SATURDAY NEWS WRAP #142

• Acclaimed Aussie troubadour Lior will release a new album in March. ‘Scattered Reflections’ (cover image above) is the singer’s fourth studio album and it was funded primarily by his fans. “I’m really proud of this album and hope it connects, particularly with the people that were so generous in lending their support to crowd source this record.” the singer said in a statement. Lior will tour the album throughout February, March and April. ‘Scattered Reflections’ will be released on Friday March 07.
• Major Lazer hit ‘The Island’ for Channel [V] on Thursday night, reportedly delivering one of the most energetic performances yet. But the [V] team aren’t satisfied, revealing that the next artist announcement is due next week.
• EMI has confirmed that the new Arctic Monkeys album ‘AM’ has now been certified platinum in Australia, with sales of more than 70,000 copies. It’s the band’s first platinum LP down under in eight years.

• Bliss N Eso will hit the road in April for a selection of headline dates as part of the ‘Circus Under The Stars’ tour. They’ll be joined on each of the dates by both Horrorshow and Seth Sentry; the tour wrapping up in Hobart on May 31. Tickets for all dates are on sale on Monday February 10.
• Elvis Costello & The Imposters have added a Melbourne headline show to their upcoming Australian visit. The band will hit the stage at Hamer Hall on April 17; tickets are on sale this Thursday at 9am.
• Chugg Entertainment has announced that Scottish outfit Biffy Clyro will perform headline shows in both Sydney and Melbourne while they’re on ground for the upcoming Soundwave Festival this month. They’ll play Sydney’s Factory Theatre on February 24 before heading down to Melbourne for a Corner Hotel gig on February 26. Tickets for both are on sale now.
• Calling All Cars will celebrate the release of their upcoming album ‘Raise The People’ (out March 07) with a national tour. The band will kick things off in Sydney on March 20, before weaving its way around the country. Tickets are on sale now.

• Katy Perry’s ‘Dark Horse’ has galloped into the No.1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart this week, displacing Pitbull & Ke$ha and their ‘Timber’. Jason Derulo’s single ‘Talk Dirty’ is in quite the hurry – it’s up to No.6 this week, but Pharrell’s ‘Happy’ is on its way to being a chart monster Stateside too; up from No.25 to No.11.
• Mister Springsteen may have ruled supreme last week, but he’s almost out of the top ten in the second week of sales for his new album ‘High Hopes’. The ‘Frozen’ soundtrack is up to No.1, with an understandable debut for the ‘Grammy Nominees’ album at No.2. A Great Big World’s ‘Is There Anybody Out There’ is in at No.3 and Young The Giant’s ‘Mind Over Matter’ drops at No.7.
• How will last Monday’s Triple J Hottest 100 countdown affect this week’s ARIA singles and albums charts? Find out with our weekly Chart Watch segment, live right here at 7pm AEDT tonight.

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