The rehearsal location for "Red and White Song" was held at the NHK TV studio in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo. The distance was relatively close, which saved a lot of trouble.
In fact, the Record Awards is held not far away, at the Honmachi New National Theater in Shibuya Ward.
Before 2006, the Record Awards and "Red and White Songs" were held on the same day at the end of the year, and even the time was almost the same.
As a result, artists in the Japanese entertainment industry have to go back and forth between two places: one minute they may have just participated in the Record Awards, and the next minute they will be on stage to perform "Red and White Songs".
Fortunately, in 2006, the Record Awards moved the time forward by one day, from the 31st to the 30th, staggering the time with "Red and White Song", which relieved many artists.
"Director Nakamura, welcome..."
When Masahiro Nakamura arrived at NHK TV station, a familiar figure came up to him quickly. He took a closer look and saw that it was the famous actress Mao Inoue.
This year she starred in NHK TV's morning drama "The Sun". Following NHK TV's practice of "Morning drama starring actors will host "Red and White Songs"", she was selected as the emcee of the red group.
The emcee of the white group who co-hosts "Red and White Uta" with her is Arashi from Johnny & Associates. This year is their second consecutive year of appearance.
"Hello...."
The corners of his mouth raised slightly, and Nakamura Masahiro smiled politely at Inoue Mao, responding politely.
Although he is not familiar with Mao Inoue, she was born as a subservient and once starred in TBS TV's popular "Boys Over Flowers", so Nakamura Masahiro is not unfamiliar with her.
After all, the movie "Cicada on the Eighth Day" starring Mao Inoue just won the Nikkan Sports Film Awards for Best Newcomer not long ago, and the media has been reporting on it for a while.
After chatting with some useless polite words, under the guidance of Inoue Mao, Nakamura Masahiro quickly entered the studio of NHK TV station.
At this time, the entire studio was busy, figures running back and forth passed by in a flash, and the noises filled my ears one after another, like a buzzing swarm of bees.
"Supervisor Nakamura, this is where everyone is making final preparations..."
Seeing Masahiro Nakamura looking at the busy studio, Mao Inoue introduced him in a low voice.
As soon as he finished speaking, a middle-aged man in a suit and leather shoes approached Nakamura Masahiro. Before Inoue Mao could speak, he took the initiative to say hello to Nakamura Masahiro.
"Hello, Director Nakamura, I am the anchor of NHK TV station and the chief host of "Red and White Uta" Abe Wataru."
Wataru Abe's ability to become the chief host of "Red and White Song" is also due to the convention of NHK TV station: the anchor of NHK TV station will not be absent.
"Hello...."
He bowed politely and responded. Nakamura Masahiro briefly chatted with him for a while, and then got the topic back on track.
"Abe-san, I want to know if my performance format has been decided by NHK?"
Since Masahiro Nakamura didn't have much time to participate in the rehearsal of "Red and White Uta", his performance was performed by a solo performer, which could reduce a lot of trouble.
However, on the issue of whether to arrange backup dancers, NHK TV station was somewhat undecided. They have been considering it and have not responded to Masahiro Nakamura.
"It's better to follow your wishes. You will perform solo. We will provide you with backup dancers, and the members of akb48 will be responsible for the backup dancers."
Abe Wataru nodded politely, and then conveyed the decision of the "Kohaku Uta Kaisen" team. Not long after, the supervisor in charge of "Kohaku Uta Kaisen" also took time to come over and meet with Nakamura Masahiro.
Unlike ordinary singers or actors, Masahiro Nakamura is a supervisor. He has connections with Dentsu and is also closely related to related parties such as Toho Corporation and TBS TV station. On-site supervisors do not dare to neglect easily.
"Go and call those idols from akb48 over..."
He stopped a staff member who was passing by, and the on-site supervisor gave orders to him in a bossy manner.
The other party did not dare to neglect and quickly agreed, then trotted to the lounge and quickly brought the members of akb48 over.
Although akb48 is the most popular idol group in the Japanese entertainment industry at the moment, they are obviously not enough to watch on the stage of "Red and White Songs".
After all, the label of idol is considered to be at the bottom of the Japanese entertainment circle. Even popular groups that are doing well will still be looked down upon.
In particular, akb48 also has the nickname "evil idol", which lowers the lower limit of idols to a certain extent. Naturally, it is difficult to win the favor of practitioners in the entertainment industry.
If it weren't for the active support activities for disaster relief performances after the earthquake, akb48 would not have been able to change the public's negative perception of them so easily.
"Senior, we are akb48...."
Each of the girls looked reserved and respectfully greeted the on-site supervisor, Masahiro Nakamura, Mao Inoue and others.
"Everyone from akb48, this is Director Masahiro Nakamura, and you will be dancing for his performance..."
The on-site supervisor introduced Nakamura Masahiro quite formally, then pointed to the members of akb48 and gave Nakamura Masahiro a detailed explanation.
"Director Nakamura, during the rehearsal, you only need to perform, and the backup dancers will be left to the members of akb48."
"If you have any questions, please raise them in time and we will make adjustments later..."
The on-site supervisor was obviously very busy. After a brief communication with Masahiro Nakamura, he left in a hurry.
Inoue Mao and Abe Wataru were also very busy as the hosts of "Red and White Songs". So, after a few polite chats, they went to prepare for the upcoming rehearsal.
Since akb48 will serve as Nakamura Masahiro's backup dancer, when they went to the lounge, Nakamura Masahiro went with them.
After all, Nakamura Masahiro has never been to NHK TV station before, and he is not familiar with the location of the lounge: it is really not that easy to find if no one guides him.
Walking slowly in the not very spacious corridor, Nakamura Masahiro and akb48's Maeda Atsuko casually chatted with some useless polite words.
The other party also had a small cameo role in the movie "Model Student" shot by Nakamura Masahiro, so the two were barely familiar with each other.
As for Mayu Watanabe, Yuko Oshima, Minami Takahashi, Mariko Shinoda and others who were following behind, they were really complete strangers, and they all behaved cautiously.
"I heard that you created a "akb48 Red and White Confrontation Song Battle"?"
Nakamura Masahiro also learned this news accidentally, and he admired Akimoto Yasushi's flexible mind.
Not only did he create a new group for akb48, which has a large number of people, but he also benefited from the huge popularity of "Red and White Songs", which was a huge profit.
"Um...."
Maeda Atsuko responded softly. In fact, she was not very familiar with Nakamura Masahiro, but she had some contact with him. She was relatively better than the other members of akb48.
"That's okay, Qiu Yuansang's brain is flexible..."
He expressed his heartfelt praise, and Nakamura Masahiro really admired Akimoto Yasusu in his heart.
In fact, it can be seen from Yasushi Akimoto's resume that he is a very flexible person with a unique vision and can always see the changes in the entertainment industry's trends.
If you look at it from the perspective of a novel, Akimoto Yasushi is a bit like a pig's trotter with a cool script. Even though he is fat and greasy now, he was quite handsome when he was young.
"Director Nakamura...."
Suddenly, a slightly familiar and lovely voice called out to Nakamura Masahiro. He stopped subconsciously, turned around and saw a petite and cute little girl standing at the door in front of the corridor.
"It's love food..."
After saying hello with a smile on his face, Nakamura Masahiro was a little surprised when he saw Ashida Aina walking towards him.
However, when I think about it, the little girl is the most popular sub-heroine at the moment. The TV series "Takagogi's Rules" she starred in has good ratings, the movie "White Rabbit Candy" won the Newcomer Award, and she also participated in the "Antarctic Continent" which has a hot audio-visual performance.
.
In fact, it is normal for her to be invited to star in "Red and White Uta". It would have been a bit strange if she had not been invited.
"Are you here to perform too? Is it a solo performance? Or is it a performance with your companions?"
Bending down, Nakamura Masahiro stretched out his hand and scratched the little girl's nose. Although the movement was not big, it made Ashida Aina squeak.
"I'm performing with Suzuki Fukuso."
Ashida Aina replied, then turned around and pointed at a little boy standing at the door, who should be the Suzuki Fuku she was talking about.
The other party looked here a little cautiously, but when Ashida Aina suddenly pointed at him, he suddenly looked a little nervous.
Nakamura Masahiro took a look at Suzuki Fuku and didn't have much impression of him. He just remembered that he seemed to be a koyaku, and he starred in "Takagogi's Rules" with Ashida Aina.
"Okay, I have to get ready. See you later..."
After a brief chat, Nakamura Masahiro said goodbye to Ashida Aina, and then continued to move forward with the members of akb48.
After a while, Masahiro Nakamura arrived at the lounge that belonged to him, and his name was posted on the door to indicate the ownership of the lounge.
akb48's lounge is also very close, probably three rooms away from Masahiro Nakamura's lounge.
After all, they are also the most popular idol group in the Japanese entertainment industry, and NHK TV station will definitely give them an exclusive lounge.