...well, there goes Ayu's #1 single streak. Last got #1 single in 2010 with "L", then broken three years later with "Fell the love/Merry-go-round", Ayu's streak of #1 singles that spanned from 2002 (!) to 2010 has finally been surpassed by AKB48 with their 26th single, Green Flash, just announced today.
For AKB48, you have to go back to 2009 when they got their first #1 single, "RIVER" - and they have been #1 since then. Just unbelievable.
This was a record that was certainly broken, despite all those worries whether that single will reach a million in the first week alone for the 19th consecutive time. Most people have been keeping an eye on its numbers only, but for those who've been keeping a track on Ayu and AKB48, that day has come - Ayu's consecutive #1 single reign has finally come to an end, among all female artists in the Oricon.
Ayu will still hold the consecutive #1 single among female soloists, since AKB48's a group. Long live the Empress!
Still have to congratulate AKB48 though for their successive efforts, although I still have to wonder about those "inflated" single sales they have been having (all because of those fanboys buying a whole lot of AKB48 singles just for handshake or senbatsu election tickets) - RIVER got 178,579 when it got #1; this one barely gets a million (by a thousand!); Labrador Retriever last year got 1.66 million...