Singer Sayuri Ishikawa appeared at the rehearsal for the 76th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen, held at the NHK Hall in Shibuya, Tokyo on December 29th. This will be Ishikawa's 48th time appearing on Kouhaku, and she commented, "Since my first appearance in 1977, all the faces have changed," expressing her joy, saying, "It's not something that can happen even if you wish for it, so I'm grateful and happy."
During the rehearsal that day, Hiromi Go announced his retirement from Kohaku. When asked by the press how he felt, Ishikawa said, "We debuted around the same year, and we're wonderful friends, so I'm sad that we won't be performing together at Kohaku Uta Gassen, but I think each singer has their own way of dealing with it."
He then spoke about his own "decision to retire," saying, "To be honest, unlike when I was younger, it gets harder every year to maintain my concentration and keep myself in good condition in the short amount of time I have. But as a singer, if people say at the Kohaku next year, 'I'll ring in the New Year listening to Ishikawa's songs,' then as long as I can maintain my concentration, I'm sure I'll continue singing."
This time, he will perform the famous piece "Going Over Amagi" with the NHK Symphony Orchestra. "More than 80 wonderful 'sound balls' will come together... I want to explode on New Year's Eve, I'm looking forward to it!" he said with a smile.
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).
