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Key Kobayashi (小林啓, Kobayashi Kei), better known by his pseudonym Kobametal, is a Japanese music producer under the talent agency Amuse, Inc. He is best known as the producer of the kawaii metal group Babymetal.

Biography

Kobayashi's interest in heavy metal music started around his sixth grade in elementary school after listening to the band Seikima-II. He joined Amuse in 1996 and spent the early years of his career doing media promotion for visual kei bands such as Siam Shade and Cascade.

On March 14, 2009, he accompanied Mini-Pati [ja], a patissier-themed girl group formed by Amuse in cooperation with the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, in their appearance at the farewell concert of Karen Girl's, of which Suzuka Nakamoto was a member. After watching Nakamoto's performance, Kobayashi planned to launch a new musical unit combining J-pop and heavy metal with her as the lead singer. Future Babymetal member Yui Mizuno was also present at the concert.

In 2010, the idol group Sakura Gakuin was formed by Amuse with a theme of school life and club activities. One of the sub-units formed within the group was the Heavy Music Club, produced by Kobayashi, and Mini-Pati was also absorbed as the Cooking Club sub-unit. In February 2011, Amuse announced that the members of Heavy Music Club, namely Nakamoto, Mizuno, and Moa Kikuchi, would perform under the name Babymetal.

On March 13, 2016, he received an Excellence Award from the Association of Media in Digital (AMD) in Japan for his success in promoting Babymetal internationally.

In June 2022, Kobametal was appointed as a director of Kulture, Inc, an Amuse subsidiary which would handle the integration of new technologies such as the metaverse and NFT into the entertainment industry.

References

1. "An Interview With Key Kobayashi". HuffPost UK. 2014-12-03. Archived from the original on 2018-05-05. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
2. "Meet Kobametal, the Mysterious Mastermind Behind Babymetal". Fuse. Archived from the original on 2018-05-05. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
3. ""Hedoban" Shinko Music". July 4, 2013. pp. 42–55.
4. "In-depth interview with Kobametal, the key person behind BABYMETAL". BABYMETAL. 2014-08-20. Archived from the original on 2018-05-05. Retrieved 2018-05-05.
5. "【可憐Girl's任務完了スペシャルイベント】in SHIBUYA BOXX: 可憐Girl's応援Blog". karengirls.seesaa.net. Retrieved 2023-08-08.
6. "KOBAMETALにきく BABYMETALというコンセプト". Marquee. Vol. 94. December 2012. ISBN 9784434174476.
7. "さくら学院『15歳』". さくら学院オフィシャルブログ「学院日誌」Powered by Ameba (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-08-08.
8. リリース ファーストアルバム『さくら学院 2010年度 ～message～』情報. さくら学院. February 1, 2011. Archived from the original on December 5, 2022.
9. "第22回 AMD Award 優秀賞｜ＢＡＢＹＭＥＴＡＬ 一般社団法人デジタルメディア協会". amd.or.jp (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2018-05-01. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
10. BABYMETALプロデューサーがアミューズ新会社の取締役に就任、新技術取り入れ次世代エンタメ創出 [BABYMETAL Producer Appointed as Director of New Amuse Company to Create Next-Generation Entertainment Incorporating New Technology]. 音楽ナタリー (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. Retrieved 2022-06-24.

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