Continuing on with Arashi in toto paired up with a lovely lass as Team Leaders, we have the cute ’n’ goofy Yuriko Yoshitaka as this year’s Red Captain against Arashi’s White team!
Must say....Yuriko's lookin' pretty darn fine!
The show opened with a bang as HKT48 covered the stage with their girlish charms…
followed by Sexy Zone (who are now a trio, it seems) to balance things out…
Then for a little more sass E-Girls came out to up the ante
and is quickly countered with a sombre AAA
We are introduced to the judges, and…HEY! Is that Jiro and Naoko from TRICK sitting there??? They must be working on a case! (PS: Betcha Tamori turns out to be the killer!)
SKE48, NMB48, AKB48…Holy HECK, NHK Hall is being simply overRUN with “48” Girls!!! If they ever decided to pool their resources, these gals could take over the world!!!!
Not to be outdone by the girls, Hiromi Go came out with the loudest suit in the place…
And then it was time for some refinement with elegant Ayako Fujii...
...before heading out to electronic land with Perfume (where Yuriko and A-chan compare notes to see who’s the most air-headed, LOL)…
A killer duet between T.M. Revolution and Nana Mizuki (and BTW I have to say I think Nana is one of the most passionate performers out there, she’s always so damn GENKI!!!)
Some R&B with Sandaime J Soul Brothers and a sweet performance by Kana Nishino
Enka with Kaori Kozai and Natsuko Godai
and Takashi Hosokawa encouraging the judges to get blitzed before casting their votes….
Powerhouse Yoshimi Tendo belts out "Yappa Sukiyanen”
And things get rustic with Fuyumi Sakamoto doing "Otoko no Himatsuri” backed by Momoiro Clover Z as hard-working farmers (LOL)
Man, does this capture look like a 1960’s Japanese Movie Lobby Poster, and BOY, MomoClo have got to be the zaniest girl group ever! Can’t help but smile when you see them!
They then carried the zaniness to their own performance of "My Dear Fellow"
HAHA, ya gotta laugh watching these gals...
As if sensing that not even THEY could out-silly Momoiro Clover Z, Kanjani8 went the serious route this time with pop ballad "Omoidama”…
Akiko Wada is back to KICK YOUR BUTTS.
And then after YEARS of waiting, V6 FINALLY make their Kohaku debut with their song "Wa ni Natte Odoro"
Kiyoshi Mikawa does his best Choschirro with "Choito Kimaguren Wataridori”...
...while Kaori Mizumori looks like she fell in a tub of whipped cream for her performance of "Shimane Koi Tabi”, LOL
Time is taken to introduce the star of next year’s NHK Asadora “Mare” with insanely adorable Tao Tsuchiya as the titular character!
Fun and energetic Ikimonogakari are back with “Golden Girl” (man, the lead singer is full of so much vitality!!!)
Did I ever mention the first timeI ever saw Kyary Pamyu Pamyu? I was in a store in the country with a small electronic section and Pon Pon Pon was playing on a loop on the TV. I didn’t even register the song as Japanese, it sounded and looked so ALIEN! “Th-this looks like...insanity!” I gasped, but couldn’t take my EYES off her! That was my introduction to the Harajuku Chanteuse, and from her performance of “Kirakira Kira” here, it looks like she’s as stunningly STRANGE as ever!
Next came TOKIO, doing the song that introduced me to them at one of the very first Kohakus I ever saw, their first single LOVE YOU ONLY!
Ah, we spent many a night crooning this tune out at the karaoke bars, I tell ya….
Not an especially huge fan of FROZEN, but as a lifelong fan of both RENT and WICKED, I have to say how thrilled I was to see Idina Menzel onstage!!! (Okay, she wasn’t really there, but still….)
Taking a cue from TOKIO, SMAP brought out their happy song “SHAKE” as this year’s tune before going into “Sekai ni Hitotsu Dake No Hana” and “Top of The World”… Shake was one of my early favorites from the guys and really loved hearing it here!!!
Girls 'n' Guitars with Miwa and Sheena Ringo...
...and Miyuki Nakajima reminds us that when it comes to “eclectic” she is the ORIGINAL, with “Mugi No Uta”!
Sayuri Ishikawa's back with yet another performance of “Amagi Goe”
Akina Nakamori made a special appearance beamed in from somewhere…would have been so great to see her actually there!
And speaking of which, Masaharu Fukuyama phones in his performance, as does Southern All-Stars…I'm sensing a trend here...
For the White team we had Arashi who pulled no stops as THE vaudeville act of the 00’s…
and for the Festival Closer we had the Idol Princess herself, Ms. Seiko Matsuda, who gave a very heartfelt performance but probably not “festive” enough to rouse the crowd into a BIG finale…
Though I love Seiko and respect the honor it is to have her close the Kohaku, I think they should have switched the acts and have Arashi’s wacky Circus Event close the show for maximum effect!
All in all yet another thoroughly entertaining show!!!
PS: And in case you forgot, Momoiro Clover Z reminds you one more time that they are the zaniest girls ever!!!
Neither her or Shin have ever talked to each other before, despite living on the same floor, but thanks to Kotaro, they interact for the first time and a friendship is formed.
