<figure id="attachment_397328" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2950px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-397328"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="5f62668e"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/10/427c70f69617e5cb2dff8316dd4aad72.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-397328" class="wp-caption-text">Rumored &#8220;Main Attraction&#8221; and &#8220;Hidden Gem&#8221; of This Year&#8217;s Kohaku Uta Gassen</figcaption></figure>
<h2>The big names of the &#8217;80s are expected to make a big comeback this year!</h2>
<p>NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen,&#8221; which surprised viewers last year with an unprecedented &#8220;K-POP Festival,&#8221; has begun preparing for another surprise this year.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> This year&#8217;s theme will be &#8220;Songs for You,&#8221; and the aim is to create a program that will appeal to all generations,&#8221; said a source close to NHK.</span></p>
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<p>(NHK official) There are more than 15 famous bands, actresses, and other big names who will be celebrating their anniversaries this year, so casting is proving difficult.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> LUNA SEA,&#8221; which broke through during the visual-kei boom of the &#8217;80s and &#8217;90s, is celebrating its 35th anniversary, &#8220;GLAY&#8221; is celebrating its 30th anniversary, and &#8220;TM NETWORK&#8221; is celebrating its 30th anniversary. TM NETWORK&#8221; is celebrating its 40th anniversary. TM NETWORK&#8221; will celebrate its 40th anniversary, and &#8220;City Hunter&#8221; will celebrate its 30th anniversary this year. L&#8217;Arc~en~Ciel&#8221; is celebrating its 30th anniversary, and &#8220;B&#8217;z,&#8221; which sings the theme song for this season&#8217;s morning drama, is also friendly with them. It is said that &#8220;B&#8217;z&#8221; has always refused to sing the theme song of the morning drama, saying, &#8220;I want to take a break during the year-end and New Year holidays&#8221; and &#8220;Kohaku is not a gala,&#8221; but they must have known they would receive an offer when they accepted the theme song of the morning drama.</span></p>
<p>They were not the only ones who were making the music scene exciting at the time. Among the big names celebrating their anniversaries this year are some of the top idols of yesteryear.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Next year will mark the 40th anniversary of the debut of Yui Asaka (54), Miho Nakayama (54), Yoko Minamino (57), and Momoko Kikuchi (56), who will celebrate her 40th anniversary this year, are all sure to appear. With the earthquake and conflicts this year, a production supporting reconstruction is a must. There is a proposal for Sayuri Ishikawa (66) to sing &#8220;Noto Peninsula,&#8221; but that is not enough. Mariya Takeuchi (69), with whom NHK has built a relationship by broadcasting a special program this year, is also celebrating the 45th anniversary of her debut, and it seems that an offer has been made.</span></p>
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<p>Also, looking at the &#8220;Kohaku&#8221; website, the words &#8220;Paris Olympics and Paralympics&#8221; are there, so a related project is probably confirmed.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Hiromi Go (69) will sing &#8220;Goldfinger &#8217;99&#8221; backed by the Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, which also appeared on &#8220;Tsurubi no Kazoku ni Toast to the Family&#8221; on its 35th anniversary.</span></p>
<p>NHK also lifted its ban on the use of &#8220;Staen&#8221; in October. NHK is currently negotiating for three to four slots in order to capture core viewer ratings.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> We are trying to get &#8216;Snow Man&#8217; and &#8216;SixTONES&#8217; to perform, but it may be tough. At the end of last year, when there was no &#8220;Kohaku&#8221; and no &#8220;Cowcon,&#8221; each of the staententalent held their own live-streaming event, which drew a maximum audience of over 1.3 million viewers. They have already established a revenue method that does not rely on TV. It takes a special kind of meaning to get them to compete. On the other hand, there is a proposal that &#8220;KAMIGATA BOYZ,&#8221; a unit from the Kansai region led by &#8220;SUPER EIGHT,&#8221; celebrating its 20th anniversary, and &#8220;WEST.&#8221; celebrating its 10th anniversary, plus &#8220;Naniwa Boys&#8221; and &#8220;A!group,&#8221; will perform on stage for the Osaka Expo,&#8221; he said.</span></p>
<p>The annual memorial service for Toshiyuki Nishida (76 years old) is the main attraction of this year&#8217;s event.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"><span class="strong-in-content"> He is the one who will be the main attraction of this year&#8217;s memorial program. There is a proposal to have Tomoya Nagase (45), who played his father and son together more than twice, sing the song. Ideally, after Nagase sings, everyone should sing together. If not Nagase, then maybe Yo Oizumi (51), who has close ties with both Mr. Nishida and NHK. There are also plans for an anime medley in memory of Akira Toriyama (68 years old) and TARAKO (63 years old), Nobuyo Oyama (90 years old), and a memorial performance by the NHK Symphony Orchestra in memory of Seiji Ozawa (88 years old),&#8221; said a source at a major record company.</span></span></p>
<figure id="attachment_397323" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1393px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-397323"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="f0d3eb1e"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/10/1f1de40131f74b44922b4984f11a4d5e.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-397323" class="wp-caption-text">GLAY&#8221; TERU (53) Celebrated the 30th anniversary of his debut without any suspension or withdrawal from the band. In 1999, about 200,000 people packed Makuhari Messe for a live concert.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_397325" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1181px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-397325"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="dfbbc853"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/10/cf4f053b8eef842e3beb054d1c686811.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-397325" class="wp-caption-text">TETSUYA KOMURO (65) of &#8220;TM NETWORK&#8221; A live-action movie of &#8220;City Hunter&#8221; was released on Netflix and became a hit. The theme song &#8220;Get Wild&#8221; was streamed more than 100 million times.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_397326" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1228px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-397326"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="97758324"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/10/13acef4dfb1ca70278738bfa475b8a4a.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-397326" class="wp-caption-text">Miho Nakayama (54) Three of the four idols, including Nakayama, will celebrate their 40th anniversaries next year. She will be in the spotlight as the next idol following last year&#8217;s Ran Ito (69).</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_397322" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1443px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-397322"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="62300e28"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/10/ea789975baeae8cbe6d84af84ffdf880.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-397322" class="wp-caption-text">Toshiyuki Nishida (76) passed away on October 17, and his farewell ceremony was attended by famous singers such as Shigeru Matsuzaki (74) and Kohei Otomo (68).</figcaption></figure>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead="The &quot;resurrection group&quot; that we are interested in every year."></div>
<h2>Resurrection Groups and Overseas Surprise Groups</h2>
<p>Every year, the resurrection of inactive artists is a topic of great interest.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Akina Nakamori (59) is expected to appear in Kohaku this year after a 14-year hiatus, and she held a revival event in July. Since she has only just returned, it will probably be a recorded appearance, but it is the centerpiece of a surprise slot. Kiyoshi Hikawa (47), who is celebrating the 25th anniversary of his debut, is the most likely candidate for a live appearance,&#8221; said a source from a major entertainment agency.</span></p>
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<p>A source from a major entertainment agency said, &#8220;A big-name band is considered a strong contender for the overseas surprise group.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The Red Hot Chili Peppers are celebrating their 40th anniversary. They have performed in Japan two years in a row since last year and are expected to participate. Also, Hikaru Utada (41) celebrated the 25th anniversary of her debut this year and had many activities in Japan, including a commemorative live performance. Considering that she has performed live from the Metropolitan Studios in England in the past, she will probably perform live from London, where she is based.</span></p>
<p>Let&#8217;s hope for a surprise that will take our hearts by surprise.</p>
<figure id="attachment_397320" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1024px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-397320"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="df2857aa"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/10/0d050aaaf146c98cef10c9e23b9be954.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-397320" class="wp-caption-text">Akina Nakamori (59) resumed her music career in earnest after a 14-year break. She sang 11 songs in front of her fans, who had been waiting two years for her to resume her career.</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_397321" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 643px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-397321"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="d9c342aa"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/10/0571dd70df7e7a6d59734040d2aefb72.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-397321" class="wp-caption-text">Kiyoshi Hikawa, 47, resumed his activities this summer after a year and eight months. He is scheduled to tour four cities until the end of January next year to celebrate the 25th anniversary of his debut.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_397327" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2500px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-397327"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="8c29e6f9"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/10/afb5378ebd4a3d2b6d798ae8f762365e.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-397327" class="wp-caption-text">Red Hot Chili Peppers &#8217;23 has been performing in Japan for two consecutive years since 2011, and expectations are high for a surprise appearance to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their debut.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_397324" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1194px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-397324"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="a59c5ed7"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/10/2fc6887538265e0b8fe4ab6e2e2cfecd.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-397324" class="wp-caption-text">Hikaru Utada (41) In &#8217;16, she performed the theme song for the morning drama &#8220;Toto-chan&#8221; live from London&#8217;s Metropolitan Studios.</figcaption></figure>
<p>From the November 15, 2024 issue of FRIDAY</p>


 Sota Shima, Keisuke Nishi, Kojiro Yamada, Afro, Kyodo News, Getty, Sankei Visual

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