Weekly Oricon Chart Roundup – Week 36

Heya, and welcome to our nommy roundup of the Oricon Chart! We’ll be showing you some of the most popular new songs in Japan this week.

愛を叫べ – 嵐
At number one this week, Arashi’s new single “Ai wo Sakebe”. Arashi, even though they are a Japanese idol group, was formed in Honolulu, Hawaii during a Johnny & Associates press conference to represent the talent agency’s thrust of “creating a storm throughout the world”; hence the name Arashi, which translates into storm. Their CD debut was an instant hit, selling over half a million copies in its first week. In recent years they have pushed through to become one of the top selling artists in Japan, becoming the artist with the highest total sales revenue in 2014 according to Oricon, and winning several Japan Gold Disc Awards.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5zCc1xTzXA

八奏絵巻 – 和楽器バンド
At number one in the album chart we find Wagakki Band’s new album Yasou Emaki. Wagakki Band is an eight member band that fuse Vocaloid songs with wagakki, which is the umbrella name for traditional Japanese musical instruments and western rock. Their singer, Yoku Suzuhana, also sings in a traditional style. This style has made them popular both in Japan and abroad, as both appreciate the traditional Japanese sound in a modern jacket.

Unfair World – 三代目 J Soul Brothers from EXILE TRIBE
Back in the singles chart, we have a familiar face at number two. We’ve seen J Soul Brothers at number one only two months ago, with their collab single with Dutch DJ Afrojack. Now they are already back in the charts with a new single. This line-up is the third generation of J Soul Brothers, with the first gen being the founders of EXILE.

Sentimental Trash – Ken Yokoyama
Switching back to the album chart once more, we have Ken Yokoyama’s new album, Sentimental Trash at number two. Just like the J Soul Brothers, Ken Yokoyama was also featured 2 months ago with his single “I Won’t Turn Off My Radio,” which is also featured on this album. Ken Yokoyama is the founder of the record label Pizza of Death, and is part of several bands, including BBQ Chickens.

ドスコイ!ケンキョにダイタン/ラーメン大好き小泉さんの唄/念には念(念入り ver.) – こぶしファクトリー
Back once more to the single chart, where number three is taken by Kobushi Factory’s debut label single. The single contains 3 songs: “Dosukoi! Kenkyo ni Daitan,” “Ramen Daisuki Koizumi-san no Uta,” and “Nen ni wa Nen (Nen’iri Ver.),” all of which have music videos. The group itself is part of the Hello! Project, specifically their Hello Pro Kenshuusei program, which is the idol training part of Hello! Project. Due to this the group is rather young, with an average age of 14.67 years old. This also means that this group is the first group to have all members be born after the Hello! Project was formed.

FEVER – 三浦大知
This really is the week of switching around, so back we go again to the album chart, where we have Daichi Miura at number three, with his 5th album FEVER. Daichi started singing at the age of 10, joining the group Folder, which consisted of students from Okinawa Actors School, but he left the group 3 years later due to puberty changing his voice. In 2005 he came back as a solo artist, and has released 15 singles and 5 albums since. He often writes his own lyrics and music, and choreographs most of his music videos.

アンビリーバーズ – 米津玄師
Yes indeed, back we go to the singles chart, where at number four we have Kenshi Yonezu. Kenshi used to be known as Hachi, and began his career releasing Vocaloid music in 2009. Then, in 2012, he started releasing music under his own name and with his own voice. As one would expect from a Vocaloid user, Kenshi started out releasing his music online using the popular Japanese website Nico Nico Douga, and has created popular songs that have been featured on some of the Hatsune Miku: Project Diva video games, and his most popular Vocaloid song is the Hatsune Miku & Gumi song, “Matryoshka.”

MURASAKI – 蒼井翔太
And finally, at number six, Shouta Aoi’s new single “MURASAKI.” Shouta Aoi used to perform under the stage name of Showta, but quit his agency due to his wishes to make songs for anime and games. He debuted as a voice actor in 2011 for the anime Kimi to Boku, for which he also sang the tracks “Sora” and “Tomorrow.” In 2013 he started releasing music once more, but this time under the name we know him as today, Shouta Aoi. 

That’s it for this week! I hope you had your fill of nommy songs, and I’ll see you next week for another roundup of the Oricon Chart!

The full charts can be found at oricon.co.jp