<figure id="attachment_276766" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-276766" style="width: 1042px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="4b76bf9f"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/11/7bc9430d158b746ab4d331c1d513c477.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-276766" class="wp-caption-text">Ryoko Shinohara is 22 years old. Although Shinohara has become one of the top artists with &#8220;Aisatsu to Setsuna to Shinryo to&#8221; (Love, Setsuna, and Peace of Mind), she responded to our interview in a friendly manner.</figcaption></figure>
 The 73rd Kohaku Uta Gassen (Red and White Singing Contest) on NHK this year was held on the 50th anniversary of Matsutoya&#8217;s debut as a singer. At first, it was Yumi Matsutoya (68), celebrating her 50th anniversary, and Akina Nakamori (57), celebrating her 40th anniversary, and last year, her daughter, Saya Kanda, celebrated her 50th anniversary. Legends such as Seiko Matsuda (60), whose daughter Sayaka Kanda passed away last year, were also mentioned and much excitement was generated. However, when it came time for the contest to begin, all of these women&#8217;s names disappeared, replaced by Shizuka Kudo (52) for the first time in 24 years, and Ryoko Shinohara (49) for the first time in 28 years. This result has been questioned not only by the Internet, but also by those involved.
 Ms. Kudo has been actively developing her singing career this year, and in September she appeared on NHK&#8217;s &#8220;SONGS,&#8221; so I think she had a certain amount of flow going. However, as for Ms. Shinohara, it seemed really sudden. I wondered why it was too late, given her great success as an actress. Last July, she divorced Masachika Ichimura (72), and it was reported that the cause was her affair with Guan Soo (35) of the Korean idol group &#8220;SUPERNOVA (formerly Supernova). Since then, her work has plummeted. It is said that she tried to find a way out of her stalled entertainment career through her music career and managed to get into Kohaku by pushing hard. But what about him? It is questionable whether he wants to participate in Kohaku that badly. I wonder if he really wants to participate in Kohaku that badly.
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 This brings back memories of 28 years ago. I remember an exclusive interview with Shinohara 28 years ago, just before her first Kohaku appearance. What were Shinohara&#8217;s regrets and &#8220;ambitions&#8221; that she spoke of in that interview?
 She chose a studio in Tokyo for the interview. It was a short time before returning to the studio after a lunch break during the recording of the &#8220;Tunnels&#8221; program. Shinohara dropped out of high school because she longed to be in show business. While working part-time, she was working on her lessons to become a singer, but it was her regular appearance on &#8220;Downtown&#8217;s Gotttsu-eki&#8221; from December 1991 that first caught her attention. Despite being an idol, she was not intimidated by Downtown, and her outstanding sense of comedy made her popularity skyrocket. She became a sought-after &#8220;baladol,&#8221; or &#8220;ballad. Then came her fateful encounter with Tetsuya Komuro (63). Komuro heard a rumor that Shinohara was a &#8220;ballad girl&#8221; but a talented singer, went to see her perform live, and decided to produce her. The song &#8220;Koishisa to Setsuna to Shinryo to&#8221; became a big hit, reaching No. 3 that year and earning her an appearance in the Kohaku (Red and White) Film Festival. Shinohara&#8217;s first reaction to this result was.
 Anyway, I became very busy. Some people around me changed their attitude, and some of my friends said, &#8220;Oh, you&#8217;re really singing? Some of my friends said, &#8220;Oh, you&#8217;re really singing?
 Some of my friends said, &#8220;Oh, you&#8217;re really singing? She also commented on being called a &#8220;balladol&#8221; and said, &#8220;&#8216;Tokyo Performasdoll&#8217; is a very unique term.
 Since I debuted as &#8216;Tokyo Performas Doll,&#8217; I&#8217;ve had a lot of hardships. To be honest, I really didn&#8217;t like it when I was asked to appear on variety shows. I thought I wanted to be a singer or an actress.
 He made no attempt to hide his frustration. When asked about her future activities, she replied, &#8220;I love variety shows now.
 I love variety shows now. Many of the people who appear on variety shows, including Tamori-san, are amazing. I think working with them has been a big plus for me. I was able to draw out parts of myself that I didn&#8217;t even know existed. I hope to continue working with them in the future, both in singing and I hope to do the same amount of singing, drama, and variety shows in the future.
 He was prepared to wear the shoes of a &#8220;three-legged sandal.
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 However, his time as a singer did not last very long. Her collaboration with Komuro ended after only a year and a half, and after that she had no more hits.
 Ms. Shinohara then saved her singing career and focused on her acting career. And although she became successful as an actress and did not actively pursue her singing career, she still wanted to continue singing. I hear that she always wanted to appear in the Kohaku again.
 The reason for this is.
 She has had the desire to sing on the same stage as Akina Nakamori, whom she has admired since she was a child, ever since she set her sights on becoming a singer. The possibility of Ms. Nakamori&#8217;s appearance in Kohaku has not disappeared at all. Even if she is unable to fulfill that dream this time, I believe that Ms. Shinohara will continue to focus on her singing career with that goal in mind.
 (A source at an entertainment agency mentioned above.) For this reason, she will need to achieve a certain level of success at this year&#8217;s Kohaku. The song she will sing this time is believed to be a rearranged version of her mega-hit &#8220;Aishisatte Setsunasatte Shinryakatta&#8221; (Love, Setsunasatte, and Strength). What will we see of her on New Year&#8217;s Eve?
<figure id="attachment_276767" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-276767" style="width: 1036px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="cd8c334e"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/11/76021cced96b3966a542ff24abee767b.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-276767" class="wp-caption-text"> Shinohara&#8217;s smiling face still looks like a little girl as she gives an interview, showing a hint of shyness.</figcaption></figure>

 Takehiko Kohiyama

 The 73rd Kohaku Uta Gassen (Red and White Singing Contest) on NHK this year was held on the same day as the Kohaku Uta Gassen, and it was hard to deny that there were a few missing pieces. At first, it was Yumi Matsutoya (68), who is celebrating her 50th anniversary, and Akina Nakamori (57), who is celebrating her 40th anniversary, and last year, her daughter Saya Kanda, who is celebrating her 50th anniversary. In addition, Seiko Matsuda (60), whose daughter Sayaka Kanda passed away last year, and others were also in the running for the title.

Ryoko Shinohara’s ambition to appear in Kohaku was questioned… 28 years ago, Ryoko Shinohara told this magazine about her ambition.

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