CHART WATCH

‘The X Factor’ is over and done with for another year and consequently, all but two of the performances from the show have fallen from the top 100 this week. In the meantime, it was a battle between ‘X Factor’ runner-up Taylor Henderson and the star power of Eminem and Rihanna for the singles crown and another quartet of debuts in the ARIA top ten albums chart, plus plenty of big drops, some good news for Tina Arena fans and the goodbye of an old favourite. Plenty to get our teeth into this week, so let’s check out this week’s Chart Watch.

SINGLES
The battle for top spot was fierce all week, with ‘X Factor’ runner-up Taylor Henderson slugging it out with Eminem and Rihanna for the No.1 position on the ARIA singles chart. Taylor topped the iTunes chart for most of the week, but Eminem and Rihanna were resurgent later in the chart week. Who pipped who at the post?
It was Taylor who made the cut, debuting at No.1 on this week’s singles chart, with a gold sales accreditation to boot, proving he’s just as popular as winner Dami Im, who achieved the same feat last week.
Eminem and Rihanna, meanwhile, sailed 11 places to snatch No.2 this week, edging a now six-times platinum Katy Perry’s ‘Roar’ to No.3 and last week’s No.1 – Dami’s ‘Alive’ – to No.4.
Former ‘X Factor’ contestant Nathaniel’s debut ‘You’ is now a platinum certified hit; his appearance on ‘Dancing With The Stars’ last week getting him over the 70,000 mark and getting him back into the top five.
New at No.6 is ‘X Factor’ third place-getter Jai Waetford and his debut single ‘Your Eyes’, Avicii’s ‘Hey Brother’ is now platinum (ditto Pitbull & Ke$ha’s ‘Timber’).
Justice Crew’s ‘Everybody’ picks up a gold sales accreditation at No.9, but Guy Sebastian’s single ‘Like A Drum’ drops six spots from its No.4 debut.
One Direction’s new single ‘Story Of My Life’ drops nine places from its No.3 debut last week ahead of the release of the band’s new album ‘Midnight Memories’, although the track does pick up a gold sales accreditation for its troubles.
Havana Brown’s ‘Warrior’ looked all battled out when it dropped from No.22 to No.38 on last week’s chart, but more TV love takes it back up to a new peak of No.15 this week (having spent plenty of the past seven days within the iTunes top ten).
A duo of debuts just outside the top 20… Third D3gree’s ‘Different Kind Of Love’ at No.22 and Lupe Fiasco’s ‘Old School Love’ at No.23. Vance Joy’s ‘Riptide’ is now triple platinum at No.25 and another new release, this time from Flo Rida at No.26 with ‘How I Feel’.
Jess Mauboy’s ‘Pop A Bottle (Fill Me Up)’ might have slid ten places this week, but it’s now the singer’s seventh platinum hit, notching up the 70,000 mark during the past seven days. Gaga’s ‘Dope’ smokes its way into the countdown at No.34 and Imagine Dragons’ ‘Demons’ enters the top 50 for the first time at No.36.
Bouncing back into the top half of the hundred this week are Uncle Jed’s ‘Give Me Love’, Ellie Goulding’s ‘Burn’ and MKTO’s ‘Classic’. Taylor Henderson’s ‘Girls Just Want To Have Fun’ ‘X Factor’ performance dives from No.15 to No.46.
Outside the 50, it’s a ‘Bad Day’ for Justin Bieber, with his latest tune skipping the top 50 altogether, managing only No.54 on debut, but it’s more positive news for both Afrojack and Uncle Jed, with their singles ‘The Spark’ and ‘Brother’ surging (No.98 to No.57 and No.84 to No.58 respectively).
It’s Bombs Away at No.62 with ‘Better Luck Next Time’, big drops for James Arthur’s ‘You’re Nobody ‘Til Somebody Loves You’ (No.36 to No.67) and Lady Gaga’s ‘Venus’ (No.31 to No.68). Ditto Jai Waetford’s ‘X Factor’ performance of ‘Don’t Let Me Go’ (No.37 to No.74) and Taylor Swift’s ‘Sweeter Than Fiction’ (No.44 to No.76).
The top 100 experiences five further debuts; Panama’s ‘Always’ (No.86), Eminem ftg. Sia’s ‘Beautiful Pain’ (No.91), Max Frost’s ‘Low High Low’ (No.93), Goldroom’s ‘Embrace’ at No.99 and Jessie J’s ‘ Thunder’ at No.100.
Reece Mastin’s ‘Girls (All Around The World)’ is gone from the top 100 after one solitary week at No.59.

ALBUMS
It’s been a good week for US rapper Eminem. Not only have a number of his tracks peppered the ARIA singles chart, his new album ‘The Marshall Mathers LP2’ debuts at No.1 on the ARIA albums chart, making it his sixth consecutive No.1 Australian album.
Katy Perry’s ‘Prism’ is still doing rather well, however, hitting platinum this week at No.2, with Quarantine warnings this week over importing the deluxe edition due to the inclusion of seeds within the package.
Arcade Fire’s ‘Reflektor’ shines at No.3 on debut; Avril Lavigne’s self-titled set comes in at No.7.
Tina Arena fans will be thrilled to know that her album ‘Reset’ is still within the top ten – and has even picked up a gold sales accreditation after just three weeks (35,000 copies). Andre Rieu’s ‘Celebrates ABBA/Music Of The Night’ nice-price package debuts at No.10 and Jess Mauboy also picks up a gold accreditation for ‘Beautiful’, which is steady at No.11.
Lana Del Rey’s ‘Born To Die : The Paradise Edition’ bullets from No.52 to No.17.
Debuts further down the charts come from Cut Copy (‘Free Your Mind’ at No.19) and Tinie Tempah (‘Demonstration’ at No.22), Guns N’ Roses, P!nk, The Eagles, Bon Jovi and Michael Jackson best-ofs pick up sales steam, but Jason Derulo’s ‘Tattoos’ drops from No.18 to No.28 and Kerser’s ‘S.C.O.T.’, which occupied position five last week on debut, is down to No.32.
There are debuts at Nos.37 and 41 for Gossling’s ‘Harvest Of Gold’ and Toby Keith’s ‘Drinks After Work’ respectively.
Sony will no doubt be hoping that Susan Boyle’s ‘Home For Christmas’ picks up the pace prior to Christmas, because a No.45 is her lowest chart to date – and a long way off the top five of every one of her previous albums.
Re-entering the top 50 this week are Beyoncé’s ‘I Am… Sasha Fierce’, the ‘Pitch Perfect’ soundtrack and Birds Of Tokyo’s ‘March Fires’ (at Nos.48, 49 and 50 respectively).
Outside the top 50, there are surges for The Bee Gees’ best of, Ed Sheeran’s ‘+’, Bruno Mars’ ‘Doo-Wops & Hooligans’ and Red Hot Chili Peppers’ best-of.
Damien Leith’s first independent offering ‘Chapter Seven’ comes in at No.57 and Fall Out Boy’s ‘Save Rock And Roll’ drops from No.25 to No.58. But they’re by no means the only ones experiencing big drops on this week’s albums chart;
John Newman’s ‘Tribute’ is down from No.31 to No.60, Passenger’s ‘All The Little Lights’ from No.38 to No.61 and Lana Del Rey’s ‘Born To Die’ from No.35 to No.63 (the ‘Paradise Edition’ bullets back into the top 50 – as mentioned above).
Paul Kelly’s ‘Songs From The South Volume 1 & 2’ drops from No.34 to No.70, the Hunters & Collectors tribute ‘Crucible’ slumps from No.39 to No.73 and Bernard Fanning’s ‘Departures’ is heading for the boarding gate; down from No.28 to No.75.
Also down… Mark Vincent’s ‘The Quartet Sessions’ (No.37 to No.79), Trivium’s ‘Vengeance Falls’ (No.44 to No.81) and Cher’s ‘Closer To The Truth’ (No.40 to No.89).
We also bid a fond farewell this week to Adele, whose ’21’ has been floating around the top 100 for 145 weeks (two years and 41 weeks). It leaves the top 100 this week after placing at No.98 last week.

For a full run down of the ARIA top 50s, head over to the new-look ARIA CHARTS WEBSITE, now each and every Saturday from 7:00pm AEST.