red and white; colours for festive or auspicious occasions (colors); two teams; two groups; Kōhaku Uta Gassen; annual contest between male and female popular singers on New Year's Eve (sponsored and broadcast by NHK)
composition; piece of music; tune; melody; enjoyment; fun
somehow or other; for some reason or another; without knowing why
(not) so; (not) particularly; (not) very; (not) that much
vague; faint; dim; indistinct; hazy; blurry
starring (in a film, play, etc.); playing the leading part
to sing; to sing (one's praises in a poem, etc.); to compose a poem; to recite a poem
commercial (radio, TV, etc.); ad; construction management; contract manufacturer; customer management; court martial
to make a lasting impression
vocal (performance); vocals; singing; vocalist; singer
large; big; older; senior; final; ultimate
popularity; favour; defense; defence; agreement; receiver of technique (e.g. in martial arts)
outline; main points; generally; on the whole; general; rough
unskillful; poor; awkward; imprudent; untactful
misunderstanding; mistaken idea; wrong guess
normally; ordinarily; by anyone's standards; by normal standards; without any issues; without any difficulty
new (musical) composition; new piece; new song
guest; visitor; customer; client; counter for containers used to entertain guests
difficult; hard; impossible; unfeasible; fussy; particular; gloomy
why?; what for?; how?; by what means?
hard to understand; incomprehensible; unintelligible
accurate; correct; precise; exact
thereabouts; vicinity; that area; that situation; those circumstances
term; terminology; wording; choice of words; phraseology
to be renewed; to change; to be improved; to be reformed; to stand on ceremony; to be formal
bitter smile; wry smile; strained laugh; sarcastic laugh
explanation; exposition; description; account; caption; legend
no!; no no!; no, not at all
indies; independent film, music, publishing, etc.
cooked rice; meal; food; one's living; livelihood
to eat; to live; to make a living; to bite; to sting (as insects do); to tease; to torment
association; society; organization; organisation
major; large; the Major Leagues; Major League Baseball; major (key, scale, etc.); (oil) major
contract; compact; agreement
to hit; to strike; to strike (noon, etc.); to sound (cymbals, etc.); to beat (rhythmically, e.g. pulse, waves, etc.); to move; to impress
debut; doing something for the first time; starting anew; starting afresh
to be profitable (business); to pay; to be in the black