[Dec 2004] Red White Contest - Ayumi’s price tag is the highest!

[isaac hiew]

The Red-White “Kouhaku” Contest has always been the biggest hit show of the Japan NHK broadcast corporation annually, held on every New Years’ Eve, this show is famous for its money-drowning strategy which its aims is to get these big stars to perform on the show. There is certainly no exception for the year 2004 too.

According to the newest issue of “Modern Weekly” (Japanese magazine), Ayumi Hamasaki is still among the highest paid singer in the pop music region. Her price tag, as discovered, was estimated at 500 thousand Japanese yen, who is now at the same level of SMAP, whom will be absent for this years’ event. As for Hirai Ken, the R&B singer tops the male singers at 200 grand.

Besides pulling the kings and the queens, whenever any new singers made their debut into the show certainly will enjoy a sudden high degree of fame throughout the new year, for example, this years’ new faces, Otsuka Ai and Ueto Aya, only will be paid at about 100 grand, since they will “gain more in the future”.

In contrast, however, other female singers’ wages for the show seemed lower than others, such as BoA, Nakashima Mika and Kuraki Mai.

Translated by: Isaac Hiew
Date: 31/Dec/2004
Translated from : Sin Chew Jit Poh (local Malaysian Chinese newspaper), Entertainment section, page 11.

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