Oricon
, or also known as
Oricon Style, is a
Japanese company which provides
music industry-related information. It is best known for the
music charts it produces, similar to those published by
Billboard Magazine in the
USA. The name "Oricon" is derived from the English words "
Original
Confidence".
The "Oricon Year" runs from the beginning of December of one year, to the end of November the following year. Also to note, Oricon combines the last week of December with the first week of January, therefore an "Oricon Year" has 51 weeks versus a real year, which has 52 weeks. Despite this these weeks are counted as 2 instead of 1 in the chart run of a single or an album.
An interesting fact about Oricon charts is that Western artists' singles tend to do miserably on the charts. There have been only a handful of #1 singles by western artists since 1967, some of which were belatedly released in Japan several years after hitting the charts outside Japan. The all-time best-selling single in Japan by a non-Japanese artist is "Beautiful Sunday" by
Daniel Boone, issued in Japan in 1976, four years after it was a hit in the U.S. Since 1980, only four singles by non-Japanese have reached #1 Oricon: "I'm In The Mood For Dancing" by
The Nolans (1980), "Flashdance... What A Feeling" by
Irene Cara (1983), "To Love You More" by
Celine Dion (1995), and "Candle In The Wind '97" by
Elton John (1997). (Reference: http://www.ukmix.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=317101)
The year-end charts that shows the sales of albums and singles in Japan.
Singles
*
1999 Oricon Top 50 Singles*
2000 Oricon Top 50 Singles*
2001 Oricon Top 50 Singles*
2002 Oricon Top 50 Singles*
2003 Oricon Top 100 Singles*
2004 Oricon Top 100 Singles*
2005 Oricon Top 100 SinglesAlbums
*
1999 Oricon Top 50 Albums*
2000 Oricon Top 50 Albums*
2001 Oricon Top 50 Albums*
2002 Oricon Top 50 Albums*
2003 Oricon Top 20 Albums*
2004 Oricon Top 20 Albums*
2005 Oricon Top 20 Albums
