[ARASHI] Let's Jump into the Time Capsule of Magical Songs!! ★ thread #28

[KarenPang]

LOL it's true Caroline

but I have to say the PV preview for Hatenai Sora is already >>>>>>> for me over Dear Snow (be it preview or the full thing)

I like the setting & it kinda reminded me of ON/OFF's Rinne -Rondo- where the twin brothers were also walking in the water



except for Hatenai Sora , seems that the water setting might be CG effect driven ? I'm not sure

[Midori-chan]

I like the PV for "Hatenai Sora" better than the PV for "Dear Snow", that's for sure! I really love the setting with the buildings and the water.
I just wish there would be more going on than only walking/standing and singing.

But lets wait and see, it's only a short preview. Maybe there will be more...*hopes*


I have the feeling that there will be something more...the passage where the light is shining through looks interesting to me; maybe there is a surprise waiting for us!

[KarenPang]

YEARLY

Singles
*1 698,542 **,234 嵐 Troublemaker 2010/03/03
*2 696,022 **,296 嵐 Monster 2010/05/19
*3 683,703 *6,669 AKB48 ﾍﾋﾞｰﾛｰﾃｰｼｮﾝ 2010/08/18
*4 647,144 *1,646 AKB48 ﾎﾟﾆｰﾃｰﾙとｼｭｼｭ 2010/05/26
*5 611,859 *2,284 嵐 Lφve Rainbow 2010/09/08
*6 564,737 15,124 嵐 Dear Snow 2010/10/06
*7 514,744 **,350 嵐 To be free 2010/07/07
*8 439,736 **,*** KAT-TUN Love yourself ～君が嫌いな君が好き～ 2010/02/10
*9 388,680 **,341 AKB48 桜の栞 2010/02/17
10 350,015 **,336 SMAP This is love 2010/08/04

Albums

*1 1,030,068 11,245 嵐 僕の見ている風景 2010/08/04
*2 *,627,130 *2,223 西野ｶﾅ to LOVE 2010/06/23
*3 *,603,753 *1,896 FUNKY MONKEY BABYS ﾌｧﾝｷｰﾓﾝｷｰﾍﾞｲﾋﾞｰｽﾞBEST 2010/02/10
*4 *,574,525 **,*** 安室奈美恵 PAST FUTURE 2009/12/16
*5 *,569,071 **,542 東方神起 BEST SELECTION 2010 2010/02/17
*6 *,559,170 **,625 いきものがかり ﾊｼﾞﾏﾘﾉｳﾀ 2009/12/23
*7 *,466,334 **,398 木村ｶｴﾗ 5years 2010/02/03
*8 *,463,922 **,612 EXILE FANTASY 2010/06/09
*9 *,423,532 *1,780 AKB48 神曲たち 2010/04/07
10 *,392,195 **,910 徳永英明 VOCALIST 4 2010/04/20

From 2ch

[Bigtop]

^ Well, in the albums race, it's NOT even close, while in the singles, just about the top seven are occupied by ARASHI - AND AKB48...

[KarenPang]

Bigtop just go away wouldn't you ? you really are a thorn in my sight >_>

more screencaps of the Hatenai Sora PV preview





Nino looked short haha but good things do come in small packages like AKIHIDE xD

LOL @ Nino borrowing Aiba's style *points to the bottom of his outfit

[Beauty4123]

position 1, 2, 5, 6, and 7 for singles! amazing!

thanks for more screencaps of the PV preview, karen! it looks so lovely!

Originally Posted by KarenPang

TOO CUTE!

[Beauty4123]

sorry to double post, but i found (what seems like) a full radio rip of hatenai sora! i looove the intro.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wv8Bhg1cDc4

[KarenPang]

yeah the intro is very pretty

I didn't got that part when Nino played it on Baystorm

I guess this YouTube link you found was taken from Aiba's radio show

EDIT

I ripped the song xD

http://sharebee.com/9a23dd22 | http://www.megaupload.com/?d=EPZG0TTO

[Beauty4123]

thanks for the rip, karen!

[KarenPang]

I never expect what was initally leaked out from Baystorm , I didn't heard the intro & ending which both attributes are really nice

I know I had dislike towards Hatenai Sora initally but I actually like it now

somemore the PV preview is helping too LOL

[Mai82Go]

Originally Posted by KarenPang

Bigtop just go away wouldn't you ? you really are a thorn in my sight >_>

That's not nice. I have a person here on AHS that I don't want to read the posts of because I hate what they post and their opinion makes me screaming mad, but I cannot force them to leave - they also have a right to be here, as much as I do. Just use the Ignore function and you won't see their posts anymore.

[Bigtop]

Originally Posted by KarenPang

Bigtop just go away wouldn't you ? you really are a thorn in my sight >_>

That was not nice! Could you (and I should, too) please calm down a bit? Let's get friendly here...

...but I think ARASHI might have a bit of a threat here:

Originally Posted by Ranma Matsuri

AKB48's new song "Beginner" opens the week with 568,095 copes sold during the first day. outselling all the first week sales for Arashi's singles this year!



The Single Daily Chart for Wednesday was now revealed. the artist becoming 1# in the first day of the chart was the Akibahara-based female idol group AKB48 with their new song "Beginner".

the first day sales are 568,095. Impressively with just 1 day, it outsold the first week sales of all the singles Arashi released during 2010.

"Sakura no Shiori" with 389k, "Ponytail to Shushu" with 647k and "Heavy Rotation" with 684k were the total numbers for the AKB48 Single releases of this year, all archiving big hits. every AKB48 Single so far surpassed their precedent's total sales, accumulating a great general interest.

adding the news released yesterday of the opening shipments for "Beginner" surpassing 1 million copies with a possibility of becoming the first million seller in japan since approximately 3 years ago accumulated an even higher public notice.

as for first day sales, this number (568k) became the highest ever since Oricon started to report daily figures. from "Ponytail to Shushu"s 354k and "Heavy Rotation"'s 354k, this also registered an impressive high jump in sales. to add more, "Ponytail to Shushu"'s (513k) and "Heavy Rotation" (527k first week sales were also surpassed just in 1 day.

The current yearly 1# Single in Japan is Arashi's "Troublemaker" with 699k. there is a compressible high chance that "Beginner" could surpass the total sales of "Troublemaker" during the rest of week. with predictions informing that just the 2nd day sales would be enough.


Opening Sales record for AKB48 Singles in 2010:

229,528: "Sakura no Shiori"
354,403: "Ponytail to Shushu"
340,387: "Heavy Rotation"
568,095: "Beginner"

http://blog.livedoor.jp/ustan777/archives/51761332.html

[KarenPang]

*amused* someone should do some reflections on his own self before saying anything bad about me

pot calling the kettle black , much ?

anyway so what about AKB48's Beginner 1st day sales ? it's massive & I do admit impressive yeah (4 CD + DVD's editions anyone ?) but ARASHI cannot forever be at the top of the game

what goes up has to come down somewhere down the line

they had an amazing chart run for the last 2 years so maybe things will cool down about now

besides , I don't care about sales as much as some other people do

[Beauty4123]

even i don't care so much about those girls beating arashi's first week sales, LOL. to me, arashi is still #1 in my heart, and they had their chances already, so i mean...it's all good. i can't be greedy! it's not like the public hates arashi now just cause they may not get the #1 single for the year. i can't understand why those AKB girls are getting such high sales, though, haha. i gotta admit that.

[dreamland2.0]

^Beginner is a super catchy song xD

Ah well 2009 was surely their year! And so far they still have the amazing BNMF #1 with over a million!!!!!!! Who can complain!!

[KarenPang]

last year was really their year & I'm not counting 2008 because that was the start of their surge in popularity

they also did very well this year too with even more accomplishments they have probably achieved a lot more when you compare this with last year on what they have attained

you look & see whether any other Johnny's able to get the kinda success that ARASHI achieved/attained , they would kill to be in their shoes now

[Midori-chan]

I really wonder why it's such a big deal that AKB48 are selling more than Arashi?
Nobody can be on top forever!
There will ALWAYS be somebody better!

I personally don't understand the excitement for AKB48, but I'm sure their fans have their reasons, just like we Arashi fans do!

And only because their single is selling better for once, doesn't mean, that it has to be like this forever now, right?! XD
But personally I've never cared for sales. When I like an artist, I support them, no matter how much they sell!

[Nackar_91]

Caring for sales doesn't necessarily mean you care about the artist BECAUSE of sales.

I am interested in AKB48 purely because of their success. I hate their music and dislike the group entirely. On the other hand, I love Arashi. I don't care if they sell 10k or 700k.

I don't see how that interferes with me wanting them to sell a lot though. There's absolutely no shame in hoping the best for your favorite artist ^^

[Midori-chan]

Originally Posted by Nackar_91

I don't see how that interferes with me wanting them to sell a lot though. There's absolutely no shame in hoping the best for your favorite artist ^^

Of course not! I'm happy, that Arashi are so popular, because they work hard for it.
But I've seen quite a few entries on lj lately, who went like: "Ah, Arashi are much better and should sell more than AKB48!" or "Arashi will lose their popularity soon."

I'm just curious to know why sales are so important to so many people. It's not like Arashi are selling bad! They're still under the top sellers, so I don't see the problem.

But maybe that's just me, because I've never cared for numbers and have no idea how much Arashi (or other artists I love) sells, unless somebody really points it out to me.


And how can you be interested in AKB48, when you hate their music and the group entirely? What is interesting about them for you?
Their sales?

[Midori-chan]

Sorry for the double post, but I felt like posting this. It's kinda sweet, even when the writer "forgot" to mention Riida and Aiba! -.-''

Arashi are more than just pretty boys [JAPAN CLOSE-UP November 2010 issue]



I have a 63-year-old American friend whose husband passed away a few years ago. Occasionally, she becomes very depressed about her loss. Not knowing how to cheer her up, I once sent her a link to a Japanese song called "Kako" (Traces). It's a poetic ballad about refusing to let the memories of a beloved longtime partner fade away. Even without understanding the lyrics, my friend was greatly comforted by the melody.

Then she wanted to know what the words meant and found English translations of the song along and the lyrics in Romanized letters so she could sing along. Kako was written and composed by Kazunari Ninomiya of the popular group Arashi (Storm).

Margaret never thought she would be a fan of a Japanese pretty boy band, yet watching Arashi concert clips and their variety shows in translation, she found herself being cheered up by them.

Arashi is not quite taking the world by storm, but they are arguably the most popular Japanese group in the world right now. In February 2010, they were awarded 10 Gold Disc Music Awards for having the three top hit songs of 2009. Domestically, they are currently hosting three prime-time variety shows. The Japan Tourism Agency appointed Arashi to be their official ambassador appearing in commercials in other parts of Asia.

Arashi's popularity amongst teenage girls in Taiwan and Korea was orchestrated by a conscious effort.

However, when Ninomiya appeared at the Berlin Film Festival for the screening of Clint Eastwood's "Letters from Iwojima" which he co-starred, he was visibly surprised by the calls of "Nino! Nino!" from European fans.

Part of the reason for Arashi's popularity is due to the techno-linguistic prowess of their fans. Within 24-hours of airing, "Yamada Taro Monogatari," a television drama that starred Ninomiya along with fellow Arashi member Sho Sakurai, is competently translated into Chinese, Korean, and English. Young girls living all over the world consult each other on-line to figure out the most appropriate wording.

It is because of them that people as far as Europe and in New Jersey where my friend Margaret lives, are exposed to the group.

What makes Arashi so special? Powerhouse agency Johnny's Entertainment churns out a group of pretty young boys almost every year. V6 and News, the two groups that debuted immediately before and after Arashi, do not enjoy the same level of success. But Arashi was not always popular. Between 2000 and 2005, facing too much competition from other Johnny's groups, Arashi were shipped off to be promoted in Korea and Taiwan. In 2007, member Jun Matsumoto starred in "Hana yori Dango" a hugely popular television drama and subsequently, the show's theme song by Arashi also hit No. 1. In 2008, Kazunari Ninomiya received a flurry of media attention in his acclaimed role in "Letters from Iwojima." Indeed it was after watching Ninomiya in this Hollywood film that I began looking up Arashi on the Internet and like my friend Margaret, became hooked on their variety shows. Between 2005 and 2007, Arashi appeared in a series of late-night programs. While the realtime ratings were not particularly good, the shows lived on gloriously through the Internet. As Arashi members began to garner attention, fans already had access to their shows in multiple languages.

As a group, having diverse talents is important to longevity. Matsumoto is the typical handsome idol. Ninomiya is a character actor who can convincingly play an autistic runner. Sakurai is intellectual and works as a news anchor. But Arashi is endearing because they have great onair chemistry which shines through in their variety shows. They are sweet to old people and goofy with kids. The song my friend Margaret loves was written by Ninomiya specifically for an old woman who lost her beloved husband as a way of cheering her up during an episode of their program "MagoMago Arashi." The show featured the members acting as grandsons doing favors for elderly people all over the country.

Japanese groups are typically thrown together and some clearly dislike each other. Then there is Arashi who celebrate each other's birthdays and vacation together. It seems incredible that Arashi is popular worldwide for simply being good buddies but this kind of interaction is so rarely seen in celebrities. In Japan, the interaction is rehearsed and simulated. Overseas, variety shows specialize in people openly feuding. With these types of entertainment, it is no wonder that the good-natured humor of Arashi, along with their sappy sweet pop songs, is healing the world.

Author: Carol Hui is a freelance writer based in Tokyo. She specializes in topics on lifestyle changes in contemporary Japan.


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SOURCE: ASIANFANATICS and arama
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