The group was initially formed in 2010 as a subunit of the female idol group Sakura Gakuin, aiming to realize a “fusion of metal and idol [music].” When creating the group, Kobametal, Babymetal’s producer, decided that because of Su-metal’s unique stage presence, the other members should contrast her. Yuimetal and Moametal were just 10 years old when Kobametal asked them to participate. None of the three members even knew what metal music was before the inception of the band.

​

In the spring of 2013, Su graduated from junior high school and therefore had to “graduate” from the group Sakura Gakuin, which only consists of girls of up to junior high. However, their management decided that Babymetal would not dissolve and would continue its activities as the band it is today.

​

According to Kobametal, Babymetal’s name came to him by revelation (as a “divine message”). It is a play on the words “heavy metal”, as, in Japanese, the word “baby” (ベビー bebī) rhymes with “heavy” (ヘビー hebī). “Baby” may indicate cuteness, “metal” – intensity. Also, he has come to like interpreting it as “newborn metal”. In an interview for Razor TV while in Singapore in late 2013, the band members also used the latter interpretation. They stated their brand of metal was a newborn genre, and that was what “baby” in “Babymetal” stood for.