Via tokyohive: tokyohive recently reported that Korean beastly group 2PM brought in a striking 40,000 fans in for their high-five event, celebrating the release of their debut single, "Take Off". Now there's more reason than ever to pay attention to these boys, as they've set a new record for foreign artists breaking into the Japanese music market! Their Japanese debut single, "Take Off", ranked 4th this week on Oricon's weekly singles ranking, selling a total of 59,000 copies. This weekly total of 59,000 puts them past Shoujo Jidai (SNSD), who previously held the record for most sales from a debut single by a foreign artist. Shoujo Jidai sold a total of 45,000 copies for their debut single, "GENIE". 2PM's successful debut currently puts them as record holders for most singles sold for a debut single by a foreign artist.

That's not all though, as five member Korean boy band F.T. ISLAND's Japanese debut album, "FIVE TREASURE ISLAND", has ranked in at the number one spot for this week's Oricon Album Chart ranking. Their total number of CD sales came in at 37,000 copies, making this the first time since January of 1970 that a male foreign artists' debut album has reached the number one spot within the first week of its release. F.T. ISLAND's record also tops fellow Korean idol BoA's record back in March 2002, as well as t.A.T.u in March 2003. F.T. ISLAND debuted back in May, and last month released its fourth single, "SATISFACTION", which ranked second on the Oricon charts at its highest peak. Source: Oricon & Sponichi