58th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen
The , referred to from here on as "Kōhaku," aired on December 31, 2007, on NHK Hall in Japan. The music show on New Year's Eve is broadcast on both television and radio, and divides the most popular music artists of the year into competing teams of red and white. Air time was from 19:20 to 23:45 (with an interruption from 21:25 to 21:30 for news). All times are JST. Chairpersons *Red team host: Masahiro Nakai *White team host: Tsurube Shōfukutei *Mediators: Kazuya Matsumoto and Miki Sumiyoshi *Radio announcers: Sen Odagiri and Ai Tsukahara Performance listing Results The winners were the shirogumi, the white team, which was revealed by illuminating the darkened Tokyo Tower in blue-white light. Viewing percentages in the Kantō region were 32.8% for the first section and 39.5% for the second. Judges * Aoi Miyazaki * Momoko Ueda * Hideki Okajima * Isao Aoki * Nakamura Kanzaburō XVIII * Yui Aragaki * Ken Mogi * Mariko Bando * Tomonori Jinnai External links ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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NHK Hall
The NHK Hall is a concert hall located at the NHK Broadcasting Center, the main headquarters of Japan's Public broadcasting, public broadcaster NHK. The hall is the main venue for the NHK Symphony Orchestra, but it has also played host to other events, such as the 1979 Japan Music Awards and NHK's annual New Year's Eve special ''Kōhaku Uta Gassen''. History The original NHK Hall opened in 1955 at a location in Tokyo's Uchisaiwai-cho district. Several live programmes were broadcast from the hall, such as ''Song Plaza'', ''Kōhaku Uta Gassen'', and ''Personal Secrets''. In 1973, a new NHK Hall was established in Shibuya, Tokyo, at the site of NHK's new headquarters, the NHK Broadcasting Center. The acoustics for the hall were designed by Minoru Nagata, later of Nagata Acoustics, while TOA Corporation provided the hall's sound equipment. On April 9, 2019, it was announced that it will be closed from March 2021 to June 2022 due to seismic retrofitting, construction, renovation and ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mitsuko Nakamura
Mitsuko is a feminine Japanese given name. Written forms The name Mitsuko is generally written with the kanji characters 光 and 子 which, when translated into English can mean "light, child" or "shining, child". Mitsuko can have different meanings depending on which kanji characters are used to write the name. Some possible variations of the name Mitsuko are: *光子, "light, child" *充子, "provide, child" *満子, "satisfy/full, child" *睦子, "harmonious/intimate/friendly, child" *三子, "third child" *密子, "carefulness/secrecy, child" *蜜子, "honey/nectar/molasses, child" People with the name *Mitsuko Baisho (倍賞 美津子 ''Baishō Mitsuko''), a Japanese actress * Mitsuko Coudenhove (クーデンホーフ 光子 ''Kūdenhōfu Mitsuko''), the mother of Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi *, Japanese concubine *Mitsuko Horie (堀江 美都子 ''Horie Mitsuko'', born 1957), a Japanese singer and voice actress *, Japanese ice hockey player *Mitsuko Mito (水戸光子 '' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Leah Dizon
Leah Donna Dizon (born September 24, 1986) is an American former singer, model and media personality.Leah Dizon Official Blog – Profile After moving to in early 2006 to pursue an entertainment career, she made her recording debut on later that same year. Early life and career 1986–2004: Childhood and youth Leah Donna Dizon was born in , Nevada, on September 24, 1986. Her ...[...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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AKB48
AKB48 (pronounced ''A.K.B. Forty-Eight'') is a Japanese idol musical girl group named after the Akihabara area in Tokyo, where the group's theater is located. AKB48 has sold more records than any other female musical act in Japanese history. AKB48's producer, Yasushi Akimoto, wanted to form a girl group with its own theater and performing daily so fans could always see them live (which is not the case with usual pop groups giving occasional concerts and seen on television). This "Idols You Can Meet" concept includes teams which can rotate performances and perform simultaneously at several events and "handshake" events, where fans can meet group members. Akimoto has expanded the AKB48 concept to several girl groups within Japan, and internationally in Mainland China, Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan, Philippines and Malaysia. AKB48 have been characterized as a social phenomenon. They are among the highest-earning musical acts in Japan, and are the List of best-selling girl groups#Be ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kiyoshi Maekawa
is a Japanese singer and ''tarento''. He is best known as the first lead vocalist of Hiroshi Uchiyamada and Cool Five, which was formed in 1967 and debuted in 1969 with the Japan Record Award-winning song "Nagasaki wa Kyō mo Ame Datta". As a frontman of the band, he spawned multiple hit singles such as "Awazu ni Aishite", "Uwasa no Onna","Soshite, Kōbe", "Nakanoshima Blues" and "Tokyo Sabaku" during the 1970s. In 1982, he released his first solo single "Yuki Ressha" composed and produced by Grammy-winning musician Ryuichi Sakamoto, and left the group five years later. During his solo career, he released only one top-20 hit "Himawari" in 2002, a ballad contributed by Masaharu Fukuyama. Aside from the recording career, Maekawa has also built up popularity as a TV star, appearing on some television shows hosted by comedians such as Kinichi Hagimoto and The Drifters, airing around the latter half of 1970s and the 1980s. Personal life He is also known as a former spouse of t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kaori Mizumori
(born 31 August 1973) is a Japanese enka singer with Tokuma Japan Communications is a publisher in Japan, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. The company was established in 1954 by Yasuyoshi Tokuma in Minato, Tokyo. The company's product portfolio includes music publishing, video game publishing, movies, anime, magazines, man .... Her real name is . She started her enka singing career in 1995. Her songs are usually titled after Japanese landmarks and Japanese nature, which are widely accepted and well received, making Mizumori extremely popular and receiving many invitations to be the ambassador of many regions in Japan. Unlike her enka singing peers, Mizumori usually performs in Western dresses, instead of the traditional kimono. Currently she holds the record of having the most top ten singles for a female enka singer. All her singles have entered the top 10 Oricon Chart since 2004. Mizumori is also a regular at the annual NHK Red and White Song Festival, with New Year's ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Akira Fuse
is a Japanese singer and actor. He debuted in 1965 with the single . Career His greatest hits are and . He currently makes consistent appearances on television, performs occasional seasonal tours, hosts a late night talk show, and is involved in a number of stage plays. In 2005, he enjoyed a revival when his music was used in the popular Japanese TV-series '' Kamen Rider Hibiki'' with its ending theme and later its second opening theme . Personal life He married the actress Olivia Hussey in 1980 and later divorced in 1989 after he was unable to attain work in the United States and Olivia was unable to relocate her first-born son, Alexander Gunther Martin, to Japan. They had one child, son Maximillian Fuse. Trivia Gen Hoshino created the parody character "Akira Nise" (ニセ明, ''Nise Akira'', literally ''Fake Akira'') as a tribute to Akira Fuse. Television * '' Kamen Rider Hibiki'', as senior former Oni master, who gifts Hibiki the Armed Saber (episodes 32–33). * ''E ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kaori Kōzai
is a Japanese ''enka is a Japanese music genre considered to resemble traditional Japanese music stylistically. Modern ''enka'', however, is a relatively recent musical form which adopts a more traditional musical style in its vocalism than ''ryūkōka'' music, pop ...'' singer.Keys to Japan: its language and its people 1993 "Such singers are referred to as "Endoru" (Enka + idol). Beautiful singers like Ayako Fuji, Kaori Kozai, Fuyumi Sakamoto, and Yoko Nagayama are examples of Endoru. These singers do not appear much on television, but concerts held by them ..." She won best vocalist at the 42nd Japan Record Awards in 2000. References 1963 births Living people People from Minato, Osaka Universal Music Japan artists {{Japan-singer-stub ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Angela Aki
known professionally as , is a Japanese pop singer, songwriter and pianist. Biography Early life Aki was born in the small town of Itano in Tokushima Prefecture, in the mostly rural island of Shikoku. Her mother is Italian American and her father is Japanese. Aki began to take piano lessons when she was three years old. She lived in Tokushima through sixth grade and spent her junior high school days in Okayama. She has admitted that growing up in rural Japan proved very difficult, as she was bullied and she turned to the piano as an escape from the isolation she felt. She grew up listening to a mix of enka, The Carpenters and The Bee Gees. Aki moved to Hawaii when she was fifteen years old and attended the Hawaii Preparatory Academy, but transferred to and graduated from Iolani School. She speaks English and Japanese. She was immersed in music there for four years. She graduated from George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and majored in political science. Person ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Exile (Japanese Band)
Exile (stylized in all caps as EXILE) is a 17-member Japanese boy band. Hiro is the group's leader, who debuted as a member of Zoo under For Life Music, but Exile have released their singles and albums under Avex Group's label Rhythm Zone. Hiro and Avex's president Max Matsuura came from the same high school. In 2003, the six original members of Exile founded the management and entertainment company LDH which has debuted many successful groups and soloists ever since. Exile is the representative group of the company. In total, they have sold over 15,600,000 albums. History Pre-debut The current leader, Hiro, was originally in the pop group Zoo before they split up in 1995. In 1999, he started a new group called J Soul Brothers, which later changed its name to Exile in 2001. (But the name of J Soul Brothers was later revived by Hiro again in 2007 when he helped to form another 7-member group under the new J Soul Brothers moniker.) Debut and second generation Atsushi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mihimaru GT
Mihimaru GT were an urban and pop music group signed to Universal Music Japan and managed by Tearbridge Productions, a subsidiary of Stardust Promotion and Avex. History Mihimaru GT was a Japanese duet made up of composer, lyricist and vocalist, Miyake as well as vocalist and lyricist Hiroko. The group was formed due to the joint management of the two members during their solo careers. Before forming Mihimaru GT, each member had a relatively quiet career, with little to no major hits. To remind each other that the success of the group comes from the hard work and contributions of both members, the name Mihimaru GT was created for the band, taking the first two letters in each members' first name and adding "maru", or "perfection", to the end of it, as well as the initials for Miyake's favorite video game— Gran Turismo. Unlike many other groups, Mihimaru GT often recorded songs featuring only one of their members, though because of each members' background, they were bot ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Takeshi Kitayama
Takeshi ( in hiragana or in katakana) is a masculine Japanese given name. Written forms Forms in kanji can include: *武, "warrior" *毅, "strong" *猛, "fierce" *健, "healthy" *剛, "sturdy" *彪, "spotted" *威, "intimidate" *壮, "robust" *丈, "length" *雄, "masculine" *豪, "overpowering" *武史, "warrior, history" *武士, "warrior, gentleman" *健史, "healthy, history" *猛司, "fierce, director" *剛士, "sturdy, gentleman" *健士, "healthy, gentleman" *武志, "warrior, "intention" *丈史, "length, history" *剛始, "sturdy, commence" *猛司, "fierce, director" *勇志, "courage, intention" *雄志, "masculine, intention" *猛士, "fierce, gentleman" *岳志, "peak, intention" *剛志, "sturdy, intention" *岳史, "peak, history" People with the name *, Japanese ice hockey player *, Japanese voice actor *, Japanese ice hockey player *, Japanese shogi player *, Japanese basketball player *, Japanese baseball player *, Japanese figure skater *, Japanese animator *, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |