Moa Kikuchi, Suzuka Nakamoto and Yui Mizuno perform with Babymetal on Day 1 of the Heavy Montreal Festival on Aug. 9, 2014 in Montreal, Canada.
Babymetal -- the teenaged J-pop-meets-metal trio that topped Billboard's World Albums chart -- has signed with Sony, with plans for taking on America and beyond.
The Japanese band broke the news on its official website, announcing that its self-titled debut album will be released June 16 in the United States via RAL/Sony Music Entertainment. The long-player first dropped Feb. 24, 2014, in Japan, but the U.S. edition comes with two additional bonus tracks.
The trio describes itself as "kawaii" (meaning "cute") metal. Their official Facebook page details each member's respective role quite accurately -- Su-Metal handles "vocal, dance," while Yuimetal and Moametal both take on "scream, dance." They opened dates on Lady Gaga's Artpop tour and their first New York show was a huge hit. You really just have to see it for yourself:
Their Kobametal-produced album will also see a 2015 European release, via earMUSIC. It will come out May 29 in Germany, Sweden, Finland, and Spain, on June 1 in the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland, Norway and Denmark, and on June 2 in Italy.
And Babymetal isn't the first buzzworthy young metal act Sony has given a contract to lately. Back in July 2014, Sony signed Unlocking the Truth to a five-album deal that could land them $1.8 million if certain sales figures are met. However, the Unlocking the Truth announced last month that it was looking to leave Sony.