Oh how things have changed over the years! Back in 1995 when I had just gotten into J-pop and everything was exciting and new, one of the few ways I was able to see the performances of the songs I liked was the annual Kouhaku Uta Gassen special, and it was here I saw artists like Chisato Moritaka, Namie Amuro, Noriko Sakai and the like onstage for the very first time!
Now here we are in 2018 and rather than tuning in to see the songs I love be sung, I’m watching it to hear what songs have been popular in Japan for the last year since I’m so far out of what’s new in J-pop nowadays.
So I’m really watching the Kohaku nowadays to catch up, as each act takes the stage I say to myself, “Oh, so that’s the latest Perfume song! Oh, that’s the latest Kanjani8 song!” LOL
I do note with a certain sense of comfort that a handful of artists who were performing at that very first Red and White festival I watched over 22 years ago are still here, with acts like Seiko Matsuda, Masaharu Fukuyama, Fuyumi Sakamoto, Hiromi Go, Hiroshi Itsuki and Sayuri Ishikawa still commanding the stage like they did all those years ago!
Hell, they even got the once and future “Chairman of the Board” Saburo Kitajima to make a special appearance and that alone is impressive!
Truthfully, the only act I was actively waiting to see perform a song I already knew was K-Pop act TWICE with their song “BDZ” which I really loved. OK, that was kind of a lacklustre performance with the most no-frills stage backdrop ever, but still nice to see the girls….
Out of the newer acts whom I rather dug was Little Glee Monster’s "Sekai wa Anata ni Waraikakete Iru", and looking back at 2017’s Kouhaku post, seems I really liked their song last year, too!
Junretsu’s “Proposal” had a great 70’s throwback sound a la Four Leaves...
Also liked Sexy Zone’s funky "Karakuri Darake no Tenderness” and Hey Say Jumps’ Ultra Music Power...
…And BTW, it’s so weird seeing Shori Sato and Yuto Nakajima singing. I’m so used to them as actors…had really forgot they even were Johnny’s idols!
And speaking of Johnnys, looks like there’s a new act out there with “King and Prince”…guess we’ll be seeing these guys in j-dramas in the near future as well! PS: Gads, who at Johnny’s comes up with these group names????
Ikimonogakari's crowd-rousing song Joyful showcased Kiyoe's unstoppable energy (and reminded me not just a little of Chisato Moritaka’s “Wakarimashita”)...
AKB48 and Nogizaka46 take the stage
Though fun, seeing Da Pump made me think, ‘Huh, those guys are still together?”
VERY interesting seeing a fusing of three generations of J-rock with Yoshiki of X-Japan with Sugizo of Luna Sea on Guitar and Hyde of L’ arc en ciel on vocals performing their song Red Swan…This is like when Jimmy Page, The Edge and Jack White performed together!
Loved the Kiyoshi Hikawa song “Shobu no Hanamichi”,
and the Kana Nishino song “Torisetsu” as well...
Yumi Matsutoya captured hearts with a sentimental filled medley starting with her debut song “Hikouki Gumo (a very Carole King-flavoured song) and “Yasashisa ni Tsutsumareta Nara” which had everyone in tears (including me!!!)
But without a doubt the performance that stole the show for me HAD to be the sweet, sweet Seiko Matsuda Special Medley which had me breaking out in goosebumps as she sang thru some of my all-time fave songs from her like Kaze Tachi Nu, Nagisa no Balcony and especially Tengoku No Kiss…she’s still so mesmerizing even after all these years!
PS: I could have done without Abe Sadao lip synching along, but have to give props to his fanboy "SEIKOCHANNNN!!!" cheer at the end…
Sayuri Ishikawa stepped it up with a ROCK-infused performance of "Amagi Goe” featuring…Tomoyasu Hotei??? MAN, now THIS is some INSPIRED pairing!!!
Arashi sang their new song “Kimi No Uta”, and then, as if thinking, “We’d better sing a song Zdorama knows”, followed it up with the fun “Happiness”!
Southern All-Stars (who are celebrating 40 years in the biz!) closed the show… Man, Keisuke Kuwata must have one of the most distinct J-pop voices of all time, and is it just me or hasn’t Yuko Hara looked almost exactly the same for the last 40 years?!
They really wrapped it all up in a nice, nostalgic bow for me! It’s always nice to revisit the days of J-pop and my yearly viewing of the Kouhaku Uta Gassen does it for me each year!
Also have to mention how insanely adorable pretty Suzu Hirose was…Not really too familiar with this girl though I did see the first episdoe of Ano-ne awhile back…just the cutest darn thing!!!
And I have to say, no matter how famous Mansai Nomura is, whenever I see him, he will ALWAYS be “Mr. Agri Mochizuki” from by beloved NHK Asadora Agri…
OK, that's a wrap!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com