Apr 15 2008
Mirrorcle World is #1 for the week at the Oricon Style charts. It is her 18th consecutive #1 single — 30th total — and makes her the top female artist in terms of #1 singles. Since her debut in 1998, she has had at least one single hit the top spot each year. Nakamori Akina set the previous record in 1990. Congrats Ayu!
Mar 04 2008
Ayu’s two-part A BEST 2 series has been recognized by the annual Japan Gold Disc Award as two of the top ten albums of the year.
Jan 25 2008
The eye-popping video for Ayu’s “part of Me” has earned a nomination in SPACE SHOWER’s annual music video awards. It’s nominated for Best Art Direction. The results will air March 18th.
Dec 18 2007
Continuing its year-end summary, Oricon Style has declared Ayu to be among the biggest earners of 2007. She comes in at number two with 7.3544 billion yen (approximately 65 million USD), trailing label mate Koda Kumi by a mere .3 billion yen.
Oricon calculates revenues based on CD and DVD sales. Previously Ayu released an average 10 singles, at least 3 DVDs, and an album for every year she held the top spot. Considering she only released two singles and a two-part single collection in 2007, these numbers are especially impressive.
In addition, Oricon has published its official list for the top selling Japanese singles and albums of 2007. Ayu’s glitter/fated came in at #39 while talkin’ 2 myself finished up at #79. A BEST 2 -WHITE- and -BLACK- came in the previously-reported 5th and 7th place. Congrats Ayu!
Dec 16 2007
With 2007 coming to a close, Orcion Style has posted a list of the best selling albums and singles thus far.
Only releasing two singles this year, Ayu still managed to crack the top 100 with both, glitter/fated coming in at #58 and November’s talkin’ 2 myself reached #78.
Her highly anticipated single collection fared better. Both A BEST 2 -WHITE- and A BEST 2 -BLACK- are within the top 10 albums of the year, -WHITE- at #5 and #7 respectively.
Jul 25 2007
Ayu’s official site has updated the flash intro of its Japanese version to contain a special thank you from Ayu.
This special message coincides with Oricon’s announcement that Ayu has broken yet another sales record. Ending the week on top, glitter/fated is now Ayu’s 28th single to hit number one. Congrats Ayu!
…and she shows no sign of slowing down Panasonic has updated its digital camera page with a preview of the newest campaign staring Ayu! With her two newest songs already serving as tie-ins, one can hope we have an all new song waiting in the wings.
Finally, the English and Chinese mirrors of her official site were updated with previews of the new film Kyo Ai ~Distance Love~
Apr 08 2007
CONGRATS ON NINE YEARS, AYU!
It’s been nine years since the release of the poker face single April 8,1998, and Ayu’s still going strong!
A BEST 2 -WHITE- and -BLACK- came in second and third respectively for the month, behind on super-group Mr. Children’s latest album (for a bit of trivia, Mr. Children is one of the bands with whom Ayu shares the 20 million+ sales record. She is still the only female and solo artist to reach such a milestone, though.)
In addition, Ayu arrived in Hong Kong earlier this week for her second show in her first ever overseas arena tour. The reception by adoring fans was just as crazy as her arrival in Taiwan; check out this great Xanga for media of the event or ON.cc for more coverage.
Finally, the Weiider television spot featuring Ayu has premiered (sadly) without a hint at the distant single.
Mar 28 2007
I have to apologize for being the idiot that scheduled 19 credit hours spring quarter. Time isn’t on my side, and news updates will be posted in bulk like this until I (possibly) “recruit” someone to help me.
Ayu recently kicked off her Tour of Secret and completed her first ever concert overseas! It was an all out media frenzy in Taiwan, and the Official concert blog has been updated with a fantastic collection of video and images. In addition, fansite Divine Ayu has accumulated a nice collection of translated news coverage.
Speaking of Secret, both the Secret and (miss)understood earned Ayu another (two!) Gold Disc Award(s). She was one of only two artists to have two albums in the top 10 this year (the other being Koda Kumi). All things considered, she’s staying on top in 2007.
Vogue Nippon’s website is currently featuring a behind the scenes look at Ayu’s photoshoot for iconic designer Dior! See its AYUxDior Addict Modern Reflections to read the report and watch exclusive video of the shoot.
Finally a brand new single has been announced for July! Exact details are unknown, but it’s got something to do with this.
Mar 06 2007
Although the weekly rankings have not yet been posted, Ayu’s A BEST 2 -BLACK- and A BEST 2 -WHITE- are already among the best selling albums of 2007, A BEST 2 -WHITE- just barely inching out A BEST 2 -BLACK- with 475000 units (as opposed to 470000).
This huge accomplishment has helped Ayu break yet another sales record, making her the first female artist in nearly 37 years to have the number one and number two albums. The last woman to do this was Fuji Keiko with her 1970 LPs “Woman’s Blues” and “Shinjuku Woman/Fuji Keiko’s Ballad” (rough translations).
Ayu responded in a humble message on Oricon, thanking her fans and staff for their support. She also explained that she has been busy with her Asia tour that kicks off this week but is still very honored to have reached such a milestone. She’s certainly secured her spot in pop culture history!
Read the complete article at Oricon Style.
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