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The soundtrack from the Oscar-winning hit Disney animated film "Frozen" has topped the Oricon chart for the week beginning May 12.
In addition to the original soundtrack which was released with the film in March, a special version with additional songs by Takako Matsu went on sale on May 3. So far, it has sold more than 153,000 copies, TV Asahi reported Wednesday. In total, more than 300,000 copies of the soundtrack have been sold in Japan.
The last time a movie soundtrack topped the Oricon chart was in 2003 when Eminem held the No. 1 spot with "8 Mile."
May.J, who sings on the Japanese version of "Frozen" -- which is titled “Anna and the Snow Queen” for Japan -- said it was a pleasure to sing such songs for a great movie. She said she had been to many screenings and was pleased to see Japanese people singing along with the songs as audiences have been doing in other countries.
"Frozen" is the top box officer earner in Japan so far this year, having surpassed 10 billion yen.
Meanwhile, in the U.S., the soundtrack on Wednesday earned its 13th nonconsecutive week atop the Billboard 200 album chart, selling nearly twice the number of copies as its nearest challenger.
The soundtrack, which has ridden on the success of the film and its lead single "Let It Go," sold 106,000 copies last week, according to figures compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The album has sold 2.6 million copies since its release in November.
© Japan Today
8 Comments
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Magnus Roe
I learned to appreciate the (minor) qualities of the English theme song after hearing the mind numbingly bland Japanese version.
Cortes Elijah
Probably because you don't understand a word of it right? Bland? It's music..it's the same song, same meanings, sung by a beautiful Japanese singer... I don't really get your comment man.
Raymond Chuang
i do know that the Japanese lyrics of "Let It Go" are quite different than the English version. But I've seen the Japanese version on YouTube and it's actually quite good.
The fact the movie made a lot of money in Japan even though it premiered in that country shortly before the US home video release is a testament to how powerful the Disney brand name is in Japan.
Henry Geßner
Don't get this. It's May. Who wants to watch a winter-themed film and listen to its soundtrack when summer's already approaching? Yeah, they're always really late with foreign films, but this is unbelievable. When I was in Korea in February, I could hear this song in various versions everywhere, and only now it's topping the Japanese charts??
I even managed to see this film, although I strongly dislike Disney and everything related to it. It was as superficial and plain as everything this company has done in recent years, although I liked the character design, and the theme song was quite catchy... when it actually was SNOWING outside.
NathalieB
Same song. Not the same meaning.
My kids! Im going inSANE over here!!!
sensei258
I'm really tired of hearing this song. So much so that I created a sarcastic bathroom-themed version..."Gotta go. Gotta go, Can't hold it back any more. Gotta go. Gotta go. Better close the bathroom door..."
justbcuzisay
I was amused to hear that apparently Japanese heard that Americans are singing along in the theater, so now have sing along showings, complete with a teacher.
lostrune2
You already got beat to it by a Minion, hahaha!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju_i_c2LP24
May J showing them how to do it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPYNVlf6Rqo