SATURDAY NEWS WRAP #180

• Celebrations, no doubt, in the EMI offices yesterday before the staff broke for the Christmas/New Year period, with news that off the back of her Australian tour, Katy Perry’s album ‘Prism’ has smashed through the five times platinum mark. Though its predecessor ‘Teenage Dream’ is also at the five times platinum mark, EMI tells us that ‘Prism’ has now surpassed its sales and has also delivered Katy her biggest ever Aussie hit in ‘Roar’, which is now certified eleven times platinum (770,000 copies).
• Kate Ceberano and David Campbell have combined their immense vocal talents to record a cover of ‘Falling Slowly’, the Oscar-winning song from the award-winning musical ‘Once’. The musical is currently showing in Melbourne and the single is available digitally now.
• UK outfit The Wombats will release their third album ‘Glitterbugs’ in April. The follow-up to their top two album ‘This Modern Glitch’, the album and its themes were inspired by frontman Matthew Murphy’s experiences in Los Angeles. “The album’s about the envy and the struggle and the pretence and the worry and the fear that L.A. – and every major city in the world – encompasses,” he said in a statement. ‘Glitterbugs’ is due to drop in Australia on Friday April 03.

• US R&B superstar Nelly (left) has added an Adelaide date to his forthcoming Australian tour. Due in the country early in the new year for shows in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Newcastle, Various Artists yesterday confirmed that the performer would take to the stage at Thebarton Theatre on January 15. The tour is Nelly’s first visit to Australia in four years and tickets for all dates are on sale now.
• Speaking of Adelaide, there’s been a venue upgrade to the Nas show in the city of churches. It was due to hit HQ on January 29, but to cope with demand for tickets (they sold out in one day), the show has now been shifted to the larger Thebarton Theatre on the same day.
• And a Foo Fighters concert is also on the move. The band was slated to play Perth’s NIB Stadium on March 07 next year, but due to “scheduling conflicts”, the show has been pushed back just one day – to Sunday March 08.
• Alison Wonderland has been confirmed as the headline act for February’s Mountain Sounds Festival on the New South Wales Central Coast. She’ll be joined by the likes of Safia, The Kite String Tangle, TK Maidza and The Griswolds for the event, which will take over the Mount Penang Parklands in Kariong on February 21.

• No change to the No.1 spot again on this week’s Billboard Hot 100 singles chart over in the United States. Taylor Swift holds for a fifth week in succession with her ‘Blank Space’, with Hozier behind in the No.2 spot with ‘Take Me To Church’. Shuffling up to No.3, however, is Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars’ collaboration ‘Uptown Funk’, but they’re not the only ones on the move; Meghan Trainor’s ‘Lips Are Movin’ is up from No.8 to No.4, Sam Smith’s ‘I’m Not The Only One’ is up two to No.5 and Ed Sheeran’s ‘Thinking Out Loud’ bullets from No.24 to No.6.
• Albums-wise, J Cole debuts in the top spot Stateside with his new album ‘2014 Forest Hills Drive’, edging Taylor Swift from the No.1 position just a week out from Christmas. The Carrie Underwood best-of pops into the countdown at No.4 and K Michelle’s ‘Anybody Wanna Buy A Heart?’ debuts at No.6.
• Yes most of the Australian recorded music industry is now on holidays, but we’re still here, gifting you little regular nuggets like the Chart Watch, which will be back again from 6pm AEDT tonight. Get your fix of the Aussie top 100s right here.

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