BABYMETAL opens for My Chemical Romance at US stadium — fans clash over how full the seats really were

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The story

A thread went up on 5ch’s Hello! Project board reporting that BABYMETAL opened for My Chemical Romance at a US stadium show. After social media posts showed the stands filling up right from the start and the crowd going wild with hands in the air, the thread lit up with praise. But a counter-argument also emerged — that the stands only looked full because fans were simply taking their seats before sunset made it dark — sparking a split over what really drew the crowd. The thread also touched on BABYMETAL being featured on a Marvel Comics variant cover.

What people said

1AnonymousSep 1, 2026 22:06
They filled 90% of the venue as just the opener
That's basically superstar territory already
7AnonymousSep 1, 2026 22:17
With My Chemical Romance
11AnonymousSep 1, 2026 22:22
Re: #3
'US K-pop'?
Guess people really do think of them as K-pop
13AnonymousSep 1, 2026 22:33
Everyone going wild with hands up

https://x.com/ayamiyahara/status/2094437869243019452
51AnonymousSep 1, 2026 23:03


94AnonymousSep 2, 2026 00:04
101AnonymousSep 2, 2026 02:09
BABYMETAL shares a dream crossover with Iron Man, Captain America and other famous characters! They're now on the cover of a Marvel comic
https://hstorage.jp/dl/8CWpScAQlmws.png


Major world-famous musicians who've had collabs/homages on Marvel variant covers and the like

▫Hip-hop
・Eminem
・Dr. Dre
・2Pac
・Wu-Tang Clan
・JAY-Z
・Kendrick Lamar
・LL Cool J
・50 Cent
・Lauryn Hill
・Kanye West

▫Rock/Metal
・Queen
・Nirvana
・Guns N' Roses
・The Clash
・Blondie
・BABYMETAL ⬅ NEW !!
110AnonymousSep 2, 2026 07:30
Re: #108
Same story as Re: #101
Might as well give up already~
102AnonymousSep 2, 2026 02:15
They probably just paid to get on the cover
aimed at Japanese fans
140AnonymousSep 2, 2026 13:24
Re: #102
I don't think this is a lineup you can just buy your way into
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HRLH0zfaYAAcqFI.jpg:orig
https://x.com/hana_hanametal/status/2094957430321062248
108AnonymousSep 2, 2026 06:55
Fuji TV was just running a promo for it earlier
Same as the Resident Evil thing — just fan merch
112AnonymousSep 2, 2026 07:33
Re: #1
It was My Chemical Romance that drew the 40,000, not BABYMETAL

Why do Mates (BABYMETAL fans) always try to spin anything happening near BABYMETAL into 'a BABYMETAL achievement'?
Honestly it's worse than wartime propaganda lol
It's a weird mentality you don't see in other fandoms

The real reason the stands filled up during BABYMETAL's set is just that the sun was starting to go down and it got dark
114AnonymousSep 2, 2026 07:40
Re: #112
>The real reason the stands filled up during BABYMETAL's set is just that the sun was starting to go down and it got dark

No way, if they weren't popular the stands wouldn't pack out solid like that
Usually even at capacity it's only 70-80% full
Sounds like you've been watching too many lame K-pop shows with no openers ('K-poppo,' a mocking term for K-pop fans)
115AnonymousSep 2, 2026 07:42
How MCR fans reacted

https://hstorage.jp/dl/Bt6Mqryj6uUf.png

@
Yo that was so cool, babymetal got almost the entire pit on the ground what other opener can do that!!!

(Japanese translation posted in the thread: "That was insanely cool! BABYMETAL got almost the whole pit to sit down on the ground — what other opening act can pull that off?!")
118AnonymousSep 2, 2026 07:48
Re: #114
Sure, they're more popular than your average act
There are fancams in this thread shot by K-pop fans and J-metal fans, and they probably bought tickets for BABYMETAL too

But the main reason the stands filled up is just that people wanted to be seated before it got completely dark
Apparently that's not an unusual sight for an opener during a stadium show as the sun sets
120AnonymousSep 2, 2026 08:01
Re: #118
A stand packed solid is the unusual part, though
Like I keep saying, 70-80% full is the norm
122AnonymousSep 2, 2026 08:09
It's really not packed solid at all
https://youtube.com/shorts/Jv_Ct_n99W0?si=fVxvKAXlISiiWM2J

More people keep piling in after this, but like I keep saying, that's just people getting seated before it gets dark
You should really drop this propaganda-style 'it's always packed whenever BABYMETAL's on' line
Your point would actually land if you calmed down a bit
124AnonymousSep 2, 2026 08:25
Re: #122
If you don't like it that much, just bring proof — a couple videos of 2-3 other artists showing 'the stands go packed solid by the end even for an opener' like you're claiming
If it's really that common there should be plenty of examples
125AnonymousSep 2, 2026 08:27
If people were really there for BABYMETAL, the place would've been full right from the start
How many times do I have to say the crowd grew as the show went on because people wanted to sit down before dark…

Besides, if the Mates' claim that an opener can nearly fill a stadium is true, a BABYMETAL headline show should sell out instantly lol
Why don't they try that next year?
128AnonymousSep 2, 2026 08:39
Re: #125
That's only true if people already knew about BABYMETAL going in
Obviously some of the crowd got drawn in after hearing and seeing the performance live and being blown away
You're just refusing to accept the facts and forcing yourself to dig up reasons to deny it
133AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:36
136AnonymousSep 2, 2026 12:59
It's for a tiny niche of hardcore fans, right?
The ones actually dropping the big money are overwhelmingly old Japanese guys
137AnonymousSep 2, 2026 13:12
Re: #136
The overseas fanbase already far outnumbers the old guys back in Japan
Even just the US alone has more fans than Japan does
150AnonymousSep 2, 2026 20:41
One attendee said maybe around 40% of the crowd at the venue that day already knew who BABYMETAL was
Honestly, if it really is 40%, that's pretty solid name recognition
BABYMETAL's doing alright
There was some cheering, apparently, though not huge
But when Gimme Chocolate!! played, the crowd reportedly went off
Guess that song really is the famous one

Background and points of debate

BABYMETAL has been drawing crowds at festivals and arena shows across the US and Europe since the 2010s, and this time they opened for My Chemical Romance at a US stadium show. It’s generally common for an opening act’s seating not to be full right at the start, and the thread saw an unresolved clash between the view that “the stands only filled up because people sat down before sunset” and the view that “filling up this much for an opener is unusual.” As for awareness levels, a figure of “about 40% already knew about them” is cited, based on a single attendee’s post from the venue that day — but it’s worth noting this comes from one person’s impression, not an actual survey. The also-discussed Marvel Comics variant cover feature was presented alongside past examples like Queen and Nirvana, though whether it was a paid placement was never confirmed within the thread.

※This article is compiled as an excerpt/summary from the 5ch (Hello! Project) thread “BABYMETAL Somehow Draws 40,000 People at a US Stadium“.

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