[9/25] Morning Musume。album - The Best! ~Updated Morning Musume。~

[321BreakinOut]

Frankly, it underperformed.
I expected 20k or more but not less for first week.

I'm still happy that the album is the highest in sales in a long time though.

And this is a best of nevertheless. Not an original album.
We'll just see once the 14th album comes out.

Agree with Amped and DARC. This album got 50x more promotion than Colorful Character (and everything Platinum era put out album wise) and still managed to stay in the 10K bracket)sales are good regardless because it shows that the artist is sort of relevant, but to say they don't matter (for albums) is bologna ! I know damn well when i order H!P merchandise, especially albums they're a shit ton of money...so obviously that's translating to something in the Japanese market; Hell, i know a single shipping here to the states is at most $15 (which is why i only wait to buy albums).If One Two Three sold 111,000+ copies and it's featured on an album (that has a decent amount of promotion) and probably contains tracks similar to the one consumers liked , i don't see why people wouldn't want to buy it.


Still reaaaaaally happy it outsold the last few albums though.

[Celedam]

i don't see why people wouldn't want to buy it.

Because half of the album consists of mediocre rearrangements of songs that many people still remember and enjoy, and the other half of the album consists of recent songs with a few lines swapped around, often for the worse. There's only one new song, and that can be gotten cheap at the iTunes Store.

…at least, that's why I didn't buy it.

[teth]

i don't see why people wouldn't want to buy it.

Because half of the album consists of mediocre rearrangements of songs that many people still remember and enjoy, and the other half of the album consists of recent songs with a few lines swapped around, often for the worse. There's only one new song, and that can be gotten cheap at the iTunes Store.

…at least, that's why I didn't buy it.

This.

Again, people are overestimating MM's hype and momentum.
They just STARTED getting more recognized again this year, a lot of it thanks to support and promotion.
TV appearances and reports on how amazing they are do not necessarily mean they are the IT thing just yet.

[321BreakinOut]

i don't see why people wouldn't want to buy it.

Because half of the album consists of mediocre rearrangements of songs that many people still remember and enjoy, and the other half of the album consists of recent songs with a few lines swapped around, often for the worse. There's only one new song, and that can be gotten cheap at the iTunes Store.

…at least, that's why I didn't buy it.

Well i agree with you. I think with my post i was referring to albums in general? I should have geared it to this release specifically.

[esm]

Albums are expensive. Casual fans can easily buy a copy of singles through maybe only having heard the songs on TV/radio, and the more serious fans can get box sets, plus there was the goal of getting #1. People are just not as invested in H!P albums. But then most of the time you get H!P albums with a lot of album songs that aren't consistent with the quality of singles; we may like them because we listen to lots of H!P music, but newer fans that like H!P groups for offering more quality than other idol groups (in general) don't really care for generic album songs that make the album itself not worth the money.

[Amped]

http://www.billboard-japan.com/special/detail/713

[rikkikow]

I think the album did really well after all the music is weird ass!

[DARC1993]

ugh, with that riho dp you're twice as condescending. oh g-d.

He's rockin' that Riho Avi.

No fu*ks given. lol

[Zunu]

Frankly, it underperformed.

And this is a best of nevertheless. Not an original album.

It's not even really a best of. Old fans like the original old songs. New fans like brand new songs. Who are the fans who like self remakes of old songs? Hardly anybody. You ever buy what you think is an mp3 of a classic song, and it winds up being a rerecorded version from like 15 years later, after the artist was broke and desperate? It's like trying to get back with your ex after a long time has passed. There is no more disappointing feeling in the world.

Pop music is mostly crap. Great pop is like weird wonderful magic. Alter the brew in any way and the odds are that the magic will be gone.

[sukibeam]

In any case, I don't care what anyone says but album sales have never been big for MM, even during Golden Age.

Their albums sold better than the singles during Golden Era. Their best selling release EVER isn't even Love Machine - it's their first Best Of album. I don't remember much of 2001-2005 as far as UFA tactics go, so they might not have focused on album promotion.

However, in the days before the advent of Apple products, if you wanted your fav songs in one convenient place - albums were the way to go... whether it was through ripping the singles and burning them yourself to a disc or purchasing an album (which came with stickers). Having said that, I can see how albums nowadays aren't doing as well (particularly when the bonuses are meh and the music is even more ehhhhh).

This album's rearrangements met with a lot of mixed feelings amongst the fans. I'm one of the many who didn't like it, and I enjoy & purchase their music 98% of the time. If many of the normal purchasers felt the same, that might explain why this album did mediocre even after the unusually heavy promotion. I'm just going to wait for the next studio album and enjoy the originals.