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The story
Japanese women’s magazine Josei Jishin reported that an idol group that held a solo concert at the National Stadium this year will make its first appearance on NHK’s year-end Kohaku Uta Gassen song contest. The thread lit up when a separate linked report identified the group in question as =LOVE (Ikolove). On 5ch, users questioning the group’s name recognition (“never heard of them”) were met with pushback citing karaoke chart rankings and Instagram follower growth as evidence of popularity, and the discussion spiraled into predictions over which other groups — Nogizaka46, Juice=Juice, and more — would land the remaining slots.
“This year, a popular group that pulled off its first-ever concert at the National Stadium (MUFG Stadium) is finally ready to…”
So says a music industry insider. According to the report, a hugely popular idol group — one that could be called the face of this year — is set to make its first appearance on the year-end NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen.
The same industry insider continues.
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
I've never even seen their faces on TV
and never heard their songs on TV either…
Maybe you just don't watch TV?
Are they really on TV enough to be called 'the face of this year'?
Calling them 'the face of this year' is an exaggeration, but I do see them on TV
They've shown up alongside Snow Man too, so I think they're more known to the general public than Juice=Juice
The real question is Juice=Juice and maybe Sakurazaka46
Nah, it'll end with those 4 groups
If there's a 5th slot it'd probably be Juice=Juice, but not enough to force them in
They haven't charted on Billboard Japan at all — how is that a 'hit'?
That actually makes their chances even lower
https://hayabusa9.5ch.io/test/read.cgi/mnewsplus/1793791245/
Lol, 'Old Man Asahi' is saying the exact same thing as 'The Wolf' (two well-known Hello!Project fan-blog commentators)
Is this really okay
They'll be banned from leaking next time
There's a 'confirmed lineup' leak report like this every year
Juice=Juice doesn't lol
If they've got their own year-end concert booked, they're out
I wish you could just mute them across every account real quick
on YouTube
JJ will perform as usual, and Hello!Project otaku are gonna be shook lol
That's realistically the most likely scenario
Kind of them to wake us from the dream before the official announcement does
That's usually about when it gets announced each year
and if it doesn't happen then………..
Typical Yasushi Akimoto, of course
They're charting on karaoke rankings, and pretty much every outgoing teenager knows them
Try living in reality
They're by far the most popular on karaoke
Not knowing that basically just outs you as an old man
JOYSOUND, updated 2026/11/02
Artist Karaoke Ranking (weekly)
Tally period: 2026/10/26 – 2026/11/01
https://www.joysound.com/web/karaoke/ranking/artist/weekly
Girl groups only, excerpted
#14→ =LOVE (#14 last week)
#51↗ AKB48 (#55)
#73↗ iLiFE! (#81)
#82↗ HANA (#84)
Below #100: not ranked
Groups that used to rank regularly but are now off the chart:
CUTIE STREET, FRUITS ZIPPER, CANDY TUNE, Nogizaka46
DAM
Karaoke Ranking Artists
Weekly Ranking
Updated 2026/11/01
https://www.clubdam.com/ranking/artist/
Girl groups only, excerpted
#17 =LOVE (previous week #17)
#68 AKB48 (previous week #67)
#77 iLiFE! (previous week #70)
#97 HANA (previous week #93)
Below #100: not ranked
Groups that used to rank regularly but are now off the chart:
CUTIE STREET, FRUITS ZIPPER, CANDY TUNE, Nogizaka46
No way Sakurazaka46 gets in lol
The National Stadium thing is a selling point specifically for =LOVE
which is exactly why I don't think it applies to Sakurazaka46
If Sakurazaka46 — who sold out 4 shows between the National Stadium and ZOZO Marine Stadium — doesn't make it in, then groups that pad their numbers with fake streams are going to run rampant
You're an idiot
Even for regular artists, selection isn't based on audience size alone every year
Honestly, the whole Sakamichi franchise probably pads its numbers to begin with
Yeah, that's about right
What year is this data even from lol
=LOVE is the overwhelming #1 for monthly follower growth
Growth
#1 =LOVE +27,429
#2 ≒JOY (NearJOY) +9,233
#4 ≠ME (NoiMii) +5,510
Background and Key Points of This Debate
Every year as the calendar turns toward December, music-industry “leak” reports about NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen lineup slots become an annual ritual — they should be read with some skepticism, since it’s all speculation ahead of the official announcement. In the thread, doubts about the group’s name recognition (“I’ve never even seen them on TV”) clashed with counterarguments backed by “hard numbers” like karaoke chart rankings (JOYSOUND, DAM) and Instagram follower growth — a classic pattern that repeats every year in Sakamichi- and Hello!Project-adjacent idol threads predicting the Kohaku lineup. Karaoke rankings are a metric 5ch users like to cite for groups with less TV exposure, but they’re a different thing entirely from CD single sales or streaming numbers, and readers should note that much of the disagreement in the thread comes from people talking past each other over which metric actually reflects “real” popularity. It’s also worth noting that the claim the group is produced by Rino Sashihara comes from a separate linked article cited within the thread, not from the Josei Jishin article itself.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hello!Project) thread “Josei Jishin leaks =LOVE’s first Kohaku appearance lmaooooooooooo [=LOVE].”
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