AKB48's New Single “Everyday, Kachusha(Everyday、カチューシャ)" Sold 940,000 Copies on its first day!

AKB48’s 21st single, “Everyday, Kachusha(Everyday、カチューシャ),” is on its way to becoming the group’s biggest hit yet. Their previous single “Sakura no Ki ni Narou(桜の木になろう)” sold 942,479 copies in its first week, but Oricon reports that “Everyday, Kachusha((Everyday、カチューシャ))” has sold a staggering 942,475 copies on its first day alone.

Record stores were prepared for the onslaught, as 1.45 million copies went out with the single’s first shipment, compared to 1.10 million copies for “Sakura no Ki ni Narou(桜の木になろう).”

As long as the sales numbers for the rest of the week keep up, “Everyday, Kachusha(Everyday、カチューシャ)” will likely set some new records. The first-week sales of “Sakura no Ki ni Narou(桜の木になろう)” already ranks as the 6th highest in history, but AKB48 now has a chance to become 1st. As it stands, the top five are:

Namonaki Uta(名もなき詩) – Mr.Children - 1,208,000

Addicted to You – Utada Hikaru - 1,068,000
Dango 3 Kyoudai(だんご3兄弟) – Hayami Kentaro, Shigemori Ayumi, Himawari Kids & Dango Gasshoudan – 1,026,000

Winter, again – GLAY - 956,000
LOVE PHANTOM – B'z - 951,000

AKB48 are almost guaranteed to finish the week at #2 (and #1 for a female artist), but taking #1 will depend on their remaining momentum. Fortunately, they also happen to be in the middle of a concert revival series and their 3rd Senbatsu election (for their 22nd single), which means that sales will likely continue to be strong.

Source: tokyograph.com