The latest NEWS single “チャンカパーナ (Chankapana)” is the No.1 single of the week, selling more than 245,000 records, reports Oricon.
It is the first single the group has released since Tomohisa Yamashita and Ryo Nishikido had left the group in 2011. The last single the six-member group had released was “Fighting Man” in November 2011, which sold 150,000 records. This means the new single has sold almost 100k more records than the last. It is also the group’s first single in three years to exceed sales of 200k in the first week since “恋のABO (Koi no ABO)” in April 2009.
NEWS have had 14 straight No.1 singles since their debut with “希望〜Yell〜 (Kibou ~Yell~)”. They are third behind KinKi Kids and KAT-TUN, who hold the records for most consecutive No.1 singles since debut, with 32 and 18 No.1 singles respectively.
It has been reported NEWS leader Keiichiro Koyama said this No.1 had more meaning than some others.
“‘Chankapana’ is the result of what we have felt, and what all of our fans who have waited all this time for us have felt. This is the greatest start. I couldn’t help but cry when I heard the numbers. I promise to return my thanks in my work. I hope you will have a ‘美しい恋しましょう！(beautiful love)’ with us,” he said.
The four member NEWS are due to start their summer concert tour on August 14 in Tokyo before going around Kobe, Fukuoka, Niigata, Sendai, Hiroshima, and Sapporo. It is their first national tour in three-and-a-half years.
Source: momoedgewood
omg, Shige~~~