A little while ago, we wrote an article about actress Narumi Yui, who is from Nishinomiya, and we plan to introduce various other famous people from Nishinomiya in future articles as well.
But if we just list names, it would be quicker to look at Wikipedia, and it would not be very interesting, so we would like to write articles grouped by theme.
So this time, we have put together a list of “singers from Nishinomiya who have appeared on NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen.”
(“Appearing on Kohaku” here refers only to those who officially appeared as singers, and does not include appearances as backing band members, backup dancers, backing chorus members, hosts, judges, cheering squads, etc.)
The reason we chose Kohaku is that quite a few people from Nishinomiya appeared on last year’s Kohaku, more than we expected.
First, let’s introduce the people who appeared on last year’s Kohaku.
目次
Singers from Nishinomiya Who Appeared on the 69th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen
Actually, four people from Nishinomiya appeared on last year’s Kohaku.
Did you know that?
It was probably the most ever.
Those four people are as follows.
Aimyon
Aimyon appeared as a solo artist, so I am sure everyone knows her without needing any explanation.
At Kohaku, she sang “Marigold.”
Personally, I like her indie debut song “貴方解剖純愛歌 〜死ね〜,” but I suppose that one would be hard to sing on Kohaku…
Among people from Nishinomiya, she was definitely the one who had a huge breakthrough last year.
For details, please see the official sites below.
Warner Music Japan Official Site
Minami Koike (Keyakizaka46)
Keyakizaka46 is the second group in the Sakamichi Series after Nogizaka46, and Koike apparently auditioned because she admired Nogizaka46.
Keyakizaka is known for its sharp, powerful dance style, which is a little different from typical idol choreography, and it is refreshing to watch.
At Kohaku, they performed “Glass wo Ware!”
The singing, dancing, outfits, and even the song title all have a cool rock feel.
For details, please see the official site below.
Mina (TWICE)
Mina from TWICE, known for the TT dance, is also from Nishinomiya.
TWICE is a group made up of members from Korea, Japan, and Taiwan, and Mina is active as both a vocalist and dancer.
Mina is currently resting due to poor health, but we hope she takes her time to recover and shows us her healthy self again.
For details, please see the official site below.
Shogo Sakamoto (Touken Danshi)
Actors appearing in the musical based on the game “Touken Ranbu” appeared on Kohaku as “Touken Danshi.”
The character names are taken from real Japanese swords, and Shogo Sakamoto, who played Horikawa Kunihiro in the musical, is from Nishinomiya.
He is active on television and on stage as an actor and singer-songwriter.
For details, please see the official site below.
What did you think?
They are all young, so we look forward to seeing what they do from here on.
Singers from Nishinomiya Who Have Appeared on Past NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen
Next, we would like to introduce singers from Nishinomiya who appeared in previous years.
Hanayo Sumi
She was formerly the top male-role star of Takarazuka’s Star Troupe, but perhaps she is better known as the wife of Tadao Takashima and the mother of Masahiro Takashima and Masanobu Takashima.
For our generation, she has the image of someone who was active on variety shows.
Actually, she appeared on the 12th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen.
Akiko Kosaka
Akiko Kosaka, known for the classic song “Anata,” which has been covered by many artists, appeared on the 25th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen and sang that very song.
The accompaniment at the time was conducted by her father, Tsutomu Kosaka, and apparently this was the first parent-child performance in Kohaku history.
Also, as a judge, Kenichi Horie was there; he had departed from Nishinomiya and successfully completed a solo, nonstop voyage around the world.
Kosaka later went on to be active in producing anime songs for works such as “Maple Town Monogatari,” “Goldfish Warning!,” and “Sailor Moon.”
For details, please see the official site below.
Mana Ashida
Of course, she appeared with “Maru Maru Mori Mori!,” but she was credited together with Fuku Suzuki as an individual performer rather than as part of a unit.
Also, since the 62nd NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen, where she appeared, was held in 2011, she sang “Maru Maru Mori Mori!” together with children from Tohoku as part of a special project praying for Tohoku’s recovery. Both Mana Ashida and Fuku Suzuki were counted as official participants.
She was seven years old at the time, which is the record for the youngest Kohaku performer.
She is now a junior high school student already, which feels fast, and recently we have started seeing her often on TV again.
We can look forward to even more success from her in the future!
For details, please see the official site below.
Summary
We did a lot of research to write this article, but there may still be some people we missed.
If you have any information like “You forgot this person,” we would be grateful if you let us know.
Still, having four people appear last year is amazing.
It really is nice to see people connected to Nishinomiya doing well.
Who will be chosen this year?
