[Charts & Rankings] The Official Oricon Thread ~Feel the love / Merry-go-round Single~

[SolarAngel]

Originally Posted by Trinu

Actually, Ayu's decline could be seen as proof that she just got famous due to external factors. She was trendy, she was in every CM, she had a show, she put music out non-stop, bla bla bla... and now people are on to the next thing. That really doesn't say much about her music, tbh.

I think her lyrics must have been very refreshing when she started out. Several of my Japanese sensei used to be Ayu fans around the A Best era and they said it was because the lyrics were very meaningful. With the attention to her songs came the popularity and wasn't that when she became a fashion leader and being on all those magazine front covers?

I think her decline could have been slowed. IMO she was doing great with marketing and promotion until Love songs era onwards. That was when the decline probably spiralled beyond revival. Which is a great pity cos she has many great songs today that I can put on a loop (reminds me, return road, love song, progress, song 4 u, wake me up, beloved.....)

[Party_King]

Did somebody know how charted Namies TSUKI Single?
i mean, where can i get the actual sales and chart positions?
i think it would be interesting to compare Feel the Love / Merry-go-round and TSUKI from day to day

[brener]

Originally Posted by Party_King

Did somebody know how charted Namies TSUKI Single?
i mean, where can i get the actual sales and chart positions?
i think it would be interesting to compare Feel the Love / Merry-go-round and TSUKI from day to day

On TSUKI -official sales- thread

[UHPlus]

Originally Posted by Party_King

Did somebody know how charted Namies TSUKI Single?
i mean, where can i get the actual sales and chart positions?
i think it would be interesting to compare Feel the Love / Merry-go-round and TSUKI from day to day

http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=119324

[Rocky Raven]

Originally Posted by Party_King

Did somebody know how charted Namies TSUKI Single?
i mean, where can i get the actual sales and chart positions?
i think it would be interesting to compare Feel the Love / Merry-go-round and TSUKI from day to day

It's going this way
Namie Amuro (TSUKI): (#2) 18,680 + (#2) 8,152 + (#5) x + (#4) x + (#3) 3,830 + (#3) 3,597 + (#1) 1,858 = 36,117 + 2x
1st Week Total: (#3) 42,021

[My Rainbow]

Aiko who?

[ayuuk]

^Agree. It's a pity that after Love songs, there's been little promotion. Even worse, there was that Msta thing, divorce, etc. Also, it's been love, love and love themed... I know love is a topic most artists address, but somehow it's hoped that Ayu would be a bit different as she's had many other themes before. But it's been about 4 years or so with this love theme. >"<

[brener]

6th Week
Position: #153
Official Sales: 362
Official Total Sales: 37,366

it might chart for one more week and 6 weeks ain't nothing bad considering that "L" and "crossroad" lasted 8 weeks on charts ^_^

[ayumisrael]

It's official. Solo female artists don't do so well on the single charts anymore. Namie joined the club with not so amazing numbers. Look at how idol groups like morning musume sell (let's not even mention AKB48 and their sub units). We need new popular solo females in Japan, urgently.

[Mr. Goto]

Originally Posted by ayumisrael

It's official. Solo female artists don't do so well on the single charts anymore. Namie joined the club with not so amazing numbers. Look at how idol groups like morning musume sell (let's not even mention AKB48 and their sub units). We need new popular solo females in Japan, urgently.

Namie has been president of that club since like 2002. She's never been a strong single seller so this isn't something new. Not talking about her TK era obviously. There was also a lot of insinuating that TSUKI would sell worse/the same as big boys cry. Idol groups like Morning Musume only sell well cause they do a shit load of events and live concerts. Basically to attend the mini live concert you have to buy a copy of the single. There's also other perks like handshake events. That's why MM sells like 144k first week...but only 158k overall. AKB and their sister groups use those tactics too but unlike MM they're actually legitimately popular with the general public. Ayu and Namie could do that too and sell like 100k first week but they would probably get criticized for it.

Anyway didn't y'all learn your lesson in 2009 when WILD/Dr. came out? You can't only look at single sales. People here were trashing her saying that her popularity was already over etc. and how it was a huge flop compared to 60s70s80s. Then Past>FUTURE came out...then Checkmate!...then Uncontrolled...oops? We could bring DVD sales into this too.

Originally Posted by ayumisrael

I think that people here know very well that ayu is not at the top or as popular anymore and everyone admits it

if people were so accepting then namie wouldn't be mentioned in every single oricon thread. i know sometimes namie fans start the discussion and taunt ayu fans but they shouldn't be solely blamed. then we have the same tired excuses as to why namie and ayu's careers are the way they are today. there shouldn't be constant comparisons as a means to try and validate ayu's success.

[ayumisrael]

Yeah, her single sales are getting low as peers, it's really saddening that there's no solo female that can sell singles really well anymore. Hence why Japan needs a new one that will get popular... Not kana, not namie. bah.

Originally Posted by SolarAngel

I think her lyrics must have been very refreshing when she started out. Several of my Japanese sensei used to be Ayu fans around the A Best era and they said it was because the lyrics were very meaningful. With the attention to her songs came the popularity and wasn't that when she became a fashion leader and being on all those magazine front covers?

I think her decline could have been slowed. IMO she was doing great with marketing and promotion until Love songs era onwards. That was when the decline probably spiralled beyond revival. Which is a great pity cos she has many great songs today that I can put on a loop (reminds me, return road, love song, progress, song 4 u, wake me up, beloved.....)

I don't think that any other solo female enjoyed such a slow decline like ayu had. It was evident on sales between releases, some digital successes she had up to 2009, her status, her features in CMs and dramas, and her high yearly earnings (which she was on top 10 for like 10-11 years consecutively).

Remember that there was a reason why ayu was compared to any new rising artist and then came more haters =P

[Andrenekoi]

^25 posts? You still has a lot to learn about AHS...

[Trinu]

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

^25 posts? You still has a lot to learn about AHS...

Been around longer, I just never bothered to post (and why is the post count relevant?).

In any case, I feel we shouldn't go down this road without anything Ayu-related to talk about. No more sales? Then that's it. NEXT!

[Trinu]

I have no idea how much Ayu and co. worked on the single, but the final product is far from what I expect from someone like Ayumi Hamasaki.
I guess yeah, she's at that point in her career that she just doesn't give a damn (as it's been said countless times), but that doesn't stop me from having certain expectations when I heard there's a new Ayu single coming.

As for Aiko, some people say it's better to meet a modest sucess and be able to maintain it than be huge and then nothing a couple of years later. Opinions are opinions, and Aiko is right now selling better than Ayu. There's that.

And again, I don't wanna come off as an anti. But I don't like being a sheep-fan that cannot say "Hey, I don't like this" just because I then would become less of a fan.
I like critizicing the people I follow because I started to like them for X reasons, but when they come up with something I wouldn't have liked in the first place I have to shut up?
Or I just have to be all "OMG YEAH I LOVE IT CAUSE IT'S FROM AYU (but if it was by Koda or whoever Ayu's Nemesis is right now I'd hate it)"? I'm not that type of fan.
I'm saying this same stuff about AKB's next single and those are my jam since they came around.
I like what I like and I don't like what I don't. And just as I write how much I like something, I do the same thing when I don't (haha, what did I just write?).

Jpopmusic is one thing. Jpopcentral is another.
The forum moved and it lost most of its users and its charm with them. And I remember I had no need to go out of it to look for Ayu's info or anything.
I registered here because I read about AHS all the time, not because I wanted to troll or anything (and I never wrote because seeing 983759837597489 threads about one single makes me feel anguish).

So no trolling for my part, just someone who wants to puts his voice out there, even if it's cross-current.

[ayumisrael]

Originally Posted by Trinu

I have no idea how much Ayu and co. worked on the single, but the final product is far from what I expect from someone like Ayumi Hamasaki.
I guess yeah, she's at that point in her career that she just doesn't give a damn (as it's been said countless times), but that doesn't stop me from having certain expectations when I heard there's a new Ayu single coming.

As for Aiko, some people say it's better to meet a modest sucess and be able to maintain it than be huge and then nothing a couple of years later. Opinions are opinions, and Aiko is right now selling better than Ayu. There's that.

And again, I don't wanna come off as an anti. But I don't like being a sheep-fan that cannot say "Hey, I don't like this" just because I then would become less of a fan.
I like critizicing the people I follow because I started to like them for X reasons, but when they come up with something I wouldn't have liked in the first place I have to shut up?
Or I just have to be all "OMG YEAH I LOVE IT CAUSE IT'S FROM AYU (but if it was by Koda or whoever Ayu's Nemesis is right now I'd hate it)"? I'm not that type of fan.
I'm saying this same stuff about AKB's next single and those are my jam since they came around.
I like what I like and I don't like what I don't. And just as I write how much I like something, I do the same thing when I don't (haha, what did I just write?).

Jpopmusic is one thing. Jpopcentral is another.
The forum moved and it lost most of its users and its charm with them. And I remember I had no need to go out of it to look for Ayu's info or anything.
I registered here because I read about AHS all the time, not because I wanted to troll or anything (and I never wrote because seeing 983759837597489 threads about one single makes me feel anguish).

So no trolling for my part, just someone who wants to puts his voice out there, even if it's cross-current.

So what if aiko sells better than ayu now? It's like I will say that ayu has large tours and aiko doesn't, and it's not like aiko is selling ala AKB48 too. And of course the overall career and status in the Japanese industry can't be overlooked too.

The fact that you like aiko and she is selling better doesn't mean anything either. She's selling better because her image and music appeal, a lot, to the japanese audience. ayu's doesn't, it really doesn't mean that her music is less good, oh no. If you think so too, it doesn't become a fact either.

And seriously like only ayu has these fans who worships everything she does, and you know, it's an ayu forum so of course you would see more of it here, but in reality, all of the artists have these fans. It doesn't mean it's ok but a lot of hardcore fans would act like that, and like you wouldn't like to see "perfect" each post around here, you shouldn't say how ayu's recent work is not for your taste (understatement) in every post too since it's really not any better. You do come across as an anti-troll if you keep doing so often.

I think that people here know very well that ayu is not at the top or as popular anymore and everyone admits it, but her state is really not bad and she still is a legend in japanese culture, even if aiko sells somewhat more than her.

I remember seiko matsuda selling like 5000 for an album but because of her legendary status she still can tour.

[hayasaki]

Originally Posted by ayumisrael

So what if aiko sells better than ayu now? It's like I will say that ayu has large tours and aiko doesn't, and it's not like aiko is selling ala AKB48 too. And of course the overall career and status in the Japanese industry can't be overlooked too.

The fact that you like aiko and she is selling better doesn't mean anything either. She's selling better because her image and music appeal, a lot, to the japanese audience. ayu's doesn't, it really doesn't mean that her music is less good, oh no. If you think so too, it doesn't become a fact either.

And seriously like only ayu has these fans who worships everything she does, and you know, it's an ayu forum so of course you would see more of it here, but in reality, all of the artists have these fans. It doesn't mean it's ok but a lot of hardcore fans would act like that, and like you wouldn't like to see "perfect" each post around here, you shouldn't say how ayu's recent work is not for your taste (understatement) in every post too since it's really not any better. You do come across as an anti-troll if you keep doing so often.

I think that people here know very well that ayu is not at the top or as popular anymore and everyone admits it, but her state is really not bad and she still is a legend in japanese culture, even if aiko sells somewhat more than her.

I remember seiko matsuda selling like 5000 for an album but because of her legendary status she still can tour.

i wish there's like button per post here!

[mizuki-7]

This Ayu VS Aiko has no sens ... They are both different ! They don't have the same audience and even less the same style ! I really don't like when people begins to say things like "ouuhh she is better ! no it's her etc..." it's a bit too childish no ?

I don't like the style of Aiko but she is what the japanese like --> a cheerful & joyful girl and very simple ! She is certainly not at the same level as BoA she is way more popular and credible as an artist she is not an idol but a true singer/songwriter !

She began like Ayu, Utada, Shiina ringo, Misia etc... in 1998 and like Ayu all these singers their sales are declining ! It's true the sales of Ayu were monstrous in her heyday so her decline since several years seems huge compared to them but it's not the case at all ! Ayumi has stopped to be the top female singer (solo) only in 2011 ... (except some years where she ranked 2nd) ! She is certainly not just the trendy girl of the early 2000 because there are just no female singer who was able to sustain the same level of sales since the beginning !

[Trinu]

I'm not talking about Ayu VS Aiko in the least lol

My first comment on this was because I read two or three comments on the line of...

"I don't get why she sells so much/morr than Ayu, all her songs are boring to me".
Like that reason only had to mean that she had to do worse. WTF?

Then I went on to enumerate a number of similar artists (Ayaka, Yuzu, Ikimonogakari etc.) that have also been able to rival Ayu in sales because they are GOOD artists and people like them. The same as there are people who like Ayu and others that don't.

So it wasn't an Aiko thing at all.

Anyway, this is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay off-topic, so it ends here for me lol

And if it makes any difference, I'm loving how Pray sounds and if she keeps releasing stuff like that, she'll have me opening my wallet in no time. ^^

[truehappiness]

Originally Posted by Trinu

I'm not talking about Ayu VS Aiko in the least lol

My first comment on this was because I read two or three comments on the line of...

"I don't get why she sells so much/morr than Ayu, all her songs are boring to me".
Like that reason only had to mean that she had to do worse. WTF?

Then I went on to enumerate a number of similar artists (Ayaka, Yuzu, Ikimonogakari etc.) that have also been able to rival Ayu in sales because they are GOOD artists and people like them. The same as there are people who like Ayu and others that don't.

So it wasn't an Aiko thing at all.

I suggest re-reading those posts because looking back, nothing of the sort was really said.

[adantatu2]

Why are you talking about aiko ?
Namie sold more than her and ayu, lol, XD.