Singers Leon Shinhama, Noritake Kinashi, and George Tokoro appeared at the rehearsal for the 75th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen(General and other channels) held at the NHK Hall in Shibuya, Tokyo on December 28th.
Kinashi and Tokoro appeared as support guests for Leon Shinhama, who was participating for the first time. The song that Shinhama performed, "Subete Ageyou," was produced by Kinashi and written and composed by Tokoro. Kinashi also came up with the idea for the "hiza sura" that Shinhama performs at the end of the song.
Tokoro, who will be appearing on Kohaku for the first time in his 47-year career in the entertainment industry, expressed his sympathy for Niihama, saying, "I've appeared on the show before as a judge. I'm happy to be appearing, but I'm simply happy that Leon was able to go."
She added, "Thanks to Leon, I was invited to appear on NHK. I've been working in the entertainment industry for a long time, but I've never had a rehearsal. I was really moved."
Shinhama chose the kanji character for this year as "determination," saying, "I aimed for the Kouhaku and I think it came true. But I think it also means determination. I think this is just the start, so the character "determination" was chosen." He added, "Anyway, I've been working hard to aim for the Kouhaku stage, so I'm very happy and honored."
The 75th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen will be broadcast on December 31st from 7:20pm to 11:45pm (with some news breaks). Hiroiki Ariyoshi, Kanna Hashimoto, Sari Ito, and announcer Naoko Suzuki will be the hosts.
