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The story
Ahead of NHK’s announcement of this year’s “Kohaku Uta Gassen” lineup, a reader survey ranking by AERA on “artists we want to see make a surprise appearance” has sparked discussion. With Akina Nakamori landing at No. 4 and a singer who made a comeback after 14 years out of the spotlight taking No. 3, 5ch’s entertainment/sports news board (Geisupo Sokuhō+) lit up with nostalgia for past Kohaku broadcasts and debate over who truly deserves to be called a “surprise.” Some posters argued that once a name is already floated in a ranking, it can’t really be a surprise, while others pushed for genuine never-gonna-happen heavyweights like Takuro Yoshida, Tatsuro Yamashita, or Spitz.
Who should make a surprise appearance at Kohaku? No. 5 is the singer who went viral this summer, No. 4 is Akina Nakamori — so who’s No. 1?
Sat, Nov 7, 11:30
Now that November has arrived, anticipation is building for NHK’s announcement of the “Kohaku Uta Gassen” lineup. Last year, news of Kenshi Yonezu’s added appearance and lavish special segments kept coming right up until air time, driving plenty of buzz. Whose voice do people want to hear this year? Based on a reader survey conducted by the AERA editorial team, here are the top 5 artists and groups fans are hoping to see in a “surprise appearance” or “special segment.”
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Read the original article here
What people said
Who else is there?
Spitz didn't even show up the year they did the theme song for the NHK morning drama.
Feels like they decided ages ago they're never doing Kohaku, period.
Has to be CHAGE and ASKA, no question.
If they sang 'No No Darlin'' or 'Big Tree' at Kohaku I'd be in tears.
I watch every other channel through apps — all I've got at home is a tuner-less monitor.
He seems free on New Year's Eve anyway.
The wish is basically 'someone not announced as a performer suddenly shows up while I'm watching'?
That's a weird thing to want.
Whether it's Akina Nakamori, Fujii Kaze, or Kenshi Yonezu,
it's better for everyone if they're announced as performing from the start —
more people get to watch that way.
and I was hoping for one of her classic hits, but she sang some new song nobody cared about — total buzzkill.
That song's just got presence to it.
At this point just give us a live triple reconciliation — Kuwata and Nagabuchi, Match (idol Masahiko Kondo's nickname) and Akina, Chage and Asuka.
Of course they're going to perform, that's just expected.
The survey respondents clearly didn't get the point of the question.
Yonezu only actually sang live on Kohaku the very first time.
Feels like he always dodges it with a pre-recorded VTR segment.
SONGS usually runs 2-4%, but her episode hit 6.5%.
That's apparently across every episode of both shows broadcast this year.
Nobody else can pull numbers like that, so NHK will want her on no matter what.
If Akina closed the show as the final act, the per-artist ratings would be insane.
Forget 40% — we could be looking at over 45%.
What even is this ranking.
Though the real question is whether the member who's now a Diet member shows up.
Tatsuro Yamashita with a husband-and-wife duet alongside Mariya Takeuchi
Chiharu Matsuyama is too busy watching Kohaku at home
If it's not one of these, I won't call it a surprise.
When Mariya performed, Tatsuro was standing right behind her,
so naturally when Tatsuro performs, Mariya will be right behind him.
Well, TV Tokyo's already done that one.
Maybe a one-night-only SMAP reunion.
SMAP or Namie Amuro ('Amuro-chan'), yeah.
Everyone would flip out.
If we're talking all generations, wouldn't it be Momoe Yamaguchi?
Though that's a different network's thing.
Usa Rap's actually happening at the FNS Music Festival in December.
Isn't that exactly what makes it a surprise though? lol
Background and Key Points of Debate
What sparked this discussion is a ‘who we want to see make a surprise appearance’ ranking compiled by the AERA editorial team from a reader survey — it is not confirmed lineup information. NHK’s Kohaku has a history of day-of-broadcast reveals generating buzz, such as Kenshi Yonezu’s added appearance in the past, and this survey’s expectations appear to be shaped by that memory. Opinions split on the thread over what actually counts as a ‘surprise’: some argued that once a name is floated in advance there’s no real surprise left, while others held that it’s precisely the big names who haven’t appeared on music shows in years who deserve the label. The thread also brought up Akina Nakamori’s recent high ratings on music programs, though some posters noted that past Kohaku appearances left them underwhelmed because she leaned on new songs rather than her classic hits — a gap between expectation and actual song choice that the original article alone doesn’t convey.
*This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Geisupo Sokuhō+) thread ‘[Music] Who should make a surprise appearance at Kohaku? No. 4 is Akina Nakamori, No. 3 is a comeback after 14 years — so who’s No. 1?‘
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