Misinterpretation in Music Show with MUSIC

In April, due to the spring Saturday schedule change on Nippon TV, the music program “with MUSIC,” which started as the successor to “Sekaiichi Uketai Jugyou (The World’s Most Wanted Lesson),” is struggling.

“The concept is quite grand: “Aiming for a fully-fledged music program in the Reiwa era that incorporates a global perspective and values, featuring the songs and music artists most desired to be heard right now. This includes hit programs like ‘Sekai no Hate Made ItteQ!’ and ‘Getsuyou kara Yofukashi’, overseen by Yoshiyuki Furudate, recently appointed as a ‘General Specialist’ in the latest personnel reshuffle.

Hosting the show are Yumiko Udo, who just graduated from ‘News Zero’, and actor-singer-songwriter Kohei Matsushita, both top-tier choices. However, the ratings just aren’t improving,” (Production company producer).

Targeting males and females aged 13 to 49 as the “core target,” the goal was not only to secure stable viewership from this demographic but also to surpass and potentially overtake Music Station (on TV Asahi). However, this has turned out to be a major miscalculation. It’s hard to imagine the show becoming a sudden super-hit within just two months since its launch, but the persistently low ratings are disheartening.

 “Originally, there were concerns within the station that competing in the Saturday 8:00 PM time slot would be challenging. Now, even the ratings for the subsequent dramas ‘Hanasaki Mai ga Damattenai’ and ‘Machinami Terasu Yatsura’ not performing well are being attributed to MUSIC.

Hanasaki Mai occupies a newly established drama slot, while Machinami was initially planned for a show starring Tsuyoshi Muro, titled ‘Ta-tan’. Due to Muro’s withdrawal, it was hastily replaced with SixTONES’ Shintaro Morimoto as the lead, and despite strong efforts in content, the shows are struggling.” (same source)

Furthermore, 

“Voices are even saying things like, ‘They approached some musicians to appear, but were turned down by several who didn’t want to participate.'”

“They say the studio set looks cheap because Yumiko Udo and Kohei Matsushita’s fees are high.”

“It’s almost certain the show will be cancelled after two seasons, they say, and there’s a mood of resignation.”

Voices expressing sentiments like these have emerged, suggesting a mood of almost giving up.

When it comes to NTV’s music programs, classics like ‘Kohaku Uta no Best Ten’ and ‘Sokuhou! Uta no Daijiten’ were once highly popular. On weekends, ‘FUN’, with Norika Fujiwara as MC, always sparked significant discussion each episode.

 

“Norika’s fashion and makeup became a focal point for female viewers as the ‘Norika Check’. Among the audience, Norika enthusiastically engaged, taking on rhythms and eliciting cheers as ‘Energetic Norika’. In fact, such additional elements are crucial for music programs.

There’s a certain rule in music programs. It’s that during performances, the viewership ratings tend to drop every minute. This applies even to smash hits or national songs. Conversely, the numbers tend to recover during the talk segments.” (A veteran scriptwriter for music programs)

In the past, on shows like “Utaban” (TBS), Takaaki Ishibashi and Masahiro Nakai, on “HEY! HEY! HEY! MUSIC CHAMP” (Fuji TV), Downtown, and on “MUSIC FAIR” (same), Shunji Etsunobu of Hong Kong Mark, a talkative talent and comedian, was appointed because they were able to manage “playful corners” such as conversations and games with singers well. Come to think of it, Koji Imada also appeared as an MC on “FUN”.

 “Currently, there are no comedians on ‘Utacon’ (NHK) or ‘MUSIC FAIR’ (Fuji TV), but Shosuke Tanihara and Shinichi Karube have an overwhelming passion for music. Despite being in charge of Mezamashi TV, Karube-san is often seen at concert venues the night before.

The recent successful “CDTV Live! Live!” (TBS) is a dream come true for Ai Eto, who has long declared her desire to host music programs. Eto-san is always appreciated by fans for her respect towards artists.” (same)

What about Matsushita and Udo?

“Matsushita-san, when B’z’s Koshi Inaba appeared as a guest recently, commented, ‘I can’t quite believe that Inaba-san is right in front of me.’ However, Matsushita-san isn’t someone who naturally raises the excitement level, so she doesn’t quite elevate the program. As an MC for a prime-time music show, there’s definitely a sense that she might not have been the best choice.” (TV magazine desk)

On the other hand, Udo has completely transformed from her days as a news anchor, changing her wardrobe, makeup, and even hair color to adopt a glamorous appearance. However, it seems that her talk segments aren’t quite as lively.

“I thought Udo would be more into pop culture, but she doesn’t show the same high energy she does when interviewing athletes when she’s with singers. In April of this year, during her own radio show ‘Udo no Radio’ on Nippon Broadcasting, when Kazuo Tokumitsu appeared as a guest, he pointed out, ‘It seems you’re not particularly interested in singing,’ which greatly shook her.” (Sports newspaper reporter)

On the April 19th broadcast of the same radio show, when the topic turned to the NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen, Tokumitsu commented on Udo’s glamorous dress.

“I didn’t think she would wear that costume if she was interested in singers.”

“You usually see her eyes light up when it comes to singers. But at that time, she didn’t seem very interested in singing.”

So remarked Tokumitsu, delving into these points. Known for his love of music, Tokumitsu even shared an episode about writing a 432-page thesis titled ‘Pop Songs and the Era Backgrounds that Dominated Them.’ On the other hand, Udo laughed off comments with remarks like ‘Bang!’ and ‘We’re doing a music show right now’.

The new program is already facing a crucial moment.

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