Recent sales data revealed that Japanese idol group AKB48 has become the

Recent sales data revealed that Japanese idol group AKB48 has become the first J-pop girl group to hit 20 million in cumulative single sales, reported Japanese media.

AKB48 also took the shortest time to hit that figure, taking just seven years and one month to get there since the release of their debut single “Cherry Blossom Petals” in February 2006.

Japanese band Mr. Children was the previous speed champ, taking eight years to hit the 20 million single sales mark in 2000.

One of AKB48’s hit singles “Baby! Baby! Baby!”

AKB48 is among just a handful of Japanese acts like SMAP, Ayumi Hamasaki, B’z and the Southern All Stars that have managed to hit the 20 million mark in cumulative single sales.

Created in 2005 by Japanese music producer Yasushi Akimoto, AKB48 has since gone on to become one of the most popular acts in Japan, and has spawned splinter groups in China as well as Indonesia.