60th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen Review
Happy new year folks, Kohaku is over. Once again I sat through the whole shebang (somehow), cheered a lot, frowned a lot, pressed mute a few times. I am sorry to everyone following my Twitter for the spam throughout the night.
Less a review, more a live-blogging-twitter-spamming kind of thing.
8-year old cutie pie Kato Seishiro opened the show. Kid did a good job even if he, like Ohashi Nozomi, messed up a few of his cues. Nakama Yukie and Nakai Masahiro (+Abe Wataru) were good hosts as usual, keeping things moving along at a sprightly pace.
As you would expect, NHK milked Arashi to the fullest, getting them to support for TOKIO and Alice, giving Ohno Satoshi a solo line in Uta no Chikara and having them generally hang around in the background ^^;;
Blow-by-blow, with Youtube links for performances I like NHK move fast so links are gone. Head on over to Jpopsuki for torrent downloads.
1.Hamasaki Ayumi – Like last year, opened the show with a bang. Plenty of power packed in her performance. 8/10
2. EXILE – I was kind of distracted by Taka’s girly hair. The song was bog standard but they were good as usual, vocal-wise. 7/10
3. AKB48 – With the SKE girls, total of 72 on stage. I felt they got way too short an airtime – blink of an eye and it was over. Could barely tell who was who. 6/10
4. flumpool – Decent Kohaku debut. 7/10
5. NYC Boys – It started off terrible and probably got worse. Oh gosh. At least Yuuki 100% made me smile? 4/10
6. Ikimonogakari – Kiyoe totally killed YELL. Incredible performance, backed by full choir. 10/10 Let’s see how long this link lasts.
Kids Kohaku
Kato Seishiro is soooo cuteeeee.
11-year old Sakura Maya was great too. Future enka superstar?
Snow Prince thing was boring, but the kid’s voice is great.
Oh shit ponyo.
And as expected. Katori Shingo declared a draw =.=
7. Godai Natsuko – Happy but slow but happy. 6/10
8. Kitayama Takeshi – Half-naked guys in fundoshi is kinda scary, nearly spoils his performance. 7/10
9. GIRL NEXT DOOR – I went to prepare for dinner while this was on.
10. Jero – Typical Jero performance of Umiyuki. As in, very good. 9/10
11. Mizuki Nana – Haha. My mom walked past and said ‘Is this what you’ve been waiting for?’ She wasn’t impressed and to be honest, when you’re performing in a field this accomplished you’ve got to really kill the song to stand out and she didn’t. This was standard Nana which means stellar, but not a knockout. Better than Music Japan at least. 7/10
12. FUNKY MONKEY BABYS – Lol at the DJ’s getup. But FUNKY MONKEY really knocked the ball out of the park with their performance, excellent debut Kohaku. 10/10
13. Nakamura Mitsuko – Went to eat dinner.
14. Porno Graffitti – Went to eat dinner.
15. Tendo Yoshimi – Oh god, this was really good. Very touching. Ex-tennis star Sugiyama Ai was her supporter… IIRC. 10/10
16. Mikawa Kenichi – Hahahahaha. Crazy as expected, some Bollywood meets enka number with bombastic outfits, backed by Audrey’s Kasuga Toshiaki and with Haruna Ai & Ikko (both transsexuals) dancing around in the background. Weird shit, man. 7/10
17. Sakamoto Fuyumi – Oh my god so boring. Nana was her supporter, looked uncomfortable and could only manage fangirling when asked to say a few words. 5/10
18. Hosokawa Takashi – Guy’s got really good voice control, never looks like he’s busting a lung. Tons of shamisen in the background. 9/10
19. Otsuka Ai – Poodle hair, birdcage dress, out of tune as usual. Still cute! 5/10
20. Remioromen – Fujimaki messed up on a lyric, not sure if he forgot his lines or just choked. Went off-key as expected. 5/10 Video link
21. Kawanaka Miyuki – Went to wash dishes.
22. Mori Shinichi – Went to wash dishes.
NEWS BREAK
Ann Sally + Kohaku performers – Uta no Chikara
Kimura Takuya totally fluffed his lines and SMAP looked bored. Of the solo parts, the girls hit all the right notes – Kiyoe, Hirahara Ayaka and Angela Aki in particular.
Susan Boyle was divine on I Dreamed a Dream. And KimuTaku was total fail, talking to Susan in English and then having SuBo turn to the translator and go ‘Huh?’
23. Yusuke – Excellent, much better than I expected. Nice move to have the whole crowd waving sunflowers during a song appropriately called… Himawari. And oh god, I saw a fan waving one of Nana’s ugly mascot dolls in the crowd during his performance. 9/10
24. aiko – Typical professional aiko. 8/10
25. Tokunaga Hideaki – Heh, he was really good. Song wasn’t as bad sung live. 8/10
26. Hirahara Ayaka – ROLLY guested on guitar! Seriously, this is the best Ayaka performance ever on Kohaku. In previous years she was shaky at times but really hit the target this time. 10/10
27. TOKIO – On target as usual. Lol at Arashi introducing them and asking for otoshidama xD 8/10
28. Akimoto Junko – I was going to go back to washing dishes, but then Miyamoto Emiri comes out to play violin. 7/10
29. Perfume – Haha Perfume. Cute as usual. 8/10
30. TVXQ – Snoozefest. Went to wash dishes 5/10
31. Mizumori Kaori – Washing dishes.
32. Itsuki Hiroshi – Washing dishes.
Michael Jackson tribute – Heh Nakai does his Jacko dance act again. Then led a group sing on Heal the World, which wasn’t as bad as I thought it’d be.
33. Kimura Kaela – Rather wooden and dull. 5/10
34. Alice – Ojisans got a lot of crowd support, lively performance. 8/10
35. Nakashima Mika – Ok this was bad. She looked totally out of it, like she was high on drugs. 4/10
36. Yuzu – Supposed to be touching and all but uhhhhh rather boring. 5/10
37. Angela Aki – Not a kids’ choir this time, but adults! God Tegami is always sooooo good live, but I think last year was marginally better. 9/10
38. Fuse Akira – Japanese version of My Way… his teeth are really nice and straight and white 
6/10
39. Kobayashi Sachiko – After the shock of seeing horrible mascot Sento-kun on stage I was not even surprised to see Buddha rising from the stage. Equaled Mikawa for weirdness. 7/10
40. Fukuyama Masaharu – Heh his long hair. Obviously a big draw this year, so he popped up at various intervals to promote Ryomaden. Hatsukoi was good, as expected. 8/10
41. Koda Kumi – They let her sing Lick Me♥ hahah. And ooh sister Misono was on as a guest. I’m not a fan of the songs, but she was spot on as usual. 8/10
42. Arashi – And the highlight of the night, depending on who you are. My heart skipped a beat when they appeared with Sho rapping A.RA.SHI, I swear my inner fangirl died. Pink suits!! From A.RA.SHI to Love so sweet to Happiness to Believe, with a velcro costume change (white suits) in the middle. I think I would’ve cheered louder if it was the me of 10 years ago watching, but the boys put on a good show. 9/10
SPECIAL GUEST: YAZAWA EIKICHI
He was strongly tipped to be on this year’s Kohaku for ages, so it was a disappointment when he was not announced on the initial list. Then NHK blew a bombshell earlier today and said he was going to be a surprise guest. Yazawa totally rocked the hall with Jikan yo Tomare & Cobalt no Sora, and had a nice little chat about how he’s the same age as Kohaku (both turned 60 this year!)
43. Kobukuro – Not a fan of the song, performance was decent. 6/10
44. Wada Akiko – I laughed at her face and her dress. I really shouldn’t have. 7/10
45. Hikawa Kiyoshi – Camp, camp, camp! Needed peacock feathers to complete the look, but Kiyoshi was top notch again. 10/10
46. Ishikawa Sayuri – I dozed off. 5/10
47. Ayaka – Oh god, even Ishida Toshiyuki is crying. A perfect send-off for Ayaka… 10/10
48. SMAP – Haiieeeee Yuck. Can’t sing to save their lives, though Nakai was only out of tune once. 5/10
49. DREAMS COME TRUE – I thought Miwa was going to break the mic with her voice, it was so loud. Newton Faulkner on guitar :O And Fuzzy Control didn’t get cut out after all, yay! 9/10
50. Kitajima Saburo – Closed the show, and ermmmm I was more focused on when the rest of the group would turn up than his song.
As expected, White Team beat Red Team, 348,708 vs 213,047 votes. All Hail Johnny’s!! This year’s voting is way up from last year’s which was around 206,000 vs 112,000. Gosh Red Team would’ve beat White Team last year with that vote total.
All I remember from the recap period was seeing the artists laugh at Maekawa Kenichi’s bit and huge applause for Yazawa. Also, during the end bits, aiko + Kaela were giggling together and hamming it up for the camera. And Perfume were playing with the confetti and FMB just looked… weird.
That’s all I can get out of my battered brain at 1am – I need a HQ rip to watch again, so I might edit this post after that. Anyhow, this year’s show was definitely better than 2008’s. Some of the performances are well worth keeping – quickly ranking the ones I enjoyed the most:
1. Susan Boyle
2. Ikimonogakari
3. Yazawa Eikichi
4. Tendo Yoshimi
5. Hikawa Kiyoshi
6. FUNKY MONKEY BABYS
7. Ayaka
8. Hirahara Ayaka
9. Arashi
10. Hosokawa Takashi
And the excitement’s over til 31 December 2010. See you at the end of the year for coverage of the 61st Kohaku!
Oh, i was a bit confused there, I usually interpret “kill the song” as if they had ruined it :p
*looks for download
Nana played really safe, just like always. Although she is trying to break into mainstream, it doesn’t look like she’s going to change her ways of doing things. I guess doing this performance like she always does, her otawotas would feel safe that she’s still with them. I don’t think Nana is going to hit it big with mainstream from the start anyway, she might be able to pick a few casual fan here and there. I think the reason I didn’t find this performance to be amazing because I seen loads and loads of other performances by her.
I wonder did NHK decide what sort of performance the artists do? Obviously certain acts have larger budget then others.
Arashi’s epic clothes changing was epic, but it’s pretty much their typical show. I really liked Ayaka, it was a plain performance was emotional.
I was one of the people who watched that episode of Britian Got Talent the first time it was on TV. Susan Boyle did surprise me, I expected her to be those weird middle aged woman who just go on for laughs.
I think Nana would have nailed it if they let her sing another bridge+chorus. It’s hard to ‘kill’ Shin Ai anyway, what with all the weird notes.
Besides Nana, I loved Ayaka, Susan Boyle, Angela, Jero, Funky Monkey Babys and Ishikawa Sayuri. I don’t know why you didn’t like the last; she was splendid as always, and the song is such a classic. The rest I just don’t know them/don’t care to know them. I’m sure many others were good too.
This is the first time I watched Kohaku at quite a length, mostly because of Ayaka (with her going hiatus), and Mizuki Nana along with Kobukuro and Nakashima Mika which are staples of my jpop fandom. I was so moved by Ayaka. She had been an inspiration to me since “I Believe” and “Mikazuki”.
I agree though that for the others I was a bit disappoint. Maybe the song failed Mizuki Nana, she may have needed a different one to make her stand out. Plus her OP TV-size time allotment of 1:30 min seems too short. Kobukuro was average I guess. Nakashima Mika was an anomaly, it seems she lost the heaviness/depth in her voice that I liked about her.
Also, do the higher vote count mean there was an otaku-bump due to Mizuki Nana? Or maybe higher audience ratings for the show itself?
Man, Ayaka going away was -sad-.
That aside, Mizuki Nana does seem to lack luster amongst the amount of talent that’s in all of kohaku. I mean, come on, this is one of the biggest program of all Japan.
Also, that Ikimonogatari performance sent goosebumps down my spine…
I think the reason I didn’t find this performance to be amazing because I seen loads and loads of other performances by her.
^ Word. I was truly amazed when I first hear Shin’ai live back in January.
Nana’s performance was flawless “like usual”, that’s the keyword. Compare it to, say, Ayaka (the only perfect score I’d give).. I originally like Minna Sora no Shita, but that was the first time I heard the live version, so the impact was maximum.
Same goes to Boyle. After looping her video thanks to Facebook links during her boom, I was reading Conan on her turn – great voice but nothing special.
And Arashi is crap. That was the first time I saw them live. Reminds me of, er, AAA *_* They all look and sound the same.
@bluemist:
Also, do the higher vote count mean there was an otaku-bump due to Mizuki Nana? Or maybe higher audience ratings for the show itself?
^ Both? White obviously got pumped by Johnny fangirls. But red’s new girls are only Nana and Kaele, so it makes sense.
I was a little bit disappointed by Nana’s performance as well. I enjoyed it, that’s for sure. But I hoped for something more, a performance with larger emotional impact. Still, I think her performance was definitely one of the better ones. Shin Ai is an extremely difficult song so it’s important that she managed to pull it out safely. Better good, balanced performance on the whole, than a great performance with one big blunder. If she had sung a different song, an easier one, it could have turned out better. What about Mugen? She could show her voice in its full bloom with it, and it seems easier than Shin Ai to me, apart from some parts… DISCOTHEQUE would have been the best choice after all XD
I’ve once again confirmed that I just can’t listen to Arashi. Though those boys can sing a tad, their songs are just crap. Crap targeted at girls and women in general. Those fan girls should just lock up their sweeties in a concealed place and enjoy themselves with them for all eternity ^_^;
Ayaka’s performance was quite good, or let’s say very good. But her voice isn’t really to my liking. I couldn’t listen to more than two of her songs in a row. It would be too much for me.
Weren’t Arashi lipsyncing like always? Their movement doesn’t match their singing, the singing is way too smooth. Seriously…all their songs are so darn catchy. Not just Arashi, most of Johnny’s boyband songs are catchy. As much as their music are very hollow, they make great background music.
Nana’s performance was flawless “like usual”
^Nana looks really scared/tensed during the whole show, she has this ‘WTF I’M ON KOHAKU BUT I MUST ACT CALM…CALM…CLAM…’ face. Despite she has more then 10 years of experience, she has barely done any live TV. Compare Live Fever to Kohaku’s Shin Ai, it’s obvious Live Fever is better, despite it was her 3rd day. Her best TV live is still that anison special, because all her wotas were there and it was pretty much just a normal concert for her. I don’t think Nana’s performance in Kohaku is on par to her usual, but it’s still one of the better ones.
(I think I’m going to be shot)
Perfume’s perfect, as always. Especially with that autotune going on lol. I have about 16 different One-room Disco performance videos in my folder; more if you include the official concerts and 30+ minute performances like Rock in Japan Festival.
Oh! Gosh I Really Love your review and also your previous “Dummies Guide” it was the perfect instance for explain how the kouhaku works to a friend. Thanks indeed, but reading your 60th kouhaku analysis it was not for me a great surprise, i mean the way how some singers had performed it. Actually I really trust the way that you qualified each performance.
But I must confess that I was really disappointed at you. When I read this “he should swap places with Wada Akiko – they’re definitely batting for the wrong teams here.” That was funny but offensive I think, because I have seen Akiko Wada from the very beginning of kouhaku uta gassen. She probably has the biggest entries in the show.
To sum up i think that the recently kouhaku are far from the 80’s and 90’s ones those were the best on my taste. i really miss the greatest singers like Seiko Matsuda, Akina Nakamori, Shizuka Kudo, Namie Amuro etc.
That’s all for now
thanks for yours reviews!
Nice review and Happy New Year. For once, I watched most of it as well/it was playing in the background while having Kani Nabe, sushi, fish and kuromame to welcome in the new year at a friend’s house in Shibuya, just a (very small) stone’s (long) throw away from the NHK Hall. My friend was from the previous generation so he could not identify most of the acts. He also reminisced that growing up, he used to get it on radio only! The only act he knew and was interested in was Susan Boyle, because she was a media sensation here in Japan as well.
As for the show itself, I missed most of the first part including Nana while we ate. I was looking for Ikiminogakari and it was very good stuff indeed. The only other things of note were Susan Boyle (novelty), Mika Nakashima (woeful terribleness), Angela Aki (the missus is a fan), Hikawa Kiyoshi (I am a fan), Arashi (fun) and some lady in OTT costume singing on a giant statue of herself (true LOL moment). My favourite act though: this Yazawa dude. I never heard of him but he was awesome. Rocked my pants off.
Also, interestingly the Tokyo trains run all night during New Year’s Eve (only) so we managed to get home nicely. It was surprisingly packed though. Anyway, look forward to the 2010 review!
My personal highlights:-
Susan Boyle (fantastic as usual)
Angela Aki (she’s rocking the piano)
Kobayashi Sachiko (that Goddess status! OMGWTF?! You need that to fight with Ryoma?)
Fukuyama Masaharu (apparently it’s really snowing in Nagasaki)
Hikawa Kiyoshi (it’s fun, it’s campy and he gets the crowd in the Hall moving)
Ayaka (her symptoms showed up, but she managed to finish it)
I enjoyed Ikimonogakari,Funky Monkey Baby (oh i really do love that HERO song, cant help to bounce mt head in tunes),Susan Boyle and Arashi (the only Johnny band that i like)………….they’re all great entertainers.
>this year kohaku is way way awesome than last year.
I agree with Nakashima Mika being really bad.. her voice was meh, and yep seemed like she was high on something, since it didn’t look like she was there. I was actually quite happy by this Kohaku, watching it live at the time it aired..so thanks for the review and coverage!
I really enjoyed Yusuke. I like the sunflower wave behind him.
And also Tohoshinki, unfortunately their performance wasn’t to good last night.
And NHK really put their best effort on this show. I really like the stage.
It was Susan Boyle’s fail really, wasn’t it? He spoke to her in English… I understood what he said and the tv was turned down low for the sake of the neighbours. To bring attention to someone’s limited foreign language fluency when you’re in their country and they’ve made the effort to speak your language is a bit of a faux pas. To do it in Japan, on the biggest tv show of the year, with one of the biggest names in Japan’s entertainment industry…
I felt embarrassed for my nation
@LilaChan
I think NHK basically tries to accomodate as much of what the artist/their management requests. Too bad AKB didn’t get the 100+ ppl on stage that they wanted lol.
Also,
@anonymouse
Heh NHK wouldn’t let a first-timer get more than a verse/chorus unless they’re called Arashi or Mr.Children.
As for Ishikawa Sayuri, I was just really tired by that time of the night lol. Enka right at the end always tends to make me sleep. I’m of the generation that only started appreciating enka after hearing Hikawa Kiyoshi I guess.
@bluemist
Higher vote-bump – because of Arashi and Johnny’s. The announcement of Arashi for Kohaku this year really set expectations high, so more ppl tuned in. Also lots of last-minute hype over Ei-chan.
@danie~
Lol Arashi being crap. Music-wise probably yes, but as entertainers they’re always top value – great individual personalities, always full of fun, kids and moms love them.
@Matteas
If it were up to me I’d pick HSC or Hime Murasaki as songs that would ‘fit’ the Kohaku crowd yet still have a scope for Nana to show off her skills, but neither are singles hits. Mugen would probably be a disaster in the making with all the key changes lol, you need something that’s simple yet ‘grand’. InoSuta could fit the bill too.
@sentinel011
Haha yeah I’ve seen a dozen different One Room Discos and it’s always spot on.
@Kosuke_Atami
re: the mikawa/wada thing haha I would think most ppl have good enough judgment to take it as a joke. Akiko is really loveable ^^;
@ReinZhan
yeah Sachiko on that Buddha thing was hilarious yet entertaining. Oka-san liked the Kids Kohaku thing, and only came to watch Susan Boyle. And damn, kani nabe – sounds fun. Btw, 良いお年を！
@ct
Masa looked cold haha, poor guy. The news breaks did show various parts of Japan snowing…
@pucca
Yes this year was so much better than last year, and better than most of the previous 10 years too.
@animemiz
hope she gets to come back next year.
Haha I guess we both spammed Twitter collectively while watching the show, that was fun. And shame about Mika
@sariyu
You are right, the sets this year were quite impressive. Especially Sachiko’s!
@Victoria
Actually I’m not too sure about that – some friends of mine couldn’t understand KimuTaku either. Depends on whether you are familiar with Japanese ppl and their accents, perhaps.
@Victoria
I wouldn’t be so judgmental. Boyle is not exactly accustomed to the limelight; and I think we’ve all perused the headlines as to how her nerves have taken their fair share of hits. She was confused by the fact that a translator was beside her, when at the point she was not needed. Regardless, she made a joke of it, and wowed the audience with an incredible performance? I mean — what more do you want???
Susan understood what KimuTaku said to her but turned to the interpreter for a mic to answer since he did not hold his out to her. The interpreter misunderstood and thought she wanted what he said repeated. Susan did have a mic in front of her to sing, but couldn’t use that one and face him at the same time unless she took it off the stand. She’s used to having the questioner hold their mic to her for her answer. This was all just a misunderstanding.
Actually I didn’t even understand Kimura Takuya?’s english.I can’t question Susan Boyle on that.
If you’re interested, I found a video of Nana Mizuki’s performance here
Thanks for the review and guide, if not I wouldn’t be able to know what’s going on
The Buddha freaked me out more than Mikawa’s Bollywood tranny fest + Kasuga extravaganza (Wha amused me was how much more prettier Haruna Ai looks next to Mikawa who looks much more prettier next to Ikko XD).
Nana was great imho, but if you aren’t already a fan I suppose Shin Ai would simply be drowned by everything else on the show.
Also total nosebleed from Hikawa Kiyoshi… and that’s all – *kidnaps the Kato kid and runs* XD
Haha my mom just walked past at Nana Mizuki as well.
Moms must have a radar or something! >.>
And thanks to post the Kouhaku’s guide XD
Susan Boyle probably wasn’t expecting English. I will have someone Japanese speaking to me in English and if I was expecting Japanese, which I would be if I had a translator, I would wonder what they just said if there was an accent. KimuTaku’s accent was surprisingly decent and if he had just repeated what he said, Susan would’ve “gotten” it. Think about it. Her brain was just like: “keep smiling, keep smiling… nani nani nani nani… desu desu desu… masu masu masu” and then Kimutaku speaks to her in English instead of Japanese. I was impressed with his professionalism in keeping his composure after that and speaking directly to her (instead of to the translator). I would’ve liked to see more depth in the question that they asked her. “What is your impression of Japan” is such an open-ended question and very hard to answer. Something more specific would’ve been nice.
I will state again. Susan was just uncertain of what mic to use to respond. There were 3 mics out there. Her’s on the stand, his and the translators, so she turned to the translator who mistakenly thought she needed what he said repeated.
Thanks for the writeup! Ayaka’s song at the end was amazing…
I think Nana performance is good, I can hear people scream for Nana =p
Besides the enka songs, these got my attention!
in order of appearance
yell – Ikimono gakari
shin ai – Mizuki Nana
hero – Funky Monkey Babys
konayuki – Remioromen
welkame op song – Aiko
believe – Arashi
minna sora no shita – Ayaka
Ah. I forgot to say that Mizuki Nana did her best to sing Shin Ai. They gave to her less than 2 min to sing a 5 min song.
Do any of you that watched the Kohaku live in the United States? I live in Washington State, and I don’t think its aired here…unless one subscribes to TVJapan on cable?
Ikimono Gakari was awesome!
I just got this vid Mizuki Nana singing Enka
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9ZTyfji55o
I wouldn’t mind to watch this at Kouhaku ^^
Nana didn’t get enough time to perform
I loved her performance.
are you even Japanese??? because you have the weirdest sense of music ever perfume cute??? haha makes me laugh! i don’t know what your thinking by your ratings disgusts me
thanks for the review ^_^
i didn’t see alot, deffinatley had to see the Arashi one XD
was Hirai Ken not on? i thought he was suppose to be?
Thanks for the lineup and review. The Kouhaku is something not seen on American tv in a long time.
Can you ID the young male judge with longish brown hair over on the right?