AKB48 “Sakura no Ki ni Narou” Crosses 1 Million

AKB48 “Sakura no Ki ni Narou” Crosses 1 Million


On March 1st, two weeks and one day after it`s release AKB48 managed yet another record with “Sakura no Ki ni Narou” crossing one million in sales with 1,002,052 actual  sales.

Oshima Yuko made the official announcement in Saitama Super Arena in front of 22,500 fans attending a handshake/ mini live event.

AKB48 currently have the highest sales totals of any artist to debut in the 2000`s, while “Sakura no Ki ni Narou” currently holds the 6th highest first week sales total [942,479]
 in Japanese history, putting the group in the same company of artists as Mr. Children, GLAY and B’z. in terms of sales and overall popularity.

AKB48 now has seven weekly number one singles in a row .The last time  that this  was accomplished by a female group,  it was Pink Lady in 1978.

In a time when legal and ill-legal downloading has reduced the overall hard disc sales totals industry wide, AKB48 continues to find a way to set new sales records.

Thanks to the success of AKB48, now is the perfect time for new idol agencies to debut or to be an up and coming Indie Idol group as the eyes of the industry is viewing this genre for fresh challengers for this modern day super group.

AKB48 :“Sakura no Ki ni Narou“ 1,100,00 Shipped

AKB48 newest single “Sakura no Ki ni Narou“shipped 1,100,000 copies to stores for sale. the industry buzz is that with day two sales of - 101,304 (756,648 total) that it is only an issue of days before “Sakura no Ki ni Narou“passes 1 million in actual sales. The amount of copies shipped by the way is higher then “Beginner” which shipped 1,030,000, in 16 weeks “Beginner” has sold 1,013,419.

AKB48 20th Single Debuts At #1 W/Sales Of 655,000

AKB48 Debuts at #1 W/Sales Of 655,000

The super idol group that is AKB48 continues it`s strangle hold on number one and record breaking sales as their 20th single “Sakura no Ki ni Naoru” entered the daily charts at number one with single day sales of 655,344. This sales number gives AKB48 a real chance at it`s second straight million selling CD as “Sakura no Ki ni Naoru” outsold “Beginner’s” opening day totals 655,344 to 568,095.

With market analysts already projecting “Sakura no Ki ni Naoru” to follow “Beginner” and cross a million in sales, is this becoming the new sales standards for AKB48? moreover, will their fans now consider their releases sales failures if they do not cross a million in sales?

With AKB48 coming out of the starting gates strong and setting a tone for the year ,how will the other major power groups plan to confront this seemingly unstoppable idol force ?


“Sakura no Ki ni Naoru”