Kouhaku Uta Gassen
 NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen |
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| Presented by | Various (see below) |
| Ending theme | Hotaru no hikari |
| Country of origin | Japan |
| Original language(s) | Japanese |
| No. of episodes | 67 contests |
| Production | |
| Location(s) |
Tokyo Takarazuka Theater (1959-1972) NHK Hall (1973-present) |
| Running time | 4 hours 30 minutes |
| Production company(s) | NHK |
| Release | |
| Original network |
NHK General TV NHK Radio 1 NHK World Premium (Worldwide) |
| Picture format |
576i (SDTV) (1953–present) 720p (HDTV) (2005–present) 1080i (HDTV) (2005–present) 4320p (UHDTV) (2005–present) |
| Original release | January 3, 1951 – present |
| External links | |
| Official website | www1 |
NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen (NHK紅白歌合戦? Enueichikei Kōhaku Uta Gassen), more commonly known as simply Kōhaku, which official translation is "Year-end Song Festival", is an annual music show on New Year's Eve produced by Japanese public broadcaster NHK and broadcast on television and radio, nationally and internationally by the NHK network and by some overseas (mainly cable) broadcasters who buy the program. The show ends shortly before midnight. Before the show began broadcasting on television in late 1953, the show was held on 3 January and only consisted of a radio broadcast.
Literally "Red and White Song Battle", the program divides the most popular music artists of the year into competing teams of red and white. The "red" team or akagumi (赤組, 紅組?) is composed of all female artists (or groups with female vocals), while the "white" team or shirogumi (白組?) is all male (or groups with male vocals). The honor of performing on Kōhaku is strictly by invitation, so only the most successful singing acts in the Japanese entertainment industry can perform. In addition to the actual music performances, the costumes, hair-styles, makeup, dancing, and lighting are important. Even today, a performance on Kōhaku is said to be a big highlight in a singer's career because of the show's wide reach.
The songs and performers are examined by a selection committee put together by NHK. The basis for selection are record sales and adaptability to the edition's theme.
At the same time, a demographic survey is conducted regarding the most popular singers for each and what kind of music people want to hear. This and the song selection explain the of the musical genres and its artists.
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