2011 Oricon Power Index: Top 10 Singles

In a previous entry, I wrote about the Sustained Sales Numbers (SSN) and how I will use those numbers to help look at the Oricon performance of CD singles from a different angle. After much work, I’ve calculated the SSN for the entire 2011 Oricon Yearly Ranking Top 200 singles chart and will present the first of many different Oricon Power Indexes.

First off, the actual Top 10 Japanese singles as determined by the 2011 Oricon Yearly Ranking singles chart:

1. Flying Get/AKB48 (1,587,229 units sold)
2. Everyday, Kachuusha/AKB48 (1,586,840)
3. Kaze wa Fuiteiru/AKB48 (1,418,888)
4. Ue Kara Mariko/AKB48 (1,198,864)
5. Sakura no Ki ni Narou – AKB48 (1,079,460)
6. Lotus – ARASHI (625,935)
7. Meikyu Love Song – ARASHI (614,131)
8. Maru-Maru-Mori-Mori – Kaoru to Tomoki, Tama ni Mukku. (498,920)
9. Pareo wa Emerald – SKE48 (466,037)
10. Everybody Go – Kis-My-Ft2 (441,680)

Next, here is the 2011 Oricon Power Index of Top 10 Japanese Singles (in descending order), as determined by the Sustained Sales Numbers.:

10. GO GO Summer!/ KARA 116,209 SSN (Oricon #25 single of 2011/ 230,082 total sold)

“GO GO Summer!” debuted at #2 to “Over” by Hey! Say! JUMP! (first week 113,873 sold vs. 265,390 sold). It remained at #2 the following week, selling nearly twice as many units as “Over” for that second week. Although “Over” was the Oricon #15 single of 2011, it was only able to sell 32,391 units after week #1. That there shows how die-hard fans can inflate sales the first week of release.

9. Kaze wa Fuiteiru/ AKB48 – 118,406 SSN (2011 Oricon #3; 1,418,888 total sold)

The first of five AKB48 singles on this Oricon Power Index, “Kaze wa Fuiteiru” boasted a record-breaking 1,045,937 sold on the first day. This continues to sell well into 2012, so it will be interesting to see how high its 2012 ranking will be when the year is over.

8. Let’s try again/ Team Amuse!! – 122,749 SSN (2011 Oricon #12; 312,666 total sold)

“Let’s try again” was a charity single featuring musicians, actors, and talento from entertainment agency Amuse Inc. The song is part original song/part medley, with excerpts from such talents as Southern All-Stars, Perfume, Fukuyama Masaharu, and Porno Graffitti. Team Amuse leader and Southern All-Stars front man Kuwata Keisuke wrote the lyrics and composed the melody to the original song portion.

7. Ano ko to Nogiku to Watashibune/ Hikawa Kiyoshi – 124,433 SSN (2011 Oricon #42; 183,300 total sold)

This song from the “Prince of Enka” debuted at #3 in February 2011 with 58,867 units sold the first week, but sold consistently throughout the year. A seventh spot in this Oricon Power Index shows that maybe enka and kayokyoku are not really dead.

6. Everybody Go/ Kis-My-Ft2 – 125,899 SSN (2011 Oricon #10; 441,680 total sold)

“Everybody Go” is the debut release for Johnny’s group Kis-My-Ft2, as well as the theme song for the TBS drama Ikemen desu ne. While not the most successful Johnny’s single on 2011 Oricon Yearly Ranking singles chart, “Everybody Go” performed better after the first week of release than both ARASHI’s “Lotus” (Oricon #6) and “Meikyuu Love Song” (Oricon #7).

5. Sakura no Ki ni Narou/ AKB48 136,981 SSN (2011 Oricon #5; 1,079,460 total sold)

Ironically, the #5 Oricon song of the year is also the #5 song for this index.

4. Heavy Rotation/ AKB48 – 140,607 SSN (2011 Oricon #52; 140,607 sold in 2011)

A 2011 fourth place showing for a 2010 release shows how popular this song and AKB48 really are. When they do historical retrospectives for AKB48 many years from now, “Heavy Rotation” may prove to be the song the group is most identified with. Amazingly, at the time of the writing of this entry, it has not yet sold a million units.

3. Flying Get/ AKB48; 232,737 SSN (2011 Oricon #1; 1,587,229 total sold)

The Oricon #1 song of the year and the winner of the coveted Japan Record Award takes the third position here.

2. Everyday, Katyusha/ AKB48 252,871 SSN (2011 Oricon #2; 1,586,840 total sold)

There is only one possible reason that “Everyday, Katsyusha” could be the #2 song on both the 2011 Oricon Yearly Ranking and the 2011 Oricon Power Index of Top 10 Japanese Singles, and that is the power of DISGUSTING BIKINIS.

1. Maru Maru Mori Mori!/ Kaoru to Tomoki, Tama ni Mukku – 464,139/ 397,590 SSN* (2011 Oricon #8; 498,920 total sold)

What an amazing success story. This song opened at #3, selling five-digit figures for 15 weeks straight. As this is being written, it continues to chart and sell thousands of units per week. A great combination of two adorable kids (super-popular Ashida Mana and her co-star Suzuki Fuku), a cute dance with a catchy tune, and a tie-in to a popular TV drama has helped its cause. It will be interesting to see how long this will continue to perform and whether it will garner a respectable spot on the 2012 Oricon year-end charts.

What is the asterisk for, and why are there two SSN numbers? The first figure is the standard Sustained Sales Number. The second and lower figure also subtracts the eighth week sales from the July release of the Limited Edition, which spiked sales up to #2 for that week. What’s amazing is even after subtracting the first and eighth week’s sales, the song still tops the index.

I hope you have enjoyed this examination of the Oricon charts through the angle I have chosen to follow. I should have a few more Oricon Power Indexes up in the coming weeks, each of them with different groupings of acts that may interest you.

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