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New Year's 67th Kōhaku Song Contest Gets Team Representatives

There are many New Year's traditions in Japan, like staying up to watch the sunrise, making a pilgrimage to a local temple, and tuning into the Kōhaku Uta Gassen singing contest. The program feature a Red team and a White team, each with a respective representative. For the program's 67th year, NHK announced actress Kasumi Arimura (When Marnie Was There, Strobe Edge, ERASED, March comes in like a lion live-action films) will helm the Red Team and male idol Masaki Aiba will helm the White Team.

This year's contest's theme is "Yume o Utaou" (Let's sing a dream).

Last year's contest was the lowest-rated on record. It included the special "Anime Kōhaku." In "Anime Kōhaku," the singers performed anime theme songs. Like the rest of the Kōhaku Uta Gassen, "Anime Kōhaku" had a red team (female performers) and white team (male performers). Maruko, the title character in the popular long-running anime Chibi Maruko-chan, represented the red team and Whisper from Yo-kai Watch represented the white team. Performances included Love Live!'s μ's, BUMP OF CHICKEN, and Superfly, as well as 34-year-old singer Gen Hoshino, 19-year-old Sakurako Ohara, Rebecca, and the four-person band Gesu no Kiwami Otome.

Source: Music Natalie