Ayu to appear in 61st Kouhaku for 12th time

[thangkhung91]

Originally Posted by Bigtop

Oh...Ayu's going to the Kouhaku, huh?

Now I only see 44 artists - WHAT!?
This has got to be the least-crowded Kouhaku we are about to ever see in a long time!

Some notes:

• Am I seeing 4, 5 or 6 Johnny's artists?
• Motohiro Hata was predicted to be but he's NOT in...
• YUI's still NOT interested in the Kouhaku...
• And if you thought the rumo(u)rs about Masahiko Kondo going to the Kouhaku as part of an agreement with Johnny's, FORGET IT - he's not coming to the Kouhaku!
• With the fact that Ai Otsuka is pregnant earlier this year after the marriage with RIP SLYME's SU, she's not going to be able to perform for a while as she awaits for her baby in April.
• AAA was part of the red team last year, but they're in the WHITE team this year.
• Now why in the world there is 44 when in 2006 there was 56, in 2007 and 2008 roughly 54, and last year 50? Either the count is right, or there may be some surprises...[/b]

To answer your question why there are less performers, one reason is that NHK invited Korean groups this year; KARA, Shoujo Jidai (SNSD) and Big Bang. They are however not attending because of Korea's own end-of-the-year music festivals between the 29th and the 31st.

[Bigtop]

Originally Posted by thangkhung91

To answer your question why there are less performers, one reason is that NHK invited Korean groups this year; KARA, Shoujo Jidai (SNSD) and Big Bang. They are however not attending because of Korea's own end-of-the-year music festivals between the 29th and the 31st.

Oh dear. NHK might have attempted something risky - attempting to invite Korean gropus - except that Korea also have their own end-of-the-year music festivals, and I think NHK could be the loser - and to blame - why there's fewer artists this year than the past.

Maybe they should also make supplemental nominations in the event an artist declines their invitation or could not attend unexpectedly...

[AyUmIXx]

Originally Posted by thangkhung91

To answer your question why there are less performers, one reason is that NHK invited Korean groups this year; KARA, Shoujo Jidai (SNSD) and Big Bang. They are however not attending because of Korea's own end-of-the-year music festivals between the 29th and the 31st.

oh really?
they were actually invited, but turned down the offer because they need to attend their own year-end shows?
i'm reading from some fans said that they were not invited, because they have not yet made BIG achievements in Japan...so they have not yet qualified to be in Kouhaku~

that's why i thought why this year's artists for Kouhaku are not as many as the previous years.. hmm~~
but Happy that Ayu finally make an appearance!

[thangkhung91]

Originally Posted by AyUmIXx

oh really?
they were actually invited, but turned down the offer because they need to attend their own year-end shows?
i'm reading from some fans said that they were not invited, because they have not yet made BIG achievements in Japan...so they have not yet qualified to be in Kouhaku~

that's why i thought why this year's artists for Kouhaku are not as many as the previous years.. hmm~~
but Happy that Ayu finally make an appearance!

Well, Shoujo Jidai has been very succesfull this fall. They've only released two singles and both have reached the 100.000 mark, and both singles debuted in the top 3 on Oricon. KARA's first single debuted in the top 5 with their release of the Japanese version of Mister, and Big Bang have been active in Japan since 2008 and their singles this year have been pretty high up n the Oricon, don't remember the exact positions but it's in the top 5.

I don't think it's because they haven't been succesdfull and not been invited but that they have obligations with the broadcasting stations over in Korea. The whole drama with the MAMA awards that is organized by Mnet has made a couple of Korean brodcastin staions mad since the award show is scheduled on a weekend meaning many artist have to cancel their appearances on the weekly music programs. This has lead to many artists actually not attendning the MAMA awards in fear of being "punished" by the broadcasting stations later on. It's a mess, really, and there are many sides to a story and this is one version some believe is the reason.