The 76th Kohaku Uta Gassen is bringing major K-pop names to Japan, including aespa, ILLIT, and &TEAM. This powerful lineup will be taking over the stage on December 31 at 7:20 PM Japan time to mark one of the country’s biggest year-end music celebrations. This is going to be ILLIT’s second year headlining the event, while aespa and &TEAM will be performing for the first time.
ILLIT has had a strong year after earning a Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of Japan for “Almond Chocolate,” along with her Japanese debut in September with the single “Toki Yo Tomare.” Similarly, aespa achieved history by becoming the first overseas female group to hold two consecutive years of concerts at Tokyo Dome, and also won Best Song Asia at the Music Awards Japan. &TEAM continued their success by topping the Oricon Daily Album Ranking with their first Korean mini album, “Back to Life.”
This year-end event will gather artists who made remarkable achievements throughout 2025 and will close out the year with performances that reflect Japan’s evolving pop culture scene, with big J-pop and J-rock artists like Candy Tune, Perfume, LiSA, and MRS. GREEN APPLE and more. With K-pop’s presence, their participation adds even more excitement to this highly anticipated show.