Interest

Nana Mizuki, T.M. Revolution to Unite Across Gender Lines on New Year's

In Japan, New Year is an occasion for everyone to go home and spend time with their families, eat a scrumptious feast, and pray at their neighborhood temple. It's also time to gather around the TV and watch Kōhaku Uta Gassen, or "The Red and White Song Contest." A Japanese institution, it's been broadcast every New Year's Eve on NHK since 1951 and features two teams of the most popular musicians in Japan that year duking it out by song. These teams, the eponymous "Red" and "White" Teams, are determined by gender (women join the Red Team, men join the White Team). So far, the Whites are in the lead with 34 wins versus the REDS' 29.

A curveball has been introduced this year, however: four singers will unite for two duets. Nana Mizuki will sing "Kakumei 2013 - Kōhaku Special Collaboration" with T.M. Revolution. This is a medley of "Preserved Roses" and "Kakumei Dualism," two previous collaborations between Mizuki and T.M. Revolution used as opening themes for the anime series Valvrave the Liberator. In addition, Seiko Matsuda will perform a "New Year's Eve Special Love Song Medley 2013" with Chris Hart. They have previously recorded an album together this year, Yume-ga Samete ("Awake from my Dream").

Nana Mizuki is a popular voice actress who has also gained fame as a singer; her noteworthy rules include Hinata Hyuuga in Naruto and Fate Testarossa in the Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha series. T.M. Revolution is known for singing energetic anime theme songs such as "Heart of Sword - Yoake Mae" for Rurouni Kenshin and "resonance" for Soul Eater. Seiko Matsuda has been a famous idol singer since the 1980s, while Chris Hart is an American pop singer who has recently achieved success in Japan for his soulful covers of J-pop.

[Via NHK and Ota-suke; Image from The Hand That Feeds]