This week marked the release of “Teacher Teacher,” the highly anticipated 52nd single from Japanese idol singer megagroup AKB48. Just how eager were fans to get their hands on the disc? By May 29, “Teacher Teacher” had already gone double platinum, despite the fact that it didn’t officially go
This week marked the release of “Teacher Teacher,” the highly anticipated 52nd single from Japanese idol singer megagroup AKB48. Just how eager were fans to get their hands on the disc? By May 29, “Teacher Teacher” had already gone double platinum, despite the fact that it didn’t officially go on sale in stores until the next day, May 30.
▼ “Teacher Teacher”
Yes, “Teacher Teacher” managed to rack up an astounding 2,580,513 pre-sales. Some of that may be due to its blatantly suggestive title. AKB48 working with a K-pop choreographer for the video, their first time to do so with a non-Japanese dance director, also brought the song some advance buzz. Even more additional publicity was generated by up-and-coming 16-year-old AKB48 member Yui Ogura being featured for the first time as the “center,” or main focus, of the music video and packaging.
But undoubtedly the biggest reason for the robust sales is that bundled with each copy of “Teacher Teacher” is a ballot to vote in the upcoming AKB48 “general election.” The tallied votes are used to determine the popularity rankings for the group’s dozens of vocalists, and the higher any individual idol’s rank, the more prominently her singing and dancing will be showcased in AKB48’s future songs.
Because of that, hardcore fans consider it their solemn duty to vote for their personal favorite idol.
