EoTY - Editor’s Choice Awards: Best Jpop Artist of the Year

Lindsey Costa on Tuesday, December 21, 2010 1:00PM

2010 was a big year in music with artists/groups disbanding, Jin Akanishi leaving KAT-TUN, and some major records. This year definitely kept everyone entertained and with empty pockets. These five nominations all had BIG years. They sold tons of copies, and their loyal fans cheered them on. Only one prevails, and when you look at numbers and popularity, this group definitely takes the cake. Here are the nominations:

AKB48 - These 48 (yes, 48, and not all of them are pictured) girls rocked this year. They broke a few records such as thei 18th single, “Beginner,” sold 826,989 copies in the first week alone making it the highest weeks of sales for AKB48 as well as a female idol group. They also attended AnimExpo this year. Their performance on FNS Music festival was also one of the highest rated.

Ayumi Hamasaki - The queen of JPOP will and shall always be nominated for anything relating to being the best. She’s definitely the best at what she does, and this year she sold her 23rd, 24th, and 25th consecutive number one singles. She set the record for most consecutive singles any female artist (solo or group) as well as any solo artist (male or female), breaking a record that’s been held for 20 years.

Arashi - This group definitely had a huge year even after their major one last year. They released six singles this year alone, and they all hit number one. Their album release this year hit number one and sold over 1 million copies. Their sixth single, “Hatenai Sora,” sold 572,000 copies in the first week and beat their personal record of selling 557,000 in the first week that was set by their debut single. They were also chosen to host Kouhaku with Nao Matsushita this year.

Perfume - This techno trio had their first Tokyo dome concert, which their fans flocked to see. Perfume is the first female group to have a concert at the dome since Speed in 1998 and the 2nd female group overall. They also won an award at MAMA for Best Asian Pop Artist. The trio is also releasing a photobook for their concerts. This year was also their tenth anniversary.

EXILE - It seems like everyone and their dogs love this mega group. They were also ranked number 10 on the twitter trends of famous people. They are also number 29 on the top earning groups ever according to Music Station. This is also their tenth anniversary as well, and they sparked Korean interest when Kara appeared on their show.

And the winner for Best Jpop Artist of the Year award goes too….

ARASHI! These guys killed the charts. On the Japanese Billboard charts, they have a whopping thirteen spots. On the top 100, they took spots 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, and 9 with all of their singles hitting it. They are ranked second for the hottest album, and on the hot single sales, their singles took spots 1 through 6. For all these singles, they did music videos for every one of them. Plus with three hit TV shows, not to mention with movies and dramas, these guys are at the top of their popularity.