1. The costume and hairstyle must be the same for the preliminary and final rounds.
During the preliminary introductory remarks, the stage director reaffirms the conditions for participation. One of them is that "the costumes and hairstyles must be the same for both the preliminary and final rounds." Of course, this also applies if props are used. The reason for this is that the final round participants are selected based on the judges' overall impression.
In his opening remarks, he put the participants who were nervous before the preliminary round at ease by saying, "You're nervous because you think other people are watching you. What's about to begin is a karaoke competition between relatives!" and warmed up the audience with a call-and-response.
2. The first batter in the preliminary round is the director in charge of that round.
NHK Nodo Jiman is produced by a mixed team of staff from Tokyo, the base station of the host region, and the local station of the host region (in the case of the Shiga event, the base station is Osaka and the local station is Otsu), and a staff member from the local station serves as the director for each episode. The director appears in the local introduction video that is aired on air.
In the preliminary rounds, it has become a tradition for the director himself to sing "Singing Number Zero" before the roughly 200 contestants perform. This is an important role to energize the contestants.
3. A common occurrence in the preliminary rounds of Nodo Jiman: "Several groups sing the same song in a row"
The songs in the preliminary round are sung in alphabetical order. This means that it's not uncommon for songs like "The Day the Seagulls Flew" to be sung multiple times in a row. It's not uncommon for the same song to be sung multiple times in a row in the preliminary round, especially for classic songs from Nodo Jiman or guest singers' signature songs.
Recently, I feel like junior high school students singing old pop songs by artists like Akina Nakamori have been standing out on Nodo Jiman...and on the day of the interview, I was surprised to see junior high school students singing Akina Nakamori's "Mi Amore" and even one singing Mieko Hirota "Doll House."
4. The judging takes place in a separate room, with seriousness and rigor.
For both the preliminary and final rounds, the judging took place not in the hall but in a separate room within the same facility. All the judges were concentrating on the singing and the monitor, creating a tense atmosphere. The PCs at hand displayed the lyrics and sheet music for the songs being sung (all songs were available).
The judges also take into consideration the overall balance of the work, so the preliminary rounds are sometimes more difficult to judge than the finals. However, it is rare for the judges' evaluations to be completely different, and they often end up with roughly similar ratings.
5. The introduction comments at the final round are the result of careful interviews
What surprised me when I saw the scene was the thoroughness of the profile interviews. When applying for the preliminary round, the contestants first write down their occupation and the reason for their song selection, and after singing in the preliminary round, all 200 or so pairs are interviewed by an announcer and the director in charge.
Contestants who pass the preliminary round write a detailed self-introduction in the waiting room, and are then interviewed by staff based on that. Then, on the morning of the actual show, the announcer interviews the contestants again. This is how the introductory comments and post-performance interviews on live broadcast are created.
6. Communication through singing at karaoke competitions
After the preliminary rounds are over, it takes about an hour for the results to be announced. During that time, a karaoke competition is sometimes held on stage, in which both the preliminary round participants and the audience can participate.
The songs are pre-set, mainly consisting of classic songs from Nodo Jiman. For example, when a staff member says, "Next up is 'The Day the Seagulls Flew.' Who wants to sing?", a hand is raised from the audience and the person nominated will sing.
By nominating two pairs of people, strangers can communicate through song, making this a karaoke competition typical of Nodo Jiman.
7. Finalists wake up at 5am?! The start of a long day
The finalists have an early start. On the day of the show, the meeting for the contestants begins just before 8am. On the day of the interview, the most common time for the contestants to wake up was 5am. At the meeting, after a brief explanation of the schedule, the order of the songs is announced.
The opening act for this episode was a pair of boys in their first year of junior high school. Because it was such an important role, they shouted "Whaaat?" the moment it was announced, but the other contestants then cheered them on with "Do your best!", and it was clear that the 20 pairs of contestants were beginning to form into a "team."
8. Sing the full chorus during rehearsal
The rehearsal is surprisingly (?) thorough. After confirming the standing positions for the opening and closing sequences, the stage director leads a quick rehearsal. Singing is only done at the beginning, and the timing of coming on stage and how to hold the microphone (holding it too high will muffle the sound) are checked.
After that, a rehearsal is held with the announcer as the host, and all the contestants sing one chorus. On the day of the interview, the stage director was moved to tears by the earnest singing of the first chorus.
9. Raise your excitement with a "rally" right before the performance!
After the rehearsal, there is a break of about an hour. The contestants eat their lunch during this time. However, soon after, someone starts practicing their voice in another room, and seeing this, the other contestants also start practicing their voice and checking their dance moves. The contestants who were amateurs until yesterday gradually start to look like "people who will appear on TV and sing."
At the "rally" just before the performance, each member shouts out their determination for the performance, and each time they do so, everyone raises their fists and shouts "Oh!", raising the tension. 15 minutes left until the performance.
10. The stage doesn't end even after the live broadcast ends
The live broadcast of Nodo Jiman ends at 1:00 PM. However, the stage continues at the venue. After taking a commemorative photo with the host, guest singer, and bell player, the special award winner and the champion are asked to share their thoughts on winning the award, and the champion sings the winning song once more, this time singing one chorus to the end.
The guest singer also performed a different song from the live broadcast, and the approximately 30-minute venue-only stage came to an end. This was the end for the audience, and they were to leave, but the contestants still had one important event remaining.
11. Will there be a farewell party at the end to say goodbye?
The final "farewell party" is held after the contestants return to the waiting room. Each participant talks about their experience. Some are at a loss for words and burst into tears.
These two people, who were strangers just yesterday, had become a team and encouraged each other as they got through the day, but that was not the end of their relationship...
After the event, the guests naturally moved on to a photoshoot, and people were seen exchanging contact information here and there. It's a common occurrence on "Nodo Jiman" that relationships continue even after the show is over.
