Babymetal at Reading Festival: Fans and the band on being different, bullying and criticism
- Published
Ask fans why they like Babymetal and you'll get similar responses: "They're different," "they're unique," "they've never been seen before."
They certainly are distinctive. These 16 and 17-year-olds from Japan sing, dance, wear pigtails and tutus, as well as encourage their audiences into a 'wall of death' at gigs.
They have their own 'Fox God' and a hand gesture to summon the god.
You'll see crowds that come to see them hold up their fox hands in tribute.
Many of Babymetal's huge following are connected online. Many were meeting up after the set to exchange numbers and share the fandom experience.
One 15-year-old fan, Milly, explained why she loved Babymetal: "They're different because they're 16, 17. You're growing up with metal music. They don't swear in their songs. It's about real causes like don't bully."
One of their top songs is called Ijime, Dame, Zettai which roughly translates as 'Don't bully'.
Babymetal told Newsbeat: "Our song is about no bullying and it is very important to us. The lyrics have a message that we try to convey to everyone.
"During the song we do a jump as a sign against bullying and it makes us happy when we see the fans jump with us."
Another fan told Newsbeat in front of the Reading main stage: "There's substance to it. It's not just a gimmick. It's better than a lot of stuff around at the moment."
It's Babymetal's first time at Reading. They had 12 people with them in the media tent and even a make-up artist to apply lipgloss and hairspray before every photo.
A sturdy security guard stood close by and there was not a smear of mud in sight. Some may say that's not very metal but that's not a problem for the three girls.
Through an interpreter, they told Newsbeat that metal was a learning process for them.
"They are receiving a lot of different feedback from people, people who enjoy them, people who don't get what they are doing and some people who are pretty mad that people are calling them metal," the interpreter said.
"But for them it doesn't matter. The good comments and criticism, they are all important. They are just doing what they want to do. They will continue to be Babymetal and do what they have to.
"In the beginning they didn't know much about metal either. It is still a learning process for them. One thing that's also great for them is that they see a lot of new 'Babymetals' showing up, people influenced by them."
You can watch full sets and videos from more than 40 acts at bbc.co.uk/readingandleeds.
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