Official HIGE DANdism and King & Prince top Billboard Japan’s 2023 mid-year charts, tallying the weeks from Nov. 28, 2022, to May 28, 2023.
On the Japan Hot 100 songs chart, hitmakers Official HIGE DANdism rule with “Subtitle.” The four-man band’s record-breaking single, featured as the theme of the popular TV series silent, was streamed 287,706,788 times during the tallying period after dropping digitally on Oct. 12 last year. In May it sailed past 400 million streams, breaking the previous record for the time it took for a song to reach that milestone. It also became the record-holder for most weeks at No. 1 after the topping the survey 13 times.
“We’re so very grateful that so many of you have listened to our music,” the band says in a statement. “We’ll keep working hard on our songwriting and live shows, and enjoy being in this band so we can continue delivering music we think is great. Thank you so much!”
Two popular anime series openers follow on the mid-year Japan Hot 100: the Chainsaw Man opener “KICK BACK” by Kenshi Yonezu at No. 2 and the Oshi no Ko opening theme “Idol” by YOASOBI at No. 3. The latter recently made headlines in Japan for becoming the first Japanese-language song to top Billboard’s Global Excl. U.S. list.
The No. 1 album on the Billboard Japan Hot Albums mid-year chart is King & Prince’s greatest-hits collection Mr.5. The boy band’s best-of set sold over a million copies (1,376,802) during the surveying period and dominated the physical sales metric as well.
Ren Nagase and Kaito Takahashi of King & Prince shared a heartfelt statement expressing gratitude to their fans for their undying support: “We’re thrilled to hear King & Prince’s first best-of album Mr.5 finished first in the album category on [Billboard Japan’s] mid-year charts of 2023. Thank you so much to everyone who picked up a copy and to everyone who was involved in its making!”
“This album was created to reflect upon our journey so far as a group, made together with our fans who walked with us along the way,” they added. “It made us so happy to receive so many votes when we were selecting the tracks, seeing how much people loved our songs. We’re sure we were able to achieve this result because so many of you supported us. We’ll continue to stay true to ourselves and keep delivering our best performances and songs. Please look forward to it!”
The album at No. 2 is Snow Man‘s i DO ME and SEVENTEEN‘s FML follows at No. 3.
Official HIGE DANdism is the top act on the mid-year Japan Artist 100 chart, compiled from the results of the Japan Hot 100 and Hot Albums lists. The band has eight songs in the top 100, including former chart-toppers “Mixed Nuts” and “Pretender.”
The artist at No. 2 is young singer-songwriter Vaundy, whose performance of his long-running hit “Kaijuu no Hanauta” on last year’s New Year’s Eve live music extravaganza Kohaku Uta Gassen stole the show. Following at No. 3 is veteran three-man band back number, with five songs in the top 100 including the hits “I Love You” and “Suiheisen.”
While the synergistic effects of major tie-ins with popular TV series and anime have led to the accumulation of more points than ever in the digital realms of the chart’s methodology — streaming, video views and downloads — the breakthroughs of hits independent of tie-ins such as Vaundy’s “Kaiju no Hanauta,” Tani Yuuki‘s “W/X/Y” and Natori’s “Overdose” should also be noted.
Billboard Japan Hot 100 Mid-Year Chart 2023
1. “Subtitle” / Official HIGE DANdism
2. “KICK BACK” / Kenshi Yonezu
3. “Idol” / YOASOBI
4. “Kaijuu no Hanauta” / Vaundy
5. “Dai Zero Kan” / 10-FEET
6. “New Genesis (Uta from ONE PIECE FILM RED)” / Ado
7. “W/X/Y” / Tani Yuuki
8. “Overdose” / Natori
9. “Mixed Nuts” / Official HIGE DANdism
10. “I Love You” / back number
Billboard Japan Hot Albums Mid-Year Chart 2023
1. Mr.5 / King & Prince
2. i DO ME / Snow Man
3. FML / SEVENTEEN
4. THE SOUND / Stray Kids
5. Koe / SixTONES
6. Kessoku Band / Kessoku Band
7. Awakening / INI
8. FACE / JIMIN
9. Humor / back number
10. POWER / Johnny’s WEST
Billboard Japan Artist 100 Mid-Year Chart 2023
1. Official HIGE DANdism
2. Vaundy
3. back number
4. YOASOBI
5. Ado
6. Mrs. GREEN APPLE
7. Yuuri
8. King & Prince
9. Snow Man
10. Kenshi Yonezu
