HTDAAB hits #4 in Japan

[Soldatti]

Oricon International Album chart November 29, 2004

1<3>"Encore"-Eminem(120,766)
2<4>"How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb"-U2 (84,129)
3<5>"Greatest Hits:My Prerogative"-Britney Spears (66,995)
4<7>"Destiny Fulfilled"-Destiny's Child(49,339)
5<13>"I Believe"-Tata Young(26,321)
6<14>"Best Of Blue"-Blue(26,075)
7<19>"Wonderful Christmas"-Various Artists(Japan Only) (17,139)
8<21>"The Beatles '64 Box Set"-Beatles (14,714)
9<23>"Precious-R&B/Hip Hop Style"-Various Artists(Japan Only) (14,315)
10<28>"Powerballin"-Chingy(10,197)

<>= Rank of Overall charts (Japanese and international artists together)
( )=Sales for one week

History so far for U2 in Japan:

ORICON TOP 100 ALBUMS

<Albums>
1983/04/25 " War " #40, 9 weeks, 21,000
1984/01/01 " Under a Blood Red Sky " #39, 8 weeks, 20,000
1984/10/06 " The Unforgettable Fire " #22, 8 weeks, 25,000
1985/09/01 " Wide Awake in America " #63, 2 weeks, 2,000
1987/03/21 " The Joshua Tree " #13, 33 weeks, 56,000
1988/10/30 " Rattle and Hum " #4, 18 weeks, 111,000
1991/11/18 " Achtung Baby " #4, 10 weeks, 122,790
1993/07/05 " Zooropa " #5, 11 weeks, 140,950
1997/02/26 " Pop " #3, 9 weeks, 196,560
1998/10/28 " Best of 1980-1990 [Japan Special edition] " #3, 4 weeks, 171,260
1998/11/04 " Best of 1980-1990 " #6, 16 weeks, 204,870
2000/10/25 " All That You Can't Leave Behind " #6, 6 weeks, 130,590
2002/10/30 " Best of 1990-2000 " #3, 6 weeks, 102,702
2004/11/29 " How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb " #4, 1 week, 84,129

ORICON TOP 100 SINGLES

<Singles>
1983/10/01 " New Year's Day " #67, 4 weeks, 5,000
1985/01/25 " Pride (In the Name of Love) " #63, 4 weeks, 5,000
1991/10/21 " The Fly [EP] " #100, 1 week, 2,950
1997/02/03 " Discotheque " #82, 4 weeks, 9,230
2000/10/18 " Beautiful Day " #42, 2 weeks, 7,410

 

[ChargedVT]

I assume the figures next to each album are the TOTAL sales since each record came out? In that case its interesting because POP is the biggest selling non-best-of U2 album in Japan!

 

[Soldatti]

I assume the figures next to each album are the TOTAL sales since each record came out?

Of course
BTW, that sales are up to the issue of Nov. 8, three weeks ago. I think that some of the Greatest Hits sold a few more copies this week.

 

[Aardvark747]

OMG! Blue have made it as big as Japan!

That HAS to be our worst Export from the UK ever.
To all the ppl of Japan....I humbly apologise!!

 

[STING2]

I knew U2 did not have huge sales numbers in Japan, but even I was surprised by just how low these sales figures are. Its amazing that U2 have been able to play Stadiums there.

By the way, how accurate are these figures? I was thinking if it was from something likeSoundscan that only started in 1991, that might explain the much smaller sales for the early albums.

By next week, "Bomb" will have sold more than twice as many copies as Joshua Tree if these figures are correct!

 

[Soldatti]

I knew U2 did not have huge sales numbers in Japan, but even I was surprised by just how low these sales figures are. Its amazing that U2 have been able to play Stadiums there.

By the way, how accurate are these figures? I was thinking if it was from something likeSoundscan that only started in 1991, that might explain the much smaller sales for the early albums.

By next week, "Bomb" will have sold more than twice as many copies as Joshua Tree if these figures are correct!

In Japan, ORICON started the albums chart in 1970, since then every album that made the Top 100 was printed with the sales too, for that week and total.
Each 2-3 years, ORICON updates the figures for artists of the moment, for example if U2 will release an album they research all the catalog of that artist.
I only have this update because the last one was in 2000.
I'm sure that the sales are 80-90% real, the few mistakes are for little numbers, 2.000 or 3.000 copies max.

 

[STING2]

Japan is indeed the only place in the world where POP is the biggest selling U2 album. Strange thing is, U2 had difficulty selling tickets for two stadium shows there in 1997 on POPMART, while back in 1989 with total album sales at that point less than the single total for POP in 1997, U2 easily sold out multiple stadium shows and potentially could have sold more concert tickets for that single tour than they had sold albums over the previous ten years at that point.

 

[Squire]

And they are going to tour in there...

 

[zoo tv mcg]

YEP,

Australia, NZ and Japan for late 05 - pretty much confirmed.

Hooray for OZ

 

[Soldatti]

Second week in Japan:

Oricon International Album chart December 6, 2004:

1<6>"Encore"-Eminem(60,358)
2<8>"Greatest Hits:My Prerogative"-Britney Spears (49,938)
3<9>"How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb"-U2 (44,394)
4<11>"Destiny Fulfilled"-Destiny's Child(37,356)
5<12>"I Believe"-Tata Young(29,644)

<>= Rank of Overall charts (Japanese and international artists together)
( )=Sales for one week

Sales so far: 128,523

 

[U2@NYC]

Eminem and Britney Spears are above U2???!!! These Japanese buyers are getting too influenced by U.S. junk music...

 

[Axver]

I read an article on U2.com last night that said U2 are #2 in Japan ...

 

[doctorwho]

Maybe these charts makes sense to some of you, but I'm very confused.

It says that U2 was at #4 - but now they are up to #2? Does that mean a #4 debut and the a jump to #2? Does the 84,000 copies sold indicate total sales, or just first week sales?

That last question is critical because on the first chart, U2 is listed at #2 (apparently up from #4) and it's stated that 84,000 copies were sold. However, in a later chart, it's listed that U2 debuted at #4 with, again, 84,000 copies sold. So it seems to me the numbers you listed are the debut week numbers, not total.

Granted, U2's music may not speak directly to the people of Japan, but 123,00 copies sold of AB and only 56,000 copies sold of JT seems REALLY low.

 

[CICOLO]

Maybe this chart makes sense to you, but I'm confused.

It says that U2 was at #4 - but now they are up to #2? Does that mean a #4 debut and the a jump to #2? Does the 84,000 copies sold indicate total sales, or just first week sales?

It seems that those numbers are VERY low - are you sure they are total sales? I'm a bit surprised at how low they are then. After all, Japan is one of the three biggest markets for movies (along with the U.S. and U.K.). So I'd think it would also be popular for albums. Granted, U2's music may not speak directly to the people of Japan, but 123,00 copies sold of AB and only 56,000 copies sold of JT seems REALLY low.

Please,DoctorWho actually USA,then CEE (Europe w /Euro currency)),then Japan & UK.

 

[Popmartijn]

Maybe these charts makes sense to some of you, but I'm very confused.

It says that U2 was at #4 - but now they are up to #2? Does that mean a #4 debut and the a jump to #2? Does the 84,000 copies sold indicate total sales, or just first week sales?

I think this bit from Soldatti's message might clear it up a bit:

<>= Rank of Overall charts (Japanese and international artists together)
( )=Sales for one week

So while U2 debuted at #4 at the Japanese chart, they were the 2nd best international artist. The best-selling international artist last week was Eminem and he was at #3 on the charts. So two Japanese artists occupied the top 2 positions.

C ya!

Marty

 

[Soldatti]

I think this bit from Soldatti's message might clear it up a bit:


So while U2 debuted at #4 at the Japanese chart, they were the 2nd best international artist. The best-selling international artist last week was Eminem and he was at #3 on the charts. So two Japanese artists occupied the top 2 positions.

C ya!

Marty

100% true
Thanks for the explanation!

 

[STING2]

There are two charts in Japan, one that combines both domestic and international artist, and one that has only international artist.

 

[Soldatti]

Here is the Oricon Overall Album Chart with sales (Top 20)
Week ending December 6, 2004

1 Sentimentalovers (Ken Hirai) 687,516
2 Kyoiku (Tokyo) 205,012
3 G10 (The Gospellers) 110,315
4 Love Jam (Ai Otsuka) 94,832
5 Single Collection+3 (Kishidan) 81,103
6 Encore (Eminem) 60,358 [INTERNATIONAL #1]
7 House Of Strings (Takahiro Matsumoto) 54,206
8 Greatest Hits: My Prerogative (Britney Spears) 49,938 [INTERNATIONAL #2]
9 How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb (U2) 44,394 [INTERNATIONAL #3]
10 The Voice (Ayaka Hirahara) 40,112
11 Destiny Fulfilled (Destiny's Child) 37,356 [INTERNATIONAL #4]
12 I Believe (Tata Young) 29,644 [INTERNATIONAL #5]
13 Smile (Sasuke) 29,117
14 Life Is Beautiful (Double) 26,139
15 Wonderful Christmas (Various Artists) 23,512 [INTERNATIONAL #6]
16 Synchronicity (Bennie K) 21,105
17 Nagabuchi Tsuyoshi All Night Live In Sakurajima 04.8.21 (Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi) 19,404
18 Time (Shikao Suga) 17,920
19 Best Of Blue (Blue) 16,523 [INTERNATIONAL #7]
20 /04 (Ryuichi Sakamoto) 15,744

 

[doctorwho]

O.K., the explanation for the numbers of HTDAAB now make sense. Thanks!

However, the numbers for other U2 albums don't. One person said that they reflect TOTAL sales for those albums. Clearly this can't be right. Per the above info., HTDAAM has already sold 130K copies in Japan, making it one of U2's best selling albums there - in just 2 weeks. I find it hard to believe that in 2 weeks, HTDAAB has already surpassed JT and AB and ATYCLB. Are U2's album sales REALLY that low there? And if so, how did HTDAAB zip by them so quickly?

 

[Soldatti]

The sales in Japan are very high but that's since 1990, on previous years the main market were the singles and the sales for albums were "low", here some examples:

- Michael Jackson's "Bad" was #1 in Japan for 8 weeks in 1987 and "only" sold 590,000 copies to date.
- Madonna's "True Blue" was #2 for 4 weeks in 1986, spent 60 weeks on the Top 100 and sold 303,000 copies to date.
- Rolling Stones did 10 sold out shows at Tokyo Dome in 1990, they sold 500,000 tickets in 30 minutes and his new album in that year (Steel Wheels) only reached #5 and sold 167,000 copies to date.

Here some Beatles albums in Japan:

rank / peak / weeks on chart / sales so far / album
01 / 01 / 30 / 1.875.230 / Beatles 1 (2000)
02 / 01 / 209 / 840.650 / The Beatles 1962-1966 (1973)
03 / 02 / 327 / 803.950 / Let It Be (1970)
04 / 02 / 193 / 731.880 / The Beatles 1967-1970 (1973)
05 / 03 / 315 / 606.750 / Abbey Road (1969)
06 / 03 / 14 / 606.660 / Anthology 1 (1995)
07 / 09 / 13 / 410.980 / Live At The BBC (1993)
08 / 03 / 9 / 266.280 / Anthology 2 (1996)
09 / 07 / 145 / 253.000 / Oldies But Goodies (1966)
10 / 02 / 25 / 220.000 / Lennon's Double Fantasy (1980)

Some points:
- The Beatles 1962-1966 spent 209 wks on the Top 100 (between 1973 and 1995) and "only" sold 840,000 copies to date.
- Abbey Road spent 315 wks on chart (between 1969-1987) and sold 600,000 copies to date.

Draw your own conclusions....