Momoko Okazaki (岡崎 百々子, Okazaki Momoko, born March 3, 2003), known by her stage name Momometal, is a Japanese musician, singer, and dancer. She is signed to the talent agency Amuse Inc. and was a member of its girl group Sakura Gakuin from 2015 to 2018. In 2019, she joined the touring line-up of the kawaii metal band Babymetal as a dancer, becoming an official member responsible for "scream and dance" in April 2023.
Biography
Okazaki is the second daughter of comedian Hanamaru Hakata.[2] She was born on March 3, 2003, in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, moving with her family to Kanagawa at the age of three.
In 2014, she was signed to the talent agency Amuse, and on May 6, 2015, started her musical career by joining the female idol group Sakura Gakuin at the "Sakura Gakuin 2015 Nendo - Transfer Ceremony".[2][3] She was part of the sub-units Cooking Club "Mini Pati"[4] and the Science Club "Kagaku Kyūmei Kikō Logica?".[5] At the transfer ceremony in 2017, she was appointed as the Perseverance ("Ganbare") Chairman. In addition to her activities in Sakura Gakuin, she was also a regular model for the fashion magazine Love Berry and an actress. From December 2017 to February 2018, she played the role of Elizabeth Midford in the musical Black Butler: Tango on the Campania.[6] On March 24, 2018, she left Sakura Gakuin with the live performance "The Road to Graduation 2017 Final - Sakura Gakuin 2017 Graduation", ended her contract with Amuse at the end of the same month, and announced that she would be studying English abroad.[7]
In 2019, Okazaki became one of three support dancers, or "Avengers", of Babymetal, who would take turns filling in as the third dancer in the band's three-person dance choreographies.[8] She made her first appearance with the band at the 2019 Super Slippa festival in Taiwan,[9] and later appeared in the music videos for "Da Da Dance"[10] and "Light and Darkness".[11] In August 2021, as Babymetal announced that it would go on hiatus, or be "sealed",[12] Okazaki participated in the Korean survival reality show Girls Planet 999,[13] in which the winners would become members of the girl group Kep1er.[14]
On April 1, 2023, during the Babymetal concert "Babymetal Begins: Black Night" at the Pia Arena MM, Okazaki was officially announced as their new member with the stage name "Momometal".[13] On August 18, 2023, her vocals were featured in the spoken section of Babymetal's digital single "Metali!!".[15][16]
