Kohaku’s artist lineup for this year has been released.

Newcomers on the red team (female) are Aoyama Thelma, Akimoto Junko (enka singer who I think made it big this year with her single “Ai no Mama De”), Ikimonogakari, GIRL NEXT DOOR, Perfume, and Fujioka Fujimaki and Ohashi Nozomi (the two men and the little girl who sang the theme to Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea).

Newcomers to the white team (male) are Kimaguren, Kiyama Yusaku, Jero, Shuchishin with Pabo, Tohoshinki(DBSK), Mr. Children, and Mizutani Yutaka (enka singer who made a comeback).

Overall, expected additions for the year. I’m not familiar with enka singers, but the female singers who made it big this year all made it onto the show (Perfume! Yes!). I’m surprised and pleased that Ikimonogakari are finally on. For the male artists though, I’m surprised it took this long for Mr. Children to make it on.

Full lineup is

RED TEAM: aiko, Aoyama Thelma, Akiyama Junko, Ayaka, Angela Aki, Ikimonogakari, Ishikawa Sayuri, Otsuka Ai, Kawanaka Mizuki, GIRL NEXT DOOR, Koda Kumi, Godai Natsuko, Kobayashi Sachiko, Sakamoto Fuyumi, SPEED, Tendo Yoshimi, Nakashima Mika, Nakamura Mitsuko, Hamasaki Ayumi, Perfume, Hitoto Yo, Hirahara Ayaka, Fuji Ayako, Fujioka Fujimaki and Ohashi Nozomi, Mizumori Kaori, and Wada Akiko.

WHITE TEAM: Akikawa Masafumi, Aqua Timez, Itsuki Hiroshi, EXILE, Kitajima Saburo, Kitayama Takeshi, Kimagurin, Kiyama Yusaku, Kobukuro, Shuuchishin with Pabo, SMAP, Tohoshinki (DBSK), TOKIO, Tokunaga Hideaki, Hikawa Kiyoshi, Hirai Ken, Fuse Akira, Porno Graffiti, Maekawa Kiyoshi, Mikawa Kenichi, Mr. Children, Mizutani Yutaka, Mori Shinichi, Moriyama Naotaro, and WaT.

Overall, same as you’d expect – the popular pop artists plus all those established enka singers (I had to google every one of them… pain). I’m glad that Perfume made it onto Kouhaku – hopefully, they’ll be here the year after too. Also, Tohoshinki has officially made it big in Japan. Absent from the list are any girl idols besides Perfume – not a year for AKB48 or H!P, I guess. Also absent despite their pretty big hype this year: Amuro Namie, Fukuhara Miho, and Shimizu Shota.

So will Kouhaku be your Japanese new year’s programming of choice?

(…unfortunately, no matter how nicely Perfume and Otsuka Ai will be strutting their stuff on stage, all the enka will render my early death. Yeah, not really a fan. I’ll be sticking to my good old standby: Johnny’s Countdown. )

Ikimonogakari’s next single “Planetarium,” used as the ending theme to the NHK drama “Cat Street,” will be released on October 15th.

To be honest, I was scared away a little at first by “Planetarium’s” PV – when the first thing you have in the video is a mother leaving her child alone in a room, and the child (who is a pretty bad speaking actor” speak to her scary looking puppet that more resembles a voodoo doll of Kiyoe – yeah, it’s not something that makes me want to keep watching. But while watching Cat Street, the ending theme popped up – and it was a great song of hope and nostalgia wrapped into a beautiful midtempo ballad. And it was “Planetarium.”

Ikimonogakari has good fast songs that sell well, but I feel like their forte is definitely with their heartwrenching ballads. “Planetarium” has the acoustic and orchestral backing that strong vocals that you expect from the band, and a catchy and memorable bittersweet tune. Even the music video has grown on me. Well, maybe not the creepy puppets (those will forever be, in my opinion, a horrible mistake) – but the scene with the stars floating around the band and the little girl as the chorus to the song swells? Gorgeous.

The B-side of the single is “Happy Smile Again” and a live version of “Kaeritakunatta yo“. This is definitely a single to take a listen to when it comes out.

Ikimonogakari will be releasing their next single “Kaeritakunatta Yo” on April 16th. The title song will be featured in the movie Sunadokei, and the b-side “Nokori Kaze” will be featured in a Bleach-related DS game.

The movie Sunadokei will be released on April 26th. I know nothing about it except that it appears to be based on a shoujo manga by Ashihara Hineko that dealswith a love story that delves into the present, past, and future. (Besides, anything titled Sunadokei (hourglass) is destined to be a sobfest.) I’m not familiar with the manga, but it looks to be a bitterly romantic movie.

And to match that romance, “Kaeritakunatta Yo” is much more of a sentimental ballad than pop rock jams the band usually releases – the song strongly features strings, piano, and acoustic guitar. Vocalist Kiyoe’s voice works so perfectly well for this song, conveying a feeling of slightly bittersweet longing. At least, that’s what it sounds like; I haven’t looked up the lyrics at all, but that’s what it feels. The video without movie clips is pretty bland, with the trio performing in a dimly candlelit room with an orchestra – pretty scenes, but boring viewing.

Still, the song is fantastic – once again, Ikimonogakari does not disappoint. I’m excitedly anticipating live performances of this song – this is a beautiful song that would benefit even more from the raw quality of lives.

I can’t think of any other country’s music that’s so fixated on a flower like Japan is with their sakura. Sure, western artists always release songs crooning about roses and daisies, but only in Japan does everyone clamber to release a blatantly sakura-based song in the springtime, or just a spring song – which inadvertently will reference sakura. They don’t even disguise it: at most they’ll use English and say “Cherry” in the song name, but most times they’ll just have “sakura” somewhere in the name or – the most blatant of all – just call the song “Sakura.”

Despite the predictability, I enjoy the yearly rush of sakura-releases. Whether they’re ballads or rock or dance pop, singing about sakura almost mandates an air of wistfulness in the song since it’s the time of graduation and spring romances, and pink petals floating somewhere in the music video. Something about singing about sakura brings out the best of people, and some of my favorites of artists are their sakura songs. My ranking of this year’s are:

7. Mika Nakashima – SAKURA ~Hanagasumi~
If there’s anything I’ve found with most of Mika Nakashima’s works post-NANA, it’s that they’re never bad, but they’re never memorable like her previous works. “SAKURA ~Hanagasumi~” is actually one of my more liked singles amongst her current releases, but the tune just doesn’t stick, nor does it feel particularly emotional. It does have a nice, melancholy atmosphere – but as anything more than ambiance music, it’s rather boring.

6. An Cafe – Cherry Saku Yuki!
I’m not a big An Cafe follower, but “Cherry Saku Yuki!” isn’t a bad song of theirs. It doesn’t really convey the sakura theme despite being named after it and having a PV of graduation though. It’s really not a bad song, but it sounds too like the other songs An Cafe put out to be special.

5. AKB48 – Sakura no Hanabiratachi 2008
Yes, it’s a remake, but a sakura song nevertheless. Have they actually rerecorded the song? I can’t tell, since this is my first time hearing it, so it’s fair game. It’s very girl pop, but it’s definitely a spring graduation song, has chimes and synth – it’s an okay. What I did enjoy was the video – yes, it’s ten minutes, but the extra movie parts make it feel genuine, and really hit home the feeling of graduation.

4. Every Little Thing – Sakurabito
The song sent shivers down my spine when I first heard it. Something about the song does sound a little familiar or conventional, but the overall effect of the song is just hauntingly sweet.

3. Hoshimura Mai – Sakura Biyori
I am a sucker for songs that incorporate traditional instruments into pop music without sounding like it’s trying too hard; “Sakura Biyori” does just that. The tune is a bit repetitive, but its works out as a beautiful, driven ballad.

2. Ikimonogakari – Hana wa Sakura Kimi wa Utsukushi
What can I say, it’s Ikimonogakari. I can be a bit biased, but they do pop-rock angst well. Even with a upbeat tempo, the song holds a sense of loneliness and longing – definitely a sakura-song subject.

1. Yanawaraba – Sakura
Yanawaraba have smooth, pleasant vocals – it doesn’t work out well for listening for long periods (I get sleepy) but it works for their song “Sakura,” a breezy, springy number. I’m especially in love with the chorus. Basically, I know it’s a great sakura song if I can just listen to it and envision pink clouds – which, really, I did.

It was difficult to rank, because I really did greatly enjoy all of the top four, but that’s my take on this year’s. (Oh, and let me know if I missed any blatantly sakura-based songs. )

Ikimonogakari will be releasing Hana wa Sakura Kimi wa Utsukishi on January 30. It was previously released on their first indie album. (This will also be on their upcoming “Life” album, due to drop February 13th.) So they’re going for another sakura-themed song – although a bit early for spring this time.

Like “Sakura” and all other sakura blossom songs that burst out from Japan every single spring, they’ve got the floating pink petals gently cascading down at one point in the PV. Not understanding too much Japanese, I’m not sure exactly what’s going on, but I’ll wager a guess the angsty looking guy and girl are apart and miss each other. There’s actually a segment at the beginning that shows the three doing a radio interview, and the song starts when vocalist Kiyoe starts reading over a letter there.

Song-wise? I like it. Despite the name, it’s a lot different musically from “Sakura.” Like “Sakura,” it also has a sense of longing, but it’s set to a more uptempo, energetic song. And – well, I mean, it’s Ikimonogakari. It’ll always be good.