Kōhaku Uta Gassen

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Kōhaku Uta Gassen (紅白歌合戦?), more commonly known as simply Kōhaku, is an annual music show on the 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.

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[edit] 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 (see her page for details.)

[edit] The show proper

When the show was first broadcasted on radio in 1951, each team had a few performers, all of whom would perform within the span of an hour. Since 1989, television viewers watch and radio listeners listen 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.

In the 58th edition (2007), 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."

[edit] Results

Kōhaku # Date Red Team Host White Team Host Mediator Winning
Team
1 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 Juka 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 Shouzaburō Ishii Red
6 31 December 1955 Teru Miyata Keizo Takahashi Shouzaburō Ishii Red
7 31 December 1956 Teru Miyata Keizo Takahashi Shouzaburō Ishii White
8 31 December 1957 Takiko Mizunoe Keizo Takahashi Shouzaburō Ishii Red
9 31 December 1958 Tetsuko Kuroyanagi Keizo Takahashi Shouzaburō Ishii Red
10 31 December 1959 Meiko Nakamura Keizo Takahashi Shouzaburō Ishii Red
11 31 December 1960 Meiko Nakamura Keizo Takahashi Shouzaburō Ishii White
12 31 December 1961 Meiko Nakamura Keizo Takahashi Toshiaki Hosaka White
13 31 December 1962 Mitsuko Mori Teru Miyata Shouzaburō Ishii White
14 31 December 1963 Eri Chiemi Teru Miyata Shouzaburō Ishii Red
15 31 December 1964 Eri Chiemi Teru Miyata Shouzaburō Ishii White
16 31 December 1965 Michiko Hayashi Teru Miyata Shouzaburō Ishii White
17 31 December 1966 Peggy Hayama Teru Miyata Shouzaburō Ishii Red
18 31 December 1967 Yumiko Kokonoe Teru Miyata Shouzaburō 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 & Youzou 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 Youzou Nakae Red
31 31 December 1980 Tetsuko Kuroyanagi Shizuo Yamakawa Youzou 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 Yuuzou Kayama & Masaho Senda Seiichi Yoshikawa White
38 31 December 1987 Akiko Wada Yuuzou Kayama Seiichi Yoshikawa Red
39 31 December 1988 Akiko Wada Yuuzou 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 Yuuko 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 Ryuuji Miyamoto & Mitsuyo Kusano White
47 31 December 1996 Takako Matsu Ichiro Furutachi Ryuuji Miyamoto & Mitsuyo Kusano White
48 31 December 1997 Akiko Wada Masahiro Nakai Ryuuji Miyamoto White
49 31 December 1998 Junko Kubo Masahiro Nakai Ryuuji Miyamoto Red
50 31 December 1999 Junko Kubo Nakamura Kankurō V Ryuuji Miyamoto White
51 31 December 2000 Junko Kubo Motoya Izumi Ryuuji 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 Touko 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

* 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.

[edit] 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]

[edit] 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 58th edition):

[edit] J-pop and J-rock

1. Matsuura has also appeared with DEF.DIVA and GAM. However, NHK does not count those appearances towards her count.

[edit] Enka and other contemporary

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.

[edit] Notable foreign acts 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. 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:

[edit] Asian

[edit] Non-Asian

[edit] References

  1. ^ Official viewership ratings since 13th event (Japanese)
  2. ^ Official top-30 viewership ratings from 1995 to 2005

[edit] External links