Could Ed Sheeran still be flying the flag at No.1 on this week’s ARIA Chart Watch? Do we really need to pose that question? But there are plenty of other movements, including eight debuts on the ARIA top 100 singles chart and eight debuts on the ARIA top 100 albums chart. Who’s come in highest? Who’s got new certifications? Who’s improved? Who’s plunged?
The answers you’re looking for are all contained in the paragraphs below; it’s ARIA Chart Watch!
SINGLES
Yes, it’s Ed Sheeran once again shining in the No.1 and No.2 positions with his singles ‘Shape Of You’ and ‘Castle On The Hill’.
Though Amy Shark has given both tracks a fair crack this week with her single ‘Adore’. The track, which placed at No.2 on Triple J’s Hottest 100, bullets from No.13 to No.3 on the back of its success in the annual countdown.
Fellow Aussies Pnau score their first ever top five hit with ‘Chameleon’, which improves three spots from No.7 to No.4, overtaking Zayn & Taylor Swift’s ‘Fifty Shades Darker’ anthem ‘I Don’t Wanna Live Forever’ in the process.
The Chainsmokers’ ‘Paris’ drops two, Clean Bandit’s ‘Rockabye’ loses three and Andy Grammer’s ‘Fresh Eyes’ is down two.
Another track benefiting from the love of the Hottest 100 this week is Milky Chance’s ‘Cocoon’, which wraps up a top ten berth with a big 15 place leap from No.25.
Peking Duk and Elliphant are steady at No.12 with ‘Stranger’, but they familiarise themselves with a shiny new double platinum certification, having blasted through the 140,000 sales mark.
Julia Michaels earns a top 20 berth with ‘Issues’ (up 17 from last week’s debut to No.14) and Flume’s ‘Never Be Like You’ soars from No.54 to No.18, again off the back of the top 100 success (it was No.1 this year).
Sage The Gemini improves four to No.19 with ‘Now And Later’ and the new Little Mix single ‘Touch’ makes a run at the top 20, leaping from No.32 to No.21.
Good things continue to happen for ‘Bad Things’ from Machine Gun Kelly and Camila Cabello. It’s been a slow run northwards for the track but after 12 weeks, it’s on the precipice of top 20 success down under (No.26 to No.22).
The Chainsmokers’ ‘Closer’ drops seven, Alessia Cara’s new single ‘How Far I’ll Go’ drops nine after peaking at No.15 last week (suggesting No.15 will be how far she’ll go). Neiked’s ‘Sexual’ also loses ground this week (No.19 to No.26).
The week’s highest debut comes in at No.27 and it’s courtesy of the new Major Lazer, PartyNextDoor and Nicki Minaj collaboration ‘Run Up’; the Canadian outfit’s fourth foray into the Aussie top 30.
Childish Gambino’s ‘Redbone’ hits a new peak of No.30 (up seven) and bags a gold sales certification (35,000 copies) for its trouble, no doubt thanks in part to its strong showing on the Hottest 100 countdown. But Rag ‘N’ Bone Man’s ‘Human’ loses ten places in the lead-up to the album release next week.
Zara Larsson’s single ‘I Would Like’ loses 14 places to No.34 (lucky Sony just happened to have ‘So Good’ waiting in the wings) and the new Martin Garrix/Dua Lipa single ‘Scared To Be Lonely’ is new at No.35.
Also performing well in the Hottest 100 this year was Tash Sultana’s ‘Jungle’, which swings from No.83 on debut to No.39.
Adele’s ‘Water Under The Bridge’ hits a new peak; ditto Sofi Tukker’s ‘Drinkee’ right behind her, while Flume’s ‘Say It’ also makes a move back into the top 50 thanks to the Hottest 100, rising 19 places to No.43.
Sia’s ‘Move Your Body’ is down ten, Jon Bellion’s ‘All Time Low’ is new at No.45, Illy and Vera Blue’s ‘Papercuts’ jumps 18 and The Vamps have JUST made it into the top 50 after nine weeks in the countdown, improving from No.51 to No.48 to give the band its first top 50 placing in three years here.
Hilltop Hoods’ ‘1955’ is also into the top 50 this week (a re-entry, mind you). It’s up from No.74 to No.50, again thanks to the Hottest 100.
But DJ Snake and Justin Bieber’s ‘Let Me Love You’ loses 12 places to drop out of the top 50 (No.39 to No.51) on its sixth month chart anniversary.
The No.3 single in the UK this week (Jax Jones and Raye’s ‘You Don’t Know Me’) loses 11 places to No.55, but Rae Sremmurd’s former US No.1 ‘Black Beatles’ falls further… 21 places to be precise; down to No.56.
Hailee Steinfeld’s ‘Starving’ doesn’t escape the top 50 exodus, losing 19 places to No.57.
The new Zara Larsson single ‘So Good’ premieres at No.59, Calum Scott’s ‘Dancing On My Own’ is out of the top 50 (No.46 to No.61), Little Mix’s ‘Shout Out To My Ex’ is down 17 to No.63 and Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj’s ‘Side To Side’ is down 18 to No.64.
John Legend’s ‘Love Me Now’ might not have troubled the top 20 at all, but the single’s done enough within its 17 weeks to achieve a platinum certification (70,000 copies) at No.65.
Sia scores another entry in the Aussie top 100 with her newbie ‘Never Give Up’ (new at No.77), but Charli XCX loses 19 places with ‘After The Afterparty’ (No.63 to No.82).
Two new entries dot the 80s; Marian Hill’s ‘Down’ (No.85) and Rag ‘N’ Bone Man’s ‘Skin’ (No.87).
But the 80s prove Bruno Mars is struggling to cut through with his new material; ‘Versace On The Floor’ losing 22 places to No.88 and ‘That’s What I Like’ entering at a lowly No.98.
Calvin Harris and Rihanna go six times platinum (420,000 copies) with ‘This Is What You Came For’ (No.90).
ALBUMS
The school holidays were still in full swing for most of the past week in a number of parts of the country, which is perhaps why the soundtracks from the big three summer holiday kids movies are still within the top five on the ARIA albums chart.
The ‘Trolls’ soundtrack retakes the No.1 position from Kasey Chambers’ ‘Dragonfly’ this week (they swap places, Kasey down to No.2).
‘Moana’ and ‘Sing’ also swap places in the Nos.3 and 4 positions, while the new Train album ‘A Girl, A Bottle, A Boat’ premieres at No.5, giving the US band their first top five albums chart placing in Australia in 16 years.
Adele’s ’25’ continues to power on and will throughout February as she descends upon our shores for her first ever Aussie live shows, while Brian & Jenn Johnson score a No.7 debut with ‘After All These Years’.
Once again, the Hottest 100 strikes; Tash Sultana’s ‘Notion’ EP rockets from No.74 to No.8, while Flume’s ‘Skin’ is up from No.25 to No.12.
The Rolling Stones and The McClymonts both leave the top ten, but The Avalanches are back with ‘Since I Left You’ (No.15 on re-entry) and Human Nature’s ‘Gimme Some Lovin’ : Jukebox Vol.II’ is up from No.42 to No.17.
The xx’s former No.1 album ‘I See You’ loses 16 places to No.23, just ahead of debuts at No.25 and 26 for both Aleyce Simmonds and Migos (‘More Than Meets The Eye’ and ‘Culture’ respectively).
More debuts pepper the 30s; Kreator’s ‘Gods Of Violence’ at No.30, Kehlani’s ‘SweetSexySavage’ at No.32, Brantley Gilbert’s ‘The Devil Don’t Sleep’ at No.34.
Violent Soho’s ‘Waco’ jumps from No.54 to No.36, but Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds’ ‘Skeleton Tree’ drops from No.16 to No.37.
The top 50 wraps with re-entries for Panic At The Disco, Tame Impala and Glass Animals. Rüfüs just miss out; ‘Bloom’ rising from No.63 to No.51. So too I Prevail, whose ‘Lifelines’ rises from No.73 to No.53.
There’s a re-entry for Silverchair’s ‘Frogstomp’ at No.57, a 20 place jump to No.58 for QSP’s self-titled LP, but big drops for INXS’s best-of (No.32 to No.59) and AFI’s ‘AFI (The Blood Album)’ (No.12 on debut to No.61).
Leonard Cohen’s ‘You Want It Darker’ is down 20, Taylor Swift’s ‘1989’ is down 19, Queen’s best-of is down 22 and Michael Bublé’s ‘Nobody But Me’ loses 26.
Shawn Mendes’ ‘Illuminate’ also dulls (No.57 to No.81), Robbie Williams’ ‘The Heavy Entertainment Show’ slumps 27, Bonobo’s ‘Migration’ drops 44 and there’s a huge 54 place drop for the Dolly Parton/Linda Ronstadt/Emmylou Harris album.
Boris The Blade premieres at No.92 with ‘Warpath’.
Top 50 debuts last week from Aversions Crown, The Lachy Doley Group and Jacob Sartorius are all gone from 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 5:00pm AEDT.