Singer Takanori Nishikawa, 56, has been informally confirmed to appear at this year's 77th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen — the broadcaster's year-end song contest — under his T.M.Revolution name, Sports Hochi reported on Friday. It will be his sixth appearance as a singer and his first in 12 years, after he turned up as a secret guest in 2015 and 2016.
He returns to the year-end stage on the back of a strong summer. In July he released a new performance of "HOT LIMIT," first put out in 1998, on THE FIRST TAKE, a YouTube channel that films artists in a single take. Wearing the same costume as on the original release, he drew attention for his powerful singing, and the video passed 10 million views in three days — the channel's fastest run to that mark.
This year's program theme is "Koe te ikou, uta to tomo ni" (Let's cross over, together with song). The song is expected to be "HOT LIMIT." Nishikawa has long been known for it, but his past Kohaku turns featured "WHITE BREATH" and "THUNDERBIRD," making this his first performance of "HOT LIMIT" on the show.
His costume is undecided. When he appeared on NHK's music program Utacon in September, he wore the so-called "HOT LIMIT suit" used at the time of the release, and the skin exposure that had been a concern is not seen as a problem.
A familiar face on the year-end stage
Born in Shiga Prefecture on September 19, 1970, Nishikawa debuted in 1996 as T.M.Revolution with "Dokusai -monopolize-." He became a tourism ambassador for his home prefecture in 2008, began releasing music under his own name in 2017, received a Shiga Prefecture cultural merit award in 2020 and an honorary citizen award from Yasu City in 2024.