There’s no movement atop this week’s ARIA singles chart, with The Chainsmokers still flying the flag at No.1, but who scored the week’s highest debut (No.28)? We do, however, have a new No.1 album this week (as well as a new No.3, a new No.4, a new No.6 and a new No.9)! But who does each of those debuts belong to?
Patience, our pretties… all will be revealed in this week’s Chart Watch.
SINGLES
Yes, The Chainsmokers make it three on the trot with their smash hit ‘Closer’. In fact, it’s not just The Chainsmokers remaining right where they are… the entire top five remains steady week, with new accreditations handed over for Major Lazer and Justin Bieber’s ‘Cold Water’ (now platinum – 70,000 copies down) and Illy ftg. Vera Blue’s ‘Papercuts’ (also now platinum).
Betty Who strengthens her grasp on the Aussie top ten this week. After premiering at No.9 with her cover of Donna Lewis’ classic ‘I Love You Always Forever’, she improves three places, edging Jonas Blue’s ‘Perfect Strangers’ out of the No.6 position.
Wiz Khalifa & co are into the top ten with a bullet, improving to No.8 with ‘Sucker For Pain’ (from the ‘Suicide Squad’ soundtrack) and Mike Perry’s also up, now teetering on the edge of top ten success down under with ‘The Ocean’ (No.14 to No.11).
‘We Don’t Talk Anymore’, the Charlie Puth and Selena Gomez duet, opens the lines of communication with a platinum status this week, while The Chainsmokers’ previous hit – ‘Don’t Let Me Down’ (with Daya) – earns itself a new fourth platinum certification, after selling through more than 280,000 copies locally.
Also shining brighter this week is The Veronicas’ former No.1 hit ‘In My Blood’ (now platinum at No.22) and Martin Garrix’s ‘In The Name Of Love’ (up ten places to No.23).
The week’s highest new entry is at No.28. And it belongs to Canadian teen superstar Shawn Mendes and his new single ‘Mercy’; his third top 30 hit here in Australia, after his top five smashes ‘Treat You Better’ and ‘Stitches’.
Katy Perry’s ‘Rise’ may have fallen again (it’s down another eight positions to No.32), but it clearly did enough during its brief stay in the No.1 spot locally to bag a gold certification (35,000 copies).
Hailee Steinfeld is clearly hungry for more chart success down under, bulleting into the top 50 with ‘Starving’ (No.63 to No.33), there’s a new entry for Ellie Goulding’s ‘Still Falling For You’ (No.36) from the soundtrack to ‘Bridget Jones’s Baby’, but Tove Lo’s newbie ‘Cool Girl’ drops back a little, falling five from its peak to No.37.
Great news for Aussie producer Flume, with news that his single ‘Never Be Like You’, which is edging ever higher in the US as we speak, has popped over the quadruple platinum barrier (No.43).
Calum Scott’s cover of ‘Dancing On My Own’, a previous smash in the UK, is starting to find its feet here in Australia, leaping from a No.70 debut to No.45.
Just as it bows out of the ARIA top 50, Cheat Codes ftg. Kris Kross Amsterdam’s ‘Sex’ earns itself a platinum accreditation (No.53), while right behind it in position 54 is a debut for its successor, Cheat Codes ftg. Dante Klein’s ‘Let Me Hold You (Turn Me On)’.
Dua Lipa’s ‘Hotter Than Hell’ drops ten (No.48 to No.58), OneRepublic’s ‘Kids’ jumps nine (No.72 to No.63) and clearly there’s not much interest in ‘Brad Pitt’s Cousin’ from Macklemore & Ryan Lewis; it’s down 14 places to No.68.
There’s a debut at No.70 from Metallica’s ‘Hardwired’, another from Passenger’s ‘Anywhere’ at No.71 and two more at positions 76 and 77 from Frenship ftg. Emily Warren’s ‘Capsize’ and Kygo ftg. Julia Michaels’ ‘Carry Me’ respectively.
Olly Murs’ ‘You Don’t Know Love’, which has so far been a bit of a flop locally (peaking at No.77 thus far), re-enters the countdown at No.87 and there are debuts at Nos.98 and 99 for Sofi Tucker (‘Drinkee’) and Mac Miller (‘Dang!’) respectively.
Florence & The Machine’s ‘Songs From Final Fantasy XV’ spent just the one week (No.57) in the ARIA top 100.
ALBUMS
As mentioned in the opener, we have a new No.1 this week. And a new No.3, No.4, No.6 and No.9. But who takes home the spoils?
It is, as expected, Frank Ocean, whose long awaited sophomore album ‘Blonde’ premieres in the No.1 spot after taking music fans across the planet by surprise late the previous week.
At No.3, Brisbane indie outfit Ball Park Music premiere with their new long player ‘Every Night The Same Dream’. It’s not quite as grand as the No.2 debut for 2014’s ‘Puddinghead’, but we’re sure there’ll be no complaints.
New at No.4 is another Aussie; Perth hip hop artist Drapht and his new LP ‘Seven Mirrors’. Again, not quite as high as the No.1 for his previous album (2011’s ‘The Life Of Riley’), but a decent outing nonetheless, especially considering the competition at Nos.1 and 2.
The Amity Affliction, who debuted in the top spot last week, are down to No.5 with ‘This Could Be Heartbreak’.
Aussie comedy legends Roy & HG are new at No.6 with ‘This Sporting Life’, leaving Dolly Parton to claim the No.9 position on debut with her new long player ‘Pure & Simple’.
Bernard Fanning’s ‘Civil Dusk’ is down six, Twenty One Pilots’ ‘Immortalized’ is down four and Keith Urban’s ‘Ripcord’ is down seven, with a debut for John Williamson’s ‘His Favourite Collection’ (No.14) and a bullet for Guns N’ Roses’ ‘Greatest Hits’ (No.52 to No.17) following.
With his new album now out and about, Frank Ocean’s debut rockets back into the top 20, bulleting 62 places to No.19. ‘The Very Best Of’ by INXS also takes a leap… up 46 places to No.22.
There’s a debut at No.29 for Sabaton’s ‘The Last Stand’ and another two places lower for Ricky Gervais’ project ‘Life On The Road’ by David Brent.
But not such good news for Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, whose album ‘This Unruly Mess I’ve Made’ takes a tumble from No.10 to No.32, nor for Hilltop Hoods, whose album ‘Drinking From The Sun, Walking Under Stars Restrung’ is down 23 to No.34.
The ‘Best Of Bowie’ re-enters at No.35, however. Tory Lanez debuts at No.37 with ‘I Told You’, Lindsey Stirling is in at No.39 with ‘Brave Enough’ and The Temper Trap’s latest album ‘Thick As Thieves’ bullets 41 places… to No.41.
The top 50 debuts wrap with a new entry at No.44 for Eden and ‘I Think You Think Too Much Of Me’.
Jimmy Barnes’ ‘Soul Searchin’ loses 16 places, but Montaigne’s ‘Glorious (chart) Heights’ are a thing of the past; down 29 to No.46.
Beyond the 50, there’s a re-entry for Guns N’ Roses’ ‘Appetite For Destruction’ (No.57), a new entry for Frenzal Rhomb’s ‘We Lived Like Kings (We Did Anything We Wanted)’ (No.58), but big drops for Troye Sivan’s ‘Blue Neighbourhood’ (down 35 to No.59), Peter Garrett’s ‘A Version Of Now’ (down 36 to No.61), DJ Snake’s ‘Encore’ (down 29 to No.62), Meghan Trainor’s ‘Title’ (down 22 to No.64) and Dami Im’s ‘Classic Carpenters’ (down 21 to No.66).
Triple J’s Matt & Alex score a debut at No.69 for their LP ‘Play It Out’ (clearly people wanted to buy Darude), but the sun is setting fast on Dustin Tebbut’s ‘First Light’, which slumps 38 positions to No.70.
More big drops; Gang Of Youths’ ‘Let Me Be Clear’ (down 30 to No.76), Alfie Arcuri’s ‘Zenith’ (down 40 to No.77) and DJ Khaled’s ‘Major Key’ (down 43 to No.78).
There are debuts for Soilwork (‘Death Resonanse’ at No.80) and Forever Ends Here (‘Imagine This’ at No.84), but drops for Charlie Puth (‘Nine Track Mind’ down 21 to No.85), Hellions (‘Opera Oblivion’ down 23 to No.90), Broods (‘Conscious’ down 21 to No.91), NWA (‘Straight Outta Compton’ down 44 to No.95), Celtic Thunder (‘Legacy Vol.2’ down 40 to No.99) and ‘The Get Down’ soundtrack (down 42 to No.100).
But despite those sizeable drops, they all pale into comparison to PartyNextDoor’s ‘PartyNextDoor 3 (P3)’, which debuted last week at No.13. Staggeringly, it’s lost more than 87 places this week and is no longer in the top 100.
For a full run down of the ARIA top 50s, head over to the ARIA CHARTS WEBSITE (now with a fresh new look, with fresh new features) every Saturday from 6:00pm AET.