ARASHI's sales weren't so fantastic when they 1st debuted in '99 . It was only until last year that they really hit the big time as before Happiness , it was quite difficult for them to sell that well , let alone for singles .

& of course 2008 was such a great year for the guys , with all 4 singles crossing the 300K mark with ease in which truth / Kaze no Mukou e & One Love rounded up to be Japan's 1st & 2nd best selling single overall

Step and Go was the 1st single onwards to sell more than 300K onwards in the 1st week & this year will be their 10th anniversary :D

nah I don't think news of her hearing problems contribute to that , it doesn't make sense to me

The only things that affected the sales were that CD sales were already declining. The cover ain't gonna make someone not buy an album...if it does...then LOL at you.

Anyway, she decided to compete with other famous singers who have stronger sales, so basically Ayu's traditional New Years album ruined her album streak.

and that two week crap with Oricon and stuff

LOL yeah that doesn't make sense to me too . You look like HEAVEN , both covers are bah but yet it still was able to crossed 300K overall

yeah unfortunately that time when GUILTY was put out , it didn't worked in ayumi's favor unlike when I am ... & (m)u were released during the 2 week no show period

Right, that's pretty much exactly what I meant. :) Their debut was in 1999, yet they are much more popular now than they were then and that is rare for a Johnny's group.

I think the cover can make a difference. Fans are going to buy regardless of the cover, but casual fans can be swayed to buy with a good cover and turned off from buying with a bad one.

:yes

I think their luck changed after they made the switch from Pony Canon to JStorm in 2002 but even back then , they weren't so big til the members started to act in dramas/movies & hosting their own variety shows which slowly but surely built up their popularity .

They just hit the jackpot last year which's great

yeah it's a bit unfortunate in the way that casual fans think .

For me I always place emphasis on the music quality of the singles/albums/dvds , pics & etc are secondary but of course if they're great , it's a bonus

lol who knoes
japanese are very weird xDD but i think u r right anyway


why are u answering everyones comments? LOL xDD

The overall Asian sales were stellar though.

And its a kickass album, my first (along with m(U) )great mix of rock and strings.

Kinda like what KarenPang said, the hearing problems wouldn't make sales decline. It might have boosted her sales if anything. As unfortunate as they may be, these kind of incidents are actually big media exposure, which is why some artists have sold more albums post mortem. I can't remember but I think some people on this forum questioned if her hearing problem was real and if its just a big media stunt?

I can agree on the other reasons though. I was pretty unimpressed with the album covers, too many interludes, too many songs that were already singles, and her declining popularity.

.. because glitter/fated and talkin' 2 myself was a FLOP

:rolleyes Watch the light and shadow documentary that shows clips from 2001 and then think its just a media stunt. It proves that the reason her voice has worsened is because its difficult for her to find her pitch, because she is singing A Song for XX (in 2001) during rehersal, and her ear is bothering her, making her go off pitch and her voice sounds EXACTLY like it does now.

Light & shadow documentary? I'm interested. Where can I find this?

EDIT: Nvm it's also known as the 2004 interview. Thanks anyway.

Did I ever say I was one of the ones that thought it was? Roll your eyes elsewhere

^Ahh someones mad haha kidding but honestly Sorry for the misunderstanding. haha It really wasn't directed towards you individuality though, but it just wasn't clear if you thought it was or not. Either way it still is something that deserves eye rolling whoever its coming from.

Yup, that's the one.

Ah i see. Sorry, it sounded like it was directed at me but I understand what you're trying to say. I won't kill you.... yet.... j/k :laugh

It's just an iffy topic I guess...sad really =(... Speaking in general and not directing this at anyone in specific, whoever says it is a media stunt and goes with w/e other people say without bothering to look into it are idiotic. It's a good thing fans like us know the real truth.

Right, but casual fans don't know that stuff. I heard comments from many Japanese friends and online that were questioning whether her hearing loss was real or not. Many said they thought it was just an excuse.

Haha I'll keep my eyes peeled. ;) :D
It truly is sad, i mean very sad. Quite a coincedance that earlier today someone bumped an old TA message she posted, around the last day of the japan leg of the Asia tour 2008 when she talks about CDL 07-08. Its a very touching lenghthy message about her good friend who passed, and how even though it troubles her greatly to sing with her ear problem she still goes on. that message and the 2001 footage not just prove this is no stunt, but shows just how much it troubles Ayu. it really makes me sad for her. I mean, yes her voice has changed over the years, but when people say her deafness is fake or doesn't effect her voice, its just heartbreaking.

:yes

even a normal person wouldn't lie about such a matter . I mean it's no joke losing your hearing at all . I know because I'm partially deaf (I take after my dad & his dad as his side of the family has a history of hearing problems :( ) & I can understand where ayumi's coming from .

& casual & anti fans of her to say that she lies , they just don't know the real facts/truth behind on what she said at all

Well.. I think GUILTY was a good album but the style seemed a bit too similar to MY STORY. It seemed mostly rock/ballads which only attracts a certain percentage of her fans. Casual fans wouldn't bother buying it.. especially since this album was quite dark compared to Secret or Rainbow. I still get a bit sad after listening to GUILTY because I remember her break up, her hearing loss and the death of her friend.

Also avex put her against some strong competition. Kobukuro are quite popular. But as SunshineSlayer, it was pretty disappointing that GUILTY didn't beat their album when it wasn't in the 1st week...

I think the album was just a turn off in total :S It turned me off for A LONG time lol and I still didnt buy the album ><! and I never will!

The singles on the album didn't do too well (especially T2M which was like one of her lowest chartings singles in awhile o_o!) and not to mention there weren't that many singles


And she compete with kubokuro!

oh well its ok tho I love her new single <3 ~! And I'm expecting her new album to be good :D ~! This whole horrible incident can be behind us now lol!