Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrenekoi
Hikki was able to put 3 albums among the 10 best selling in Japan history and had the best selling album of the years 4 different times. She also has the best selling non-japanese album in Japan, I wouldn't count her out or even compare her to Koda who never really had this kind of massive market attention.
Seiko still have top ten albums even if her release pace makes Ayu seen lazy  And unlike Ayu, she didn't really need tricks to keep her single streak. She still is the ultimate Japan idol and the one every other idol will be compared to. |
Just a correction for hikki. Did you mean she has the best selling non-japanese album for a -japanese artist- in Japan? Because Mariah Carey's "The Ones" sold 2,809,000 and is the best selling non japanese album in Japan Mariah Carey also had "Daydream" selling 2,203,000 and "Merry Christmas" 2,080,000, "Music Box" 1,589,000. hikki's EXODUS sold 1,074,000 in Japan (plus 40,000-60,000 more in US and EU together?).
A bit of foreign albums in Japan (that sold over a million):
1. Mariah Carey - The Ones 2,809,000
2. Mariah Carey - Daydream 2,203,000
3. Mariah Carey - Merry Christmas 2,080,000
4. Mariah Carey - Music Box 1,589,000
5. Carpenters - Best of Carpenters - 2,300,000
6. The Beatles - The Beatles 1 1,940,000
7. Whitney Houston - Bodyguard - 1,882,000
8. Michael Jackson - Thriller 1,616,000
9. Scatman John - Scatman World 1,561,000
10. Queen - Queen Jewels 1,343,000
11. Celine Dion - The Very Best 1,246,000
12. Bon Jovy - Crossroad 1,150,000
13. Mariah Carey and others - MAX 1,147,000
14. Avril Lavigne - Let Go 1,136,000
15. Utada - EXODUS 1,074,000 (Japanese Artist)
16. Enya - Paint The Sky 1,063,000
17. Celine Dion - Let's Talk About Love 1,031,000
18. Avril Lavigne - Under My Skin 1,029,000
19. Mariah Carey - Butterfly 1,025,000
Mariah Carey was HUGE in Japan, probably the most popular foreign artist in Japan ever. Madonna doesn't have a million selling album in Japan.
So there are 19 foreign albums in Japan that sold over a million and Utada is at #15. I'm kinda both glad and surprised that Japan didn't have the same boy bands (or girl groups) with foreign artists like they are with Japanese ones. No Backstreet Boys, Five, Westlife and Spicegirls on the list lol =P Even though Spicegirls were nice.
As for tricks, in a fading physical copies industry, they have had to use tricks to sell, but at least they sold it without using idol groups tricks like selling tickets, events, election, 8 editions per each release. It helps AKB48 to sell over a million for the 16th single consecutively, it's crazy.