• What is Robbie Williams up to? The singer is currently counting down on his website that hints at a September 03 announcement. Could it possibly be about his forthcoming album – the name of which (‘Take The Crown’) was reportedly leaked on a UK retailer’s website late last month? Watch this space.
• Voting in the 2012 ARIA Awards begins on Monday. Members of the media (including us) will spend the week deliberating as to who should be nominated in a variety of categories, the winners of which will be announced at the 26th Annual Awards ceremony later this year.
• Things must be doing alright for Something For Kate. Tickets to the band’s upcoming shows in both Melbourne and Brisbane have completely sold out, forcing the band to add extra shows in both cities. They’ll now also play a second Corner Hotel show in Melbourne on October 07 and a second Brisbane show at The Zoo on October 14. Tickets for both new shows are on sale now.
• Aerosmith’s forthcoming album ‘Music From Another Dimension’ has shifted around the schedule a couple of times since it was originally announced for an August 24 release. Its release has been out as far as late November, but with the servicing of the two lead singles ‘What Could Have Been Love’ and ‘Lover A Lot’ this week, Sony has confirmed that the album will now drop here on Friday November 02.
• Tickets for Victoria’s Pyramid Rock festival from December 29 – January 01 at picturesque Phillip Island are hitting the sales desk this Tuesday, but organisers wanted to make sure that their second line-up announcement was out and about before they went on sale. Along with the already announced names like Friendly Fires, Children Collide, House vs Hurricane, Xavier Rudd, Illy, 360, Dead Letter Circus and more, are the likes of Kate Miller-Heidke, Gossling, Pnau and Van She. Organisers are putting a heavy emphasis on local talent for this year’s event.
• Speaking of festivals, the Meredith Music Festival has completely sold out. The entire allocation of tickets sold out for the 20th year in succession – and in record time (20 minutes). The Meredith Music Festival hits the Meredith Supernatural Ampitheatre from December 07 – 09.
• Scottish rockers Primal Scream are returning to Australia in December for a series of live shows. They’ll kick things off in Brisbane on December 03, touching down in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, before finishing things off at Perth’s Astor Theatre on December 11. Tickets for all shows are on sale this Friday.
• British outfit We Are The Ocean will release their new album ‘Maybe Today, Maybe Tomorrow’ in Australia via Shock Records later this month. The new album, the band’s third, has been garnering critical acclaim in their homeland, with the BBC’s Zane Lowe heralding the lead single ‘Bleed’ as the “hottest record in the world”. The album is out locally on Friday September 21.
• Singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffet is heading to Australia later this month. The singer, famous for songs like ‘Cheeseburger in Paradise’ and ‘Margaritaville’, will perform just the two shows – one at Brisbane’s Mount Coot-tha Botanic Gardens on September 21 and the other at Melbourne’s Palais Theatre on September 23. Tickets for both shows are on sale this Wednesday.
• Warner Music and Shock Records will combine to re-release The Doors’ ‘Live At The Bowl ’68’ on CD, digital release, vinyl, DVD, digital video and Blu-Ray late next month. The release has been painstakingly restored and three new tracks added to create a must-have for any fan of the iconic band. ‘Live At The Bowl ’68’ will be released on all formats on Friday October 26.
• The gang at Warner Music Australia were caught doing the ‘Bom Bom’ this week (HERE) and there’s a very good reason. They’ll be hoping to replicate the success of Sam & The Womp’s ‘Bom Bom’, which premiered atop the UK singles chart this week. Taylor Swift’s new single ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together’ is in at No.5, while Devlin & Ed Sheeran’s take on ‘All Along The Watchtower’ pops in at No.7.
• On the British albums chart, the No.1 position again belongs to Emeli Sandé, whose album ‘Our Version Of Events’ remains criminally overlooked at retail here in Australia. The highest debut of the week comes courtesy of Bloc Party’s ‘Four’, which comes in at three. The Darkness’ ‘Hot Cakes’ and Jessie Ware’s ‘Devotion’ are in at Nos.4 and 5 respectively, while the new Trey Songz album makes it into the top ten at No.5. Aiden Grimshaw’s album comes in at No.19.
• Going on recent sales of Taylor Swift’s new single ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together’ in the US so far, we’re assuming the track has now sold in excess of a million copies in the US in a little over two weeks. It’s stuck fast in the No.1 position for a second week on the Billboard singles chart. Maroon 5’s new single ‘One More Night’ has edged five places higher to No.4, while Owl City & Carly Rae Jepsen’s ‘Good Time’ pops into the top ten at No.9.
• Trey Songz has debut atop the Billboard 200 album chart with his new LP ‘Chapter V’. DJ Khaled’s ‘Kiss The Ring’ is the only new release to come close, premiering at No.4, with Owl City’s ‘The Midsummer Station’ debuting at No.7.
• And as always, catch the site tomorrow morning from 9am for a comprehensive look at what’s happening on this week’s ARIA top 100s.