AKB48 Just Miss 1 Million Day One Sales

AKB48 “GIVE ME FIVE” entered Oricon at #1 with first day sales of 966,529 this is the third record breaking first day release for AKB48. Unless there is a down turn in sales, this will be the 6th consecutive and 7th single overall to sale one million copies.

SKE48 Just Miss 500,000 In First Week Sales

SKE48`S single “Kataomoi Finally” sold 496,000 copies in its first week .This is the first time that the group has passed the 400,000 mark in sales.
The results also makes the single the highest selling AKB48 sister unit single.

AKB48 Tops 2011

2011 has been a great year for AKB48 with many accomplishments ,however their latest has set them apart from all other artists in the industry.
For the calendar year of 2011 AKB48`s combined CD,DVD,Blu-Ray sales was 8,911,000 . Their total record sales revenue was 16,280,000 yen the most by any female group in history for a single year.

In the yearly rankings there is 16 categories AKB48 ranks first in 7 of them . They passed every other artist by having five singles in a calendar year sale a million or more copies each and breaking a record set 16 yrs ago . They became the first artist in history to hold the first five spots in the singles sales rankings for the year and a number of other records that I have listed below.

2011 was truly a great year for AKB48 ,with so many new groups rising up and even their sister units gaining ground ,will 2012 be the year of AKB48 or will another yet unknown group arrive on the scene and capture the hearts of the nation ?

Rankings for 2011 that AKB48 were first in.

Total sales, by artist – 16,280,000,000 yen (record for a female group)
Number of copies sold for singles, by work – “Flying Get” 1,587,000 copies ( record for a female group)
Value of sales for singles, by work – “Everyday, Kachuusha” 2,150,000,000 yen
Value of sales for singles, by artist – 9,590,000,000 yen
Number of copies sold for music Blu-ray discs , for a release – “AKB ga Ippai” 148,000 copies
Value of sales for music Blu-ray discs, for a release – “AKB ga Ippai” 1,010,000,000 yen
Value of sales for music Blu-ray discs, by artist – 1,010,000,000 yen
Total sales for CDs, DVDs and Blu-Rays during 2011 8,911,000 copies

AKB48 Crosses 1 million For 4th Single In A Row

AKB48 Crosses 1 million For 4th Single In A Row

AKB48 has set another record as their newest single “Ue Kara MARIKO” had an opening week sales of 1,199,000 making it their 4th consecutive first week million selling single and the 5th highest first week total single in Oricon history [AKB48 holds 4 of the 5 spots].

With this release AKB48 broke or tied the following records

They became the first artist to ever have four consecutive first week one million sales singles

Every single they have released this year has sold a million copies

Since the 2010 release of “Beginner” they have sold 6million singles through 6 singles.

AKB48 has become the top selling female artist for million sales singles passing legends in the industry Pink Lady, Amuro Namie, Hamasaki Ayumi, and Utada Hikaru who all currently have 5 .

AKB48 has now tied Idol legends and currently active Idol super group Morning Musume for the most number one singles by a female group at 11 .


This is very impressive anyway you look at it.

AKB48 Just Under One Million

AKB48 Just Under One Million

AKB48 Has once again locked in another number one single day ranking on Oricon with their new single “Ue kara Mariko” .The single entered the number one ranking for the day with single day sales of 959,280 .
With this accomplishment the single became the third highest opening day  sales total in Oricon history .The other two spots  by the way are held by AKB48 singles.

NMB48 Sets Oricon Records

NMB48 Sets Oricon Records

Have you heard this story before if there is a 48 in the name a record is set to be broken. NMB48 has set three records with their current single .With weekly sales of 265,000 this is their second single in a row to debut at number one, making them the first group in Oricon history to have their first two singles debut at number one.

The second achievement
NMB48 is just the third female artist group or soloist to have their first two singles debut at number one. The other two artists are Yakushimaru Hiroko and Sawajiri Erika.

Third achievement
NMB48 became the first female group to have their first two singles sale over 200,000 in its release week.

Overall from majors to indies the genre is in a healthy state and groups are doing well for the levels they are at in their careers .More and more media outlets are paying attention to both the majors and indies with a wide range of groups having  national  or regional weekly television programs .

 The number of groups debuting on the independent level is doubling each month; the genre is in much better shape than it was around 2004-05 when it was showing signs of stalling out.
 2011 has brought a lot of surprises to the genre and fans and 2012 is going to bring many more exciting groups, sales records, television shows.

AKB48: Records And More Records

AKB48: Records And More Records

AKB48 “Flying Get” has continued the AKB48 rewriting of history .With “Flying Get” AKB48 has broken or tied a wide range of industry records. So let’s look at the numbers.

“Flying Get” sold 1.354 million copies in a week after selling 1.025 million in a single day.  The single week total was the best opening week sales in Oricon chart history.
AKB48 also holds the second spot with “Everyday, Kachuusha“.

For singles that have sold one million in their first week, AKB48 holds the top two spots out selling the likes of Mr. Children and Utada Hikaru.

Since AKB48 has released “RIVER”, the group has had nine consecutive number one singles putting them in a tie with Pink Lady who has held that position for 33 years.

AKB48 with it`s three one million sellers in a row they have now tied Pink Lady for the top spot for million sales singles in a row.

With AKB48 scheduled to have more releases in the future it is only a matter of time before they pass Pink Lady and the standards set by Onyanko Club. While many fans from other agencies may dislike this group and their accomplishments, AKB48 without question when all is said and done and their final release is out, will be known as the greatest female idol unit in the history of the genre.

It is because of AKB48 that the fresh faces of this genre are rising up at a pace last seen in the 80`s .If AKB48 had remained at 20-25,000 sales a release ,there was a good chance that this genre on the female side could have slipped into nothing more then a cult followed ,dusty shelf memory in time .

As much as some rival fans may be against the success of AKB48, the industry needs and has welcomed their achievements. Just as Morning Musume opened the door for the arrival of AKB48 .AKB48 is opening the door for the arrival of the  fresh faces .It will be  these new next generation idols that PIH has been presenting to you  ,that will be the ones who will carry the genre to it`s next great accomplishments.

Congratulations to AKB48 and your fans.

AKB48 Flying Get 1Million Sales In A Single Day

AKB48 Flying Get 1Million Sales In A Single Day

Another wow! moment and this time it`s from AKB48 .AKB48 ’Flying Get” sold 1,025,952 copies in a single day.

This is a slight improvement over their last release that took all of a difficult two days to cross 1 million.

It`s very likely that before the end of the week this single will break the record, established by AKB48 “Everyday, Kachuusha” at 1.5 million copies.

The next closest release was 28,943 and PASSPO☆ was third at 14,412 so one member is going bald, lol.

In related news, their Majisuka Gakuen 2 DVD sold 10,000 copies in a week .Only one other drama release has done that. It also by the way included members of AKB48 in the cast.