Amazing Grace - amazing performance!

[Dave]

Starved of information about Hayley's "Amazing Grace" single released in Japan, I've had a good look into it and if anyone's interested, here's what I found (the last 2 paragraphs are new information).

Track listing (all but track 4 also appear in Pure):

1. Amazing Grace
2. Beat Of Your Heart
3. Benedictus
4. Amazing Grace (Instrumental)

Hayley's official site said this, on 13th November 2003:

"[Hayley's] Japanese single Amazing Grace is featured throughout the massively popular new hospital soap opera, "Shiroi Kyoto". The [single] was released on 29th October and has had a huge impact - Sales are now at 33,000, and the single is #1 in the international single charts and #20 in the overall single charts."

After that, the single slipped down and out of the overall pop chart but stayed high in the "International" chart, which is reserved for Overseas Acts. I've heard from a Japanese source that it's now been at no. 1 in there, for over 10 weeks. Total sales were 67,558 by early February, with weekly sales then about 3,000 a week (same source). Hayley's Manager has of course said recently that it's now back at number 1, so weekly sales will have increased again. By the way, I think he means the International chart not the overall singles chart, as neither Hayley nor any other overseas act is in the current overall top 20 (main Oricon chart).

For comparison with Amazing Grace's best of no. 20 in the overall chart, Madonna's biggest ever single in Japan only reached no. 19 (!) and Britney Spears' best is no. 26. It's quite unusual for any single by a "foreigner" to reach the overall top twenty - only 12 have reached no. 1 in the last 35 years. So well done Hayley, mixing it with Madonna and Britney (but not following their example, I hope!)

[Dave]

Just to add a bit more on Japanese charts, here are some recent ones - I don't get the International chart very often (weekly sales are in brackets).

Oricon (Japan) international single chart February 2, 2004

1. Amazing Grace - Hayley Westenra (3,189)
2. I Was Born to Love You - Queen (2,468)
3. Toxic - Britney Spears (732)
4. Lose Yourself - Eminem
5. Gift - Blue
6. Wouldn't Believe It - The Get Up Kids
7. Me Against the Music - Britney Spears & Madonna
8. Born Slippy 2003 - Underworld
9. Hit That - The Offspring
10. Fortune Faded - Red Hot Chili Peppers

As I mentioned before, *none* of the above releases were in the full Japanese top 20 chart that week (or this week, for that matter!). Here's the full top 10 for the same week as above - it's a whole new world of music, in Japan

Oricon (Japan) overall single chart February 2, 2004

1. Stargazer - Spitz
2. Aiaraba It’s All Right - Morning Musume.
3. Jupiter - Ayaka Hirahara.
4. Kiyoshino Dodonpa - Kiyoshi Hikawa
5. Ne?cganbaruyo - Kinki Kids.
6. Sakura - Kyogo Kawaguchi.
7. Sekainihitotsudakenohana - Smap.
8. Tenohira/Kurumi - Mr.Children.
9. Taiyo/Koe - Naotaro Moriyama.
10. Aisyukosaten - Japaharinet.

[Dave]

After being knocked off the top of the Japanese "International" single chart for two weeks, Amazing Grace went back to the top on March 1st, edging ahead of Queen. Britney Spears is at number 3 with "Toxic".

Now, from what I have read, Wuthering Heights is due to be released in Japan this week (March 10th). This could be interesting, to say the least - I bet Universal Japan are kicking themselves for releasing it so soon

Amazing Grace has now been top of the Japan International Singles Chart for 14 weeks and at no. 2 for the other 2, since it was released last November. It's now sold about 80,000 in all - this is a huge sale for a non-Japanese artist i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

[Dave]

Amazing Grace drops out of the chart after 54 weeks

Amazing Grace dropped out of the Japanese top 10 international singles chart for the first time, in the chart dated 29th November 2004. This ended a run of 54 consecutive weeks - over a year - in that chart's top 10. Fabulous performance! Here are the full details (thanks to Mario):

Confirmed sales of Amazing Grace are 108,652. No official sales figures were published after it fell from the overall singles Top 200 in June, but estimated sales since then would take the total to about 117,000.

Amazing Grace first entered in the International singles Chart of 10th Nov 2003 at position *1*. Here is the complete chart run (NC = No chart issued):

(IN, 10Nov03)
*1* 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 NC 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 3 1 1 1 2 2 2 6 4 4 6 4 7 5 5 5 3 5 6 3 3 2 5 6 8 10
(OUT, 29Nov04}

Here is the full chart run of "Amazing Grace" in the *overall* Japanese top 200 chart, 29 consecutive weeks (NC = No Chart issued):

(IN, 10Nov03)
*20* 22 24 27 28 35 34 40 NC 44 55 36 54 57 61 54 52 69 67 54 33 24 32 54 66 114 113 102 120 164
(OUT, 7Jun04)

I have a sneaky feeling that we may not have heard the last of Amazing Grace in Japan... i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

[stevemacdonald]

Dave said:

Track listing (all but track 4 also appear in Pure):

1. Amazing Grace
2. Beat Of Your Heart
3. Benedictus
4. Amazing Grace (Instrumental)

Hi -- I took the liberty to bold the first letters of each song. Reading those letters vertically it spells "ABBA"

Heh, now here's a nice picture of Hayley with Frida, one of the original members of ABBA:

[gareth]

The photo was taken in Munich at the recording of the TV programme Sunday Night Classics on Sept. 6, 2004.

I actually attended the recording session - but there was no chance of meeting the people who performed there afterwards. The recording session finished at midnight!

Both Hayley and Anni-Frid performed at the recording session. The poster on the wall mentions some other names of performers:
Anna Netrebko, Lang Lang, Vanessa Mae, Die Sohne Mannheims (the others I can't decipher). Actually, Anna was scheduled to appear but had to cancel because of family circumstances.

Gerrit