Aimer, Snow Man & Ado Top 2022 Billboard Japan Year-End Charts

Billboard Japan has unveiled its 2022 year-end charts, tallying the weeks from Nov. 29, 2021 to Nov. 27, 2022.

J-pop singer Aimer’s “Zankyosanka” is the No. 1 song of the year on the Japan Hot 100. The opener for the entertainment district story arc of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba ruled downloads with a total of 472,826 units and came in at No. 5 for streaming with 272,655,388 streams for the year.

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Singer-songwriter Tani Yuuki’s “W/X/Y” follows at No. 2. The track was powered by streaming, racking up 328 million views to top the metric. Yuuri’s “Betelgeuse” comes in at No. 3 on the year-end tally, logging 314 million streams.

Learning that “Zankyosanka” hit No. 1 for the year, Aimer commented: “The song was written by the team I’ve been working with since my debut, and I’m so happy and touched that so many more people than we imagined in the beginning have listened to it. I’m very honored.”

The No. 1 album of the year on the Hot Albums tally is Snow Man’s Snow Labo. S2. The sophomore effort by the nine-member Johnny’s boy band sold 984,357 CDs to rule sales and also came in at No. 3 for look-ups, which counts the number of times a CD is ripped to a computer.

Rising seven-member Johnny’s group Naniwa Danshi comes in at No. 2 with 1st Love, and Ado’s Uta’s Songs ONE PIECE FILM RED comes in at No. 3.

Hikaru Iwamoto, the leader of Snow Man, thanked the group’s fans. “While the meaning of ‘Labo.’ in the title of this album is about experimenting, we also meant it as a challenge,” he explains. “We’re really happy (about the album hitting No. 1) because we each tried our hands at various things during the production process, like being in charge of a song in the album. Thank you to all of our fans. We intend to continue honing our skills and devoting ourselves to delivering performances that will strike a chord with those who listen to, watch, and support us.”

Ado rules the Artist 100 ranking, compiled from the results of the Japan Hot 100 and Hot Albums lists. The songs she recorded as the character Uta from the blockbuster anime movie One Piece Film: Red dominated the charts this year, with ten songs hitting the top 100 for the year including “New Genesis” (No. 7), “I’m Invincible” (No. 24), and “Backlight” (No. 37) from the movie soundtrack and “Odo” (No. 25), a single released under her own name.

At No. 2 is the J-pop duo YOASOBI, which charted six songs in the Hot 100, and at No. 3 is Official HIGE DANdism, whose latest Hot 100 No. 1 single “Subtitle” is already at No. 27 for the year after being released in October.

Ado notes, “I’m really happy that so many people are listening to my music. After singing the songs for One Piece Film: Red, I checked the charts quite a bit, and when it looked like, Ado, Ado, Ado all the way down from the top, it really took me by surprise.”

Some songs became long-running hits due to the synergistic effects of major tie-ins, while others — such as “Nandemoyaiyo” by Macaroni Empitsu, “Cinderella Boy” by Saucy Dog, and “W/X/Y” by Tani Yuuki — became popular on TikTok. Groups formed through audition shows also rose to stardom, including BE:FIRST, Kep1er, and INI. The results also show that karaoke is playing a major role in the sharing and spreading of songs that have enjoyed popularity in Japan, as the tracks at the top of the charts also ranked highly in that metric of the chart’s methodology.

Billboard Japan Hot 100 of the Year 2022 Top 10

1. “Zankyosanka” / Aimer
2. “W/X/Y” / Tani Yuuki
3. “Betelgeuse” / Yuuri
4. “Mixed Nuts” / Official HIGE DANdism
5. “Dried Flower” / Yuuri
6. “Cinderella Boy” / Saucy Dog
7. “New Genesis (Uta from ONE PIECE FILM RED)” / Ado
8. “Nandemonaiyo,” / Macaroni Empitsu
9. “Suiheisen” / back number
10. “Ichizu” / King Gnu

Billboard Japan Hot Albums of the Year 2022 Top 10

1. Snow Labo. S2 / Snow Man
2. 1st Love / Naniwa Danshi
3. Uta’s Songs ONE PIECE FILM RED / Ado
4. DREAM / SEVENTEEN
5. CITY / SixTONES
6. Proof / BTS
7. Made in / King & Prince
8. Face the Sun / SEVENTEEN
9. Kyogen / Ado
10. Yuming Banzai! -Yumi Matsutoya 50th Anniversary Best Album- / Yumi Matsutoya

Billboard Japan Artist 100 of the Year 2022 Top 10

1. Ado
2. YOASOBI
3. Official HIGE DANdism
4. Yuuri
5. BTS
6. King Gnu
7. Vaundy
8. back number
9. Aimyon
10. Saucy Dog

Billboard Japan Hot Animation of the Year 2022 Top 10

1. “Zankyosanka” / Aimer
2. “Mixed Nuts” / Official HIGE DANdism
3. “New Genesis (Uta from ONE PIECE FILM RED)” / Ado
4. “Ichizu” / King Gnu
5. “Sakayume” / King Gnu
6. “Cry Baby” / Official HIGE DANdism
7. “Kaibutsu” / YOASOBI
8. “I’m invincible (Uta from ONE PIECE FILM RED)” / Ad
9. “KICK BACK” / Kenshi Yonezu
10. “Backlight (Uta from ONE PIECE FILM RED)” / Ado

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