As we enter the chilly season in November, the topic of the “NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen” to be broadcast on New Year’s Eve is becoming more and more common. Photo】Singers whose “guitar-burning incident” at the Kohaku is legendary are here. On October 14, the hosts were announced, and this year they will be the celebrity Hiroyuki Ariyoshi, actors Haruka Ayase and Mio Imada, and NHK announcer Nahoko Suzuki. The theme of this year’s Kohaku, which marks 100 years of broadcasting, is “Tsunagu, Tsunagu, Omisoka. It is said that the theme expresses the wish to connect through music, transcending the barriers of time, generation, gender, language, and race. What is also interesting is the singers who will participate in the festival. Artists from STARTO ENTERTAINMENT, who did not participate in the previous year and last year due to the sexual assault issue at the former Johnny’s Office, are expected to participate for the first time in three years. In addition, three female voice actors from the popular anime series “Love Live! series, has been confirmed to participate in the festival for the first time, according to some sports papers. An editor of an entertainment magazine commented on this year’s contestants. The “AiScReam” will end its activities after its live tour next spring, and Akina Nakamori, whose participation was highly anticipated but not realized last year and the year before, as well as Seiko Matsuda and Hikaru Utada, are the focus of attention. In the midst of all this, the “revival” of “Perfume,” which announced it would be taking a year-long hiatus, and the appearance of Eikichi Yazawa, who will celebrate the 50th anniversary of his solo debut this year, in a special program slot seem highly likely. In this context, the music industry has been focusing on which singer will play the last performer of this year’s festival. Looking back over the past 10 years, the following singers have performed. 2014 Grand Tori = Seiko Matsuda (red group) Tori = Arashi (white group) 2015 Grand Tori = Seiko Matsuda (red group) Tori = Masahiko Kondo (white group) 2016 Grand Tori = Arashi (white group) Tori = Sayuri Ishikawa (red group) 2017 Grand Tori = Yuzu (white group) Tori = Sayuri Ishikawa (red group) 2018 Grand Tori = Arashi (white group) Tori = Sayuri Ishikawa (red 2019 Grand Tori = Arashi (White Group) Tori MISIA (Red Group) And since 2020, MISIA (Red Group) and Masaharu Fukuyama (White Group) have served as Grand Tori and Tori, respectively, for four consecutive years. A staff member of a major record company said. However, the title of “Kohaku singer” still carries a certain prestige as a career singer, and is a very powerful weapon in terms of sales. Even today, the music industry still considers it a great honor to perform in the Kohaku as the last performer or the last performer in a show. In fact, looking back over the past 10 years, the lineup has included such great names as Hibari Misora, Saburo Kitajima, Hiroshi Itsuki, Shinichi Mori, Harumi Miyako, and SMAP, and in recent years, artists who are considered “big names” have dominated the lineup.
