AKB48 sold 1,036,551 physical copies of its latest single "# Sukinanda"
on its first day of release according to Oricon! It's the 26th number
one for the J-Pop Girl Band and their first No. 1 in 2017!
AKB48 is named after the Akihabara (Akiba for short) area in Tokyo,
where the group's theater is located. AKB48's producer, Yasushi Akimoto,
wanted to form a girl group with its own theater, performing daily so
fans could always see them live. This "idols you can meet" concept
includes teams which can rotate performances and perform simultaneously
at several events and "handshake" events, where fans can meet group
members; Akimoto has expanded the AKB48 concept to several sister groups
in China, Japan and Indonesia, with upcoming groups announced for the
Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand.
AKB48 is one of the best-selling and highest-earning musical performers
in Japan, with 2013 sales of over $128 million, and has been
characterized as a social phenomenon. As of June 2017, the group has
sold over 50 million records, including over 6 millon albums. AKB48 is
the highest selling musical act in Japan in terms of singles sold.
AKB48's thirty-five latest singles have topped the Oricon Weekly Singles
Chart, with thirty singles selling over a million copies each. Their
highest selling single, "Tsubasa wa Iranai", sold over 2.5 million in
2016 according to Billboard / Soundscan. In 2010, "Beginner" and "Heavy
Rotation" placed first and second, respectively, on the list of Japan's
best-selling singles for the year. From 2011 to 2016, AKB48's singles
have occupied the top four or five spots of the Oricon Yearly Singles
Chart!
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