SHINee wins gold with debut single in Japan

SHINee [SM Entertainment]

Boy band SHINee has become the first K-pop artist to claim gold in Japan with a debut single.

June data on the website of the official Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) showed that SHINee's first Japanese single “Replay - 君は僕の everything” (translated into "Reply - You are my everything"), sold over 100,000 copies since going on sale on June 22 to achieve gold disc status.

The feat was anticipated since over 91,000 copies of the albums were sold in a week of going on sale, the highest number of debut albums for a K-pop group to sell in Japan.

“Replay,” which is the Japanese version of SHINee’s 2008 hit single in Korea, had also taken the No. 2 spot on the prestigious Oricon weekly singles chart and ranked second on Oricon's daily singles chart a day after its release.

The group will soon kick off their nationwide fan tour in Japan titled "SHINee JAPAN DEBUT PREMIUM RECEPTION TOUR," starting by performing in Fukuoka on July 22 and then heading to Kobe the following day. They will meet with fans in Tokyo on July 27 and 28, in Sapporo on August 8 and Nagoya on August 11.

Composed of members Key, Minho, Jonghyun, Onew and Taemin, SHINee is one of Korea's most popular male groups who made their debut in 2008 under major talenthouse SM Entertainment. They have produced a number of hit songs including "Reply," "Ring Ding Dong" and "LUCIFER."

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Jessica Kim jesskim@