70th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen

The 70th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen (第70回NHK紅白歌合戦, The 70th NHK Red & White Song Battle) was the 2019 edition of NHK's television special Kōhaku Uta Gassen, held on December 31 live from NHK Hall (Tokyo, Japan), and broadcast in Japan through NHK General Television and NHK Radio 1, and worldwide through TV Japan (US only) and NHK World Premium. This is the first edition in the Reiwa period. The WHITE TEAM won this event.

70th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen
Official artwork for the 70th edition
Also known asThe 70th NHK Red & White Year-End Song Festival
第70回NHK紅白歌合戦: 夢を歌おう
GenreMusic, Variety, Special
Created byTsumoru Kondo
Directed byYukinori Kida
Presented by
Starring
Judges
Ending theme"Hotaru no Hikari"
Composers
  • Takahiro Kaneko
  • Tsunaki Mihara
Country of originJapan
Original languageJapanese
Production
Production locationNHK Hall
Running time265 minutes
Production companyNHK Enterprise Inc.
Original release
Network
ReleaseDecember 31, 2019 (2019-12-31)

Events leading up to Broadcast

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This is the last year using the theme "Let's Sing a Dream" (夢を歌おう), which remained unchanged since the 67th edition (2016), in support of the upcoming 2020 Summer Olympics and 2020 Summer Paralympics.[1]

First details about this year's event were revealed on October 3. The event ran from 19:15 to 23:45 JST, with a 5-minute break for the latest news. NHK chairman Ryoichi Ueda declared: "First in Reiwa Period, 70th overall. I hope that the 70th Kōhaku Uta Gassen will remain in the hearts of many people, worthly of commemorative event".[2]

On October 18, actress Haruka Ayase and Arashi member Sho Sakurai were announced as captains from Red and White Team. Teruyoshi Uchimura served as mediator for the third time in a row.

On November 11, Hinatazaka46 is announced as the first artist confirmed for this edition. The full lineup was revealed on November 14. Eight artists debuted in this edition: Official Hige Dandism, Generations from Exile Tribe, Masaki Suda, King Gnu, Kis-My-Ft2, Foorin, Hinatazaka46 and the anisong singer LiSA. Hibari Misora was revived using AI technology to perform a brand new song, "Arekara", written by Yasushi Akimoto, most notably for producing idol groups such as AKB48.

On November 22, Mariya Takeuchi was announced as a performer to celebrate the 40th anniversary of her career and perform "Inochi no Uta".

On November 25, Radwimps was announced as a performer due to great success of the animated feature Tenki no Ko.

On November 27, the Kōhaku Uratalk Channel were announced.

On December 18, the judges were announced with the voting system from last year still unchanged.

On December 20, the full song list was revealed. The performance order was revealed on December 27, with Foorin opening the show and Arashi serving as "Ootori". Rehearsals for the performances began on December 29.

Personnel

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Presenters

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Other program staff

Judges

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Guests

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Additional crew

  • Yasushi Akimoto (Lyrics from "Arekara"; AKB48/46GROUP producer)
  • Yamaha Corporation (Vocaloid:AI System & Equipments for Hibari Misora performance)
  • Tsunaki Mihara & The New Breed (Additional backing track)

Artist lineup

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Performers

  Debuting artists   Returning artists

Red Team
Artist Appearance Song
Aiko 14 Hanabi
Ikimono-gakari 11 Kaze ga Fuiteiru
Sayuri Ishikawa 42 Tsugaru Kaikyō Fuyugeshiki
AKB48 12 Koi Suru Fortune Cookie ~Kōhaku World Selection SP~
Midori Oka 3 Kami no Tsuru
Keyakizaka46 4 Fukyōwaon
Fuyumi Sakamoto 31 Iwai Zake ~Shuku! Reiwa Version~
Ringo Shiina 7 Jinsei wa Yume Darake ~Onegai Gattten Hen~
Aya Shimazu 6 Ito
Superfly 4 Flare
Yoshimi Tendo 24 Osaka Koishigure
Twice 3 Let's Dance Medley 2019
Nogizaka46 5 Synchronicity
Perfume 12 Fusion ~Kōhaku Version~
Hinatazaka46 Debut Kyun
Foorin Debut Paprika ~Kōhaku Special Version~
Seiko Matsuda 23 Seiko Best Single Medley
Misia 5 Ai no Katachi Medley
Kaori Mizumori 17 Takato Sakura Michi ~Illusion Special~
LiSA Debut Gurenge
Little Glee Monster 3 Echo
White Team
Artist Appearance Song
Arashi 11 Arashi x Kōhaku Special Medley
Hiroshi Itsuki 49 Viva La Vida! ~Ikiterutte Iine~
Official Hige Dandism Debut Pretender
Kanjani Eight 8 Kanjani Eight Maemuki ni Kibatte Koze! Osaka Medley
Kis-My-Ft2 Debut Everybody Go
King & Prince 2 King & Prince ~Kōhaku Special Medley~
King Gnu Debut Hakujitsu
Hiromi Go 32 2 Oku 4 Senman no Hitomi ~Exotic Go! Go! Japan~
Generations Debut Experience Greatness
Junretsu 2 Junretsu no Happy Birthday
Masaki Suda Debut Machigai Sagashi
Da Pump 7 Da Pump ~One Team Medley~
Kiyoshi Hikawa 20 Kiyoshi Genkai Toppa Special Medley
Masaharu Fukuyama 12 Debut 30 Shunen Chokuzen Special Medley[a]
Hey! Say! JUMP 3 Ue wo Muite Arukō ~Reiwa Special Version~
Gen Hoshino 5 Same Thing
Daichi Miura 3 Blizzard
Hiroshi Miyama 6 Bokyo Sanga ~Dai 3 Kai Kendama Sekai Kiroku e no Michi~
Keisuke Yamauchi 5 Kuchibiru Scarlet
Yuzu 10 Kōhaku Special Medley 2019–2020[b]
Radwimps[c] 2 Tenki no Ko Kōhaku Special
  1. ^ Livestream from Fukuyama's Countdown Concert at Pacifico Yokohama.
  2. ^ Planned to be "Eikō no Kakehashi" and "Seimei" arranged by Masataka Matsutoya.
  3. ^ With Tōko Miura.
Special Performances
Songs Performed on Medleys
  • Masaharu Fukuyama: "Hello", "Niji", "Zero"
  • Twice: "TT -Japanese ver.-", "Fancy -Japanese ver.-"
  • Da Pump: "P.A.R.T.Y. ~Universe Festival~", "U.S.A."
  • King & Prince: "Cinderella Girl", "Koi-Wazurai"
  • Kanjani Eight: "Zukkoke Otoko Michi", "Maemuki Scream"
  • Perfume: "Fusion", "Polyrhythm"
  • Radwimps: "Grand Escape", "Daijoubu"
  • Yuzu: "Eikō no Kakehashi", "Seimei"
  • Kiyoshi Hikawa: "Daijōbu", "Genkai Toppa x Survivor"
  • Seiko Matsuda: "Jikan no Kuni no Alice", "Rock'n Rouge", "Cherry Blossom", "Natsu no Tobira"
  • Misia: "Ai no Katachi", "Into the Light", "Everything"
  • Arashi: "Arashi", "Turning Up"
Special performances
Disney Section – performers
Not returning this year

Voting system and results

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The current voting system, implemented in the 69th edition (2018) was unchanged. As it was last year, the winner was determined within 3 points.

  • Viewers: 1 point for the team who get more votes through 1-Seg.
  • Audience: 1 point for the team who get more votes through the NHK Hall audience.
  • Judges: 1 point for the team who gets 6 or more votes from 11 judges.

Voting was carried after all artists performed. The team that gets 2 or more votes were declared winner of the 70th Kōhaku.

Results
Method Votes Points
Red Team White Team
Guest Judges 6 5 Red
NHK Hall Audience 1002 1361 White
Viewers (Japan only) 332.394 437.825 White
Winner White Team

References

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  1. ^ テーマ第67回NHK紅白歌合戦 夢を歌おう (in Japanese). Japan Broadcasting Corporation. September 8, 2016. Archived from the original on November 15, 2016. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
  2. ^ "For the first time in Reiwa, 70th Kōhaku Utagassen broadcast time is decided" (in Japanese). Nikkan Sports.