Arashi Albums

[Pang Murdock]

Thediscography of Arashi, a Japanese boy band, consists of 17 studio albums, six compilation albums, one extended play, 58 singles, four promotional singles, 25 concert videos and two video albums. Arashi has also released 82 music videos, including "All or Nothing", "Lucky Man", "Mada Minu Sekai e", "PARADOX", "Kokoro no Sora", "Don't You Get It", "Mikan", and "5x20".

The group's first release was the eponymous single "Arashi", which was the image song for the 8th World Cup of Volleyball hosted by Japan in 1999.[1] Selling close to a million copies by the end of its chart run, it was the group's highest-selling single until the release of "Kite" in 2020.[2]

As of August 2020, Arashi has 54 number-one singles; 47 of which are consecutive since "Pikanchi Double" (February 2004).[10] Arashi also became the first act to have 40 consecutive singles to rank within the Top 3 since their debut.[11][12] As of 2019, Arashi have sold over 38 million records in Japan.[13] On February 7, 2020, Arashi released all 16 original albums worldwide in digital form, not including compilation or soundtrack albums. In total, 256 songs available in addition to the singles previously released.[14][15]

With the release of their eighteenth single "Love So Sweet", Arashi began to gain commercial success as it was used as the opening theme song for the high-rating drama Hana Yori Dango 2 whose protagonist is played by Matsumoto, making it one of the top five best-selling singles of 2007 in Japan and the group's first single to exceed 400,000 copies sold overall in nearly seven years.[3][4] For the next two years, Arashi gained a number of achievements and records as they became the first artist to place the top two rankings on the Oricon singles yearly chart for two consecutive years with their singles "Truth / Kaze no Mukō e" and "One Love" in 2008 and "Believe / Kumorinochi, Kaisei" and "Ashita no Kioku / Crazy Moon (Kimi wa Muteki)" in 2009, simultaneously topped the 2009 Oricon singles, album and music DVD yearly charts, and became the third artist in Oricon history to monopolize the top three best-selling singles of the year.[5][6][7] In 2010, all six of Arashi's singles ranked within the top ten of the Oricon singles yearly chart, and their million-selling studio album Boku no Miteiru Fūkei was named the best-selling album of the year in Japan.[8][9] As of October 2020[update], the group had sold over 58.8 million copies of albums, singles and videos and became the best selling boy band in Asia.[10] Since then, Arashi has continued to release chart-topping singles and albums, perform in sold-out concert tours, host a number of variety shows, and remain an influential figure in Japanese media.

Johnny & Associates announced the group's debut on September 15, 1999, through a press conference aboard a cruise ship off the coast of Honolulu, Hawaii.[12] Then-president Johnny Kitagawa chose five trainees from the Johnny's Jr. division of the agency to become the members of Arashi, the Japanese word for Storm, and to represent the agency's thrust of "creating a storm throughout the world".[13][14] On November 3, 1999, they made their CD debut by releasing the single "Arashi", which became the theme song for the FIVB Volleyball Men's World Cup hosted by Japan in 1999.[12] It went on to become a major hit, selling 557,430 copies in its first week and almost a million copies by the end of its chart run.[2][15]

On April 5, 2000, Arashi released their second single, "Sunrise Nippon/Horizon", which debuted at number-one on the Oricon weekly singles chart selling 304,340 copies.[16] The next day, the group began their first concert tour at Osaka Hall.[17] In July, the group released their next single "Typhoon Generation", which debuted at number three on the weekly singles chart with 256,510 copies sold, and continued to chart for nine weeks before leaving the charts.[18][19] After holding more concerts in August, the group released their last single of 2000, "Kansha Kangeki Ame Arashi". The single debuted at number two on the Oricon weekly singles chart and had first-week sales of 258,720.[20][21]

Starting in 2003, the group would only release two singles every year until 2007. Both singles released in 2003, "Tomadoi Nagara" and "Hadashi no Mirai/Kotoba Yori Taisetsu na Mono", debuted at number two on the charts.[27][28] The song "Kotoba Yori Taisetsu na Mono" marked the first time a member contributed to the penning of a single, as many of the group's songs are produced by other lyricists, composers, or musicians.[29] Sakurai, who is the designated rapper of Arashi, has since written all the incorporated rap lyrics of the group's releases.[fn 1]

In 2005, on New Year's Day, Arashi released their first concert DVD since How's It Going? in 2003 titled 2004 Arashi! Iza, Now Tour!!. From July 26 to August 24, they embarked on a summer tour titled One to support their album of the same name.[32] One of the highlights of the tour included the live performance their first single of the year, "Sakura Sake", on top of "Johnny's Moving Stage" (ジャニーズムービングステージ, Janizu Mubingu Suteji), a transparent stage that travels over the top of the audience.[33] Invented by Matsumoto, "Johnny's Moving Stage" has since been used in a majority of Arashi's concerts to allow them to move closer to the audience seated at a distance from the main stage.[33][34][35] In November, Arashi released a theme song for the manga-based drama Hana Yori Dango, which starred Matsumoto as one of the lead actors. "Wish" went on to sell an estimated 178,000 copies in its first week and over 300,000 copies by the end of its chart run, making it their first single to sell over 300,000 copies in total in nearly three years since "A Day in Our Life" in 2002.[36][37]

By 2006, the group's singles and albums were being released outside Japan. Their studio album, Arashic, was released not only in Japan, but also in Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand. The album was successful in Korea as the first 10,000 copies of the album were sold out on the first day, and it even topped the non-Korean sales charts on the third week of July.[38]

In the midst of Arashi's summer concert tour Arachic Arashic Arasick Cool and Soul, the group embarked on a publicity tour around Asia called Jet Storm Tour on July 31.[39][40] The group visited Taiwan, Thailand and South Korea, countries which later became part of their 2006 Asia tour, all in one day to hold press conferences and promote their Arashic album.[40] For two days, September 16 and 17, Arashi held their first concerts in Taipei at the Taipei Arena.[39]

Performing "Arashi", "Wish" and "Kitto Daijōbu", which was their first single release of the year, the group represented Japan in the 3rd annual Asia Song Festival in South Korea on September 22.[39][41] Almost two months later, they became the first group from Johnny's to perform individual concerts in South Korea.[39][42][43] According to The Korea Times, the concerts in Korea were decided because about 1,500 Korean fans gathered at the Incheon International Airport during the group's Jet Storm Tour.[41] Arashi proved popular to Korean fans when their concert tickets were sold out in an hour, as some 150,000 people rushed to book tickets online.[44]

The group traveled back to Japan and then released their second and final the single of the year "Aozora Pedal", which was written and composed by Japanese musician Shikao Suga and used for Sakurai's movie Honey and Clover.[45] Although Arashi had planned to return to Thailand to hold a concert on October 7, it was canceled due to a military coup d'tat.[42][46]

On February 21, the group released their first single of the year, "Love So Sweet", the theme song for the high-rating drama Hana Yori Dango 2, which peaked at the number-one spot on the Oricon daily and weekly charts.[47] It is also Arashi's first single to sell more than 200,000 copies in a week in almost five years.[47][48] Their nineteenth single "We Can Make It!", released on May 2, also charted number-one on the Oricon daily and weekly charts.[49]

Also in July, the TBS drama production of the manga Yamada Tarō Monogatari, which starred Ninomiya and Sakurai, began. Arashi sang the theme song of the drama, titled "Happiness", and released it on September 5 as their third single of the year. The year proved successful for the group as all of their singles ranked within the Top 30 of the annual Oricon charts, with "Love So Sweet" ranking fourth in single sales overall, making it the group's first single to rank within the Top 10 on the annual charts.[4] "Love So Sweet" was also named one of The Best 10 Singles in the 22nd Japan Gold Disc Awards in 2008.[53]

The group's success in 2007 sparked renewed public interest. In February, Arashi released their first single of the year, "Step and Go", which debuted at the top of the Oricon weekly chart for having sold 324,223 copies, making it as the group's first single to exceed 300,000 copies sold in the first week since "Sunrise Nippon/Horizon" in 2000.[16][54] The same month, it was announced that the group would be doing a concert tour of the five major domes in Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Fukuoka, and Sapporo.[55] The tour, titled Arashi Marks 2008 Dream-A-Live, consisted of ten performances, from May 16 in Osaka to July 6 in Sapporo.[55][56] The only other Johnny's artists who have done a five dome tour were SMAP and KinKi Kids.[55] The tour also coincided with their eighth studio album, Dream "A" Live, which was reported to be a hit with male buyers by Oricon despite the fact that most releases by Johnny's artists are geared towards female teens and young adults.[57] In the midst of the tour, Arashi released their twenty-second single "One Love", the theme song for the last production of the Hana Yori Dango trilogy. Like "Step and Go", the single sold over 300,000 copies in its first week and charted at number-one of the weekly singles chart.[58]

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