SATURDAY NEWS WRAP #119

• Aussie songstress/DJ Havana Brown has finally seen her single ‘Big Banana’ serviced to local media this week. The track is the latest to be lifted from Havana’s ‘When The Lights Go Out’ EP, which was released last year.
• Plenty of other new tunes doing the rounds this week including the aforementioned new Alexis Jordan track ‘Acid Rain’ and Little Mix’ ‘Change Your Life’, along with Muse’s ‘Supremacy’, Frank Ocean’s ‘Lost’ and many more. Check our FACEBOOK page for a more comprehensive list of the tracks serviced to media this week.
• Liberation Music announced during the week that singer songwriter Dan Sultan has joined their stable of artists. Already signed to a publishing deal with Mushroom Records, the singer is currently working on new music that the label has promised will be “the icing on the proverbial 40th birthday cake”.
• You might want to block out your diary this Monday night, as gorgeous Aussie songtress Sarah Blasko hits the stage at the iconic Sydney Opera House for a live Youtube stream of her concert. Accompanied by a live orchestra, Sarah will perform tracks from her critically acclaimed new album ‘I Awake’. It all hits at 9pm AEDT this Monday HERE.
• House legend David Morales will play in Australia next weekend. The superstar DJ will play at Melbourne’s Red Bennies in Chapel Street this Friday night (to an intimate crowd of just 250 people) before heading to Sydney for a show at Goldfish in Darlinghurst Road on Saturday night.
• Birds of Tokyo have added two final shows to their upcoming national tour. The ‘March Fires’ tour is in support of their latest album, which hits retail on March 01. New dates have been added to the schedule in Sydney and Brisbane, with tickets for both now on sale.
• Look out! Tenacious D are headed back down under in May. Jack and Kyle will play shows in all five major centres, kicking off with a show at the Brisbane Convention Centre on Friday May 10. Support will be provided by the hilarious Barry Morgan and tickets for all dates are on sale on Monday February 25.
• Organisers of the Breath Of Life Festival in Launceston have confirmed that Melbourne outfit House vs Hurricane has been forced to withdraw from the March 10 event. In a statement, the band said, “Vocalist Dan Casey has had ongoing eye issues and has been on a waiting list for some time to get the surgery to fix his condition. The surgery will coincide with the festival but is expected to give him his full vision back for the first time in a good while. The band encourages fans to attend the festival full of some of their favourite Australian artists and close friends in bands. It’s a tough decision not to be a part of such an incredible lineup, but one that needed to be made.”
• Los Angeles outfit The Neighbourhood will release their debut album ‘I Love You’ in Australia in late April. The album, dropping on April 26, follows on from the band’s debut EP ‘I’m Sorry’, which dropped in August last year, as well as their recent appearance at the national Laneway Festivals.

• The success of Macklemore and Ryan Lewis extends to the UK this week, with their single ‘Thrift Shop’ hitting No.1 on the British singles chart. Disclosure’s ‘White Noise’ bullets from No.28 to No.2, with last week’s No.1 from Bingo Players relegated to position three. The week’s highest debut comes from Fall Out Boy with their single ‘My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark’ (No.5), while Little Mix are headed for the top ten with their new single ‘Change Your Life’.
• The UK albums chart belongs to the ‘Les Miserables’ soundtrack this week, with Biffy Clyro’s ‘Opposites’ slipping to No.3. The highest debut of the week comes from The Courteeners and their album ‘Anna’. Girls Aloud starlet Kimberley Walsh debuts at No.18 with her solo project ‘Centre Stage’.

• Four weeks in a row on top this week for Macklemore and Ryan Lewis and their global smash ‘Thrift Shop’ on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. The entire top six remains unchanged Stateside this week, but Maroon 5’s ‘Daylight’ threatens to set the cat among the pigeons next week, edging from No.14 to No.7 this week. Justin Timberlake’s ‘Suit & Tie’ also bags a top ten berth (No.8) along with Bruno Mars’ ‘When I Was Your Man’ (No.9).
• Josh Groban’s new album ‘All That Echoes’ beats all comers on the Billboard albums chart, premiering in the No.1 spot ahead of debuts for Tim McGraw (No.2) and the latest in the ‘Now’ compilation series (No.3). Justin Bieber’s ‘Believe Acoustic’, which held the top spot last week, slips back to No.6 this week, with Red’s ‘Release The Panic’ settling for a premiere at lucky No.7.
• And don’t miss our weekly look at all things chart from down under, with our regular Chart Watch segment, back at 9am AEDT tomorrow!