Just The Facts

Debuts at the 2011 Event
* Mao Inoue: Red Team Leader
* Mana Ashida: Kodomo Special Performer
* Fuku Suzuki: Kodomo Special Performer
* Inawashirokos: White Team Performer
* Ringo Shiina: Red Team Performer
* KARA: Red Team Performer
* Girls Generation (Shoujo Jidai): Red Team Performer
* Sayaka Kanda: Red Team Performer

What Is Kohaku?
The Kohaku Uta Gassen (Red and White Song Battle) or "Kohaku" for short is the biggest televised annual event in Japan and a huge part of New Year's Eve celebrations. First broadcast on radio in 1951 by Japanese public broadcaster NHK, it had the same premise as the Eurovision Song Contest: bringing people back together through song as a nation rebuilt itself after the Second World War. The first televised Kohaku special aired in 1953 (the 3rd and 4th editions held in the same year) from the Takarazuka Theatre and since the 24th edition in 1973 from its current home at NHK Hall in Shibuya
The battle is quite simple: two teams of performers from both the J-pop and enka/adult contemporary music industries perform songs relevant to the year's theme, the teams are called the Akagumi (red team) which is made up of female singers/groups and the Shirogumi (white team) which is made up of male artists/groups. Some artists often perform their songs with those from the other team, and group numbers featuring artists from both teams are also done. The audience at the venue along with special celebrity judges and viewers watching at home vote on the group they thought performed the best

Performing on Kohaku is by invitation only, NHK selects the performers and songs by sales (sometimes chart position on Oricon) and adaptability to the theme of that year, surveys are also conducted asking people what music they want to hear on the show. Even today, because of the show's large reach, many artists consider appearing on Kohaku the highlight of their careers

"Ashita wo Utaou: Let's Sing For Tomorrow"
On March 11, 2011, a devastating 9.0 magnitude earthquake and massive tsunami hit the Tohoku region in northeastern Honshu, leaving tens of thousands dead and many more injured or homeless. To help raise the spirits of those affected and still rebuilding, as well as to help Japan look to the future on a positive note, the official Kohaku theme for 2011 was "Ashita wo Utaou" ("Let's sing for tomorrow") as a message of hope and encouragement

Interesting Facts
* This was the first Kohaku NHK broadcast in full digital TV. Analog service had recently ended in Japan
* Among the special guests were members of Nadeshiko Japan (2011 FIFA Women's World Cup champions) and cast members from the 84th NHK asadora Ohisama, which team leader Mao Inoue starred in
* It was the first win for the women's team since the 55th Kohaku in 2004, breaking the streak of 6 straight wins by the men's team
* Two of South Korea's biggest girl groups made their debuts, having recently made their breakthroughs in Japan
* At the time of her appearance, red team member Angela Aki was full-term pregnant with her first child
* AKB48 and NYC performed with a combined 400+ extra people between the two groups
* Over 670,000 votes were cast for the two teams, most coming from the digital TV ISDB-S vote
* Before hosting Kohaku, Mao and Arashi member Jun Matsumoto worked together on the live-action Hana Yori Dango series

A special message from AKB48: "Ganbarou Nippon!" ("You Can Do It, Japan!")

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