Holy hsdgeyrbcjd, Arashi made that economic impact of over 20 billion yen? *slapped by JaeChun* The storm's really really amazing, Aishiteru ichiban! <3 But at least niban's the most-searched artist of the year, lol. Maybe mostly because of the disbandment issue. Guuuh~ that will never happen of course, aktf :)
Nikkei Entertainment ranks the hits & trends of 2009 in its January 2010 issue.
It's been said for a long time now that "National hits have disappeared". It is true that nowadays, there are rarely hit songs that sell over a million copies and tv shows with viewership ratings exceeding 30%. Also from the effects of the economic crisis since the collapse of Lehman Brothers, 2009 was a year where the willingness to spend has cooled. Even with the downturn of events, there are still many works that have charmed the hearts of the people. For the hit rankings, in addition to [Degree of breakthrough] as seen by industry-watchers, [Societal influence] that shows attention from the media etc. has been added. This will show who/which are the Hits that [Sales] alone cannot determine.
(Note: Last year's Hits (Top 5) were EXILE, Quiz!Hexagon II, Ponyo on the Cliff, Bakushou Red Carpet & Atsuhime, in that order.)
1. Arashi (ranked 6th last year)
Music sales moved a notch up, variety shows on the right track, economic impact of over 20 billion yen (US$224 Million) this year
Sales: Album exceeded a million copies in sales, DVD is the first music DVD ever to exceed 500,000 in sales in Japan, all released singles ranked in the top 5 of the yearly charts.
Novelty & degree of breakthrough: One of their variety shows got upgraded into Golden Timeslot. TV viewership ratings also headed in right direction. First ever to hold 3-day concert at National Stadium.
Degree of societal influence: Corporate campaign economic effect of 4500 million yen (this refers to the House Foods + DisneySea campaign). Tickets for this campaign went up at online auctions for up to 450,000 yen per pair.
2. ROOKIES ~Sotsugyo~ (ROOKIES ranked 18th last year)
No.1 Box-Office takings for movies released in 2009, advertising campaign by TBS gathered much attention too
Sales: Box office takings reached 8500 million yen (US$96.1 million) ranking in #1 for 2009. Theme song of the movie sold 140,000 physical Single CD copies, and approximately 1 million in chaku-uta full sales.
Novelty: Tie-ups with Toyota and Lion plus over 100 other goods, a revolutionary method of promotion started.
Degree of societal influence: The promotional blitz by TBS became a hot conversational topic. Prominent part of the 'Warumen' Boom. (Warumen meaning 'bad boy' as opposed to the good-looking 'ikemen'. Other warumen movies include the Crows Zero & Gokusen series)
3. EXILE (ranked 1st last year)
Surprise of expansion to 14 members, variety show and individual activities headed in right direction
Sales: Their 3 singles released had a combined sales of 800,000 copies (as of November 25th). Their album released in December looks set to sell over a million copies.
Novelty & degree of breakthrough: Became a 14-member group, individual activities became easier to do and the number of shows and CMs that they appeared in increased by leaps and bounds.
Degree of societal influence: Performed at the 20th Anniversary celebrations of the Emperor of Japan, cementing their status as a National Artiste.
4. Dragon Quest IX
Wi-fi communicative game functions used to appeal to new gamers, 4 million people embarked on an exciting adventure
Sales: Sold over 4 million copies after its release on the 11th of July, compared to the top-selling game of the first half of the year which sold just over 600,000 copies.
Novelty & degree of breakthrough: Incoporated communicative functions which effectively targeted the light user
Degree of societal influence: Wi-fi communication allows for 3 players to easily and quickly link up even in a crowded shopping district. People can be seen playing the game everywhere.
5. Michael Jackson
The Eternal Superstar that left too soon and was mourned throughout the world
Sales: Limited edition-jacket CD kept on running out of stock. Movie box-office takings reached 4000 million yen after only 4 weeks of release.
Novelty & degree of breakthrough: Continuous media coverage and commemorative specials on TV exposed him to a legion of young people who were not familiar with his activities.
Degree of societal influence: Movie played to a full-house at theaters everywhere. Related events also gathered extremely large crowds.
Complete List below ^^
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