72nd NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen
The 72nd NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen (第72回NHK紅白歌合戦, lit. 'The 72nd NHK Red & White Song Battle') is the upcoming (Reiwa 3) edition of NHK's television special Kōhaku Uta Gassen, to be held on December 31, 2021, live from the hall A of Tokyo International Forum (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. Yo Oizumi, Haruna Kawaguchi & Mayuko Wakuda will serve as show hosts.[1]
| 72nd NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Also known as | 72nd NHK Red & White Year-End Song Festival |
| 第72回NHK紅白歌合戦: Colorful〜カラフル〜 | |
| Genre | Music, Variety, Special |
| Created by | Tsumoru Kondo |
| Directed by | Yukinori Kida |
| Presented by | Haruna Kawaguchi Yo Oizumi Mayuko Wakuda |
| Starring | Shunichi Tokura |
| Theme music composer | Thomas Bangalter Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo |
| Opening theme | "Around the World" |
| Ending theme | "Hotaru no Hikari" |
| Composers |
|
| Country of origin | Japan |
| Original language | Japanese |
| Production | |
| Production location | Tokyo International Forum |
| Running time | 265 minutes |
| Production company | NHK Enterprise Inc. |
| Distributor | The Japan Foundation NHK International |
| Release | |
| Original network | |
| Picture format | HDTV, 1080i, 4K, 8K |
| Audio format | Surround 7.1 |
| Original release | December 31, 2021 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | 71st (2020) |
| Followed by | 73rd (TBD) |
| External links | |
| Website | |
About the show
This year's edition will take place on Tokyo International Forum, since the usual venue, NHK Hall is currently undergoing renovations, to be done in time for the 73rd edition (2022). Starting this year, there will be no longer separate hosts for the Red and White team. Instead, the hosts will share duties with the general host, encouraging the performers, regardless of their gender. The theme for the 72nd edition is "Colorful", based on a idea of "I want to make the world as colorful as possible on the last night of 2021". The new logo for the show is also introduced: it is a gradient image that goes from red to white.[2]
This will be the first edition in two years to be held with an audience, with a certain number of spectators. After 50 appearances (the last being in 2020), Hiroshi Itsuki announced that he will not participate in this Kouhaku during a concert held on October 17th.
Once again, Shunichi Tokura will conduct the choir in the closing song "Hotaru no Hikari".
Artist lineup
Debuting artists Returning artists Special performances
| Red Team | White Team | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Artist | Appearance | Artist | Appearance |
| Ai | 4 | KAT-TUN | 1 |
| Aimyon | 3 | Kanjani Eight | 10 |
| Sayuri Ishikawa | 44 | King & Prince | 4 |
| Awesome City Club | 1 | Hiromi Go | 34 |
| Mone Kamishiraishi | 1 | Generations from Exile Tribe | 3 |
| Fuyumi Sakamoto | 33 | Junretsu | 4 |
| Sakurazaka46 | 2 | Masayuki Suzuki | 4 |
| Yoshimi Tendo | 26 | SixTones | 2 |
| Tokyo Jihen | 2 | Snow Man | 1 |
| NiziU | 2 | Dish | 1 |
| Nogizaka46 | 7 | Bump of Chicken | 2 |
| Perfume | 14 | Kiyoshi Hikawa | 22 |
| Bish | 1 | Dai Hirai | 1 |
| Hinatazaka46 | 3 | Masaharu Fukuyama | 14 |
| Seiko Matsuda | 25 | Gen Hoshino | 7 |
| Misia | 6 | Tomoyasu Hotei | 1 |
| Kaori Mizumori | 19 | Mafumafu | 1 |
| Milet | 2 | Hiroshi Miyama | 7 |
| Millennium Parade × Belle | 1 | Hiroji Miyamoto | 2 |
| Hiroko Yakushimaru | 2 | Keisuke Yamauchi | 7 |
| Yoasobi | 2 | Yuzu | 12 |
| Lisa | 3 | ||