[1] On July 19, 2007, EMI disclosed "Flavor of Life" as a contender for most sold digital single of all time, with over 7.7 million downloads total.

[5] The ballad version of "Flavor of Life" was featured as the insert song for the popular drama or dorama, Hana Yori Dango 2, which averaged over 21% viewership in its timeslot.

[6] In early 2006, the production team of the drama contacted Utada about an image song that would sound similar to "First Love".

When the director wanted to express the heroine's wavering feelings, he said that, "'First Love' came into my mind", and so, a request was made to Utada.

For reference, the main theme song from Hana Yori Dango 2, Arashi's "Love So Sweet", debuted at number 7.

Just two weeks later on January 25, 2007, figures were released that confirmed that the "Flavor Of Life -ballad version-" had sold in excess of 500,000 ring tones.

[16] Full song downloads of "Flavor Of Life" on Chaku-Uta, iTunes Japan and other online dealers became available on February 28, 2007.

[17] On March 8, 2007, the "Flavor Of Life -ballad version-" fell to number two on Chaku-Uta's composite chart to the original version.

The descent of the Ballad Version continued throughout March, as new singles were released and rose past "Flavor of Life -ballad version-".

Still, a month after release, "Flavor of Life -ballad version-" remained in the top ten for composite downloads on Chaku-Uta and iTunes.

In 2008, it was reported that "Flavor of Life" had become the #2 downloaded song of 2007, surpassing Rihanna's "Umbrella", but beaten by Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend".

[citation needed] The second day, it rose to number one, snatching the spot from the popular single by Namie Amuro, "Baby Don't Cry".

[citation needed] "The "Flavor Of Life -ballad version-" aired on radio in Japan on January 15, 2007, the same day as the release of the PV.

Later it was confirmed that some sellers had already begun running out of the 400,000 initially shipped singles, just before "Flavor of Life" took number one on the Oricon dailies for February 27.

[23] Despite tough competition from break out artists Ayaka and Kobukuro, Utada was confirmed to have taken the number one position on the Oricon with only the first day sales.

Flavor of Life became Utada's second single to have three consecutive weeks at the top of the Oricon Charts, with 光 (Hikari) being her first.

The PV of the ballad version featured in-studio footage of Utada recording the song alongside a guitarist, a pianist, a cellist and various violinists.

Probably due to its tie-in with Hana Yori Dango 2, the Ballad Version was performed one time more than the Original (for a total of five).