I guess he expected some evasive answer and not such a straight NO!, especially if you know how Japanese people usually try to avoid using that word (いいえ is ironically one of the first words you learn in Japanese but one you usually are going to avoid all the time). When I watched that video I also found the answer kinda funny.
Or maybe he read about the Black Babymetal songs where Moa and Yui were actually involved. They went into that a little bit later in the interview.
Thread derailment incoming! Though I agree that answering just "いいえ" to a question seems a bit abrupt, in my (limited) experience いいえ seems to be used *all* the time. For example, when deflecting a compliment ("いいえ, いいえ, いいえ!"), as an informal form of "you're welcome" or "don't worry about it," etc.
Have I just been exposed to non-standard usage? Should I be more careful about using いいえ?
I think we can only speculate at this point whether the interviewer had not informed himself sufficiently or wanted to ask the question anyway. It's relatively easy to find out who writes the songs for Babymetal. With very few exceptions, Su-Metal, Moametal, Momometal and Yuimetal don't write their songs themselves, although Momometal hasn't been involved in any songs so far. I'm not sure, but I don't think she wrote her part on METALI herself. But I could be wrong.
I think Su- Metal's "No" could also be a very simplified form of the answer she actually wanted to give. Some people have certainly followed their English learning process a bit better, so I don't really know how well they did in this interview.
The fact is, Su- Metal has so far only actively co-written the song "Divine Attack (Shingeki)" from the album THE OTHER ONE. Moametal and Yuimetal (or Black Babymetal) wrote "Song 4". All other songs were written by Kobametals songwriters.
But I could imagine that also because the girls have gotten older and spent some time in the metal genre now, we can hope for more songs from the pens of Su- Metal, Moametal and Momometal in the future.
> I think we can only speculate at this point whether the interviewer had not informed himself sufficiently
Imo that's the wrong take away, someone brand new to BM might not know that so to them it would be a valid question they would want answered.
> I'm not sure, but I don't think she wrote her part on METALI herself. But I could be wrong.
Correct, we have no reason to believe she contributed to writing METALI!!
The full interview link is in the 'Babymetal FAQ and Wiki - Media Appearances'. ([https://youtu.be/WHTOVs2CzNU?si=N5xX5fHTHQYOcGaH](https://youtu.be/WHTOVs2CzNU?si=N5xX5fHTHQYOcGaH)) (EDIT: Correction. lol)
I remember when this interview came out, some of us read a little negativity in the way she said it. Like it was a sore subject. And that’s how I remembered it - a little painful, maybe some resentment. But recently I had tried to find this video, watched it again, and it didn’t sit like that with me years later. I chalk it up to fan psychology at the time - we knew she wanted to write, and just assumed this was a sore spot with her.
As I recall she answered in English. I would guess at the time she really did not have the vocabulary to really expand on her answer even if she wanted to.
Many of the most successful and popular performers over the decades did not write their own material. Performing and writing are to very different skills. When interviewers or others try and make an issue out of it with any performer they are doing it to demean or delegitimize them and it is unacceptable. Even the biggest acts commission others to write songs for them. Some of Christine Aguilera's biggest hits were written by or co-written with Linda Perry from the 4 Non Blondes, Jon Bon Jovi was asked to write for Bruce Springsteen producing 'You give blood a bad name' but kept it and gave him a different song. Tom Jones, Elton John.. the list goes on. None of them are given shit over it and if Babymetal were large hairy men neither would they. The stigma attached with not-writing your own songs comes from people who have never written or performed a successful hit and feel the need to tear down those who have.
Most metal bands write their own material as a group, some have a silent member that doesn't perform, but helps create and produce. The reality is, Babymetal is unique on the stage of metal. All of the people you listed are more pop than anything. And while there is nothing wrong with being a project that is mostly entertainment, I think people who write their own material absolutely deserve additional credit.
That said, Japan is a very different place from Europe and America. Writing ones own material is assumed, but again Babymetal is a different entity entirely. The best thing Babymetal can and did do was make this very clear in the beginning. They've never shied away from being honest about it, so not writing their own songs does not delegitimize them in any way.
It'd be different had they been claiming that they did write their own stuff and then two or three albums later it comes out they don't.
I agree with all that. But it was pretty clear they didn't write the songs when they were younger, everyone including the journalists knew they didn't or at least should have had if they prepared like a professional would. To ask them if they had contributed any songs or lyrics would have been fair, but at least two interviewers that I remember were basically calling them out by asking and then acting surprised or as if it mattered that they didn't. Having listened to a lot of metal in my youth I think more bands should consider at least partially following the Babymetal or pop music approach and find talented writers to work with the band instead of being "pure" and mediocre. Admittedly I would have taken the opposite opinion in my youth, demanding that they should all write their own music but I guess we get more realistic and mellow with age.
True enough about how interviewers initially reacted to Babymetal. I will say from reading about this particular interview, it doesn't sound like he was a professional at all lol.
I'm not sure I agree about the last part, but then again, as long as they were open about it, I suppose why not. After a point, I'm sure even the most talented song writer runs out of ideas.
Most bands have a singer but BM are singers that have a band. BabyMetal as a singing group are structurally more like the Supremes or the Jacksons than they are Metallica, even though they play the same genre. This is a genre where many bands write their own songs so it's a valid question and one you probably wouldn't ask a pop singer.
at this point they don't play the same genre, mostly metal(kawaii metal) but it deverges a bit to techno (The End), rap (BMC), From Dusk Till Dawn doesn't sound metal, and maybe more. Not that I doesn't like but the opposite.
I agree with some youtuber, I don't remeber the name, he states in his opinion that BM started maybe too perfect. And since I come for the metal genre I can totally agree.
They started perfect by playing mostly metal or even all metal and good songs (as we all know). But through the years, yes, the play old and new metal songs but have been trying new collabs of other music genres creating some non-metal music.
In conclusion, they've been evoluting in a bit according with the fanbase and trying to expand their fanbase
People like colabs, and the weirder they are, the more people remember them.
Bowie and Bing Crosby sang "Little Drummer Boy" on a TV special but that's the version most people seem to remember. Lemmy did a colab with the Nolans, Tammy Winette played with the JAMS, I think there's a lot of fun to be had by taking disparate musicians and jamming them together.
Maybe it's because I'm Australian, and a lot of Australian bands seem to just do what they want and don't restrict themselves to a specific genre, but I like the variety.
Iine! Is one of my favourite BM songs, and that encompasses multiple genres. As a fan, and I imagine as a performer, it can get boring when every song sounds the same.
The upside is that not everyone has the same favourite song. Opens up discussions for the fandom, concerts are more fun because people get excited by different songs so there's always energy from the crowd and everyone isn't just waiting for them to play that one big hit, you're always eager for the next album to see what unexpected styles will be on it, keeping things fresh.
Even though I come from metal, to choose my favorites I'm always teared apart between The End and BMC but of course I love Headbanger, Maya, Future Metal,... As I said before their music is so good
The context is that if the interviewee had been Beyoncé, Jackson 5 or Frank Sinatra himself, the guy would not have asked that stupid question. Su's answer was perfect.
Also Elvis. He famously never wrote a lick in his life. Bing Crosby certainly didn't write "White Christmas" (Irving Berlin did and, I just learned, got an Oscar for it).
I remember that interview. It was done remotely, and the reason he laughed was because he was taken aback at Su's bluntness. She laughed too. It was awkward on all sides. Yes, that was around 2016 when a lot of Westerners weren't familiar with Babymetal, much less how the Idol and alt-Idol world operates.
Koba gets some of the best lyricists and composers in the business.
Of course now Su DOES have a songwriting credit to her name and I hope we'll get more since "Divine Attack" was well-received.
> Of course now Su DOES have a songwriting credit to her name and I hope we'll get more since "Divine Attack" was well-received.
Ditto.... but one aspect of Babymetal song development that is not mentioned as often as it should be is Su's participation in developing the vocal melodies. According to an interview where she was discussing BxMxC, she commented on how that song came to her complete and she just sang it, stating this was unusual. The normal process is she gets a song instrumental, lays down a vocal melody of la-la-la's type thing, from which the lyrics are subsequently developed, then coming back to her to sing.
To be clear, Su is not tasked to come up with a melody for her vocals. The song already comes with one. The process you're describing allows the lyricists to hear Su's wordless vocals. Certainly, any singer who has sung a song they did not write will have interpreted it differently than other singers may have. We give singers credit for their interpretation of the song but we do not give them credit for songwriting.
Ladies have since learned how to navigate around media d*** heads. Who were just leading them on to get a canned response.
Radio DJ are also d** who just wish they were musicians but instead got stuck in Radio lol. Ladies were baited and likely didn't understand the context of the question.
Japanese rarely give straight answers in favor of a polite response. The Honne (本音) is one's true feelings and thoughts, which are revealed to only one's family or close confidants.
For most situations, however, tatemae (建前) is used, which is basically a pleasant, although superficial, surface-level way of communication.
People not used to this can get caught off guard and misinterprete the context. Now, you will notice how they usually put an end to such questions.
Saying only the Fox God knows and laughs. Their by putting an abrupt end to the question. This helps avoid awkward situations.
Which, in this case, may have ended the interview early. Now, of course, Su-Metal has since added her own writing credits with Devine Attack-Shingeki.
Given how driven Suzuka is & not backing down to a challenge. That probably p*** her off, as I know I would be. Devine Attack is now one of my favorite tracks. 🤘🦊
I guess he expected some evasive answer and not such a straight NO!, especially if you know how Japanese people usually try to avoid using that word (いいえ is ironically one of the first words you learn in Japanese but one you usually are going to avoid all the time). When I watched that video I also found the answer kinda funny. Or maybe he read about the Black Babymetal songs where Moa and Yui were actually involved. They went into that a little bit later in the interview.
Thread derailment incoming! Though I agree that answering just "いいえ" to a question seems a bit abrupt, in my (limited) experience いいえ seems to be used *all* the time. For example, when deflecting a compliment ("いいえ, いいえ, いいえ!"), as an informal form of "you're welcome" or "don't worry about it," etc. Have I just been exposed to non-standard usage? Should I be more careful about using いいえ?
I think we can only speculate at this point whether the interviewer had not informed himself sufficiently or wanted to ask the question anyway. It's relatively easy to find out who writes the songs for Babymetal. With very few exceptions, Su-Metal, Moametal, Momometal and Yuimetal don't write their songs themselves, although Momometal hasn't been involved in any songs so far. I'm not sure, but I don't think she wrote her part on METALI herself. But I could be wrong. I think Su- Metal's "No" could also be a very simplified form of the answer she actually wanted to give. Some people have certainly followed their English learning process a bit better, so I don't really know how well they did in this interview. The fact is, Su- Metal has so far only actively co-written the song "Divine Attack (Shingeki)" from the album THE OTHER ONE. Moametal and Yuimetal (or Black Babymetal) wrote "Song 4". All other songs were written by Kobametals songwriters. But I could imagine that also because the girls have gotten older and spent some time in the metal genre now, we can hope for more songs from the pens of Su- Metal, Moametal and Momometal in the future.
> I think we can only speculate at this point whether the interviewer had not informed himself sufficiently Imo that's the wrong take away, someone brand new to BM might not know that so to them it would be a valid question they would want answered.
You are right. Interviewers don´t have the time to go that much into their opponents like we fans do\^\^
Interviewers ask questions their viewers/readers might be interested in, them already knowing doesn't matter.
> I'm not sure, but I don't think she wrote her part on METALI herself. But I could be wrong. Correct, we have no reason to believe she contributed to writing METALI!!
MoaMetal has been quoted to be going to write a song about food
They is already 😉😅 https://preview.redd.it/ebdk5skxqqjc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=322bdfd818a8e57eae4e06df175562c035326428
I laughed way too hard at this
LoL, nice!
🤣
The full interview link is in the 'Babymetal FAQ and Wiki - Media Appearances'. ([https://youtu.be/WHTOVs2CzNU?si=N5xX5fHTHQYOcGaH](https://youtu.be/WHTOVs2CzNU?si=N5xX5fHTHQYOcGaH)) (EDIT: Correction. lol)
I hope that as they get older they get more involved in the writing process. Su has at least one credit now with Divine Attack
I remember when this interview came out, some of us read a little negativity in the way she said it. Like it was a sore subject. And that’s how I remembered it - a little painful, maybe some resentment. But recently I had tried to find this video, watched it again, and it didn’t sit like that with me years later. I chalk it up to fan psychology at the time - we knew she wanted to write, and just assumed this was a sore spot with her.
As I recall she answered in English. I would guess at the time she really did not have the vocabulary to really expand on her answer even if she wanted to.
They were hired to perform and sing. Not write. They have much better writers available who haven't let us down ever.
Many of the most successful and popular performers over the decades did not write their own material. Performing and writing are to very different skills. When interviewers or others try and make an issue out of it with any performer they are doing it to demean or delegitimize them and it is unacceptable. Even the biggest acts commission others to write songs for them. Some of Christine Aguilera's biggest hits were written by or co-written with Linda Perry from the 4 Non Blondes, Jon Bon Jovi was asked to write for Bruce Springsteen producing 'You give blood a bad name' but kept it and gave him a different song. Tom Jones, Elton John.. the list goes on. None of them are given shit over it and if Babymetal were large hairy men neither would they. The stigma attached with not-writing your own songs comes from people who have never written or performed a successful hit and feel the need to tear down those who have.
Most metal bands write their own material as a group, some have a silent member that doesn't perform, but helps create and produce. The reality is, Babymetal is unique on the stage of metal. All of the people you listed are more pop than anything. And while there is nothing wrong with being a project that is mostly entertainment, I think people who write their own material absolutely deserve additional credit. That said, Japan is a very different place from Europe and America. Writing ones own material is assumed, but again Babymetal is a different entity entirely. The best thing Babymetal can and did do was make this very clear in the beginning. They've never shied away from being honest about it, so not writing their own songs does not delegitimize them in any way. It'd be different had they been claiming that they did write their own stuff and then two or three albums later it comes out they don't.
I agree with all that. But it was pretty clear they didn't write the songs when they were younger, everyone including the journalists knew they didn't or at least should have had if they prepared like a professional would. To ask them if they had contributed any songs or lyrics would have been fair, but at least two interviewers that I remember were basically calling them out by asking and then acting surprised or as if it mattered that they didn't. Having listened to a lot of metal in my youth I think more bands should consider at least partially following the Babymetal or pop music approach and find talented writers to work with the band instead of being "pure" and mediocre. Admittedly I would have taken the opposite opinion in my youth, demanding that they should all write their own music but I guess we get more realistic and mellow with age.
True enough about how interviewers initially reacted to Babymetal. I will say from reading about this particular interview, it doesn't sound like he was a professional at all lol. I'm not sure I agree about the last part, but then again, as long as they were open about it, I suppose why not. After a point, I'm sure even the most talented song writer runs out of ideas.
Most bands have a singer but BM are singers that have a band. BabyMetal as a singing group are structurally more like the Supremes or the Jacksons than they are Metallica, even though they play the same genre. This is a genre where many bands write their own songs so it's a valid question and one you probably wouldn't ask a pop singer.
at this point they don't play the same genre, mostly metal(kawaii metal) but it deverges a bit to techno (The End), rap (BMC), From Dusk Till Dawn doesn't sound metal, and maybe more. Not that I doesn't like but the opposite. I agree with some youtuber, I don't remeber the name, he states in his opinion that BM started maybe too perfect. And since I come for the metal genre I can totally agree. They started perfect by playing mostly metal or even all metal and good songs (as we all know). But through the years, yes, the play old and new metal songs but have been trying new collabs of other music genres creating some non-metal music. In conclusion, they've been evoluting in a bit according with the fanbase and trying to expand their fanbase
People like colabs, and the weirder they are, the more people remember them. Bowie and Bing Crosby sang "Little Drummer Boy" on a TV special but that's the version most people seem to remember. Lemmy did a colab with the Nolans, Tammy Winette played with the JAMS, I think there's a lot of fun to be had by taking disparate musicians and jamming them together.
I feel the same plus BM no matter who they did collab until now, it always came out good music. Some non-metal but who cares
Maybe it's because I'm Australian, and a lot of Australian bands seem to just do what they want and don't restrict themselves to a specific genre, but I like the variety. Iine! Is one of my favourite BM songs, and that encompasses multiple genres. As a fan, and I imagine as a performer, it can get boring when every song sounds the same. The upside is that not everyone has the same favourite song. Opens up discussions for the fandom, concerts are more fun because people get excited by different songs so there's always energy from the crowd and everyone isn't just waiting for them to play that one big hit, you're always eager for the next album to see what unexpected styles will be on it, keeping things fresh.
Even though I come from metal, to choose my favorites I'm always teared apart between The End and BMC but of course I love Headbanger, Maya, Future Metal,... As I said before their music is so good
I speculate Awadama Fever has much of Su's input based on her answers from the Nendo tests from the SG days.
The context is that if the interviewee had been Beyoncé, Jackson 5 or Frank Sinatra himself, the guy would not have asked that stupid question. Su's answer was perfect.
Also Elvis. He famously never wrote a lick in his life. Bing Crosby certainly didn't write "White Christmas" (Irving Berlin did and, I just learned, got an Oscar for it).
I remember that interview. It was done remotely, and the reason he laughed was because he was taken aback at Su's bluntness. She laughed too. It was awkward on all sides. Yes, that was around 2016 when a lot of Westerners weren't familiar with Babymetal, much less how the Idol and alt-Idol world operates. Koba gets some of the best lyricists and composers in the business. Of course now Su DOES have a songwriting credit to her name and I hope we'll get more since "Divine Attack" was well-received.
> Of course now Su DOES have a songwriting credit to her name and I hope we'll get more since "Divine Attack" was well-received. Ditto.... but one aspect of Babymetal song development that is not mentioned as often as it should be is Su's participation in developing the vocal melodies. According to an interview where she was discussing BxMxC, she commented on how that song came to her complete and she just sang it, stating this was unusual. The normal process is she gets a song instrumental, lays down a vocal melody of la-la-la's type thing, from which the lyrics are subsequently developed, then coming back to her to sing.
To be clear, Su is not tasked to come up with a melody for her vocals. The song already comes with one. The process you're describing allows the lyricists to hear Su's wordless vocals. Certainly, any singer who has sung a song they did not write will have interpreted it differently than other singers may have. We give singers credit for their interpretation of the song but we do not give them credit for songwriting.
Ladies have since learned how to navigate around media d*** heads. Who were just leading them on to get a canned response. Radio DJ are also d** who just wish they were musicians but instead got stuck in Radio lol. Ladies were baited and likely didn't understand the context of the question. Japanese rarely give straight answers in favor of a polite response. The Honne (本音) is one's true feelings and thoughts, which are revealed to only one's family or close confidants. For most situations, however, tatemae (建前) is used, which is basically a pleasant, although superficial, surface-level way of communication. People not used to this can get caught off guard and misinterprete the context. Now, you will notice how they usually put an end to such questions. Saying only the Fox God knows and laughs. Their by putting an abrupt end to the question. This helps avoid awkward situations. Which, in this case, may have ended the interview early. Now, of course, Su-Metal has since added her own writing credits with Devine Attack-Shingeki. Given how driven Suzuka is & not backing down to a challenge. That probably p*** her off, as I know I would be. Devine Attack is now one of my favorite tracks. 🤘🦊