Number_i’s Debut Single vs. Last Year’s No. 1 Kinpuri: CD Sales Showdown

Number_i, a three-member idol group consisting of former “King & Prince” members Sho Hirano (27), Yuta Jinguji (26), and Yuta Kishi (28), will release their first single “GOAT” on March 6, after its distribution release on New Year’s Day, It was recently announced.

Reservations began at noon on January 16 on the official mail order site of their agency. The limited first edition will include three songs and a Blu-ray disc, while the regular edition will include four songs.

 

“The music video for the same song surpassed 10 million views within three days of its release and secured the top spot in the global YouTube MV Daily Ranking on January 3rd. It also gained attention by topping the overall chart ‘JAPAN Hot 100’ on ‘Billboard Japan.’

Moreover, the single made its debut on Oricon’s ‘Weekly Digital Single (Single)’ ranking on January 15th, securing the top position with a significant lead over Ado’s ‘Utai.’ Fans have eagerly awaited the CD release of the group that has been attracting attention since its formation, and sales are also expected to be promising.” (Source: Record company insider) 

The three members left King & Prince on May 22nd of last year, subsequently leaving the former Johnny’s office (now SMILE-UP.) and joining Hideaki Takizawa’s TOBE. Then, on October 15th, during a YouTube live stream from Tokyo Dome, they announced the formation of their new group.

“When the additions of Hirano and Jinguji were announced on TOBE’s official YouTube on July 7th, the live stream achieved a maximum simultaneous connection of 1.02 million viewers. In the domestic rankings, they ranked third, following Snow Man and the former NEWS member, Yuya Tegoshi (36).

Moreover, the magazine ‘NYLON JAPAN GLOBAL ISSUE 04,’ which they adorned as a group for the first time on the cover in November, was so popular that it required a reprint before its release. This magazine even secured the second position in Tower Records’ ‘TOWER BOOKS 2023 Annual Ranking,’ solidifying the notion that their songs are expected to be hits.”

On the other hand, King & Prince, now operating as a duo with Ren Nagase (25) and Kaito Takahashi (24), achieved first place in the annual rankings for the 56th Oricon Year-End Rankings 2023. They secured the top spot in the “By Work Sales” category across three music genres – singles, albums, and DVDs. Additionally, they were the overall top-ranking artist in the “By Artist Sales” category, including total sales and music software rankings.

The single ranking first for the year marks a consecutive achievement for the second year, a feat not seen among male artists since Arashi in 2009. Moreover, securing the top spot simultaneously in both single and album categories is a male artist’s accomplishment for the first time since Arashi. The total sales in the Sales Department amounted to 218.6 billion yen. Achieving over 200 billion yen, this is the fifth such accomplishment in history and the first since Arashi in 2019, after a four-year hiatus.

Last year, King & Prince (Kinpuri) achieved results that approached Arashi’s, but the majority of these numbers were from the time when they had five members. Losing three out of the five members should have been a significant blow. However, based on the numbers alone, the transition to a two-member system doesn’t seem to have had as much impact on CD sales as one might have thought.

“The last single in the five-member system, ‘Life goes on/We are young,’ exceeded 1.03 million copies, and the final best album ‘Mr.5’ surpassed 1.2 million copies. However, under the two-member system, the single ‘Nothing Compares’ sold 540,000 copies, ‘Magic Touch’ sold 350,000 copies, and the album ‘Peace’ sold 340,000 copies.

However, before the announcement of the departure of the three members in November 2022, the sales of singles were generally in the range of 400,000 to 500,000 copies. The works released after the announcement of the three members’ departure also had sales resembling a celebratory gift, with fans making enthusiastic purchases. Therefore, considering the original sales figures, it can be said that the decrease in the number of members has not led to a significant decline.

Because of this, there is anticipation regarding how far the first single of Number_i will extend its sales. It remains to be seen whether it will exceed expectations or fall short, making it a topic of interest.”

The fans of both groups, who contributed to the record-breaking sales of King & Prince last year, are likely to engage in a heated battle over the CD sales of their respective favorite groups.

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