Welcome to your weekend edition of The Purge and welcome to ‘Honest’, the debut album from the so-hot-right-now Bazzi. You’ll no doubt know the 20 year old US performer from his huge top 20 hit ‘Mine’. But there’s also a new song – the title track – available as a grat track with the album pre-order. Bazzi’s album will drop everywhere on Friday April 12.
• Fifth Harmony are officially on hold. The US girl group confirmed the hiatus on their socials during the week, saying “we do need to take some time for now to go on a hiatus from Fifth Harmony in order to pursue solo endeavours. In doing this, we are allowing ourselves to gain new experiences, strengths and perspectives that we can bring back to our Fifth Harmony family”. Shows scheduled for later in the year will go ahead as planned.
• Panic! At The Disco also have a new album in the works; the band confirming their highly anticipated sixth studio album ‘Pray For The Wicked’ will be released on Friday June 22. The album’s release comes just as the video for their latest single ‘Say Amen (Saturday Night)’ drops. And it’s a pretty gory affair, if we’re to be honest. Frontman Brendon Urie fights off a gang of hooded men in a clip that’s helmed by an appearance by Channel 9 journalist Airlie Walsh. Watch it HERE.
• That long-awaited new collaboration between superstar French DJ and our own Sia has arrived. Of course, the two certainly aren’t strangers to each other, having previously teamed up for dancefloor anthems like ‘She Wolf (Falling To Pieces)’, ‘Bang My Head’, ‘Helium’ and, of course, the monster smash ‘Titanium’. “‘Titanium’ is still one of the tracks I am proudest of and Sia is one of my favourite artists to work with,” David admits. “She’s a great songwriter and has an amazing voice. I’m just super excited that we get to release another track together.” ‘Flames’ is available digitally now.
• His label Warner tells us that it’s been five long years since Diplo last graced us with a body of work. But the wait is now over, with his new EP ‘California’ released yesterday. The new six tracker (cover image above) features collaborations with Santigold, MØ, Dram, Desiigner, Goldlink, Lil Yachty and more. It’s out now.
• Dance favourite Steve Angello has confirmed that his new album ‘Human’ will be released at the end of April. It’s the second long player for the former Swedish House Mafia legend and contains his new single ‘Nothing Scares Me Anymore’, which features the vocals of Sam Martin. The 21 track release is set to drop on Friday April 27.
• Speaking of dancefloor dynamos, Safia have kicked off your weekend in fine style, dropping the video for their latest single ‘Freakin’ Out’. According to the band’s publicists, “the video portrays an expedition into an anxiety-riddled mind” and one quick look and it’s not hard to see why. Check it out HERE.
• Labor minister Anthony Albanese has handed over the reigns of his Record Store Day Ambassadorship to a trio of high profile supporters; touring legend Michael Chugg and music stars Dan Sultan and Amber Lawrence. Record store day will once again serve up a swag of exclusives, in-store appearances and performances and special offers at retail outlets across the country. Record Store Day 2018 takes place on Saturday April 21.
• Pete Murray is embarking on an extensive national tour in support of his latest single ‘Heartbeats’. Pete and two comrades will kick things off with a double date at the Rosemount Hotel in Perth on Friday June 29 and Saturday June 30. Another 21 dates follow through to the end of August; he wraps things up at The Basement in Canberra on August 26. Tickets for all are on sale now.
• Teenage sensation E^st has confirmed an E^st coast tour in support of her latest single ‘Blowjob’. She kicks things off on May 18 at the Northcote Social Club in Melbourne, heads to The Foundry in Brisbane on May 25, the Big Pineapple Music Festival on May 26 and wraps things up with an appearance at the Curve Ball as part of the Vivid Festival in Sydney on June 16. Tickets are on sale now.
• The news isn’t so crash hot for fans of Playboi Carti, however. He’s pulled out of his upcoming Australian and New Zealand tour citing exhaustion. He was due to play for audiences in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, kicking off with an appearance in Melbourne last night. Frontier Touring is working on rescheduled dates now.
• Also pulling out of their Australian touring commitments are Real Friends. They were due to support Simple Plan on their upcoming trek across the country, but have cancelled them, along with their international appearances in Europe and the UK. This is to allow frontman Dan Lambton to receive treatment in a battle with mental health. Read the full (incredibly honest) statement on the band’s FACEBOOK page.
• It’s now nine weeks atop the UK singles chart for Drake’s international smash ‘God’s Plan’. And he’s not alone in extending his steady streak this week, with Rudimental, Jess Glynne, Macklemore and Dan Caplen’s ‘These Days’ steady in the No.2 position for the seventh straight week. Portugal The Man joins the party, holding at No.3 for a second straight week with ‘Feel It Still’, with Marshmello and Anne Marie’s ‘Friends’ also steady for a second successive week. But the new George Ezra single ‘Paradise’ is in a big hurry, bulleting from No.12 to No.5 and clearly with designs on knocking those aforementioned chart stayers our of kilter in the weeks ahead. Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line’s ‘Meant To Be’ is also on the up this week, improving from No.20 to No.12.
• The UK chart used to be all about regular change in the upper echelons, but it’s settled down entirely with the advent of streaming; ‘The Greatest Showman’ soundtrack continues to rule the UK roost, maintaining its No.1 position for an eleventh straight week. Ed Sheeran’s ‘Divide’ is also unmoved (No.2), but there are a couple of entries in this week’s UK top ten; Xxxtentacion’s ‘Question Mark’ debuts in the No.3 spot and Fratellis’ ‘In Your Own Sweet Time’ premieres at No.5. Sandwiched between them is Dua Lipa’s album, which improves from No.7 to No.4. Also new in the top ten this week… Decemberists’ ‘I’ll Be Your Girl’ and Fickle Friends’ ‘You Are Someone Else’, which are new in positions eight and nine respectively.
• Yep, top three unchanged on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. Drake’s still ruling the roost with ‘God’s Plan’ at No.1, followed by Ed Sheeran’s ‘Perfect’ and Bruno Mars’ ‘Finesse’ in positions two and three respectively. But there is movement in the No.4 position, with Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line continuing their steady climb up the countdown (No.5 to No.4). Rich The Kid’s ‘Plug Walk’ is one of the week’s biggest movers, leaping from No.48 to No.24.
• Over on the Billboard 200 albums chart, it’s Logic’s new album ‘Bobby Tarantino II’ that takes the spoils, premiering in the No.1 position, prising out the ‘Black Panther’ soundtrack after it retook No.1 last week. The US top five gets a real refresh this week too. New at No.2 is Lil Yachty’s ‘Lil Boat 2’, new at No.3 is David Byrne’s ‘American Utopia’ and new at No.5 we’ve got the latest Judas Priest album ‘Firepower’. These debuts leave the ‘Black Panther’ soundtrack at No.4. The Jimi Hendrix album ‘Both Sides Of The Sky’ debuts at No.8, while Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats’ new album ‘Tearing At The Seams’ premieres at No.11.
• That’s another exciting news wrap done for your Saturday morning, but we’ll be back again late this afternoon with our latest edition of ARIA Chart Watch, our weekly wrap of the ARIA top 100s. See you then!
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