The idol group AKB48 appeared at the rehearsal for the 76th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen, which was held at the NHK Hall in Shibuya, Tokyo on December 29th. At the press conference, former members Atsuko Maeda, Takahashi Minami, and Oshima Yuko also pumped their fists in excitement, saying, "We'll do our best!"
This will be the group's 13th appearance, six years after their 70th appearance in 2019, and to commemorate their 20th anniversary, they will be joined by eight former members: Maeda, Takahashi, Oshima, Kojima Haruna, Itano Tomomi, Minegishi Minami, Kashiwagi Yuki, and Sashihara Rino. Together with the current members, they will perform a "20th Anniversary Super Hit Medley" of songs including "Flying Get," "Heavy Rotation," "Koi Suru Fortune Cookie," and "Aitakatta."
The fourth general manager, Kuranoo Narumi, said, "As it is our 20th anniversary, we will liven up the stage together with all the graduates. We want to make this a place where we can show the feelings that have been passed down up until now and the future of AKB48."
When asked about her impression of the current AKB48, Takahashi, the first general manager, said with a smile, "They have amazing skills and a lot of cute girls! For us (graduates), this might be the last Kohaku of our lives (laughs). We want to cherish it." However, after a long time of being an idol, she said she felt her "physical strength has declined," adding with a wry smile, "I'm not recovering as well after a live performance. It was also difficult to remember our positions."
The theme of the 76th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen is "Connecting, Connecting, New Year's Eve," and it will be hosted by Hiroiki Ariyoshi, Haruka Ayase, Mio Imada, and announcer Naoko Suzuki. It will be broadcast from 7:20 pm to 11:45 pm on December 31st (with some news breaks).
