NHK revealed the cast for the 74th Kōhaku Uta Gassen (“Red and White Song Contest”), the most-watched music television show in Japan, on Monday. This year’s show will have a first difference, as no former Johnny’s (now Smile Up) artists will perform on the show. The first time in 44 years since 1979.
NHK previously stated in September that it would “not make new requirements for entertainers from… [công ty] performing in his shows for the time being” in response to the Johnny Kitagawa sexual abuse scandal.
Last year, the company’s talents KANJANI 8, KinKi Kids, King & Prince, SixTONES, Snow Man and Naniwa Danshi performed on the show. Johnny’s Talent first joined Kōhaku Uta Gassen in 1965. Arashi performed for the first time in 2009, along with three other groups. In 2012, five groups from the talent agency performed on the show, six in 2014, seven in 2015, and a steady number of five to six groups have performed every year since.
Another first this year is Ado, the voice of Uta from One Piece Film Red, who will perform as himself. Last year’s show featured “Shinjidai” (“New Genesis”), the theme song of One Piece Film Red. Ado performed behind a 3D avatar of Uta, which was also the first time an anime character appeared on the show.
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Japanese band MAN WITH A MISSION — who perform theme songs for anime series such as Vinland Saga, My Hero AcadeKaren, Golden Kamuy, and most recently Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc — will also appear. debut in this year’s program.
The annual New Year’s Eve competition pits two teams of female singers (red team) and male singers (white team) against each other. This year’s program will take place at 7:20 am on December 31. JST.
The full lineup of the 74th Kōhaku Uta Gassen includes:
(Note: The numbers in parentheses represent the number of times the singer/group appeared on the show, including this year.)
RED TEAM
WHITE TEAM
In this year’s competition, actress Kanna Hashimoto (Kaguya-sama: Love is War, live-action film Gintama), comedian Hiroiki Ariyoshi, actress Minami Hamabe (Ajin, live-action film Godzilla Minus One) and TV announcer Kozo Takase will host the show. This year’s theme is “No Borders: Koete Tsunagaru Ōmisoka” (No Borders: New Year’s Eve Connects Beyond Borders).
Source: NHK, Oricon, Hochi sports