Akina Nakamori and Eikichi Yazawa’s names are also in the list… NHK “Kohaku Uta Gassen” “Bold Predictions for this year’s ″Super Main Feature″ and ″Surprises″!

From last year’s “K-pop festival” to a “two-generation family favorite

As autumn approaches, attention turns to the contestants for NHK’s Kohaku Uta Gassen. Last year, the average household viewership for the first part of the program was 29.0%, below the minimum of 30%, and the production team will focus all its energy on creating a lineup of featured artists and surprises in order to revive NHK’s signature national entertainment program.

This year, the production manager of ‘Uta-Kon’ will serve as the producer of ‘Kohaku. Uta-Kon is a music program that mainly targets viewers in their 60s and 70s. The program is aimed mainly at viewers in their 60s to 70s, and the fact that last year’s K-POP festival was not well received indicates NHK’s top management’s desire to increase the number of Japanese songs that will appeal to two generations of families this year.

This year’s Kohaku is a key project for the revival of artists from the former Johnny’s office.

The participation of these artists had been suspended for two years in the wake of the sex-abuse scandal involving the late Mr. Janney Kitagawa. However, with their absence, viewer ratings dropped significantly. So this year, for the first time in three years, we are planning to lift the ban on the old Janis artists.

At this point, we have made offers to two groups, “Snow Man,” who is known as the “ratings king” in the industry, and “timelesz,” which we expect to see an influx of distribution. SixTONES” will be difficult since member Jesse (29) is reportedly in love with host Haruka Ayase (40). ……” (NHK insider, not mentioned above)

In addition to former Johnny’s artists, negotiations are underway behind the scenes with a number of other big names. The first of these is Utada Hikaru (42).

Utada hasn’t competed since she appeared live from London in ’16. We have approached her, but she seems to have been turned down every year. This year, however, the song “JANE DOE,” written by Genji Yonezu (34) and sung by Utada, was released. The plan is to sing this song with Yonezu from overseas, and they are planning to pull it off.

Eikichi Yazawa, 76, celebrated the 50th anniversary of his solo debut this year, and his song “Truth” became the theme song for the summer drama “The Last Appraiser” (Fuji TV). This is the first time in 28 years that Yazawa has sung the theme song for a serial drama. You would expect him to perform the song even if it is relayed live. Other contestants could include Tatsuro Yamashita (72) and Miyuki Nakajima (73), who celebrate their 50th anniversaries this year, Motoharu Sano (69), who celebrates 45 years, Toshinobu Kubota (63), who celebrates 40 years, and Noriyuki Makihara (56), who celebrates 35 years” (a major record company executive).

Two major idols, Seiko Matsuda (63) and Akina Nakamori (60), are the perfect targets for this year’s Kohaku.

Akina made her return to the stage for the first time in 16 years at an outdoor music festival held in Oita Prefecture this past April. Shortly before that, she had already made her move by distributing videos of Akina singing on NHK programs in the past under the title “Akina Nakamori Best Performance on NHK. Seiko, on the other hand, celebrated the 45th anniversary of her debut this year and appeared in a special NHK music program in June. A dream collaboration between Seiko and Akina may be realized.

This year, there are also plans to commemorate the 100th anniversary of broadcasting culture and the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.

There is a plan to invite Tetsuko Kuroyanagi (92), the first TV personality in the history of Japanese TV, as an SP guest, and all the participating singers will sing anti-war themed songs such as Hibari Misora’s “Ippon no pencil.

There is no doubt that Shigeo Nagashima (89 years old) will be featured in the annual memorial service. If baseball commentators Kiyoshi Nakahata (71), Tatsunori Hara (67), and Sadaharu Oh (85), all of whom were close friends of Mr. Nagashima, were to sing the famous song “Hateful Dreams,” in which Mr. Nagashima participated as a guest vocalist, all of Japan would be filled with emotion,” said a key station programming executive.

Japanese idols, who lost their place to K-POP last year, will try to make up for it this year.

Last year, ‘FRUITS ZIPPER,’ which won the Best Picture Award at the Japan Record Awards, is a firm contender. However, they will not be competing on their own, but rather with the likes of “CANDY TUNE,” who had a hit with their song “Double the FIGHT! which was a hit, and “CUTIE STREET,” whose signature song is “KAWAITA DANJA NA NA NAGA NO KAITA?

The big triumvirate to look out for is ……

The biggest highlight of the Kohaku is the artist who will perform the last act.

Perfume” is the main contender for the Kohaku group, having announced that they would be going on hiatus by the end of the year. When they made their first appearance in 2008 with ‘Polyrhythm,’ they were the top batter in the second half. This year, their last appearance, a dramatic performance of the same “Polyrhythm” and the famous song “STAR TRAIN” in the trio slot is being contemplated.

The big winner of the white group will be “Arashi”. Arashi” will end their activities with their concert tour scheduled to be held in the spring of 2014. This year will be their last chance to perform. It is said that they have already made an offer to be the last performer. However, the leader of the group, Satoshi Ohno (44), is apparently reluctant, and negotiations are likely to continue until the very last minute.

And the biggest surprise of the year is the name of a very big-name foreign artist.

Taylor Swift, 35, will release her new album “The Life of a Showgirl” in Japan in December. The album is legendary in the U.S., selling 4 million copies in its first week of release, and there are rumors of a Japan tour to coincide with the domestic release. This is your chance to jump in and make an appearance.

Expectations are only getting higher, though.

From the November 7, 2025 issue of “FRIDAY