The growing popularity of the Momoiro Clover Z New Year's Eve red vs. white song battle has reached volcanic proportions. For the first time in its short history, the MCZ New Year's Eve Kohaku is going to be broadcast live across Japan on terrestrial TV by TV-Asahi.
This will put Momoclo in direct competitors with NHK's aging Kouhaku New Year's Eve music program. In the past trying to compete with NHK's New Year's song battle was a show business death sentence.
Case in point: In the early 1980s Japan's Pink Lady was the largest selling female music act in the world. A cash cow for Japan's entertainment industry.
When Pink Lady declined a 1981 New Year's invitation from NHK and announced their own New Year's Eve music show, Pink Lady was unceremoniously and summarily drummed out of show business, records removed from shop shelves, were criticized by their own fan base, and banished into complete obscurity.
NHK's decision not to invite Momoclo to compete in the 2014 Kohaku may well have been the beginning of the Kohaku's suicide.
Rather than taking NHK's disrespect lying down, Momoclo announced their graduation from the NHK Kohaku, and their intentions of forming their own New Year's Even music show. Many industry insiders expected a backlash from NHK. But it never came. NHK may have considered pounding down the Momoclo nail for a New York minute, but Momoclo's fan base is loyal, crossing all demographics, and Mononofu are legion.
Momoclos's first annual New Year's Eve music show immediately received enormous public support and many of the artists who appeared that evening on the NHK Kohaku joined Momoclo's show for the rest of the evening in spite of appearing to betray the-powers-that-be, and possibly raising the ire of NHK and the threat that would pose to their careers.
The Momoclo New Year's Eve music show progressively gained attention, moving to larger and larger venues each year as the live audience and online viewership exploded.
In 2017 Momoclo boldly announced their New Year's Eve music show would become a red and white competition, a Kohaku Uta Gassen. There would be no more pretending.
With the move to a song battle format, Momoclo was clearly gunning for NHK's Kohaku audience. If ever there would be a moment that NHK would move to crush Momoclo for their defiance, it was at this moment.
However, Momoclo's fiercely loyal fan base, growing popularity of their New Year's show, and MCZ's complete lack of care about what NHK might do was enough to scare the elderly giant broadcaster into submission and acceptance of the new kids on the block.
And this year, 2021, the Momoiro Clover Z New Year's Eve Kohaku Uta Gassen reaches another milestone: The show will be broadcast live nationwide by TV Asahi.
NHK's Kohaku is now eyeball to eyeball with the blade of Momoclo's katana in a direct viewer ratings battle against The Weekend Heroines.
Shutting down Momoclo in 2014 might have been NHK's suicidal blunder for the Kohaku. But it looks to me like Momoclo plans to make NHK pay the ultimate price for their 2014 mistake; They fully intend to burn the Kohaku to the ground.
Hell hath no fury like a Momoclo scorned.
Word.
RR
UPDATE: Legendary enka singer Itsuki Hiroshi has broken ranks with NHK. After more than 50 appearances across five decades on the NHK New Year's song battle, Itsuki has declined his annual invitation from the NHK Kohaku. Itsuki has however accepted an invitation to compete on the Momoclo Kohaku live broadcast this year. More details here (In Japanese)
