Interest
Star Wars, Disney Acts to Appear in New Year's Song Contest
posted on by Eric Stimson
On December 23, the Kōhaku Uta Gassen, or Red & White Song Contest, announced that the male idol group Arashi will perform a tribute to Star Wars at this year's show. They will appear on stage with C-3PO, R2-D2, Darth Vader, Stormtroopers, and other icons of the film series — including BB-8 from the new Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. And that's not all: There will also be a Disney song tribute performed by Haruka Ayase and Yoshihiko Inohara (the program's hosts), Perfume, V-6, and Disney characters.
Performances like this, called "special stages," are a regular feature of the Red & White Song Contest. Previous years have featured Attack on Titan's "Guren no Yumiya" and songs from Yōkai Watch. This year, the contest will include an entire anime section with appearances by Chibi Maruko-chan, Whisper of Yo-kai Watch, and famous anime characters from Astro Boy to Neon Genesis Evangelion.
NHK's Kōhaku Uta Gassen has been a fixture of Japanese New Year's Eve since 1951. The contest pits two teams against each other, Red (which is all-female) and White (which is all-male). White is in the lead, with 36 wins versus 29. The program usually chooses the most popular and trendy singers of the year or generation to perform.
The Star Wars juggernaut is as formidable in Japan as in North America, with Episode VII shattering Spirited Away's opening weekend record. A webcomic recently poked fun at the lengths purist fans will go to insulate themselves from spoilers.
[Via Anime! Anime!; Image from Wookiepedia]
