hatenai sora
Wed, November 17, 2010 (10:34am EST)Arashi set a couple records this week with their latest single "Hatenai Sora," selling 572,000 copies. This easily put them in first place on the weekly charts, while popular electropop group Perfume settled for #2 with their new song "Nee."
Except for AKB48's "Beginner" at #6, the top ten consisted entirely of new singles. J Soul Brothers charted at #3, followed by Yusuke and Korean group KARA. Idol groups Berryz Koubou and Momoiro Clover were #7 and #8 respectively, while Ken Hirai and Alice Nine took the last two spots.
On the album charts, Ikimono Gakari's compilation album "Ikimono Bakari ~Members BEST Selection~" held onto the #1 spot for the second week in a row, adding 207,000 more copies sold. Its sales total after those two weeks is roughly 664,000, surpassing Kana Nishino to become this year's #1 female-vocal album. Overall, it is #2 behind Arashi's "Boku no Miteiru Fuukei."
Arashi breaks personal record with "Hatenai Sora"
Mon, November 15, 2010 (7:40pm EST)
Arashi's 34th single, "Hatenai Sora," is officially confirmed as the top single for this week. The single sold 572,000 copies, surpassing their previous personal record set by their debut song "A-RA-SHI" in 1999 (557,000 copies).
"Hatenai Sora" is the group's 30th number-one single. The only other artists who have reached that milestone are B'z and Ayumi Hamasaki. Arashi achieved it 11 years after their debut, ahead of B'z (14 and a half years) but slightly behind Hamasaki (10 years).
The song also marks Arashi's sixth #1 single for the year, setting a new record for male artists. The previous highest was five, set by The Checkers in 1985 and tied by L'Arc~en~Ciel in 1998. However, Arashi is tied with Ayumi Hamasaki among all artists, as she already achieved six in 2001.
Charts: Arashi, Ikimono Gakari