“HS” 15 Million Downloads: Track Breakdown
For those interested, a breakdown of the 15 million downloads that were reported for all songs off of Utada’s latest album, “HEART STATION,” is posted after the jump, courtesy of Barks Japan.
JASRAC: “FOL” Top Royalties of 2007
JASRAC, the Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers, have announced the top royalty-garnering songs of 2007. Utada’s “Flavor Of Life” comes in at #1, making this her first time since 2000’s “Automatic” to make the top of the list. The royalty figures account for physical CD sales along with mobile and PC downloads as well as karaoke and other usage. Rounding out the top 5 are background music for Evangelion and Dragonball Z, “Lovers Again” by EXILE, and “Nadasousou” by Natsukawa Rimi. Credits to Nakatani-san.
“HEART STATION” 8th Week Sales
Yearly Ranking: #4 | Weekly Ranking: #4 | 23,581 units | Total Sales: 841,916 units
Utada Album Sales top 20 million; 6 albums in 10 years
According to several Japanese news outlets, Utada’s total Japanese album sales (5 original + 1 single collection) have surpassed the vaunted 20 million mark. Her latest album, “HEART STATION,” continues to sell strongly in its 8th week, coming in at #4 this week on Oricon’s weekly album ranking. Combined digital sales for all tracks represented on the album (PC and ringtone downloads) have surpassed 15 million, making it one of the world’s most successful digital records in recent memory.
“HEART STATION”: 1 million shipped
According to a new article from Nikkan Sports, Utada’s latest album “HEART STATION” has shipped over 1 million units. In a statement from EMI Japan, this marks Utada’s 5th consecutive Japanese original album to ship over 1 million units, starting with 1999s debut album “First Love.”
U.Bits: Utada in the studio?,#1 @ Oricon + iTunes
- Utada has updated her blog today, mentioning that she is in the studio again today recording and that it is going well. No word on what she was recording.
- Utada’s album “HEART STATION” is back up to #1 today on Japan’s Oricon Chart.
- Both “Prisoner Of Love” and “HEART STATION” are at the top of their respective charts on iTunes Japan, with the song and album currently both at #1. This is the 7th week that the album has been on sale.
“Prisoner Of Love” 1.4 Million Downloads
According to a new article from Listen Japan, Utada’s “Prisoner Of Love” has sold roughly 1.4 million downloads across all formats. This includes Chaku-Uta, Chaku-Uta Full, and PC downloads. The song continues to chart high on digital rankings, and will hopefully continue to gain momentum prior to the song’s physical release on May 21st.
U.Bits: “FOL” @ Kid’s Choice, Last Friends Rating
- The winner’s for this year’s Japanese Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Awards have been announced, and Utada’s “Flavor Of Life” has picked up the orange blimp for Kid’s Choice Song. The awards show will be broadcast on May 10th, although Utada is not mentioned as one of the winners who have a taped comment for the Japan segment.
- The weekly ratings for Fuji TV drama “Last Friends” continues to rise, with this week’s episode jumping a full 4 percentage points to garner a 19.9% viewership rating. The drama features Utada’s “Prisoner Of Love” as it’s theme song.
Utada: Working in New York City
Utada has updated her blog today (her first time in a few weeks), mentioning that she was (is?) in New York last week for work. While no details are revealed, it is readily apparent that Utada has begun work for her upcoming 2nd English album with Island Records.
“HEART STATION” 7th Week Sales
Yearly Ranking: #4 | Weekly Ranking: #6 | 29,905 units | Total Sales: 818,335 units