[Only this year's trending artists] Predictions for the 75th NHK Kouhaku Uta Gassen Performers [2024]

O time, stopILLIT

ILLIT (아일릿) 'Time, Please Stop (Toki Yo Tomare)' Official MV

Since their 2024 debut, ILLIT, the Korean girl group that has been sweeping newcomer awards and gaining attention with “Almond Chocolate,” the theme song for the film I Won’t Fall for Just a Pretty Face, has been in the spotlight.

Their first single in Japan paints, in Japanese, the delicate feelings of a girl swaying at summer’s end.

Shigon’s lyrics are sprinkled with seasonal words like osmanthus and sunflower, and they express a wish to hold on to moments that you don’t want to let pass.

It’s a number that should land vividly even with listeners hearing it for the first time on the Kouhaku stage.

Sounds goodM!LK

M!LK – Ii jan (Official Music Video) [76th NHK Kouhaku Uta Gassen performance song]

This is the lead track from M!LK, a five-member dance and vocal unit celebrating their 10th anniversary, taken from their major-label second album “M!Ⅹ,” set for release in March 2025.

Imbued with a message of acceptance and encouragement—saying, “It’s okay as you are”—the song affirms individuality and delivers the courage to face forward together with your friends.

Set against a predominantly white visual world, the members sing gently, radiating the warmth of “We’ll be on your side no matter what,” softly nudging those who want to take a new step or regain their confidence.

At the same time, a striking moment arrives mid-song when the arrangement shifts dramatically into a danceable, catchy vibe.

It’s a track that seems destined to lift the spirits of many viewers on the Kohaku stage and could well be a defining song of 2025.

TOGEAKASAKI

【AKASAKI】TOGE (Lyric Video)

Singer-songwriter AKASAKI quickly rose to prominence from acoustic performance posts on TikTok, with “Bunny Girl” climbing to No.

6 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 in October 2024.

His 16th single, released in September 2025, is a down-to-earth love song that channels the contradictions of romance and miscommunication into the word “thorn.” It portrays the aching pull of attraction that persists despite jumbled emotions and a defensive coolness, fusing the wordcraft he has honed since high school with an irresistibly catchy melody.

Blending a fresh sensibility befitting a current university student with classic J-pop essentials, his music is poised to resonate not only with his peers but across generations.

We can’t help but look forward to AKASAKI’s first appearance on the Kōhaku Uta Gassen, as he continues to achieve remarkable results at an unprecedented pace for an artist who emerged from social media.

Handz In My PocketJO1

JO1 | ‘Handz In My Pocket’ Official MV

Born from an audition show, they are ramping up their global expansion five years after their debut.

Their 10th single, released in October 2025, expresses the confidence and latent potential hidden in an unseen pocket through a distinctive sense of rhythm and powerful vocals.

An English version was released simultaneously, and with members promoting in India and the United States, it’s an ambitious project with a clear global outlook.

We might even see their new challenge—captivating in both dance and vocals—on the Kouhaku stage!

GOOD DAYMrs. GREEN APPLE

GOOD DAY

Released in September 2025 as the sixth installment of a six-month consecutive release, this is a pivotal track that caps off Mrs.

GREEN APPLE’s year.

It’s a rock number that powerfully affirms that “life is truly wonderful,” while acknowledging its ups and downs.

Motoki Omori has said that this work marked a turning point in his mindset as a songwriter, signaling a new frontier for the band.

Chosen as the commercial song for Kirin Beer’s new brand, Kirin Good Ale, the track also features Motoki Omori appearing in the ad.

It’s a song that stands by you when you want to look ahead in your daily life or lift your spirits.

As one of 2025’s hit songs, it’s definitely a number we’d love to hear on the Kohaku Uta Gassen.

kaiju (giant monster)Sakanakushon

Sakanaction / Kaiju -Music Video-

Formed in Hokkaido in 2005, the five-piece rock band Sakanaction has released a new song for the first time in about three years, serving as the opening theme for the anime Chi: On the Movements of the Earth.

Depicting the passion and inner conflict of those striving to prove the heliocentric theory, the work is imbued with the steadfast will of truth-seekers.

The lyrics, which portray voices crying out even in darkness and a curiosity that overflows the more one learns, resonate powerfully alongside the band’s distinctive sound that fuses electronica and rock.

Starting in January 2025, they’ll embark on a nationwide tour, and their rising prominence is evident as they’ve topped Billboard JAPAN’s Rapid Growth chart.

It’s exciting to see how their venture into new territory—their first-ever anime theme song—will be expressed on the Kōhaku stage!

pure whiteFuji Kaze

Fujii Kaze – “masshiro” (pure white) [Official Audio]

A song by Fujii Kaze written in February 2025 as a commercial jingle for I LOHAS.

Its breezy sound, woven from a bossa nova-style rhythm and acoustic guitar, portrays a longing for a pure heart and the resolve to say goodbye.

As he wanders in search of truth, casting off the darkness in his heart and being enveloped by a new breeze, the song conveys the importance of embracing growth and change in life.

The raw yet nostalgic sonic texture born from session-style recording questions what it means to keep a heart as clear and transparent as water.

After delivering an overwhelming performance on the 2023 Kohaku, I’d love to see Fujii Kaze perform this much-talked-about commercial tie-in track.