NHK named 41 acts for the 77th Kohaku Uta Gassen on Dec. 31, from anime hitmakers Ado and YOASOBI to K-pop’s ILLIT, plus B’z singer Koshi Inaba covering the anime classic Touch.
Japan’s biggest TV night of the year has its guest list. NHK announced the lineup for the 77th Kohaku Uta Gassen on Friday, Nov. 13, Japan time, and anime fans are going to recognize a lot of these names.
Kohaku Uta Gassen, which means “Red and White Song Battle,” is NHK’s New Year’s Eve music special. It’s been on since 1951. Women and girl groups sing for the Red team, men and boy groups for the White team.
At the end somebody wins. Mostly, everyone in Japan just watches it with family and snacks.
This year’s show airs Thursday, Dec. 31, from 7:20 p.m. to 11:45 p.m. Japan time. That’s 5:20 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. Eastern on the same day, so you can watch with breakfast instead of champagne.
Who is performing at Kohaku 2026?
NHK named 41 competing acts, 20 on Red and 21 on White, according to Tokyohive, Tokyo Weekender and Electric Bloom. Hosts are actors Mana Ashida and Masato Sakai, former Arashi member Kazunari Ninomiya and NHK announcer Naoko Suzuki. The theme is “Koete Ikou, Uta to Tomo ni,” roughly “Let’s go beyond, together with song.”
Some of the biggest names on the Red team:
Ado, on her second Kohaku
YOASOBI, on its fourth
K-pop group ILLIT, on its third
MISIA, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, AKB48 and Nogizaka46
First-timers =LOVE and CUTIE STREET
And on the White team:
Mrs. GREEN APPLE, Vaundy and Sakanaction
L’Arc-en-Ciel, TM NETWORK and T.M.Revolution
King & Prince, SixTONES, BE:FIRST and &TEAM
First-timers Ayumu Imazu, Ae! group, EBiDAN, Macaroni Empitsu and MONAKI
Singer Sayuri Ishikawa makes her 49th appearance, which is not a typo. Ryoko Moriyama is back for the first time since 2005.
Which Kohaku 2026 singers sang famous anime songs?
This is where the lineup turns into a playlist. YOASOBI’s “Idol” was the opening of the first season of Oshi no Ko, and it blew up worldwide. The song even got an English version.
Ado sang “New Genesis” for One Piece Film Red and performed it on Kohaku in 2022, as Anime News Network reported at the time. T.M.Revolution is the voice behind “Invoke,” the Mobile Suit Gundam SEED opening. TM NETWORK did “Get Wild,” the ending song for City Hunter. L’Arc-en-Ciel sang “Ready Steady Go” for Fullmetal Alchemist.
NHK hasn’t said what most acts will sing. So whether any of those anime songs make the set list is still a guess. Song lists usually come out in December.
Is there K-pop at Kohaku 2026?
Yes, but less than recent years.
ILLIT is the only K-pop act, in its third straight Kohaku, Sports Kyunghyang reported. Big names like TWICE, LE SSERAFIM and aespa aren’t on this year’s list. aespa performed in 2025.
ILLIT posted thanks to fans on social media. “Thanks to the support of GLIT, we have been given another great opportunity,” the group wrote, according to Sports Kyunghyang. GLIT is ILLIT’s fandom name.
&TEAM, the Japan-based group from HYBE, is back for its second Kohaku too.
What is Koshi Inaba singing at Kohaku?
Koshi Inaba, the singer of the rock band B’z, gets a special performance outside the Red and White teams. It’s his first time on Kohaku as a solo artist. He’s covering “Touch,” which Yoshimi Iwasaki recorded in 1985 as the opening of the baseball anime Touch.
If you grew up in Japan in the 80s, you know every word. If you didn’t, it’s the kind of song that plays at every high school baseball game there, forever.
First-timers CUTIE STREET sound thrilled. “Performing on the Kohaku stage has been a huge dream and goal for us for a long time,” member Ayumu Matsuda said, according to Tokyo Weekender.
How can I watch Kohaku 2026 in the U.S.?
That part isn’t settled. NHK’s own streaming app is Japan only, and international plans for the 2026 show haven’t been confirmed, Electric Bloom reported. In past years, NHK World Premium has been available on Sling TV in the U.S., and the Jme service streamed the 2025 show in the U.S. and Canada, per the same report.
We’ll keep an eye out for a U.S. option before Dec. 31. Either way, it’s a fun excuse to start New Year’s Eve early with some anime bangers and a cup of coffee.
Article compiled and written by Kambrea Pratt (editor-in-chief), Derek Gibbs (beat editor) and the Pirates & Princesses newsroom. Pirates & Princesses is part of WebReef Media.
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Hat Tips:
NHK, lineup announcement and broadcast times
Tokyohive (Nov. 2026), full lineup and appearance counts
Tokyo Weekender, team counts, schedule and CUTIE STREET quote
Electric Bloom, first-timers, Inaba and U.S. viewing details
Sports Kyunghyang (Nov. 13, 2026), ILLIT and its quote
Anime News Network (2022), Ado’s One Piece Film Red performance
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