Why can’t they make a million?” While the fans of the Kohaku unsuccessful teams screamed, NHK’s “promotion of that agency” surfaced.

Raging fans of unsuccessful idol groups

The time has come. New Year’s Eve is approaching, and the NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen (Red and White Singing Contest) will be held again this year.

Speaking of Kohaku, the selection criteria for the performers are controversial every year. In the past, there have been some big-name singers who have had no hits over the years but continue to participate in the contest, while there have been singers who have been overlooked for the competition despite having an unblemished record of hits and recognition. Last year, a talent from Johnny’s (now known as STARTO ENTERTAINMENT), which was rocked by a sexual assault scandal, was not selected to participate in the festival, sparking controversy even though the talent was innocent of the crime.

So what about this year’s contestants, who were just announced in November?　We spoke to a reporter in charge of entertainment for a weekly magazine.

The biggest point of contention this year is that, as in the previous year, there will be no entries from STARTO talent. It is said that the Kohaku side prepared two slots, but the STARTO side demanded four slots and could not come to an agreement.

Another point of contention was the failure of the popular dance and vocal group INI, which may have made many people wonder, “Who? But INI is a very popular group whose single released this year achieved a million-selling record.

In fact, only two artists have shipped more than a million CDs this year. They are “Snow Man,” now a national idol group, and this INI. They were unexpectedly not selected, even though they deserved to be chosen based on their track record alone. The same office as INI and Snow Man is home to their senior group, JO1, but since JO1, which has not achieved a million hits, was selected, fans are asking, “What should we do if we can’t get a million hits? They were upset because JO1, who had not achieved a million, was chosen.

However, according to our interviews with writers who are familiar with the music scene, this rejection is not unreasonable.

Looking closely, the selection criteria seem “reasonable”…

INI sold CDs, but that was only because of the efforts of their fixed fans; JO1 has a much higher number of subscribers on Spotify and views on streaming services. They also didn’t have their own TV show until recently, so they are far behind in terms of recognition. Seeing that “Da-iCE,” which won the Record Grand Prize in 2009, was finally selected this year, it seems that Kohaku is placing a lot of emphasis on recognition.

Also, INI, in its fourth year of debut, is not as fresh as “ME:I”, which debuted this year and suddenly won a Kohaku appearance. Considering those conditions, I don’t think it is enough to say ‘strange. But if they continue to perform as well as they are now, they will probably be selected next year.

In other words, it seems that the selection criteria for this year’s Kohaku are quite “reasonable. Then, we turned to ……. The only thing that stands out as unnatural is the large number of HYBE-affiliated groups participating in the Kohaku.

Every year, Kohaku offers several slots to Korean K-pop groups. Last year, five groups participated. This year, four groups were selected again, but to my surprise, three of them belonged to HYBE, an office under the same label.

(Another music writer) “Moreover, the validity of the selection process is also questionable in many respects.

I can still understand ‘ILLIT,’ but…

The girl group “ILLIT,” which debuted this year, quickly surpassed 100 million streaming views of its debut song. It was a huge buzz in Japan, so I can understand this selection.

However, “LE SSERAFIM,” another girl group, is in its third year of debut. Although their popularity has not declined, they are not very fresh, and they have not had any notable activities in Japan this year. If we were going to choose them, it would have been more interesting to choose “FRUITS ZIPPER,” a Japanese idol group that has been creating a huge buzz on social networking sites and is now flying off the shelves.　I think it would have been more interesting to choose FRUITS ZIPPER.

Another male group, Tomorrow x Together, debuted in Japan in 2008, so it seems a little too late to choose them. In terms of popularity, there are many other groups of the same or higher caliber, so it is difficult to find a reason to bother with them. I think it would be more appropriate for INI to participate in the contest.　I have the impression that it would be more appropriate for INI to participate in the competition,” said an interview writer familiar with the idol scene.

Why did the Kohaku Committee make such a blatant promotion of HYBE only for Korean groups, while being fair in its selection of Japanese groups? ……

As any K-pop fan knows, HYBE is the agency to which the worldwide hit group BTS belongs. Some of the members are currently on hiatus due to military service, but they will all finish their military service in ’25. This means that they may resume their activities next year.

If by any chance BTS should appear in Kohaku, it would definitely be a big topic of conversation. The HYBE guess this time may be a love call from the NHK side, saying, ‘So, please come back next year. Personally, I think it is unlikely to happen. ……” (TV magazine editor)

Will the unrequited love bear fruit or be rejected? The truth will become clear in a year’s time.

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