71st NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen

The 71st NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen (第71回NHK紅白歌合戦, The 71st NHK Red & White Song Battle) was the 2020 (Reiwa 2) edition of NHK's television special Kōhaku Uta Gassen, held on December 31, 2020, live from NHK Hall (Tokyo, Japan), and broadcast in Japan through NHK General Television and NHK Radio 1, and worldwide through TV Japan (US only) and NHK World Premium.

The 71st NHK Red & White Year-End Song Festival
第71回NHK紅白歌合戦: 夢を歌おう
GenreMusic, Variety, Special
Created byTsumoru Kondo
Directed byYukinori Kida
Presented by
Starring
Judges
Theme music composerJohn Turner, Geoffrey Parsons
Opening theme"Smile"
Ending theme"Hotaru no Hikari"
Composers
  • Takahiro Kaneko
  • Tsunaki Mihara
Country of originJapan
Original languageJapanese
Production
Production locationNHK Hall
Running time265 minutes
Production companyNHK Enterprise Inc.
DistributorThe Japan Foundation
NHK International
Release
Original network
Picture formatHDTV, 1080i, 4K, 8K
Audio formatSurround 7.1
Original releaseDecember 31, 2020 (2020-12-31)
Chronology
Preceded by70th (2019)
Followed by72nd (TBD)
External links
Website

This was the first edition in history in which the special was broadcast without a studio audience due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The audience was replaced with off-venue voting, in which votes determined the winning team for this event.[1] This was the last edition until 2022 to be held in the NHK Hall as the venue will close for renovations and earthquake-proofing, which is scheduled to end some time in June 2022; the next edition will take place at the Tokyo International Forum.

The Red Team won the edition for the first time since 2016, four years prior.[2]

Events leading up to broadcast

Unless otherwise stated, all events in the article reflects the current year of 2020.

  • On September 10, NHK chairman Terunobu Maeda announced that the edition will be closed-door due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a first in history for the Kōhaku Uta Gassen. The special was also delayed by 15 minutes till 7.45pm.[1]
  • On November 2, NHK announced Teruyoshi Uchimura and Maho Kuwako as the show's moderators, the latter returning after a year's absence and replacing Mayuko Wakuda on her behalf; Fumi Nikaido and Yo Oizumi were the team leaders for the Red and White teams, respectively. The theme for that season is "今こそ歌おう みんなでエール" (lit. "Everyone Let's Sing and Yell Together"; Ima koso utaou min'na de ēru)[3]
  • On November 16, NHK announced the performers; nine performers making their debut this season including Sakurazaka46,[注 1] Juju, Tokyo Jihen, NiziU, Babymetal, Milet, SixTones and Snow Man. Music group Greeeen also performed in the opening.[4]
  • On December 12, Yumi Matsutoya announced she would step down from the Red team and be performing a special song, "Mamotte Agetai".
  • On December 13, Ryota Yamasato and Naomi Watanabe were revealed as hosts for the special.[5]
  • On December 14, Masashi Sada was announced to appear in one of the Specials; this is Sada's first appearance after a 13-year hiatus since 2007, and the 22nd artist to have surpass 20 Kōhaku Uta Gassen appearances.
  • On December 21, the song lists for the performers were unveiled.
  • On December 23, Yoasobi also announced their debut with the new song "Yoru ni Kakeru", marking the first instance the performer making their debut was not involved physically.
  • On December 24, Snow Man announces their withdrawal from the show after one of the members for the band, Ryota Miyadate, was tested positive for COVID-19.[6] This is the first time since the 22nd edition, 49 years prior, where a withdrawal of performances occurred, also due to health reasons (Hiroshi Uchiyamada and Cool Five's singer Kiyoshi Maekawa was ill and was replaced by Keiko Fuji on one of the performances). Snow Man could have performed "D.D." alongside SixTones on the first half.[7] X Japan and Yoasobi also announced their special song lineup.
  • On December 28, the order of performances was unveiled.
  • On December 30, rehearsals were underway. One singer, Kōji Tamaki, revealed his song lineup "Den-en" to be performed as a special on the second half of the show; this is Tamaki's first Special performance since the 47th event in 1996, 24 years prior.[8]

Show highlights and other statistics
  • Hiroshi Miyama set a world record for the most players involved in a Kendama playing, with 125 (including host Oizumi), surpassing the previous record of 124 in the 2018 event two years ago. This was the fourth consecutive year Miyama had attempted to achieve a world record, hence the subtitle "Round 4", and the second consecutive year with 125 performers after the failure on last year.
  • This is Arashi's final involvement in Kōhaku Uta Gassen after 12 consecutive years of appearance due to the band taking a hiatus announced on January 27, 2019.[9]
  • NiziU became the fastest artist/group to have appeared in a Kōhaku Uta Gassen since their debut on December 2, 29 days ago (the previous holder was WaT in the 2002's edition, appearing in just 1 month and 29 days after their debut).
  • Veteran singer Hiroshi Itsuki became the second performer to have made more than 50 appearances in Kōhaku Uta Gassen (the first being Saburō Kitajima who achieved this distinction in 2013) and the first performer to appear 50 times consecutively.

Personnel

Presenters

Judges

Guests

Additional crew

Artist lineup
Performers

 Debuting artists   Returning artists   Special performances 

Red Team White Team
Order Artist Appearance Song Order Artist Appearance Song
Front half
2Foorin2"Paprika"
（パプリカ）		 1King & Prince3"I Promise"
4Milet1"Inside You" 3Keisuke Yamauchi6"Koisuru Machikado"
（恋する街角）
5Hinatazaka462"Azato Kawaii"
(アザトカワイイ)		 7Hey! Say! JUMP4"Kōhaku Special ~Min'na de ēru 2020~"[注 2]
（紅白SPメドレー ～みんなでエール2020～）
6Sakurazaka461[注 1]Nobody's Fault
8Little Glee Monster4"Ashiato"
(足跡)		 9SixTones1Imitation Rain
10Kaori Mizumori18"Seto Inland Shodoshima ～2020 Shine Special～"
（瀬戸内 小豆島 ～2020映えSP～）		 11Generations2You & I
13Fuyumi Sakamoto32"Buddha no yō ni Watashi wa Shinda"
（ブッダのように私は死んだ）		 12Junretsu3"Ai o Kudasai 〜Don't you cry〜"
（愛をください ～Don't you cry～）
15Yoshimi Tendo25"Anta no Hanamichi ~Fukkin taiko midareuchi SP ~"
（あんたの花道 ～腹筋太鼓乱れ打ちSP～）		 14Kis-My-Ft22"We Never Give Up!"
Special performance / Masashi Sada "Kiseki 2021"
16Nogizaka466"Route 246" 17Masayuki Suzuki3"Yume de Aetara"
（夢で逢えたら）
"Ima koso utaou min'na de ēru" Special performance "Kohaku Disney Medley"

King & Prince and Nogizaka46 / "When You Wish Upon a Star"（星に願いを）
Fumi Nikaido and Kiyoshi Hikawa / "A Whole New World"（ホール・ニュー・ワールド）
Naomi Watanabe, King & Prince and Nogizaka46 / "It's a Small World"（小さな世界）

18Hiroshi Itsuki50"Sanga"
(山河)
Back half
19NiziU1Make You Happy
21Perfume13"Perfume Medley 2020"[注 3] 20Eito1"Kōsui"
22Babymetal1"Ijime, Dame, Zettai"
（イジメ、ダメ、ゼッタイ）		 23Hiromi Go33Kyohei Tsutsumi Homage Suite[注 4]
（筒美京平 トリビュートメドレー）
24Juju1"Yasashisa de Afureru yō ni"
（やさしさで溢れるように）
Web drama serial special Yell
Greeeen Starlit Kōhaku Special [注 5]
25Arashi12Arashi x Kōhaku 2020 Nonstop Medley[注 6]
（嵐×紅白2020スペシャルメドレー）
26LiSA2Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Kōhaku medley[注 7]
（アニメ「鬼滅の刃」紅白SPメドレー）		 27Official Hige Dandism2"I Love..."
29Yoasobi1"Yoru ni Kakeru"
（夜に駆ける）		 28Hiroshi Miyama6"Kita no On'na Machi～Round 4 Road to Kendama World Record～
（北のおんな町 ～第4回 けん玉世界記録への道～）
31Tokyo Jihen1[注 8]"Leap & Peal Active End Mark"
（うるうるうるう〜能動的閏〆篇〜）		 30Kanjani Eight9"Let's dance together! Positive scream!"
（みんなで踊ろう！前向きスクリーム！）
33Aimyon2"Hadaka no Kokoro"
（裸の心）		 32Yuzu11"After the Rain Reruya / I Qant to Protect ～Ode to Joy Kōhaku SP～"
（雨のち晴レルヤ ～歓喜の歌 紅白SP～）
Yoshiki "Endless Rain"
34Superfly5"Ai o Komete Hanataba o"
（愛をこめて花束を）		 35Mr. Children2"Documentary film"
36Sayuri Ishikawa43Amagi-goe
（天城越え）		 37Gen Hoshino6"Uchi de Odorō (ōmisoka)"
（うちで踊ろう (大晦日)）
39Seiko Matsuda24"Ruriiro no Chikyū 2020"
（瑠璃色の地球 2020）		 38Kiyoshi Hikawa21"Genkai Toppa × Survivor"
（限界突破×サバイバー）
Yumi Matsutoya "Mamotte Agetai"（守ってあげたい）
Kōji Tamaki "Den'en"
41Misia5"Ai no Katachi"
（アイノカタチ）		 40Masaharu Fukuyama13"Kazoku ni Narō yo/ Fighting Pose"
（家族になろうよ）

Voting system and results

Voting is conducted after all the performances, and unlike the past two editions, the winning team is determined by the votes cast, due to a change in the voting format as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Red Team was announced the winner in a 2,635,200-1,383,180 vote.

References

Citations
  1. NHK紅白歌合戦 史上初の無観客開催、会長会見で発表 放送時間も15分短縮 (in Japanese). スポニチ. 2020-09-10. Archived from the original on 2020-09-10. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  2. "Red team wins the '71st NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen'". Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  3. 紅白歌合戦、白組司会は大泉洋、紅組は二階堂ふみが初の大役 総合司会は内村光良. 每日體育. 株式会社每日體育. 2020-11-02. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  4. ＮｉｚｉＵ、瑛人ら10組初出場／紅白出場歌手一覧 (in Japanese). 日刊スポーツ. 2020-11-16. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
  5. 紅白ウラトークチャンネル　ウラトーク司会決定！，NHK，2020年12月13日。
  6. "Snow Man's Ryota Miyadate Tests Positive for COVID-19". Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  7. お知らせ，NHK，2020年12月24日。
  8. 玉置浩二24年ぶり紅白、「田園」をオーケストラと, 日刊スポーツ 2020年12月30日
  9. "嵐、2020年をもってグループ活動休止 ファンクラブサイトで電撃発表（スポーツ報知）". Yahoo!ニュース (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2019-01-27. Retrieved 2019-01-27.

Notes
    1. If appearances under their former name Keyakizaka46 were counted, this would have been their fifth appearance.
    2. Sang "Ultra Music Power" and "Asu e no Yell" in order.
    3. Sang "Dream Fighter", "Baby Cruising Love" and "Time Warp" in order.
    4. Sang "男の子女の子" and "よろしく哀愁" in order.
    5. Sang "Hoshikage no Yell" and "Kiseki" in order.
    6. Sang "Kite", "Kimi no Uta", and "Happiness" in order.
    7. Sang "Gurenge" and "Homura" in order.
    8. Lead singer Ringo Sheena's seventh appearance.
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