Aぇ! group Expected to Make Kohaku Debut After Hit Singles and NHK Drama Success

A New Year's Eve Stage After a Breakthrough Year

Aぇ! group is expected to make its first appearance at the 77th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen on December 31, 2026, following a year that brought a single past 500,000 sales, a first overseas performance and wider recognition through an NHK morning drama.

The four members, Masaya Sano, Seiya Suezawa, Yoshinori Masakado and leader Ken Kojima, would reach the New Year's Eve program in their third year since their recording debut. Their expected selection became known on November 8, according to reporting published on November 9.

The booking was described as being in its final adjustment stage. A public confirmation date, the song to be performed and the details of the group's appearance have not been specified.

For the Kansai group, the opportunity would bring together several strands of its career: singing and dancing, playing instruments, acting and the conversational skills members have developed through entertainment programs. Kohaku, whose name means Red and White Song Contest, gives those different abilities a place in the same national broadcast.

The expected appearance also marks another step in NHK's renewed relationship with artists affiliated with STARTO ENTERTAINMENT. King & Prince and SixTONES returned to Kohaku in 2025 after two years without artists from the agency's roster. Aぇ! group would be the first act that made its recording debut under STARTO to appear on the program.

Sales Give the Group a Strong Case

Aぇ! group's commercial breakthrough began with its May 2024 debut single, 《A》BEGINNING. The release sold 625,000 copies in its first week, according to Oricon, which tracks music sales in Japan. The group subsequently ranked first in Oricon's annual newcomer artist sales category for 2024.

The latest evidence of that audience came with Dekoboko Life, released in June 2026. The fourth single opened with 485,000 copies on Oricon's weekly singles chart and later passed 500,000 sales. It also became the group's fourth consecutive release to reach the top of the chart.

The figures show both an immediate rush of purchases and sales after the opening week. Moving from 485,000 to more than 500,000 required at least another 15,000 copies. That continued demand helped the song remain part of the group's story beyond its release date.

The debut single's opening week was larger, at 625,000 copies. Even so, the fourth single's later passage beyond half a million shows that substantial buying support continued more than two years after the group's first release.

A Film Connected the Music and Acting

Dekoboko Life also linked the group's recording career to its first film starring the members together. The song served as the theme for Osomatsu-san: Jinrui Kuzuka Keikaku!!!!!?, directed by Yasuhiro Kawamura and released in June.

The film and single gave audiences two ways to encounter Aぇ! group during the same period. Viewers could see the members acting together, while music listeners heard a song tied directly to that screen appearance.

The combination matters to the Kohaku selection because NHK considers an artist's achievements during the year, public support and how the artist fits the program's plans and production. A successful release attached to a film provides a concrete example of activity across more than one part of entertainment.

The group's reported following includes particularly strong support among women in their 20s, alongside fans from other age groups. Its growing television presence offered another route to people who might not follow new singles or attend concerts.

Sano Reached Morning Drama Viewers

Masaya Sano, 24, gained a separate audience through NHK's morning drama Kaze, Kaoru, which ran through September. He played Shimada Kenjiro, affectionately known as Shimaken, a trusted adviser to Ichinose Rin, one of the story's heroines, played by Ai Mikami.

The drama starred Mikami and Juri Kosaka. Sano's place in its central cast put him before viewers through a continuing story, rather than only during a song or promotional appearance. His character's nickname frequently trended online.

For a group seeking recognition across generations, that kind of regular exposure has practical value. A viewer who first knows Sano as Shimaken can later recognize him as a member of Aぇ! group when the band appears on a music program.

A possible interaction between Sano and his drama colleagues has been raised as part of the Kohaku appearance. That would give producers a connection between NHK's drama audience and its New Year's Eve music audience, although no such segment has been announced.

NHK Has Already Seen Their Range

Aぇ! group appeared twice on NHK's Venue101 during 2026 and also performed on the broadcaster's August music special Uta de Aetara. Those appearances gave the members opportunities to demonstrate more than a conventional vocal and dance routine.

On Uta de Aetara, the members performed as a band, showing their instrumental skills alongside Suezawa's singing in a high vocal range. Sano also joined Hideaki Tokunaga and Jin Yoshida of M!LK for a performance involving the three singers.

Those appearances offer practical possibilities for Kohaku's producers. The group can perform its own material, take part in a collaboration or contribute to a segment that connects different performers. Program staff had reportedly been approaching the group about an appearance since 2025.

The latest single, Emotion, released on November 4, added another option. It was the group's first single to use a band song as its title track, giving greater prominence to playing instruments within its recorded output.

A Place in NHK's Return to STARTO Artists

Aぇ! group's relationship with NHK also has a specific place in the broadcaster's handling of artists connected to the former Johnny & Associates agency. NHK stopped making new bookings involving its performers in 2023 amid the scandal concerning the agency's founder.

In October 2024, NHK announced that it would resume new bookings. Aぇ! group then appeared on Utacon on February 25, 2025, becoming the first STARTO act to appear under that renewed booking policy.

King & Prince and SixTONES subsequently returned to Kohaku in 2025. Aぇ! group's expected appearance in 2026 would extend that return to an act whose recording debut took place under STARTO, rather than under its predecessor.

Two milestones therefore sit behind the current news: the group's early role in NHK's resumed bookings and its prospective first appearance at the broadcaster's biggest year end music event. The February 2025 performance came well before the latest film, drama role and hit single added to its public profile.

From Five Members to Four and an Overseas Stage

Aぇ! group formed in February 2019 and reached its recording debut in May 2024. Former member Richard Kusama left in November 2025, leaving the current four members to carry the group through 2026.

Sano, Suezawa, Masakado, 29, and Kojima, 27, all come from Kansai. Their performances combine music with the lively exchanges and variety program skills that have become part of their appeal.

October brought the group's first overseas stage at the Xnterstellar Music Festival 2026 in Incheon, South Korea. The appearance added an international event to a year already shaped by domestic film, television and music work.

Kohaku would put the four members before another broad audience at home. Before the group's recording debut, Sano had spoken of wanting Aぇ! group to become beloved across generations. His morning drama role and the group's expected New Year's Eve appearance point toward that ambition through different kinds of television exposure.

The Dates Behind the Expected Debut

The route to the reported selection stretches from the group's formation to a busy final few months of 2026:

• February 2019: Aぇ! group forms.
• May 2024: The group makes its recording debut with 《A》BEGINNING, which sells 625,000 copies in its first week.
• February 25, 2025: The group appears on Utacon after NHK resumes new bookings of STARTO artists.
• November 2025: Richard Kusama leaves, bringing the lineup to four members.
• June 2026: The group's first film starring its members opens, accompanied by theme song Dekoboko Life.
• August 2026: The members demonstrate their band performance and collaboration skills on Uta de Aetara.
• October 2026: The group performs overseas for the first time, in Incheon.
• November 4, 2026: Emotion is released.
• November 8, 2026: The expected Kohaku selection becomes known.
• December 31, 2026: The 77th Kohaku broadcast is scheduled to begin at 7:20 p.m. in Japan.

The dates show how closely the group's music, acting and television work have overlapped. Its expected Kohaku debut follows several opportunities for audiences to encounter the members in different settings during the same year.

Another New Act Is Expected

CUTIE STREET, an eight member idol group from KAWAII LAB., is also expected to make its first Kohaku appearance. Its song Kawaii Dake ja Dame Desu ka?, originally released digitally in 2024, continued to attract listeners and found renewed attention in South Korea during 2026.

The expected selections would bring two different routes to the program: Aぇ! group's combination of record sales, acting and instrumental performance, and CUTIE STREET's continuing song success across borders. The announced theme for the broadcast is Koete Ikou, Uta to Tomo ni, an invitation to move beyond boundaries together through song.

For Aぇ! group, the immediate opportunity is concrete: to introduce its current four members, their voices and their instrumental abilities to viewers who may know only a hit single or Sano's drama character. The reported selection brings those separate audiences toward a single stage.

Key Points

• Aぇ! group is expected to make its Kohaku debut on December 31, 2026, with the booking described as undergoing final adjustments.
• Dekoboko Life sold 485,000 copies in its opening week and later passed 500,000 sales.
• Masaya Sano gained wider recognition as Shimada Kenjiro in NHK's Kaze, Kaoru.
• The group appeared on Venue101 twice in 2026 and demonstrated its band skills on Uta de Aetara.
• Its February 2025 Utacon appearance was the first by a STARTO act under NHK's resumed booking policy.
• The current four members performed overseas for the first time in Incheon in October.