Why did A Song for xx sell so well?

[♥ you!]

I'm wondering how A Song for xx sold so well o_o? None of the singles from it sold more than 200k..but the album went to go on and sell 500k+ in the first week and was almost at #1 for five weeks in a row. I really like the album but it just doesn't make sense to me. What was the sudden interest that caused people to go and buy her album?

[truehappiness]

I think it's because albums generally sold really well back then.

That, and it was probable that people liked her, but not enough to buy the singles, so they waited for the album.

Also I think that she went on a blitz of promotion, going around to CD shops and TV shows to promote the album, all of which only helped her gain more sales.

[milky_way]

I thought it was because a lot of people (teenagers?) could relate to the lyrics of the album

[truehappiness]

Well, I think that's what drew people to like her.

A lot of casual listeners probably weren't single-purchasers [of Ayu's] at the time, so they picked up the album to have a go at it. Nowadays, she doesn't have that casual listener-category on her side after so long in the business.

Word of mouth probably helped the album as well.

[TITANIC]

I'm curious too why it could stay on chart for very long time even ASFXX is the longest album on chart if i saw from wiki...

[Tasked]

It's the age-old question... I mean. Sure ayu's a GREAT singer and artist right now.. but she can do these amazing stuff because from 1998/1999, she became popular... but how did she become popular with the A Song for XX-album? :S It's not good at all.... but.. yea.. that's the luck she had.. a chance to develop.

[keikeiaznqueen]

Yeah, it was the luck that she broke through back then. I remember her saying that she was one of the lucky ones who became popular really early.

[KarenPang]

also I guess it's the lyrics that drawn people to like her in the 1st place since she wrote all of them since her debut even up to now

people generally like artistes who write their own stuff because it comes from the heart & of course the singer him/herself can relate to what he/she wrote too

[aqua_crystal]

It just seemed like luck to me!

[AyuGAME]

from what i know, her lyrics touched so many teenagers heart, also her style...

[bulmasman]

Originally Posted by Rody!

but how did she become popular with the A Song for XX-album? :S It's not good at all....

You don't think it's a good album? i love it personally and think it's one of her best @_@

Anywho, i think it was a mixture of luck, marketing, great music (imo) and possibly timing, since Namie had put her career on hold the year before, so Ayumi was able to fill the "new idol wanted" post.

[maikaru]

I really genuinely believe its the "All Night Nippon" radio broadcast..
I remember my brother and sister falling in love with her because of that broadcast..
They said "oh maybe she's not so general afterall... we could relate to her"
All night nippon was so popular, and because people could actually talk to her..
Hear her talk..
It was maybe such an inspirational thing..
Especially talking about the friendship, and her mother..
She showed a lifestyle that maybe many japanese wanted to have..
A free one, where you live in the moment, the kind which it's not really possible..

She's was the dream.

[ImpactBreaker]

Wasn't the A Song for XX song lyrics enough to boost the sales? I think they were something different, bold and inspirational to japanese people. In japan, it seems like the lyrics can really boost a song greatly.

[bulmasman]

^ yeh i think you're right. If i remember correctly Utada once said that in Japan they tend to write the lyrics first, then fit them to the melody, instead of writing them around it. So the lyrics are more important.

[bondingo]

Originally Posted by Rody!

but how did she become popular with the A Song for XX-album? :S It's not good at all.... but.. yea.. that's the luck she had.. a chance to develop.

I don't think it was luck. I personally think it was a very good album, so really discussing how good it was in relation to sales is pretty subjective and based on personal opinion. I liked it, and like a few people have said: the lyrics really caught on with Japanese listeners, hence causing them to like the music and buy the album. I don't really see luck as a factor. If that was the case, she could have recorded a CD of herself talking on the phone and hoped she would be lucky enough for that to sell over a million copies. There are reasons the album sold so well, and it was not purely based on luck.