- Kōhaku Uta Gassen
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NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen Format Special Music Presented by Various Opening theme Stein Song Ending theme Hotaru no hikari Country of origin Japan Production Location(s) Tokyo Takarazuka Theater (1959-1972)
NHK Hall (1973-)Running time 4 hour 15 minutes (2010) Broadcast Original channel NHK General TV, NHK Radio 1 Picture format 480i (NTSC),
1080i (HDTV)Audio format 5.1 Surround Sound Original run 1951 (radio), 1953 (TV) – Present Kōhaku Uta Gassen (紅白歌合戦 ), more commonly known as simply Kōhaku, is an annual music show on New Year's Eve produced by Japanese public broadcaster NHK and broadcast on both television and radio, nationally and internationally by NHK's networks and some overseas (mainly cable) broadcasters which bought the program. The show ends shortly before midnight (when NHK switches to a frenzy of "Happy New Year" greetings from around the nation).
Literally "Red and White Song Battle," the program divides the most popular music artists of the year into competing teams of red and white. The "red" team or akagumi (赤組, 紅組 ) is composed of all female artists (or groups with female vocals), while the "white" team or shirogumi (白組 ) is all male (or groups with male vocals). The honor of performing on Kōhaku is strictly by invitation, so only the most successful J-Pop artists and enka singers can perform. In addition to the actual music performances, the costumes, hair-styles, makeup, dancing, and lighting are also important. Even today, a performance on Kōhaku is said to be a big highlight in a singer's career because of the show's large reach.
Contents
Song selection process
The songs and performers are examined by a selection committee put together by NHK. The basis for selection are record sales and adaptability to the edition's theme.
At the same time, a survey on various demographics is conducted regarding the most popular singers for each, and what kind of music people want to hear. This and the song selection explain the amalgamation of J-Pop acts and enka and adult contemporary artists.
There are, however, exceptions to the process. Momoe Yamaguchi chose to sing her favorite song Hito Natsu no Keiken (ひと夏の経験) during the 25th edition, despite NHK's pick of a different song and the suggestive lyrics.
Show
When the show was first broadcast on radio in 1951, each team had a few performers, all of whom would perform within the span of an hour. Since 1989, the program goes on for at least four hours as both teams, each having at least 25 performers, perform their songs.
At the end of the show, the audience and a panel of judges—notable celebrities who may or may not have a connection to the music industry—vote to select the winning team. In the past, the audience vote has been composed of a head count of the venue audience members, who can vote for either team (NHK Hall, which has been the venue for most Kōhaku editions since 1971, can seat 3,000 people). This counted as one vote.
As of the 54th (2003) and 55th editions (2004), viewers who watch the program through ISDB-S on NHK BS Hi-vision could also take part in the voting by having their own head count in their respective households. Although it is still sketchy to determine in the 55th, the audience vote is counted as two votes; one for the venue audience and one for ISDB-S viewers.
The audience vote(s) are added to those of the judges who each have to vote for one team. The team with the most votes wins.
The above process was done differently for the 56th edition (2005). Instead, the NHK Hall head count, the vote count from cellphone users, and the vote count from ISDB-S viewers each counted as one vote. As stated above, the team that got at least two votes won.
In the 57th edition (2006), aside from cellphone and ISDB-S viewers and the NHK Hall audience, 1seg users also voted. Its format had also been reverted back to the ball voting system - from the audience head count and the judges' votes.
From the 58th edition (2007) onwards, the winner was determined through an overall head count, all from cellphone, ISDB-S viewers, 1seg users, and the NHK Hall Audience (including guests).
Aside from the performances, there are special performances where certain performers do their act together, and the so-called "Ring Show" where performers from both teams take part in a "singing exercise."
Results
Kōhaku # Date Red Team Host White Team Host Mediator Winning
Team1 3 January 1951 Michiko Katō Shuuichi Fujikura Masaharu Tanabe White 2 3 January 1952 Kiyoko Tange Shuuichi Fujikura Masaharu Tanabe White 3 2 January 1953 Suga Honda Teru Miyata Masayori Shimura White 4 31 December 1953 Takiko Mizunoe Keizo Takahashi Seigoro Kitade Red 5 31 December 1954 Natsue Fukuji Keizo Takahashi Shōzaburō Ishii Red 6 31 December 1955 Teru Miyata Keizo Takahashi Shōzaburō Ishii Red 7 31 December 1956 Teru Miyata Keizo Takahashi Shōzaburō Ishii White 8 31 December 1957 Takiko Mizunoe Keizo Takahashi Shōzaburō Ishii Red 9 31 December 1958 Tetsuko Kuroyanagi Keizo Takahashi Shōzaburō Ishii Red 10 31 December 1959 Meiko Nakamura Keizo Takahashi Shōzaburō Ishii Red 11 31 December 1960 Meiko Nakamura Keizo Takahashi Shōzaburō Ishii White 12 31 December 1961 Meiko Nakamura Keizo Takahashi Toshiaki Hosaka White 13 31 December 1962 Mitsuko Mori Teru Miyata Shōzaburō Ishii White 14 31 December 1963 Eri Chiemi Teru Miyata Shōzaburō Ishii Red 15 31 December 1964 Eri Chiemi Teru Miyata Shōzaburō Ishii White 16 31 December 1965 Michiko Hayashi Teru Miyata Shōzaburō Ishii White 17 31 December 1966 Peggy Hayama Teru Miyata Shōzaburō Ishii Red 18 31 December 1967 Yumiko Kokonoe Teru Miyata Shōzaburō Ishii Red 19 31 December 1968 Kiyoko Suizenji Kyu Sakamoto Teru Miyata White 20 31 December 1969 Yukari Ito Kyu Sakamoto Teru Miyata Red 21 31 December 1970 Hibari Misora Teru Miyata Shizuo Yamakawa Red 22 31 December 1971 Kiyoko Suizenji Teru Miyata Shizuo Yamakawa White 23 31 December 1972 Naomi Sagara Teru Miyata Shizuo Yamakawa Red 24 31 December 1973 Kiyoko Suizenji Teru Miyata Shizuo Yamakawa Red 25 31 December 1974 Naomi Sagara Shizuo Yamakawa Masao Domon & Yōzō Nakae Red 26 31 December 1975 Naomi Sagara Shizuo Yamakawa Hiroshi Aikawa White 27 31 December 1976 Naomi Sagara Shizuo Yamakawa Hiroshi Aikawa Red 28 31 December 1977 Naomi Sagara Shizuo Yamakawa Hiroshi Aikawa White 29 31 December 1978 Mitsuko Mori Shizuo Yamakawa Hiroshi Aikawa White 30 31 December 1979 Kiyoko Suizenji Shizuo Yamakawa Yōzō Nakae Red 31 31 December 1980 Tetsuko Kuroyanagi Shizuo Yamakawa Yōzō Nakae Red 32 31 December 1981 Tetsuko Kuroyanagi Shizuo Yamakawa Keiichi Ubukata White 33 31 December 1982 Tetsuko Kuroyanagi Shizuo Yamakawa Keiichi Ubukata Red 34 31 December 1983 Tetsuko Kuroyanagi Kenji Suzuki Tamori White 35 31 December 1984 Mitsuko Mori Kenji Suzuki Keiichi Ubukata Red 36 31 December 1985 Masako Mori Kenji Suzuki Masaho Senda Red 37 31 December 1986 Yuki Saito & Yoriko Mekata Yūzō Kayama & Masaho Senda Seiichi Yoshikawa White 38 31 December 1987 Akiko Wada Yūzō Kayama Seiichi Yoshikawa Red 39 31 December 1988 Akiko Wada Yūzō Kayama Keiko Sugiura White 40 31 December 1989 Yoshiko Mita Tetsuya Takeda Sadatomo Matsudaira Red 41 31 December 1990 Yoshiko Mita Toshiyuki Nishida Sadatomo Matsudaira White 42 31 December 1991 Yūko Ayano Masaaki Sakai Shizuo Yamakawa Red 43 31 December 1992 Hikari Ishida Masaaki Sakai Shizuo Yamakawa White 44 31 December 1993 Hikari Ishida Masaaki Sakai Miyuki Morita White 45 31 December 1994 Emiko Kaminuma Ichiro Furutachi Yasuo Miyakawa Red 46 31 December 1995 Emiko Kaminuma Ichiro Furutachi Ryūji Miyamoto & Mitsuyo Kusano White 47 31 December 1996 Takako Matsu Ichiro Furutachi Ryūji Miyamoto & Mitsuyo Kusano White 48 31 December 1997 Akiko Wada Masahiro Nakai Ryūji Miyamoto White 49 31 December 1998 Junko Kubo Masahiro Nakai Ryūji Miyamoto Red 50 31 December 1999 Junko Kubo Nakamura Kankurō V Ryūji Miyamoto White 51 31 December 2000 Junko Kubo Motoya Izumi Ryūji Miyamoto Red 52 31 December 2001 Yumiko Udō Wataru Abe Tamio Miyake White 53 31 December 2002 Yumiko Udō Wataru Abe Tamio Miyake Red 54 31 December 2003 Yumiko Udō & Takako Zenba Wataru Abe & Tetsuya Takayama Tōko Takeuchi White 55 31 December 2004 Fumie Ono Wataru Abe Masaaki Horio Red 56 31 December 2005 Mino Monta, Motoyo Yamane, Yukie Nakama, and Koji Yamamoto* White 57 31 December 2006 Yukie Nakama Masahiro Nakai Tamio Miyake & Megumi Kurosaki White 58 31 December 2007 Masahiro Nakai** Tsurube Shōfukutei Kazuya Matsumoto & Miki Sumiyoshi White 59 31 December 2008 Yukie Nakama Masahiro Nakai Kazuya Matsumoto White 60 31 December 2009 Yukie Nakama Masahiro Nakai Wataru Abe White 61 31 December 2010 Nao Matsushita Arashi Wataru Abe White 62 31 December 2011 Mao Inoue Arashi TBA * In the 56th edition, the roles of mediator and team host were blurred as all four hosts intermingled with both teams.
** Masahiro Nakai is the first male team host of the Red team since Teru Miyata in the 6th and 7th editions. Red team hosts (even in pairs) are usually female.Popularity
Kōhaku was once the most-watched show on Japanese television of the year. One major factor was that New Year's Eve in Japan is a holiday traditionally spent at home (see Ōmisoka). Over the years, the annual event's popularity has declined from an all-time high of 81.4 (14th event) to an all-time low of 30.8/39.3 (55th event) in the Kantō region.[1] Despite the drop, Kōhaku is consistently the top-rated musical event each year.[2]
Notable acts on Kōhaku
The following is a list of notable acts who have a minimum of five appearances on Kōhaku to his/her/its credit (appearance numbers in parenthesis are as of the 60th edition):
J-pop and J-rock
- Ai Otsuka (6)
- aiko (9)
- Akina Nakamori (7)
- Angela Aki (5)
- Aya Matsuura (5)1
- Ayaka Hirahara (7)
- Ayumi Hamasaki (12)
- BoA (6)
- Chemistry (5)
- Da Pump (5)
- Dreams Come True (14)
- Every Little Thing (8)
- EXILE (6)
- Four Leaves (7)
- Gackt (5)
- Gospellers (6)
- Hideaki Tokunaga (5)
- Hiromi Gō (23)
- Hiromi Iwasaki (14)
- Junko Sakurada (9)
- Ken Hirai (7)
- Kobukuro (6)
- Kome Kome Club (5)
- Kumi Koda (6)
- Kyōko Koizumi (5)
- Linda Yamamoto (5)
- Mayumi Itsuwa (5)
- MAX (5)
- Miho Nakayama (7)
- Mika Nakashima (8)
- Momoe Yamaguchi (6)
- Morning Musume (10)
- Namie Amuro (9)
- Naoko Kawai (河合奈保子) (6)
- Naomi Sagara (佐良直美) (13)
- Porno Graffitti (9)
- Saori Minami (8)
- Seiko Matsuda (15)
- SMAP (18)
- Tokio (17)
- Tomomi Kahala (5)
- W-inds. (6)
- X Japan (5)
- Yo Hitoto (5)
- Yōko Oginome (5)
1. Matsuura has also appeared with DEF.DIVA and GAM. However, NHK does not count those appearances towards her count.
Enka and other contemporary
- Ayako Fuji (16)
- Akiko Wada (34)
- Akira Fuse (25)
- Chiyoko Shimakura (35)
- Fuyumi Sakamoto (坂本冬美) (22)
- George Yamamoto (山本譲二) (11)
- Hibari Misora (18)
- Hideki Saijō (18)
- Hiroshi Itsuki (40)
- Ichirō Toba (鳥羽一郎) (20)
- Kaori Kōzai (香西かおり) (15)
- Kaori Mizumori (7)
- Kenichi Mikawa (26)
- Kenji Sawada (17)
- Kiyoshi Hikawa (11)
- Kiyoshi Maekawa (18)
- Kye Eun-sook (7)
- Masako Mori (15)
- Masashi Sada (19)
- Mina Aoe (18)
- Mitsuko Nakamura (中村美律子) (15)
- Miyuki Kawanaka (22)
- Natsuko Godai (伍代夏子) (16)
- Rimi Natsukawa (5)
- Ryōko Moriyama (10)
- Saburō Kitajima (47)
- Sachiko Kobayashi (小林幸子) (32)
- Saori Yuki and Sachiko Yasuda (10)1
- Sayuri Ishikawa (33)
- Shinichi Mori (43)
- Shinji Tanimura (16)
- Takao Horiuchi (17)
- Takashi Hosokawa (34)
- Yōko Nagayama (14)
- Yoshimi Tendō (天童よしみ) (15)
- Yutaka Yamakawa (山川豊) (11)
1. Saori Yuki and Sachiko Yasuda are counted as a duet. Solo appearances by either of the two would not count towards the duet count.
Notable foreign competitors on Kōhaku
Although Kōhaku is made up of mostly Japanese nationalized geinōjin in the geinōkai, foreign artists (artists who are not Japanese nationals) popular in Japan have also competed in the program. Special appearances, supporting musicians or other methods of participation where the artist or group's performance was not accounted for in the overall scoring should not be added to this list. Below is a list of artists or groups who have done so, categorized based on the country of origin (Asian or non-Asian) the person or majority of the members in a group are from, along with the editions:
Asian
- Agnes Chan (Hong Kong, 24th through 26th)
- Alan Tam (Hong Kong, 40th)
- Auyeung Fei Fei (Taiwan, 23rd, 24th, 42nd)
- BoA (South Korea, 53rd through 58th)
- Cho Yong-Pil (South Korea, 38th, 39th and 41st)
- Friends of Love the Earth (Amin Wu, China; Xu Ke, China; Lee Hyung-Joo, South Korea; and Dick Lee, Singapore, 56th)
- Gary Valenciano (Philippines, 41st)
- Judy Ongg (Taiwan, 30th and 31st)
- Kim Yon-ja (South Korea, 40th and 45th)
- Kye Eun-sook (South Korea, 39th through 45th)
- Lee Jung Hyun (South Korea, 55th)
- Oyunna (Mongolia, 41st)
- Patty Kim (South Korea, 40th)
- RYU (South Korea, 55th)
- Smokey Mountain (Philippines, 42nd)
- Teresa Teng (Taiwan, 36th, 37th and 42nd)
- TVXQ (a. k. a. Tohoshinki; South Korea, 59th and 60th)
- Twelve Girls Band (China, 54th)
- Vivian Hsu (Taiwan, 49th as member of Black Biscuit)
Non-Asian
- Alexander Gradsky (Russia, 41st)
- Alfredo Casero (Argentina, 53rd)
- Alyson Williams (USA, 41st)
- Andy Williams (USA, 42nd)
- Cyndi Lauper (USA, 41st)
- Jero (USA, 59th and 60th)
- Laima Vaikule (Latvia, 42nd)
- Leah Dizon (USA, 58th)
- Paul Simon (USA, 41st)
- Sarah Brightman (United Kingdom, 42nd)
- Yuna Ito (USA, 56th)
References
External links
Events - America's Party
- First Night
- Peach Drop
- Pelican Drop
- Sydney New Year's Eve
- The Possum Drop
- Times Square Ball
- Vienna New Year's Concert
Sports Parades Television Related topics Categories:- Music competitions
- Japanese music
- Japanese television specials
- NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen events
- 1953 television series debuts
- New Year's on television
- Annual television programs
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