Husband and wife duo Humbert Humbert appeared at the rehearsal for the 76th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen, held at the NHK Hall in Shibuya, Tokyo on December 29th. They spoke about their enthusiasm for their first appearance on Kouhaku.
The duo is currently performing the theme song "Waratta Korondari" for the NHK Asadora drama "Bakebake." His wife, Yuho Sano, said, "I think this will be my first and last appearance (at Kohaku), so I'll try my best as usual to avoid being nervous," while her husband, Yoshinari Sato, said, "I think my enthusiasm is to not get too excited. I'd like to do my best as relaxed as possible."
Although he had previously performed at the venue, NHK Hall, the atmosphere was different for the Red and White Song Festival. Sano asked, "I told myself it would be no different to that time, but it wasn't... There were so many people looking busy, so you must have been nervous, right?" Sato replied simply, "Not at all," which caused laughter in the venue.
When a member of the press commented on the exchange between the two, "It's like a comedy act between a married couple," Sato laughed and said, "It's always like this."
He also said that due to his work on the theme song for "Bakebake," he has visited Shimane Prefecture five times this year, and reflected, "This is the first year I've ever visited Shimane so many times."
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 Nahoko Suzuki. Guest judges will include wheelchair tennis player Kaito Oda, actors Akari Takaishi, Taiga Nakano, Nanako Matsushima, voice actress Masako Nozawa, soccer player Kazuyoshi Miura, and literary critic Kaho Miyake. The show will air from 7:20 PM to 11:45 PM on December 31st (with some news interruptions).
