Hachiro KASUGA, Michiya MIHASHI, Haruo MINAMI, Hideo MURATA and other male singers who had both individualities and abilities and laid the foundations for new enka genre, and Hibari MISORA who was known as the queen of enka (also known as the 'queen of popular song world') have already passed away, and highly accomplished singers who followed, such as Saburo KITAJIMA, Hiroshi ITSUKI and Shinichi MORI, cannot show their abilities to the full.
個性と実力を兼ね備え、演歌という新ジャンルの土台を築いた、春日八郎・三橋美智也・三波春夫・村田英雄らの男性歌手や、演歌の女王と称された美空ひばり（「歌謡界の女王」とも呼ばれる）等がすでに亡くなっており、その後に続いた北島三郎や五木ひろし、森進一などの大御所歌手も実力を発揮し切れていない状況である。