

only child An only child is a person with no siblings, by birth or adoption. Children who have half-siblings, step-siblings, or have never met their siblings, either living at the same house or at a different house—especially those who were born consider ...

. She has revealed that her mother was also approached by a

talent agent A talent agent, or booking agent, is a person who finds jobs for actors, authors, broadcast journalists, film directors, musicians, models, professional athletes, screenwriters, writers, and other professionals in various entertainment or sp ...

as a student, but in the end never joined the entertainment industry.

Associated acts

(August 4, 2010—March 29, 2015) ** Twinklestars (Sakura Gakuin sub-unit) ** Mini-Pati (Sakura Gakuin sub-unit) *

(2010—present) ** Black Babymetal (Babymetal subunit)

Discography

With Sakura Gakuin

*'' Sakura Gakuin 2010 Nendo: Message'' (2011) *'' Sakura Gakuin 2011 Nendo: Friends'' (2012) *'' Sakura Gakuin 2012 Nendo: My Generation'' (2013) *'' Sakura Gakuin 2013 Nendo: Kizuna'' (2014) *'' Sakura Gakuin 2014 Nendo: Kimi ni Todoke'' (2015)

With Babymetal

*''

'' (2014) *'' Metal Resistance'' (2016) * ''

'' (2019)

Notes

References

External links

Official profile at Amuse Inc.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kikuchi, Moa Babymetal members Sakura Gakuin members 1999 births Living people Japanese idols Japanese women heavy metal singers 21st-century Japanese women singers 21st-century Japanese singers People from Nagoya Musicians from Aichi Prefecture Kawaii metal musicians Amuse Inc. talents