• Superstar French DJ David Guetta has teamed up with so-hot-right-now UK vocalist Anne-Marie for his latest single ‘Don’t Leave Me Alone’. David’s been super busy of late, dropping singles with Afrojack, Charli XCX, Martin Garrix, Sean Paul, Showtek and our own Sia (on ‘Flames’). But he’s thrilled to see his latest baby released. “Anne-Marie is an amazing artist, I’m super proud of this track and so happy we finally get to share it with the world,” he said in a statement. ‘Don’t Leave Me Alone’ is out now.
• Another collaboration sliding into the inbox this week comes courtesy of Norwegian producer Matoma and Latin heartthrob Enrique Iglesias. The track’s called ‘I Don’t Dance (Without You)’ and it also features an appearance by Jamaican performer Konshens. For Matoma, it was a dream come true. “When we created the song I remember being nervous in the studio because I was working with someone who I’ve admired for so long,” he said in a statement.
• Maggie Rogers is back with a new single, in the form of ‘Give A Little’, which landed yesterday. The self-penned number was produced by the amazing Mr Greg Kurstin and deals with the fresh beginning of a relationship that’s seemingly stalled. We’re told by her label EMI to expect a music video in the coming weeks and there’s also an album in the pipeline.
• A new single from Adelaide’s Tkay Maidza arrived yesterday too. The song (called ‘Flexin’) features an appearance from US rapper Duckwrth and, according to Tkay herself, “is an ode to being yourself and being unapologetic for it”. To celebrate its release, Tkay will head out on tour in support of it. Dates are locked at Jack Rabbit Slim’s in Perth (Sep 07), Fat Controller in Adelaide (Sep 08), Howler in Melbourne (Sep 14) and Oxford Art Factory in Sydney (Sep 22). Tickets for all shows will hit the sales desk from 9am Tuesday.
• Aussie pop trio The Chantoozies will tackle the songs of Motown in a very special show called ‘Motown And Beyond’ late next month. The girls (Eve von Bibra, Ally Fowler and Tottie Goldsmith) will perform tracks like ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’, ‘What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted’, ‘Proud Mary’ and ‘Love Child’ at Memo Music Hall in Melbourne on Friday August 24. Tickets are on sale now.
• Chicago-based MC Noname will play headline shows in Australia in mid-September. Already part of the line-up on the national Listen Out festivals, she’s now set to play shows in Sydney (Enmore Theatre on September 25) and Melbourne (Forum Theatre on September 21) as part of her visit. Tickets for both are on sale from 9am this Wednesday.
• US producer RL Grime will grace our shores later in the year for a huge album tour across the country. The announcement, made yesterday, coincided with the release of his first album in four years, ‘Nova’. The tour is set to land at Red Hill Auditorium in Perth on Friday November 02 before it makes stops at Festival Hall in Melbourne (November 05), Hordern Pavilion in Sydney (November 09), Brisbane Showgrounds (November 10) and Discover in Darwin (November 16). Festival appearances at This That in Newcastle (November 03) and Spilt Milk in Canberra (November 17) are also locked in. Pre-sale tickets are live from 10am local time on Monday August 06, ahead of general sales, which commence at 10am local time on Wednesday August 08.
• Guitar legend Joe Satriani will also be back in Australia this November, announcing shows in our five biggest cities, along with a date in our nation’s capital. Catch him at the Astor Theatre in Perth on November 24, HQ in Adelaide on November 26, the Forum Theatre in Melbourne on November 28, Canberra Theatre on November 30, the State Theatre in Sydney on December 01 and at The Tivoli in Brisbane on December 02. Live Nation members get first access to tickets via a pre-sale starting at 10am on Monday, before general tickets go live on the sales desk from midday local time on Wednesday August 01.
• More acts have been added to the line-up for September’s BigSound Festival in Brisbane, including Didirri, Bad Juju, Robbie Miller, Clews, Arno Faraji and San Mei. They’re among a slew of new performers added to the mix of the 75 acts previously announced for a mammoth total of 139 Aussie acts, all of whom will perform during the September 04-07 event, which will take over Fortitude Valley in the Queensland Capital. Head to www.bigsound.org.au for all the info.
• All steady atop the UK singles chart this week; Drake maintaining his hold on the No.1 position with his latest track ‘In My Feelings’ for a second week. George Ezra’s ‘Shotgun’ is going nowhere either, steady at No.2. But Jonas Blue continues to ‘Rise’ with his latest single, edging from No.6 to No.3. It’s up ahead of 5 Seconds Of Summer’s ‘Youngblood’ (No.8 to No.4), Tiesto’s ‘Jackie Chan’ (No.9 to No.5) and Years & Years’ ‘If You’re Over Me’ (No.10 to No.6). Cardi B’s back into the UK top ten this week with ‘I Like It’, improving from No.11 to an equal peak of No.8.
• They do love their soundtracks in the UK, don’t they? ‘The Greatest Showman’ soundtrack spent a huge 21 weeks in top spot throughout the past year. But though it bounces back this week (No.4 to No.2), it hasn’t done quite enough to secure a 22nd week. The No.1 honour this week is the soundtrack to ‘Mamma Mia : Here We Go Again’, which is up from its No.4 debut to No.1. Drake’s down from one to three with ‘Scorpion’, while ABBA mania really starts to take hold of the UK albums chart; the original ‘Mamma Mia’ soundtrack up from No.13 to No.5 and the ‘ABBA Gold’ compilation racing from No.19 to No.7. D-Block Europe and Yxng Bane enter the countdown at No.14 with their LP ‘Any Minute Now’ (the week’s highest debut).
• It’s two weeks on the fly for Drake’s single ‘In My Feelings’ at No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in the USA this week. The track flies the flag ahead of Cardi B’s ‘I Like It’ and Maroon 5’s ‘Girls Like You’. In fact, the whole US top five is unchanged this week, with Post Malone’s ‘Better Now’ bulleting from No.12 to No.7. Ariana Grande just misses the top ten on debut with her latest single ‘God Is A Woman’. It’s new at No.11
• It’s three weeks in the No.1 spot on the Billboard 200 album chart for Drake’s ‘Scorpion’. The album this week holds off a No.2 debut for Wiz Khalifa’s new album ‘Rolling Papers 2’. Wiz’s album is the only debut in the top 10 this week; the next best new entry coming down in position 20 – that’s the soundtrack to the new movie ‘Mamma Mia : Here We Go Again’.
• That’s the UK and US charts done for another week. Edition #351 of The Purge over and out for your Saturday morning. But don’t forget that we’ll be back from 5pm on the East Coast with your regular weekly look at the ARIA top 100 charts. ARIA Chart Watch… It’s live at five.
TICKETS PLEASE
TUESDAY JULY 31 : Tkay Maidza (Nationally)
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 01 : Noname (Sydney, Melbourne)
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 01 : Joe Satriani (Nationally)
THURSDAY AUGUST 02 : William Ryan Key (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane)
FRIDAY AUGUST 03 : Michael Bublé (Sydney)
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