<figure id="attachment_276424" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-276424" style="width: 835px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="001732b6"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/11/4fdc72e62dec30acf5f9f2c9fbf1dd73.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-276424" class="wp-caption-text">King &#038; Prince,&#8221; whose three members, including Shiyoh Hirano, are scheduled to leave the group next year, also decided to participate in the Kohaku Uta Gassen&#8230;</figcaption></figure>
 The 73rd NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen (Red and White Singing Contest) has been announced for the year-end New Year&#8217;s Eve, and the announcement has been the subject of much discussion.
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 As one would expect, Johnny&#8217;s is a strong contender. Last year, seven groups participated, but this year there will be only six. Naniwa Danshi,&#8221; a group that is a favorite of Johnny&#8217;s s, will participate for the first time, and &#8220;KinKi Kids,&#8221; which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, and &#8220;Kanjani Kids&#8221; will participate for the second time. Kids&#8221; and &#8220;Kanjani Eight,&#8221; which celebrated their 25th anniversary this year, and &#8220;Snow Man,&#8221; &#8220;Snow Man&#8221; and &#8220;Snow Man,&#8221; which still retains the name of Hideaki Takizawa, &#8220;Snow Man&#8221; and &#8220;Snow Man. Snow Man&#8221; and &#8220;SixTONES&#8221;. SixTONES&#8221; have joined them, and three members of &#8220;Snow Man&#8221; and &#8220;SixTONES&#8221; have recently announced their departure. The recent announcement of the departure of three members from &#8220;King &#038; Prince&#8221; also made it into the group. Prince&#8221; also slipped into the group.
 The office wanted to include Sexy Zone, but this lineup was decided in consideration of balance. &#8220;The agency wanted to include Sexy Zone, but they probably decided on this lineup in order to keep a good balance. The focus of attention will be on the last performance by the five members of KINPRINCE, as three members will be leaving the group next year.
 This year&#8217;s New Year&#8217;s Eve, as last year, Downtown&#8217;s &#8220;Laugh No More&#8221; series will not be broadcast on NTV, and Fuji TV has withdrawn from the RIZIN event. This year&#8217;s O-misubi (New Year&#8217;s Eve) will be a chance for NHK to &#8220;go for the numbers. At the same time, NHK had to make the program with a view to rejuvenating its viewer base. Looking around at the contestant singers, one thing that stands out is the large number of &#8220;Korean&#8221; singers.
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 In the red group, in addition to &#8220;TWICE,&#8221; which boasts great popularity among young people, there were also a number of Korean singers from the Korean agency STARSHIP Entertainment&#8217;s 6-member girl group &#8220;IVE The red group included &#8220;TWICE,&#8221; which is extremely popular among young people; &#8220;IVE,&#8221; a six-member girl group from STARSHIP Entertainment, a Korean agency; and HYBE, the first five-member girl group from YBE, whose label includes BTS. YBE&#8217;s first five-member girl group &#8220;LE SSERAFIM,&#8221; and &#8220;Nizzy,&#8221; which will participate in the competition for the third consecutive year. NiziU,&#8221; which is competing for the third year in a row, is a 9-member Japanese-only group, but their agency is Korea&#8217;s JYP Entertainment. JYP Entertainment of Korea.
 In the white group, &#8220;NiziU&#8221; is the Japanese version of the Korean audition program &#8220;PRODUCE 1 01, a Korean audition program. They belong to LAPONE Entertainment, a joint venture between Yoshimoto Kogyo and a Korean agency.
 Three Korean groups, Higashikata Shinki, Kara, and Girls&#8217; Generation, participated in the 2011 Kohaku, and this year&#8217;s contest will feature five groups. This time, however, there will be five groups. A person involved in the music industry said, &#8220;K-pop is a big hit with NHK.
 K-pop is popular among young people, which is what NHK wants. In contrast, AKB and Sakamichi groups, which are &#8220;purely Japanese,&#8221; have been left out of the competition. This year, only two groups, Nogizaka46 and Hinatazaka46, will participate.
 He adds, &#8220;The Korean groups mentioned above are former HBO members.
 Among the Korean groups mentioned above, the LE SSERAFIM group, featuring former HKT48 member Sakira Miyawaki, is a concern. SSERAFIM, which includes former HKT48 member Sakira Miyawaki, has a point of concern. The group debuted with the mini-album &#8220;FEARLESS&#8221; in May of this year. FEARLESS&#8221; in May of this year. The album was No. 1 on the iTunes album chart in 13 countries around the world, including Japan.
 On the other hand, they have yet to debut in Japan and have no stock of Japanese-language songs. Since IVE, also a first-time entrant, released a Japanese-language single in October, the Internet has been buzzing about the release of a Japanese-language single.
 LE SSERAFIM is going to survive the Kohaku in Korean? &#8230;&#8221;
 Some people are asking, &#8220;Is LE SSERAFIM going to make it through the Kohaku in Korean?
 The Kohaku Uta Gassen has been criticized for its low viewership ratings, but it is still Japan&#8217;s representative music program. This is the age of diversity, and I think most people will accept it, but there is a fear that it will cause a backlash from a certain segment of the audience, especially on the Internet. Some people are concerned that bashing will occur mainly from that part of the audience. I think it is a good thing that the contestants have been announced.
 Among the contestants announced this time, there were no names of Akina Nakamori or Seiko Matsuda, who had been highly anticipated. The former suddenly took to Twitter at the end of August and announced the resumption of her activities. The latter was scheduled to participate in last year&#8217;s Kohaku, but declined to do so after the death of her beloved daughter, Sayaka Kanda, shortly before the event.
 The Kohaku festivities this year have been &#8220;hijacked&#8221; by Johnny&#8217;s and Korean singers. Will they be able to satisfy the Japanese audience?

 Yusuke Kondo

 The contestants for NHK's "Kohaku Uta Gassen" to be held on New Year's Eve have been announced. The lineup includes "King & Prince," three of whom will be leaving the group next year, but the lineup is dominated by Johnny's and Korean singers...

Johnny’s and “Korean-Americans” dominate…Background of the Kohaku Uta Gassen, a tight corner move.

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