Momoko Okazaki was born on March 3, 2003, in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.
Her family moved to Kanagawa Prefecture when she was approximately three years old.
She is the second daughter of comedian and television personality Hakata Hanamaru.
That family relationship became public in Japanese entertainment reporting in August 2015, after Momoko had already entered Sakura Gakuin.
It is a verified biographical detail, but her own career should not be reduced to her father's identity.
Momoko's publicly documented interests developed strongly around dance and musical performance.
In a later Sakura Gakuin graduation interview, she explained that she had begun learning dance in the fourth grade of elementary school.
The same interview connected her growing professional ambition to the experience of watching skilled ensemble performers during her theater work.
Public profile histories identify 2014 as the year in which she entered Amuse's talent system.
Unlike several other Sakura Gakuin members, however, there is no reliable public record establishing that she entered through a Ciao Girl Audition.
Her precise audition or recruitment route should therefore be treated as undisclosed unless stronger primary documentation appears.
Momoko's first major continuing public role began in 2015.
On May 6, 2015, she joined Sakura Gakuin at: Sakura Gakuin 2015 Nendo ~Transfer Ceremony~ at Ebisu The Garden Hall.
The 2015 transfer class was unusually large.
The six new members were: Mirena Kurosawa, Momoko Okazaki, Maaya Asou, Marin Hidaka, Kano Fujihira, and Soyoka Yoshida.
Momoko entered as a first-year junior-high-school student.
She was twelve years old.
This meant that, unlike members who entered during elementary school, she had only three school years available before the group's mandatory junior-high graduation rule applied.
Sakura Gakuin was organized around the concept of a fictional school.
Its members took part only during their school-age growth period and graduated when they completed the third year of junior high school.
The system combined: main-group music, live performance, dance and vocal lessons, club sub-units, public classes, diary writing, variety-style talk, and an annually appointed Student Council.
For Momoko, the three-year structure became a concentrated training period.
She entered with an immediately visible comic energy and a strong willingness to commit physically to performance.
Her association with Maaya Asou and Kano Fujihira became especially memorable.
The three were informally known as: KYG or the Fearsome “Yeah!” Army.
The name represented their loud, enthusiastic “yeah!” response and their tendency to increase the energy of group conversations.
KYG was not an official Sakura Gakuin club and did not have a separate official discography.
It was an internal personality grouping that appeared in live talk, diaries and fan memory.
The distinction matters because Momoko's official club work was different.
Her first documented club unit was the Cooking Club: Mini-Pati.
In August 2015, Sakura Gakuin introduced a third-generation Mini-Pati lineup consisting of: Aiko Yamaide, Marin Hidaka, and Momoko Okazaki.
Mini-Pati had existed since Sakura Gakuin's early years and used food, cooking and restaurant imagery as the basis for highly choreographed pop songs.
The third generation inherited a repertoire developed by the original and second-generation lineups.
Songs associated with the broader Mini-Pati catalogue included: “Happy Birthday,” “Princess☆a la mode,” “Yokubari Fille,” “Miracle♪Patiful♪Hamburger,” “Acha! Cha! Curry,” “Shanari Hannari Dorayaki Hime,” “Hirari! Kirakira☆Yamiyami Museum,” “Jakapara Goo Goo♡Omelette Rice,” and “Dabada♪Salad de Sebon☆Avenue.”
Momoko's membership did not mean that she participated in the original studio recording of every song in that historical catalogue.
Many Mini-Pati tracks had been recorded before the third-generation lineup existed.
Her secure participation is primarily in the third-generation live repertoire and Sakura Gakuin events from August 2015 onward.
The 2015 Student Council was led by: Rinon Isono — Student Council President Saki Ooga — Education Chairperson Saki Shirai — Talk Chairperson.
Momoko held no Student Council office during her first year.
She was instead one of the six transfer students learning the group's performance and communication system under the senior members.
The 2015 school-year album was: Sakura Gakuin 2015 Nendo ~Kirameki no Shizuku~ released on March 3, 2016.
It was Momoko's first Sakura Gakuin album.
As a main-group member she participated in the school-year recordings and associated live repertoire.
Mini-Pati material performed during her membership should be identified by lineup and performance date rather than automatically assigned to that album as a new Momoko studio recording.
Alongside Sakura Gakuin, Momoko began accumulating work in other areas of entertainment.
Her early credits included a Bandai Tamagotchi 4U commercial in 2015.
From 2016 she appeared as a regular model in the revived fashion magazine LOVE berry.
She also appeared in a short support segment connected with the 2016 television anime: 12-sai. ~Chicchana Mune no Tokimeki~ as one of the “12-sai Supporters.”
These projects expanded her work beyond the fictional-school structure of Sakura Gakuin.
They also demonstrate that, before BABYMETAL, Momoko's professional profile was not limited to music.
In 2016 she appeared in the film: Itazura na Kiss THE MOVIE ~High School-hen~.
The film was released on November 25, 2016.
Momoko played: Rika Irie.
The role became her first documented feature-film acting credit.
The 2016 Sakura Gakuin school year began under a new senior class.
The Student Council was: Sara Kurashima — Student Council President Aiko Yamaide — Vice President Mirena Kurosawa — MC Chairperson.
The new transfer students were: Tsugumi Aritomo, Yuzumi Shintani, and Momoe Mori.
Momoko was now a second-year junior-high-school member.
She continued in Mini-Pati with Aiko and Marin.
She also entered another official sub-unit: the Science Club, Kagaku Kyumei Kiko LOGICA?.
The 2016 formation is commonly described as: LOGICA? Ver.2.0.
Its members were: Megumi Okada — Okada researcher Sara Kurashima — Kurashima researcher Momoko Okazaki — Okazaki researcher.
LOGICA? used laboratory coats, scientific terminology and electronic-pop production to frame songs about curiosity, experiments and discovery.
The original version of the unit had existed before Momoko entered Sakura Gakuin.
Momoko therefore should not be credited on the first-generation recordings merely because she later performed the songs live.
The clearest studio recording by LOGICA? Ver.2.0 is: “Delta.”
“Delta” appeared on: Sakura Gakuin 2016 Nendo ~Yakusoku~ released on March 3, 2017.
Its credited creator was EHAMIC, who wrote the lyrics, composed the music and arranged the track.
For Momoko, “Delta” is an important catalogue distinction.
It is a documented studio recording by her actual LOGICA? lineup, not merely an inherited stage song.
The 2016 school year also strengthened her role as a live performer.
Sakura Gakuin productions required rapid movement between: main-group choreography, club-unit material, talk segments, public lessons, and theatrical presentation.
Momoko's comedy and facial expression were particularly useful in the variety-oriented side of the group.
At the same time, the precision required by Mini-Pati and LOGICA? reinforced technical ensemble work.
This combination — exuberant personality within strict group choreography — would later become one of the recognizable qualities of MOMOMETAL.
In 2017, Momoko entered her final Sakura Gakuin school year.
The Student Council appointments were announced at the May 7 transfer ceremony.
The council was: Aiko Yamaide — Student Council President Megumi Okada — Talk Chairperson Momoko Okazaki — Ganbare!! Chairperson Maaya Asou — Education Chairperson.
Momoko was the first member in Sakura Gakuin history to hold the Ganbare!! Chairperson office.
The title is sometimes translated as: Perseverance Chairperson, Effort Chairperson, or Cheering Chairperson.
“Ganbare” carries the sense of encouraging someone to keep going, do their best or face a challenge with determination.
In Sakura Gakuin's own stylized vocabulary, the idea was connected with helping members remain positive, energetic and smiling.
The office suited Momoko's established identity as a mood-maker.
It also converted a personality trait into formal responsibility.
She was no longer simply the loud member of KYG.
As a senior student, she was expected to notice when younger members were struggling, raise the room's energy and contribute to the emotional stability of the school year.
The appointment did not make her Student Council President or Vice President.
It was a newly created office with its own purpose.
Soyoka Yoshida later became the second Ganbare!! Chairperson in 2019, showing that the office Momoko originated became part of Sakura Gakuin's continuing council structure.
The 2017 transfer students were: Miku Tanaka and Miki Yagi.
Momoko, Aiko and Megumi were now the three graduating senior students.
Their year required them to balance leadership, graduation preparation and outside work.
For Momoko, the outside schedule became especially demanding.
In late 2017 she joined the live-action project: Saki -Achiga-hen episode of side-A.
She played: Hyakka Kurumai.
The role appeared in the television drama and in the feature-film version released on January 20, 2018.
The project adapted a competitive-mahjong manga and placed Momoko in an ensemble of school characters from rival teams.
It added another screen role during her final Sakura Gakuin year.
Her largest acting assignment from the period was the touring musical: Black Butler -Tango on the Campania-.
Momoko played: Elizabeth Midford.
The production opened on December 31, 2017 and toured through February 12, 2018.
It played in: Tokyo, Kobe, Aichi, Ishikawa, and Fukuoka.
Elizabeth is an important supporting character in the Black Butler story and the role required acting, singing, movement and participation in a large professional stage company.
This was not a brief Sakura Gakuin school play.
It was a commercial 2.5-dimensional musical production with an extended rehearsal and performance schedule.
The tour overlapped the final months of Momoko's Sakura Gakuin membership.
In her graduation-period interview, Momoko connected the experience to a clearer desire to pursue dance and musical theater.
She had watched the ensemble dancers working behind the central cast and became interested in reaching that professional level herself.
The experience therefore matters not only as an acting credit but as a turning point in how she described her future ambitions.
Sakura Gakuin's 2017 school-year album was: Sakura Gakuin 2017 Nendo ~My Road~ released on March 3, 2018.
The album included: “Mirai Tokei.”
“Mirai Tokei” was performed by the three graduating members: Aiko Yamaide, Megumi Okada, and Momoko Okazaki.
It was not a Momoko solo song.
The trio format gave the graduating class a distinct musical statement within the final album.
On March 24, 2018, Momoko graduated from Sakura Gakuin at: The Road to Graduation 2017 Final ~Sakura Gakuin 2017 Graduation~ at Nakano Sunplaza.
Approximately 2,200 people attended the graduation performance.
Momoko graduated with: Aiko Yamaide and Megumi Okada.
Her Sakura Gakuin membership lasted from May 6, 2015 through March 24, 2018.
Measured inclusively, that period covers 1,054 calendar days.
She had completed three full school-year albums and two official club lineups.
During her final speech, Momoko announced that she would study abroad after graduation.
She told the audience that she would be away from the other members for a long time and wanted to become a “super lady” capable of repaying the support of Sakura Gakuin's audience.
At the graduating-photo-book handover event on March 31, she confirmed that she expected to leave in April.
When asked where she would go, she playfully described it only as a “dream country.”
She did not publicly identify the nation.
She said that she wanted to make many friends from other countries and further improve the dance expression she had learned through Sakura Gakuin.
Reports also described English-language study as part of the plan.
The destination has often been guessed by fans.
No guess should be presented as verified fact.
March 31 was Momoko's last Sakura Gakuin-related work and marked the end of her first period under Amuse.
She then withdrew from regular public entertainment activity while studying abroad.
The period from April 2018 into 2019 is intentionally sparse in the public record.
There was no official personal social account documenting her daily life.
There was no public school name, city or country.
The absence of information should not be filled with invented details.
What is documented is the purpose: language study, international experience, and further development in dance and performance.
Momoko's return to a major stage came through an unexpected connection to Sakura Gakuin history.
In June 2019, BABYMETAL introduced a rotating support system known as: the Avengers.
After YUIMETAL's departure in 2018, BABYMETAL continued with SU-METAL and MOAMETAL as its official core.
The Avengers were three dancers who could rotate into the third position required by much of the group's original three-person choreography.
The three known Avengers were: Riho Sayashi, Kano Fujihira, and Momoko Okazaki.
The three were not normally presented together as a new permanent lineup.
One Avenger appeared beside SU-METAL and MOAMETAL at a given performance.
They were support dancers.
They did not receive individual microphones in the standard Avenger configuration.
They were not announced as official BABYMETAL members.
They did not receive BABYMETAL metal names at that stage.
Momoko therefore remained Momoko Okazaki during the Avenger period.
Calling her MOMOMETAL in a 2019 or 2020 performance is convenient retrospective shorthand, but it is historically inaccurate.
Her first known BABYMETAL performance as an Avenger occurred on August 4, 2019 at: SUPER SLIPPA 10 in Taipei, Taiwan.
The date carried several layers of significance.
It was her first major public performance after study abroad.
It was outside Japan.
It placed her beside Sakura Gakuin graduates Suzuka Nakamoto and Moa Kikuchi in the group that had originally developed as Sakura Gakuin's Heavy Music Club.
It also required her to enter an established international production without being individually introduced as a member.
Momoko went on to perform extensively during the: METAL GALAXY WORLD TOUR.
Her Avenger appearances included arena, theater and festival stages across multiple countries.
She took part in major productions connected with the era, including live appearances surrounding: The Forum in Los Angeles, Japanese arena shows, LEGEND – METAL GALAXY, and the 2020 European tour.
She appeared as a support dancer in the official music video for: “DA DA DANCE.”
Her presence in the video is a documented visual credit.
It does not make her a credited recording member of the 2019 METAL GALAXY album.
The distinction between visual performance and studio membership is essential.
Momoko also performed with BABYMETAL during high-profile Japanese television appearances in 2020.
These included the group's first appearance on: NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen on December 31, 2020.
Onstage, she occupied the third dance position with SU-METAL and MOAMETAL.
The broadcast did not convert the Avenger role into official membership.
From January through April 2021, BABYMETAL held the ten-show: 10 BABYMETAL BUDOKAN residency at Nippon Budokan.
Momoko served as the third dancer throughout the residency.
This made her the principal visible support performer during the conclusion of BABYMETAL's tenth-anniversary live cycle.
Her final performance in that run was: DOOMSDAY – X on April 15, 2021.
BABYMETAL later announced that its live activities would be “sealed” after the tenth-anniversary period.
The Avenger phase should be understood as a separate career category: professional touring support, not anonymous background work, but also not permanent official membership.
That intermediate status explains why Momoko could later appear publicly in another audition project under her real name.
In July 2021, Momoko was announced as one of the Japanese contestants on Mnet's survival program: Girls Planet 999.
The program brought together ninety-nine contestants divided equally among: K-Group from Korea, C-Group from China, and J-Group from Japan.
The show premiered on August 6, 2021.
Momoko entered as: OKAZAKI MOMOKO in J-Group.
She was presented as an independent trainee rather than an Amuse artist or BABYMETAL member.
Her profile highlighted Japanese, Korean and English language ability.
It listed finger waves and playing the kazoo among her skills and described her as someone who liked taking on new challenges despite sometimes being reserved.
The profile used a historical height of 162 centimeters.
That number belongs to the 2021 program profile and should not be presented as a permanently current measurement.
Momoko's initial J-Group ranking was J-18.
In preliminary material she performed with the J-Group unit informally identified as Marshmallows.
During the main competition she formed a three-person “cell” with: Kim Sein of K-Group and Wen Zhe of C-Group.
The cell structure meant that early elimination depended on combined voting for three contestants rather than only individual results.
For the Connect Mission, Momoko participated in the nine-member Energy Bar team performing: TWICE's “Yes or Yes.”
Official Mnet videos included her individual vertical performance camera, signal-song material and cell promotional clips.
Momoko's cell finished eighteenth in the first elimination.
Only the top seventeen cells advanced through the regular vote.
The result was broadcast in episode five in early September 2021.
Wen Zhe was later saved by a Planet Pass in a newly formed cell, while Momoko and Kim Sein were eliminated.
Momoko therefore did not reach the later rounds and was not part of Kep1er, the final group formed by the program.
Her Girls Planet 999 participation remains significant for several reasons.
It was her first sustained public appearance after the 2018 study-abroad period in which she was presented principally as herself rather than as a Sakura Gakuin student or an unnamed Avenger.
It placed her in a Korean production and a multilingual competitive environment.
It also made her individual dance ability available through official focus-camera recordings.
At the same time, the program should not be rewritten as a direct step in a publicly known BABYMETAL selection process.
No reliable source has established that Girls Planet 999 was a test arranged by BABYMETAL or that her elimination triggered a pre-planned promotion.
After her elimination, Momoko again had no continuous individual public platform.
BABYMETAL returned from its sealed period in January 2023 with: BABYMETAL RETURNS – THE OTHER ONE – at Makuhari Messe.
Momoko appeared again in the third dance position.
At this point she was still functioning as support.
She also appeared in the performance footage used for the official video of: “Light and Darkness.”
That video was released before her formal membership announcement.
It should therefore be classified as a pre-MOMOMETAL support appearance.
The major transition occurred during: BABYMETAL BEGINS – THE OTHER ONE – at PIA Arena MM.
The first concert was: BLACK NIGHT on April 1, 2023.
At the end of the performance, Momoko was formally revealed as the third member of the reborn BABYMETAL.
She received the stage name: MOMOMETAL.
She was twenty years old.
The following day, April 2, she performed: CLEAR NIGHT as a permanent official member alongside: SU-METAL and MOAMETAL.
The transition changed every aspect of her public status.
Avenger Momoko Okazaki had been: a rotating dancer, without a standard microphone, without an official metal name, and outside the permanent member listing.
MOMOMETAL became: a named member, officially credited for Scream & Dance, part of group interviews, part of promotional photography, and part of future recording and touring decisions.
In a 2023 Metal Hammer interview, MOMOMETAL explained that she had been deeply anxious about whether the established audience would accept her.
She did not fully believe the promotion was real until the announcement itself and remembered physically shaking from nervousness.
That testimony is important because the reveal can look inevitable in retrospect.
It was not emotionally simple for the performer entering a group with more than twelve years of existing history.
The permanent trio immediately entered an intense touring period.
In April and May 2023, BABYMETAL supported Sabaton on a European arena tour.
The group then undertook dates across: Asia, Australia, North America, and Europe.
The North American BABYKLOK tour paired BABYMETAL with Dethklok and demonstrated the commercial strength of the restored trio.
For MOMOMETAL, this meant that her official-member learning period took place in public and across a large number of international stages.
Her first major new BABYMETAL song as a permanent member was: “METALI!!” featuring Tom Morello.
The digital single was released on August 18, 2023.
BABYMETAL described it as the first new song by the newly reborn trio of: SU-METAL, MOAMETAL, and MOMOMETAL.
The song gave MOMOMETAL a highly visible individual section.
She delivered the theatrical spoken passage preceding the final festival-like section and used a forceful growl as part of the performance.
The recording established that her role would not be limited to recreating a symmetrical dance position.
Her voice and comic-theatrical timing could become part of BABYMETAL's recorded identity.
The official role remained Scream & Dance.
“METALI!!” did not reclassify her as the group's lead singer.
It did, however, make her individual vocal color unmistakable.
BABYMETAL's 2023 collaborations also included: “The End” on Lil Uzi Vert's album Pink Tape.
MOMOMETAL was an official group member by the time of release.
The track is credited to BABYMETAL as a group, not to a separately itemized MOMOMETAL vocal part.
Her exact studio contribution should therefore not be overstated.
The next major personalized production centered directly on her.
On March 2 and 3, 2024, BABYMETAL held: BABYMETAL WORLD TOUR 2023–2024 LEGEND – MM at Yokohama Arena.
The first show was titled: 20 NIGHT.
It took place on the final night before Momoko's twenty-first birthday, while she was still twenty.
The second was titled: 21 NIGHT.
It took place on March 3, her twenty-first birthday.
The two concerts were presented as MOMOMETAL's “seitan,” or birthday legend ceremony.
They placed her in the personalized LEGEND tradition previously used for major SU-METAL and MOAMETAL milestones.
Approximately 30,000 people attended across the two days.
The set lists were substantially different.
20 NIGHT included: “DA DA DANCE,” “Shanti Shanti Shanti,” “Kagerou,” “MAYA,” “BxMxC,” “Syncopation,” “Monochrome,” “METALI!!,” and a special “Headbangeeeeerrrrr!!!!!” presentation.
During the birthday version of “Headbangeeeeerrrrr!!!!!,” MOMOMETAL took a large lead-vocal section and included her growl.
The performance is often called: “Momo-banger” by fans.
That nickname is descriptive fan vocabulary rather than a separately released studio title.
21 NIGHT included: “Distortion,” “PA PA YA!!,” “Elevator Girl,” “YAVA!,” “Believing,” “Brand New Day,” “Starlight,” “KARATE,” “METALI!!,” and a MOMOMETAL-centered opening portion of “META! Meta Taro.”
The two-night production demonstrated that she could hold attention as an individual vocalist and theatrical lead without changing BABYMETAL's central SU-METAL lead-vocal structure.
The official LEGEND – MM video and live-album editions were released on July 10, 2024.
This became Momoko's first personally centered BABYMETAL live release.
In 2024, BABYMETAL expanded its collaboration-heavy global activity.
On March 14, F.HERO, Bodyslam and BABYMETAL released: “LEAVE IT ALL BEHIND.”
On May 23, BABYMETAL and Electric Callboy released: “RATATATA.”
The music video and shared live performances presented MOMOMETAL as a fully integrated member of the trio.
The song became one of the group's largest recent crossover releases.
BABYMETAL held: FOX_FEST at Saitama Super Arena on May 25 and 26.
The event included Electric Callboy, Polyphia, Bilmuri and METALVERSE and created a live setting for the new collaboration network.
Later in 2024, BABYMETAL made a cameo appearance in the Finnish metal comedy film: Heavier Trip.
Momoko appeared as MOMOMETAL with the group.
This was different from her earlier character acting roles.
She was appearing through the BABYMETAL identity rather than playing an unrelated fictional character.
BABYMETAL also undertook its first substantial Latin American touring period in 2024, including festival and headline activity in multiple countries.
The expansion was particularly relevant to MOMOMETAL because she had entered the permanent lineup only the previous year and was already participating in regions BABYMETAL had not previously toured extensively.
On December 6, 2024, Bloodywood released: “Bekhauf” featuring BABYMETAL.
The collaboration further connected the group with contemporary international metal artists.
By 2025, Momoko's public role expanded beyond concerts, videos and promotional interviews.
On January 4, TOKYO FM launched: BABYMETAL no Metaraji!
It was BABYMETAL's first regular radio program with the members serving as personalities.
The show created the term: “Metatomo” for the circle of metal friends developed through conversations with guests.
The weekly format was especially important for MOMOMETAL.
She had no verified official personal social-media account and had spent years in roles with restricted individual public communication.
Metaraji gave her a recurring conversational platform as one of the three named members.
Listeners could hear: her humor, questions, reactions, musical curiosity, and chemistry with SU-METAL and MOAMETAL outside the compressed structure of a concert or promotional clip.
Guests came from metal, rock, pop and wider Japanese entertainment.
The program therefore added: radio personality to Momoko's professional record.
BABYMETAL entered a global partnership with Capitol Records in April 2025.
The group prepared its next studio album: METAL FORTH.
The album was constructed around collaborations and the outward movement suggested by its title.
The track list was: 1. “from me to u” featuring Poppy 2. “RATATATA” — BABYMETAL x Electric Callboy 3. “Song 3” — BABYMETAL x Slaughter to Prevail 4. “Kon! Kon!” featuring Bloodywood 5. “KxAxWxAxIxI” 6. “Sunset Kiss” featuring Polyphia 7. “My Queen” featuring Spiritbox 8. “Algorism” 9. “METALI!!” featuring Tom Morello 10. “White Flame -白炎-.”
MOMOMETAL's vocal function continued to expand across this era.
Her harsh-vocal technique became a recognizable live and recorded texture.
Interviews connected her growing confidence in the technique with encouragement from powerful contemporary vocalists, including Courtney LaPlante of Spiritbox.
This development should be described accurately.
MOMOMETAL contributes: supporting vocals, chants, spoken passages, character vocals, and selected growls.
SU-METAL remains BABYMETAL's principal lead vocalist.
The added harsh-vocal function enlarges MOMOMETAL's role without erasing that established division.
On May 30, 2025, BABYMETAL headlined a sold-out concert at: The O2 in London.
Approximately 20,000 people attended.
Official Japanese label reporting described it as the first solo headline performance at The O2 by a Japanese artist or group.
It was also an important personal full-circle moment for MOMOMETAL.
As a former support dancer, she had learned to function inside BABYMETAL without member status.
At The O2 she stood as one of the three permanent faces of the group.
BABYMETAL then undertook its largest North American tour to that point.
The June–July run comprised twenty-five performances and more than 110,000 attendees according to official label reporting.
METAL FORTH was released on August 8, 2025.
It was the first BABYMETAL studio album released with Momoko as an official member.
This is the correct studio-discography turning point.
She should not be retroactively listed as a recording member of: METAL GALAXY or THE OTHER ONE because she danced in concerts or videos connected with those albums.
METAL FORTH debuted at: No. 9 on the Billboard 200.
Amuse reported that the result made BABYMETAL the first Japanese group to reach the chart's Top 10.
On November 1, 2025, BABYMETAL headlined the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles.
The concert sold out and was reported as the venue's first solo performance by a Japanese group.
The group followed it with a special arena show at Arena CDMX in Mexico City on November 7.
For Momoko, these achievements occurred only two and a half years after the MOMOMETAL announcement.
Metaraji continued alongside the international touring cycle.
In December 2025, TOKYO FM announced a live festival based on the radio program.
The program's guest relationships were converted into a public multi-artist event.
BABYMETAL opened 2026 with: LEGEND – METAL FORTH at Saitama Super Arena on January 10 and 11.
The production formed the major Japanese conclusion of the group's fifteenth-anniversary year and celebrated the METAL FORTH era.
In early 2026, BABYMETAL also appeared as a featured artist with Tatsuya Kitani on: “Kasuka na Hana” or “A Faint Flower.”
The official music video was released on March 9.
The song served as an anime theme connected with the second season of Hell's Paradise.
Because the credit is to Tatsuya Kitani featuring BABYMETAL, it should be classified as a group collaboration rather than a MOMOMETAL solo release.
Metaraji ended with its March 28, 2026 broadcast.
The following day, March 29, TOKYO FM held: BABYMETAL no Metaraji! FES at Tokyo Garden Theater.
The event featured: BABYMETAL, Maximum the Hormone, and ATARASHII GAKKO!.
The festival transformed the program's “Metatomo” concept into a shared live event.
The official: BABYMETAL no Metaraji! BOOK was released on March 31.
The 192-page publication included new photography, a long BABYMETAL interview, guest-related material, metal recommendations and an interview with KOBAMETAL.
For Momoko, the radio season is an important part of her biography because it documents a sustained public-speaking role after years without an individual media channel.
BABYMETAL continued touring through 2026.
During June the group returned to European concerts and festivals including: Download Festival, Summer Punch Festival, Graspop Metal Meeting, Tons of Rock, Impericon Festival, and Copenhell.
On July 1, BABYMETAL performed a headline show in Istanbul.
In August, the group appeared at: LuckyFes on August 9, CANNONBALL GAIDEN on August 10, and SUMMER SONIC in Osaka and Chiba on August 14 and 16.
As of August 30, 2026, Momoko is twenty-three years old.
She remains an official member of BABYMETAL alongside: SU-METAL and MOAMETAL.
Amuse lists the lineup as: SU-METAL — Vocal & Dance MOAMETAL — Scream & Dance MOMOMETAL — Scream & Dance.
BABYMETAL is scheduled to perform as special guest to My Chemical Romance at Petco Park in San Diego on August 30, 2026.
Because the reference date is also August 30 and completion has not been independently verified at the time of writing, the appearance is treated as scheduled rather than completed.
A North American headline run is scheduled to begin at Ball Arena in Denver on September 2.
Further dates in the United States and Canada continue into October, followed by later 2026 international activity including Latin America.
All dates after the reference point must remain labeled scheduled.
Momoko's professional development can be summarized as:
Amuse trainee → Sakura Gakuin transfer student → Mini-Pati third generation → LOGICA? Ver.2.0 → first Ganbare!! Chairperson → model and actress → Black Butler musical performer → overseas student → BABYMETAL Avenger → Girls Planet 999 contestant → returning BABYMETAL support dancer → permanent MOMOMETAL → LEGEND – MM central performer → METAL FORTH recording member → Metaraji radio personality → global arena and festival performer.
The unusual element is not simply that she joined BABYMETAL.
It is that she occupied nearly every possible distance from the group before becoming a member.
She first knew BABYMETAL as a Sakura Gakuin junior whose seniors had created the Heavy Music Club.
She then stood beside two of those seniors as an uncredited rotating support dancer.
She left that stage and appeared under her own name in a Korean survival program.
She returned as support again.
Only after years of performances was she given a metal name, microphone and permanent place in the official trio.
That progression makes the April 2023 announcement a genuine status change rather than a cosmetic renaming.
