I love your first post Astn, you made the thread opening great :D

I just called her that because Luv did :lmfao

Namie and Hikki aren't even making the same kind of music XD I'm just saying I'd rather Namie get some spotlight since she hasn't had it in a long time and Hikki's been standing in a spotlight since Automatic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnhsItvDWhI

Also: GRACE is male just fyi >.>...

^I did it because I was too lazy to spell his whole name and plus I like Pandas. :grumpy

Well, Hikki's always going to have the spotlight, Namie's is temporary... :shakehead I don't see how Hikki doesn't deserve it, hers is a real album with tracks that she wrote and produced that have become big hits. Namie's is a best album... wow. :no

Also I forgot how much I loved that parody :lmfao

^I love that guy's parodies

Namie deserves it because she has been falling for so long. Don't get me wrong, I actually like Hikki more than I like Namie, but I think Namie deserves some time in the sun.

I guess, let Namie get some attention, cuz it seems like she'll be the next Kuu. Huge one year, who? the next. :weep But Hikki's always consistent.

I believe both HS and BF will hit the million mark, even though people aren't buying albums as much as 5 o 10 years ago...

I'll be buying both albums online, and my copies will count in Oricon lol

@Triple D:roflmao

OMG, BUUUUURN! :laugh Kuu is so out. Okay, I'm going to stop right there.

Seriously tho, I just brought Best Fiction. I can't wait to get my Namie poster. :heart

Nice first post ^.^
I think Hikki and Namie both will hit the million mark, and I'll be happy when they do. So long as both of them hit it, I'm all good with it. Both of them deserve it!

That's not for certain. Only, like, EXILE and Namie are doing good with greatest hits compilations.

That's exactly the point. Reaching new heights~, which seemed to be.. unreachable. That's very remarkable.

I can agree with the first one, but not with the second one. 2004 just does not mix with 2008.

There isn't that much "spotlight" to be stolen, actually. I doubt that HEART STATION's sales will drop sharply just because of BEST FICTION.

But, yeah, basically, if two albums by artists I love would sell more than one million copies in one Oricon year, that would be just amazing. <3

B'z too. There aren't that many big names who have released bests, that's why. But of course a Namie best is going to do better than a Namie studio album.

Check out the top 100 albums in 2004. If you take out Hikki, it's not much different at all than 2008's.

It's like, 2008 so far times 2. Yeah, and 838k - #10, whereas right now that'd get you to about #5 or #6.

Not for long :) And we'll probably have just as many million sellers this year. Really, the big drop year was 2003.

I agree with Grace on this subject.

Not only was HEART STATION mediocre compared to her past albums, Utada ALWAYS sells well, as opposed to Namie who is making quality music and was selling like crap for a ridiculously long time.

But either way, HEART STATION still sold a ton

:rolleyes

There is a reason why HEART STATION has done better than ULTRA BLUE, and there's a reason why Namie's music did crappy. HEART STATION is beautiful and from the heart, but it is simple and accessible for all people. Obviously Japan agrees and prefer that style. I don't see how anyone can say "Beautiful World" or "Stay Gold" are mediocre.

LOL we can again divide hikki fans into UB lover and HS lover :P. Those who love UB hates HS, and vice versa. There aren't many fans who love both albums at the same time.

Me for example.. I dun really like UB, but I think HS is splendid. It's just personal again.

Anywayz, I really dunno how Namie could be dragged into this... I'm not a huge fan of her, but I gotta say I respect Namie because she is one of those true artists in Japan. Also, how many female artists can survive and back to the top after a few years of being in the bottom (in her case, more than a few years)?? Although I dun like all her songs, I feel her heart towards the music.

So yeah... I feel happy for Namie getting really good sales now... Besides, HS has been in spotlight between March and early June, so I dun see BF has any threat to HS at all.

for me I actually like both HS & UB :laugh

it's just like that I'm surprised HS sells even better than UB in the long run . It still stummed me til now

I like HEART STATION a lot more than ULTRA BLUE. I used to despise ULTRA BLUE, but HEART STATION encouraged me to give ULTRA BLUE another chance, and while I don't like it quite as much as her other albums, it has its gems.

I'm not sure I can completely and accurately describe why I prefer HEART STATION obtain higher sales than BEST FICTION, but I'll give it a shot. HEART STATION was a long drawn-out effort, and while it's not everyone's cup of tea, Utada took her time to create the kind of sound she was looking for. While Namie undoubtedly also works hard, BEST FICTION seemed more like an attempt to capitalize on her newfound popularity post-60s70s80s. Had Namie come out with a new studio album or something a little more musically creative, I'd have no problems with whatever her sales became. I just wish it were something other than BEST FICTION (which ought to have included SPEED STAR and Violet Sauce, but that's another topic).

I love both HS and UB, though I tend to lean a little more toward UB. And I'm not too surprised that HS is selling more. I can see where Melon Panda is getting at with the whole BEST/original album thing. I'm ecstatic about Namie's success, and she does deserve it so it doesn't really bother me.