Babymetal is the debut studio album by Japanese heavy metal idol group Babymetal. It was first released on February 26, 2014, in Japan through BMD Fox Records, and was re-released on , in Europe through earMusic, and , in the United States through RED Associated Labels (RAL) and Sony Music Entertainment. Music from the album dates back to the origins of the band in 2010, and incorporates tracks from their earliest released singles, back when the band was a sub-unit of the Japanese idol group Sakura Gakuin. Babymetal received generally positive reviews from music critics. The album managed to peak at number four on the Oricon Weekly Chart, and has since been certified gold with over 100,000 copies sold in Japan. In the United States, the album debuted at number 187 on the Billboard 200—a rarity for Japanese acts in the country—and managed to top the World Albums chart. Two singles from Babymetal, "Ijime, Dame, Zettai" and "Megitsune", gained domestic success, charting within the top ten in Japan. "Gimme Chocolate!!" became an international success, with its music video garnering attention overseas and becoming the group's most viewed music video on YouTube. Background Prior to the album's release, Babymetal performed as a sub-unit for the Japanese idol group Sakura Gakuin from 2010 to 2013, and music that would be included surfaced as early as October 30, 2010, when the members of the band recorded their vocals for their first song "Doki Doki ☆ Morning". From 2011 to 2013, the band released five singles inside and outside Sakura Gakuin, with the most successful single, "Ijime, Dame, Zettai" peaking at number six on the Oricon Weekly Singles chart. From late 2012 to early 2013, Babymetal took part in a series of headlining shows, performing new songs in each performance. The band then embarked on their first tour, the Babymetal Death Match Tour 2013: May Revolution, in May 2013, and later performed two more headlining shows that year, each performed near the members' birthdays. At the end of the latter show, Legend "1997", the band announced a pair of shows to occur at Nippon Budokan, as well as an album slated for release on February 26, 2014, with a standard edition and a limited edition bundled with a DVD. Composition Musically, the album follows Babymetal's fusion of J-pop and heavy metal (referred to as kawaii metal), at times incorporating elements of bubblegum pop, hip