Please note: The charts below are accumulative sales from the past 2 weeks as Oricon forgoes weekly ranks for the week over the new year.
CHARTS:
Singles: 01 stay with me Koda Kumi 58,108NEW 02 Days / GREEN Hamasaki Ayumi 40,003 03 Aino Mamade... Akimoto Junko 37,591 04 Yowamushi SANTA Shuuchishin 28,231 05 Koyoi, Tsuki ga Miezutomo Porno Graffitti 23,537 06 Nocturne / Campanula no Koi Hirahara Ayaka 22,342 07 Sheryl no Uchu Kyoudaibune Nado Nome Sheryl 18,284 NEW 08 Ranka & Bobby no SMS Shoutai no Uta nado Nakajima Megumi 16,980 NEW 09 fairytale Kalafina 15,984 NEW 10 Nihon no Mikata -Nevada Kara Kimashita- Yazima Beauty Salon 15,532
Albums: 01 My song Your song Ikimoni Gakari 242,691 NEW 02 EXILE BALLAD BEST EXILE 190,213 03 GIRL NEXT DOOR GIRL NEXT DOOR 171,165 NEW 04 SUPERMARKET FANTASY Mr.Children 166,095 05 ai no Uta 2 Various Artists 55,048
Also, I forgot to post the Oricon charts for the last week of December -_-; (sorry) so here they are (12/21):
CHARTS:
Singles: 01 Days / GREEN Hamasaki Ayumi 127,650 NEW 02 Yowamushi SANTA Shuuchishin 33,249 03 Koyoi, Tsuki ga Miezutomo Porno Graffitti 20,905 04 Aino Mamade... Akimoto Junko 17,608 05 HEAVEN BUCK-TICK 14,724 NEW 06 Tomorrow Yukari Tamura 10,691 NEW 07 Nocturne / Campanula no Koi Ayaka Hirahara 10,332 08 Friend / Sugao no mama Rina Aiuchi 9,573 NEW 09 Sunao ni Naretara JUJU feat. Spontania / I can be free JUJU 9,182 10 White Xmas KAT-TUN 7,790
Albums: 01 SUPERMARKET FANTASY Mr.Children 177,581 02 EXILE BALLAD BEST EXILE 147,454 03 LOVE LETTER Otsuka Ai 104,232 NEW 04 BLEACH BEST TUNES Various Artists 52,835 NEW 05 ai no Uta 2 Various Artists 24,740
01 Yowamushi SANTA Shuuchishin 152,260 02 Koyoi, Tsuki ga Miezutomo Porno Graffitti 81,907 03 White Xmas KAT-TUN 19,962 04 Aino Mamade... Akimoto Junko 17,550 05 Heart of Winter Yamazaki Masayoshi 14,206 06 Eien no Ashita DEEN 13,898 07 Tobira GReeeeN 13,235 08 CROSS GAME alice nine. 12,703 09 Minna no Tamago Shugo Chara Egg! 12,587 10 PAPERMOON Tommy heavenly6 11,838
Albums: 01 SUPERMARKET FANTASY Mr.Children 707,763 02 EXILE BALLAD BEST EXILE 257,760 03 VOICE Nakashima Mika 33,920 04 Enka Meikyoku Collection 9 - Aishu no Mizuumi - Hikawa Kiyoshi 28,765 05 ai no Uta 2 Various Artists 28,125
40 Abe Natsumi Best Selection 15 Shoku no Nigaoe Tachi Abe Natsumi 5,206 66 Pucchi Best 9 Various Artists 3,354 122 MEGA MELON Melon Kinenbi 1,477 132 Hello! Project Special Unit MEGA Best Various Artists 1,349 148 Taiyo to Ciscomoon (T&C BOMBER) MEGA Best T&C Bomber 1,172 164 Hello! Project Shuffle Unit MEGA Best Various Artists 1,102 168 Tanpopo / Pucchimoni MEGA Best Tanpopo / Pucchimoni 1,084 171 Country Musume MEGA Best Country Musume 1,073 182 Legend Nakazawa Yuko 1,020
ORICON ROUNDUP: This week's charts saw Hamasaki Ayumi manage to bring down the current queen of the charts Namie Amuro, with stunning sales of her new A COMPLETE ~ALL SINGLES~ album. The singles compilation moved sales close to 539K with Amuro's BEST FICTION dropping to 5th on the charts with 43.6K.
Hamasaki's no.1 debut for her A COMPLETE marks her 14th no.1 in her 10 year career and is the 4th best debut of the year behind Amuro, Exile and Bz's BEST albums. 2008 does seem to be turning out to be a year of BESTs, that's for sure. American works from Ne-Yo and Metallica charted at 2nd and 3rd on the charts, with Shikao Suga's Funkaholic debuting at no.4 with 44K. Berryz Koubou's new album 5(FIVE) charted outside the top 10 at no.11, selling a slightly disappointing 11K. With the rave reviews from fans, the album would have been expected to outsell their previous works but they could only manage a few hundred more first week sales than their previous album, and less than past works. With the album now having fallen from the charts, it seems to be a disappointing result from an album which deserved much more attention.
On the Singles Charts, Mr. Children have blasted away new releases from GLAY, UVERworld, Otsuka Ai and Nakagawa Shoko to remain at the top of the charts for the second straight week. HANABI sold another 84K to bring their two week total to 344K. New releases from DIR EN GREY, Kaela Kimura and Superfly also made the top 10 while ARASHI and Fujioka FujiMaki/Nomozi Ohashi remained high in the charts at 8th and 9th. Ongaku Gatas' newest single Come Together drew close to 10K sales, up from their last single Yattarouze! though they were unable to make the top 10, debuting at no.12. alan's newest single Kaze no Tegami charted failed to capture the Japanese audience, coming in at no.34 with only 2.8K copies sold only marginally up from her last release.
CHARTS:
Singles: 01. Hanabi Mr.Children 84,262 02. Aka To Kuro To Matadora/I Love You Wo Sagashiteru GLAY 68,206 03. Koishikute UVERworld 52,333 04. Kurage, Nagareboshi Otsuki Ai 34,118 05. Tsuzuku Sekai Nakagawa Shouko 32,906 06. Glass Skin DIR EN GREY 25,890 07. Mustache/Memories (Original Version) Kaela Kimura 22,554 08. Truth/Kaze no Mukoe ARASHI 172,272 09. Gake no Ue no Ponyo Fujimaki Fuijioka & Nozomi Oohashi 17,037 10. How Do I Survive? Superfly 11,310
12.Come Together Ongaku Gatas 9,740
34. Kaze no Tegami alan 2,812
Albums: 01. A Complete ~All Singles~ Hamasaki Ayumi 538,876 02. Tear Of The Gentleman Ne-Yo 62,163 03. Death Magnetic Metallica 47,354 04. Funkaholic Shikao Suga 44,023 05. Best Fiction Amuro Namie 43,608
ORICON ROUNDUP: Think back 6 weeks ago to when I posted the Oricon Charts for the 5th of August: F is for FICTION ... G is for GIFT - Amuro Namie had debuted at no.1 with huge sales for her BEST FICTION album while Mr. Children sold close to 200K with GIFT, the no.1 single of the week. 6 weeks on and Namie-sama is still roaring at the top of the album chart while Mr. Children is once again at the top of the singles chart with HANABI. I guess F is for FICTION, G is for GIFT and H is for HANABI?
Mr. Children's HANABI rocketed to the top spot of the singles charts this week, outselling their previous single GIFT's first week sales by over 60K with TOKIO's Amagasa / Akireru Kurai Bokura wa Negao flailing behind at no.2 with just 45K. Not even remotely close. GIRL NEXT DOOR's single Guzen no Kakuritsu charted at no.3 with respectable sales of 30K for a debut act. New releases from Quruli and D also charted in the top 10.
ARASHI's Truth / Kaze no Mukou e dropped just one spot to no.4 on the charts while Gake no Ue no Ponyo just keeps on selling, charting two spots up this week to no.5. Their total sales have now surpassed 250K since being released last year. Last week's no.1 Secret Code from Kinki Kids could not maintain their stellar sales, falling to 6th with just 18K.
On the albums chart, Amuro Namie is no.1 for the 6th consecutive week - a feat which has not been achieved since the early 90s. BEST FICTION's total sales now stand at just under an incredible 1.3 million. Sadly it looks as if Namie's reign will come to an end next week with Hamasaki Ayumu's ~ALL SINGLES~ compilation being released. The album reportedly sold close to 200K on its first day alone. Strong sales saw MONKEY MAJIK at no.2 with 50K while Sound Horizon's Moira charted at 3rd with a delightful 45K. Hideaki Tokunaga's SINGLES BEST continues to sell well at no.4 while THE BACK HORN's newbie was at 5thand Code Geass Lelouch of the RebellionSound Episode 3 soundtrack debuted at no.6
CHARTS:
Singles: 01. HANABI Mr.Children 260,196 02. Amagasa / Akireru Kurai Bokura wa Negao TOKIO 45,514 03. Guzen no Kakuritsu GIRL NEXT DOOR 30,025 04. truth / Kaze no Mukou e ARASHI 29,143 05. Gake no Ue no Ponyo Fujimaki Fuijioka & Nozomi Oohashi 22,737 06. Secret Code KinKi Kids 18,902 07. Hisoukan Hisoukan 18,413 08. Sayonara Regret Quruli 18,308 09. Yami no Kuni no Alice / Hamon D 14,014 10. NEXUS 4 / SHINE L’Arc~en~Ciel 13,590
Albums: 01. BEST FICTION Namie Amuro 55,318 02. TIME MONKEY MAJIK 50,276 03. Moira Sound Horizon 45,318 04. SINGLES BEST Hideaki Tokunaga 20,763 05. Pulse THE BACK HORN 13,649
06.Sound Episode 3 Code Geass Lelouch of the Rebellion 13,340
REVIEWS: A little bit different this week due to no one single really standing out to me, I'll be doing slightly more thorough reviews of 4 different singles which I thought were all equally good (though not great). They are my collective group of Singles of the Week, and for that reason they all have previews which I'm sure you'll all enjoy!
Guuzen no Kakuritsu GIRL NEXT DOOR
GIRL NEXT DOOR is a new band from Avex and Guuzen no Kakuritsu is their debut single. The band consists of female vocalist Chisa, and band members Suzuki Daisuke and Inoue Yuji. Can I just say that the band's name is slightly misleading. Chisa looks anything but the 'girl next door'! *fans self*
Guuzen no Kakuritsu begins with a really sweet piano intro and for a second you almost think you're going to get a sweet ballad out of this but the instrumental soon drops into a rockier style. The verses are sung smoothly and there is no denying Chisa has a beautiful voice. It isn't the most unique voice I've heard, sounding a lot like many other singers, but she hits all the notes and it's very pleasant. The step up into the bridge is nice and not too intrusive, with a couple of hooks and a really good change of style leading into the chorus. The chorus kind of moves onto an upbeat, dancy pop style but it's not too impressive to be honest, at least until the end. The end of the chorus has a few really rock driven vocal lines, where Chisa gives a real punch and it leaves quite an impression for me. I really love female pop/rock songs which utilise such types of lines. They seem to be common but I can't get enough. The second verse and chorus are much the same as the first which is a shame as a song like this could benefit from some surprises and switches. Oh well. Following the second chorus we get an awesome rocky instrumental section which is kinda the highlight of the song for me lol. Oh look, here comes a synth vocal bridge, how original... The final chorus brings nothing new to the table apart from some random synth backing vocals.
I tried to LOVE this song but I don't. It's almost as if the song is a giant tug-of-war; one side being rock the other being pop/dance and both sides are fighting out to become the victor, with neither side winning. You would think that a rocky, pop/dance number would bring the best of both worlds to the table for a wonderful track but for me it doesn't. It tends to do the opposite, attempting to mesh both styles and in the process losing the heart of each style, if you will. There are moments of brilliance, the instrumental and some vocal lines and the song is catchy and will appeal to the masses I'm sure. My problem with the song is that it could have been so much more.
Rating: B
HANABI Mr. Children
HANABI is Mr. Children's 33rd single and the theme for Code Blue -Doctor Heli Kinkyuu Kyuumei-. When I saw they had a new release this week I was a bit confused, thinking I had reviewed them only a few weeks ago and alas I had. Their 32nd GIFT, was released at the end of July and failed to spark much interest in me. Thankfully HANABI is a much more enjoyable venture.
HANABI is a sort of a mid-tempo styled ballad and a nice opening to the Autumn/Fall season. The song starts out with a really nice, somewhat melancholic instrumental which sets up the mood for the rest of the song. The verses are sung in a really beautiful way. I'm not a HUGE fan of the guy's voices but their singing is full of emotion and it makes me forget about anything else. I honestly have no clue what this song is about (fireworks doesn't give much away) but it sounds reminiscent and sort of sad (I'm pretty sure they're saying goodbye to something in the chorus... *pretends to speak Japanese*) There is a short instrumental and a drum leadup to the chorus which lifts really nicely. Without such a push I feel HANABI could have just drawn along and become a bit boring but the steps within the song are really nice. Once again the chorus is sung with much emotion, very nice. The second verse has a bit more oomph in the vocals which help continue the growth of the song and the bridge starts of soft and grows really nicely leading up to the final set of chorus' which are introduced with a nice acapella of the first line. The song ends with the beautiful instrumental again, which lasts half a minute of so, it's a nice way to finish off the song. The instrumental slowly dies away and fades out.
The song is a pretty good indication of a nice Autumn ballad, somewhat laid back with a rich, earthy sounding instrumental. I prefer this much more to GIFT which I found a bit monotonous and bland. The growth of this song helps it overcome this trap and they end up with a good tune.
Rating: B
Kono Yubi Tomare Suga Shikao
Kono Yubi Tomare is written, produced and performed by Suga Shikao and is his 24th single. If I had to describe this song in one word it would be 'funk'tastic', it's just very hip and cool.
This song starts with some infectious bass playing leading into a disco style beat with some strings. I have to admit, the opening has me dancing in my seat as I type this (-_-;) ... Suga's vocals are raspy which work wonderfully for this song, working even further with the laid back, cool feeling of the song. It's almost like he doesn't care, he's just singing along with the music, not even trying. Not to say he sounds bad, just singing effortlessly. The verses have some very catchy sections which sadly are missing from so many songs nowadays. In fact Suga manages to create some catchy melodies in all aspects of this song which is surprisingly nice. The bridge leads off the verse really well, almost like it is a part of it. We totally jump up on the chorus which has beautiful lift (yes I love my lifts) though still retaining the song's laid back atmosphere. A slight downside is that the chorus isn't anymore memorable to the rest of the song. You could look at that as a plus towards the verses or a negative for the chorus. I actually prefer the verses and build to the chorus. Anyway, back to the funky bass beat *dances* The bridge of this song really brings the song's tempo and instrumental back down. It's only short but effective in creating another level to this song. The instrumental quickly grows and we get a nice violin instrumental section before heading back into the final chorus'. The song fades away *eventually* with lots of la la las and humming.
Like I said, this song manages to be hip and cool without seeming to try very hard which can ultimately be very difficult for a performer to do. A downside is that it substitutes any real oomph for this laid back style, and while some sections are catchy, it all ends up melding into one continuous beat with no real distinction within the song's sections apart from the bridge towards the end of the song. This may be a plus for some but it works against the song in repeatability, at least for me. I prefer songs which have that catchy, definable chorus and this song just doesn't have that. That being said, I did really enjoy this track and it made me dance which is always a good thing. Very cool!
Rating: B
miss you Yuna Ito
The final song this week is Yuna Ito's beautiful ballad miss you, her 11th single.
miss you starts off with the sound of waves crashing on the beach, very sunset summer-ish which is perfect for this time of year; Summer has just ended and Autumn is beginning (In the northern hemisphere at least). Nice timing there from Yuna. Ballads can easily be VERY boring but this song manages to be catchy, sweet and beautiful at the time. The first thing I notice about this song is Yuna's vocals, they are just so pure and wonderful. There is this unique fragility which aids this song's melancholic overtones. The verses are simple, with the instrumental softly growing behind the vocals. The pre chorus build opens with beautiful high notes which are repeated throughout till the chorus. The bridge gives off the feeling of needing, reaching for something which is displayed through Yuna's vocals, especially in the higher sections. The chorus is the winner here, with repeated vocals it is surprisingly catchy for a ballad. To be fair the chorus ventures towards a faster tempo and the whole song flutters between slow and mid-tempo but whatever. The final line of the chorus is the epitome of the song, "I miss you" with Yuna's flawless voice. It's very moving. The bridge isn't very different from the rest of the song, which I think works well for miss you. It's such a pure, soft song that any drastic tempo or style change could ruin it. The bridge sounds almost like a 3rd verse but is different enough to distinguish and lift towards a climax. The final set of choruses start off with a soft instrumental, which shows off Yuna's vocals even further and the songs ends with some vocalisation from Yuna and the beachy sounds again. I would have liked for the song to end with the "I miss you" line, I think it would have left a more lasting impression.
The ballad is beautiful and very good for a ballad. The problem is that I don't think it sounds too different from a lot of other ballads, in fact it sounds really similar to a couple of the Wonder Girl's ballads, mainly due to the instrumental I think. It's still touching and sweet and nice way to say goodbye to Summer. The sun is setting on Summer (well it technically has already set but I'm not sure I'm ready to let it go)... I won't miss some of the awful summer songs though lol.
Rating: B (close to a B+ but needs more originality)
ROUNDUP
All the singles I've reviewed this week are good, but not great. I feel they each have something specifically holding them back, preventing them from being fantastic. I have given them all Bs, I prefer some to others but I'd put them all relatively on the same level quality wise. These Bs are high Bs, very close to B+ but not quite there. I also listened to TOKIO's new single and didn't care for it at all so I didn't even bother >.<
Let me know what you think of this week's releases ^^
ORICON ROUNDUP: Two high selling artists dominate the charts this week with Amuro Namie’s BEST FICTION topping the Album chart while Mr.Children’s GIFT is the no.1 single.
Amuro Namie’s achievement is stellar this week and the Queen of Hip-Pop continues to climb the road to glory in Japan. While most other artists are sliding down, Amuro is forever improving in popularity and sales. BEST FICTION, Amuro’s 3rd Best-of Album sets the record for the best first week sales of any album this year with over 681K copies sold (and you thought EXILE’s 400K last week was impressive). EXILE is continuing to sell, ranking 2nd with 80K sales, while GReeeeN and Kimaguren’s albums stick to the top five along with the Koi no Uta compilation which refuses to die.
The singles' chart this week also has 2 big sellers with Mr.Children and Aladdin scoring sales over 150K. GIFT, Mr.Children’s 32nd single took a hefty 194K and top spot on the charts while Aladdin sold 151K. Coincidently, Satoda Mai almost sold more albums with this one single than she had in her entire stint in County Musume (not quite but VERY close). The Studio Ghibli theme Gake no Ue no Ponyo continues to sell in its 7th week, posting its best sales yet of 40K.
C-ute’s Edo no Temari Uta II is at no.5 with sales just under 28K, slightly lower than their previous singles’ but with sales events in the 2nd week, it will reach the 30K mark with ease and may surpass the past few.
Last week’s no.1 Hey! Say! JUMP is at no.8 this week with 19K, while my pick for Single of the Week is at no.10, Kalafina’s sprinter / ARIA selling just under 14K (I personally think it deserved better but they aren’t too well known, I guess). CHARTS:
Singles:
01: GIFT Mr.Children 194,144 02: Hi wa, Mata Noboru Aladdin 151,597 03: Gake no Ue no Ponyo Fuijioka Fujimaki & Oohashi Nozomi 40,574 04: Tsukihime Takamizawa Toshihito 31,960 05: Edo no Temari Uta II C-ute 27,805 06: Motto Tooku e / Orchestra Remioromen 25,653 07: Taiyou to Bikini RIP SLYME 22,495 08: Your Seed / Boukan Rider Hey! Say! JUMP 19,145 09: Waga Routashi Aku no Hana ALI PROJECT 16,439 10: sprinter / ARIA Kalafina 13,833
Albums:
01: BEST FICTION Amuro Namie 681,187 02: EXILE ENTERTAINMENT BEST EXILE 80,995 03: A, Domo. Ohisashiburi Desu. GReeeeN 28,548 04: ZUSHI Kimaguren 22,092 05: Koi no Uta (Various Artists) 19,780
GIFT is Mr. Children's 32nd single and it's a summer ballad. I know a lot of people love Mr. Children and this single is sure to easily take the top spot on the charts but it honestly didn't do much for me. It is pretty and has some meaningful lyrics but doesn't bring much to the table that we haven't heard before, from Mr. Children and numerous other artists. The song is the theme for NHK's broadcast of the Olympics so if you live in Japan, be prepared to be awful sick of this song in a few weeks.
Rating: C+
Hi wa, Mata Noboru Aladdin
Aladdin ahhh the unstoppable combination of Shuuchishin and Pabo, the baka'ist people in Japan singing about Japan being so great and telling all the salary men to strive to achieve. What an oxymoron. That being said, this song is so much fun and is sure to have you on your feet singing (or shouting) GANBARE NIPPON! Musically this song isn't anything wonderful, it's a cheer song and really all that matters is the message of a united Japan. I love this song, and not because it has a H!P member in it... It's because of Suzanne. Yes, Suzanne could release a single where she just hummed and I would love it (providing it had a PV). Oh Suzanne *hearto*
Rating: B Suzanne: A+++
You can listen to the track in the media viewer at the top of the blog.
Motto Tooku e / Orchestra Remioromen
More Olympic theme songs *yay* (not) ... Motto Tooku e is Fuji TV's while Orchestra is for Coca-Cola (I'm not sure why they need a theme song, they must be having crazy Olympic parties in the Coke machines?). Motto Tooku e is sort of a rocky, mid tempo ballad. Fujimaki's vocals are a bit odd in the verses but suit the rockier chorus well. Like Mr. Children's song, this one isn't anything new and is very viewer friendly. Not bad, not great. I haven't heard Orchestra so I can't comment on it, sorry.
Rating: B-
Waga Routashi Aku no Hana ALI PROJECT
ALI PROJECT's new single is the theme for Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion and it really is an extremely odd song. It's like circus music on acid. I'm not sure if I hate it or love it. I think I like it when I can listen to it when I wish, it's rather ambitious and different which I admire. If I was trapped in some underground lair and this song was played non-stop, I'd last about 2 hours before I ripped my ears out (and that's a very generous estimation). Credit to Arika, it sounds like a bitch to sing and she does do well.
Rating: B ... or D- .... ?
Single of the Week
sprinter / ARIA Kalafina
Kalafina is a new female group with a lolita-goth style singing rocky style songs. The girls are all very attractive (which always helps) and I think the main thing I like about Kalafina is the layering of their vocals. Each girl has a unique sound and they are all utilized well, as any group should be.
sprinter is a power ballad of sorts with a really beautiful orchestral/rock instrumental. As I mentioned the layering of vocals is superb and every girl sings fantastically. The verses are sung powerfully and grow effortlessly as the song builds. The chorus is particularly catchy and towards the end of the song we have some beautiful harmonies accompanying the chorus. It's a powerful and beautiful track.
ARIA is a very different track, opening with operatic vocals leading onto a beautiful ballad. It has an almost folk/Celtic sound to it, with the track picking up after the first verse with an interesting bass. There is a questionable instrumental which begins to sound extremely Celtic-inspired. This track probably isn't my preferred style but it is different, a refreshing change.
While my favourite single of this week is C-ute's new track (look out for a review soon), Kalafina is my single of the week for non H!P releases, a really beautiful find.
Rating: sprinter: A- ARIA: B
You can listen to Kalafina's single and last week's single of the week Plenty of Grit / Revolution in the media viewer at the top of the page and let me know what you think.
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