Will She or Won't She? Akina Nakamori and the 73rd Edition of NHK's Kohaku Utagassen（紅白歌合戦）

 

Usually I wouldn't write about two articles about a singer or a band within anything under a month of each other, and I did pen my last article on Akina Nakamori（中森明菜）on August 30th regarding her handwritten letter to her fans and one of her early B-sides. However, in the last day or so I've seen some news from multiple sources including Yahoo Japan, Sponichi Annex and the English-language site Arama Japan that was a little too interesting to ignore.

Apparently, some old acquaintances at NHK have been sending feelers out to Nakamori (directly or indirectly, I don't know) about whether she would be interested in showing up for this year's 73rd edition of the Kohaku Utagassen New Year's Eve special. NHK has just put on the finishing touches on their 18-month long renovation of their main hall in Shibuya, Tokyo, their usual venue for the Red-and-White Song Festival, and wouldn't it be nice if Nakamori could place the cherry on top of her own 40th anniversary sundae by appearing on the show (and of course, boost the ratings)?

Well, at the beginning of this year, I'd been wondering whether there would even be a Kohaku at all since the top two people at NHK have been slash-and-burn reformists and they managed to take down a few other long-running shows. But the first episode of "Uta Con"（うたコン）back at NHK Hall weeks ago very much displayed a "We are back!" attitude with an air of a mini-Kohaku and then there was the confirmation by NHK Chairman Maeda in a September 1st article on Sponichi that it was all engines on full for the New Year's Eve special. Now, they're trying to persuade a mysterious and legendary aidoru-turned-superstar to come back for No. 73. Big guns here, folks.

My two (non-existent Canadian) cents? I don't know. I don't know because I don't know how, if Akina has indeed been contacted, she has been processing the invitation in her head. Does she want to feel that thrill of performing on the stage with the cascades of applause and screaming admiration one more time or does she prefer to maintain her current life very far away from stardom? On that Arama Japan site, one fellow in the entertainment industry expressed doubts that she would accept the offer.

Personally speaking, I would love for her to return to do a medley of her greatest hits on stage, but only if she's up to it at all levels, including enthusiasm and interest. From what I've read on her letter to everyone that is at the top of the "Yume Handan" article, she isn't anywhere near there, it seems. So on that point, I'd prefer that she take her time, get better physically, mentally and emotionally, politely decline the offer and get to work on setting up her new office. It's ironic, though, since earlier in the year, fellow co-administrator and contributor Larry and I (most of us here on the blog are Akina fans, by the way) had been talking about the possibilities of the singer and actress making a comeback on the Kohaku. Well, things might be coming to some sort of head in the next several weeks.

By the way, the above video is supplied by YouTube channel Friday night, and it's a summary of some of Nakamori's Kohaku appearances. The last one featuring a swing jazz version of her "Kazarijanainoyo Namida wa" (飾りじゃないのよ涙は）during her 2002 appearance is one that I'd never seen since during most of my years in Japan, I actually didn't pay much attention to the Kohaku, opting to go out with friends instead on December 31st. I gotta admit, I regret not seeing that one.

Anyways, just to finish off, here is the list of her eight appearances. 

1983: Kinku

1984: Jukkai (1984)

1985: Meu Amor e

1986: Desire

1987: Nanpasen

1988: I Missed "The Shock"

2002: Kazarijanainoyo Namida wa

2014: Rojo ~ Tierra

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