The lineup of artists appearing in the annual end-of-year music program “The 75th NHK Kouhaku Uta Gassen” has been announced. There will be 41 groups of artists, with three in the Red Team and seven in the White Team making their first appearance. Artists familiar to anime fans include Aiko and Ryokuoushoku Shakai in the Red Team, and Omoinotake, Creepy Nuts, Da-iCE, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, Vaundy, BE:FIRST, and Mrs. GREEN APPLE in the White Team.
The 75th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen will be held. This year, the theme will be “Songs for You,” and the show will be hosted by Ariyoshi Hiroiki, Hashimoto Kanna, Ito Sari, and Suzuki Naoko. In 2024, international exchange will become even more active, and while there will be joy and excitement over the Paris Olympics and Paralympics, there will also be many sorrows, such as successive natural disasters and endless conflicts.
In preparation for this year’s New Year’s Eve broadcast, where various joys and sorrows intersect, NHK has stated, “Regardless of major or minor, country, gender, or era, we will present the best songs to each and every one of you!”
With the Red Team’s victory last year, the Red Team now has 34 wins and the White Team has 40 wins, but what kind of results will they show this year?
The 41 participating singers have now been announced, and it has been revealed that artists familiar to anime fans include Aiko and Ryokuoushoku Shakai in the Red Team, and Omoinotake, Creepy Nuts, Da-iCE, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, Vaundy, BE:FIRST, and Mrs. GREEN APPLE in the White Team.
Although neither artist has announced what songs they will be singing at this time, Aiko from the Red Team made a strong impression by singing “Aishisouai,” the theme song for the movie “Detective Conan: The Million Dollar Five-Point Star.” Ryokuoushoku Shakai’s “Party!!” was the ending theme for the first season of the TV anime “Dungeon Meshi.”
In Shirogumi, Omoinotake is in charge of the ending theme “Tsubomi” for the seventh season of the TV anime “My Hero Academia.” Creepy Nuts is expected to perform the opening theme “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” for the TV anime “Mashle,” whose “BBBB Dance” became a global hit, and is also in charge of the opening theme “Otonoke” for the currently airing “Dandadan.”
Looking back at 2024, Shirogumi also had Da-iCE perform the opening theme “Story” for “FAIRY TAIL 100 Year Quest” and the theme song “Orange Youth” for the third episode of the live-action drama “Oshi no Ko”, while TOMORROW X TOGETHER sang guest songs for the opening theme “LEveL” for “Only I Level Up”, a song by SawanoHiroyuki[nZk], Sawano’s vocal project.
Vaundy has songs from anime movies, including “Time Paradox,” the theme song for “Doraemon the Movie: Nobita’s Symphony of the Earth,” “Homunculus,” the theme song for “My Hero Academia the Movie: Your Next,” and the ending theme “Gift.” If he were to sing the ending theme “Sailing” for the “SPECIAL EDITED VERSION of “ONE PIECE” Fishman Island Arc” by BE:FIRST, and the opening theme “Lilac” for “Wakyo Battery” by Mrs. GREEN APPLE, it is likely to attract the attention of anime fans.
I feel very honored, along with my fellow members, to have been able to perform on such a big stage as the Kohaku Uta Gassen in the same year that we debuted. IROHA and I are both from Japan, and this is a show that we have dreamed of since we were little, so we are really happy. We will show you a wonderful stage that will give you energy, so I hope you will look forward to it.
We are now participating in the Kouhaku Uta Gassen in our first year since our debut, and we feel that it is not something to be taken for granted, but something incredibly amazing is happening. We would like to express our gratitude to our fans, our current environment, and everyone who has been involved with us in 2024 through our music.
We formed in 2012, and from the beginning of our activities, our goal has always been to keep appearing on the Red and White Song Battle. We are really happy to have been able to take a big step towards that big goal. We will do our best.
Both myself and my team have been really busy this year, so I’m grateful that we were able to do so. Rather than a reward for myself, I hope we can give a great performance on this special stage as a reward for the team. Thank you so much.
I’m very nervous today, and I think I’ll probably be very nervous on the day of the performance. Da-iCE is Da-iCE, and we want to perform in front of you all and deliver our music to you all.
I am truly honored to be able to participate in the Kohaku Uta Gassen. I have always wanted to stand on the Kohaku stage, so I am really, really happy. I will do my best to deliver a wonderful stage performance that is fitting for New Year’s Eve, the final day of 2024.
We will debut on January 1, 2024, and will be able to perform to you all on December 31. We want to give you the best performance possible. Thank you for your support.
Today, from the moment I entered the venue, I was greeted with many congratulations Leon. It’s been five or six years since my debut, and not a day goes by that I don’t say I want to perform at the Kouhaku Uta Gassen. It’s no exaggeration to say that performing at the Kouhaku is my life’s goal; it’s the dream stage I’ve been striving for. Over the past five years, I’ve met the staff, the media, Noritake Kinashi and George Tokoro, and it’s all thanks to the support of fans all over the country that I’m able to stand on the Kouhaku stage, so with all my heart, I say, Shinhama Leon, good luck Leon!
Last year, I asked my father for a promotion and released a song, and since then, my music and words have reached many people. I’m very happy, but at the same time, I feel very strange. In the midst of all this, I’m honestly still not sure what it will be like to be on the stage of the Red and White Song Battle, which I’ve been watching with my family since I was little, and I’m looking forward to what kind of experience it will be. I want to sing to the best of my ability so that this will be a wonderful way to end the year for my family, friends, and listeners who always support me, and for everyone who is getting to know me for the first time through the Red and White Song Battle.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to perform at the NHK Kouhaku Uta Gassen for the first time. It is a great honor to be able to perform on such a historic stage. I look forward to seeing you on New Year’s Eve.
The annual end-of-year music program “The 75th NHK Kouhaku Uta Gassen” will be broadcast on NHK General TV and other stations from 7:20 p.m. on December 31st. We look forward to hearing more about it in the future.
<75th NHK Kouhaku Uta Gassen Broadcast Schedule>
Tuesday, December 31st, 19:20-23:45
*News will be interrupted
NHK General, BSP4K, BS8K, Radio 1,
NHK Plus, Rajiru Rajiru Available for streaming
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