• Hello and welcome to your Saturday edition of The Purge. This week it’s Lady Gaga leading the charge, with confirmation of the release of the soundtrack to her new movie ‘A Star Is Born’. The film is due to open in theatres across the country on Thursday October 18, but the soundtrack will land two weeks earlier (on October 05). There are 34 tracks on the double disc set in total, 19 of which are new songs; some performed by lead actor (and director) Bradley Cooper, some performed by Gaga and even some duets! The album is available for pre-order now.
• UK supergroup Muse are back with new music, yesterday dropping their new single ‘The Dark Side’. It follows on from ‘Dig Down’, ‘Thought Contagion’ and ‘Something Human’ in being plucked from their just-announced album ‘Simulation Theory’, which will land at retailers globally on November 09. It’s set to be released in standard 11 track and deluxe 16 track versions, along with a super deluxe box set featuring CDs and vinyls.
• We’ve also got a new single from Swedish EDM superstar Alesso to call our own. The Stockholm-based producer’s first musical output of 2018 is entitled ‘Remedy’ and it was officially serviced to Australian media yesterday. The track features the vocals of UK-based performer (and Parlophone Records roster staple) Conor Maynard. Alesso’s no strangeer to success on the Aussie charts, hitting the top 20 three times with singles ‘Under Control’ (with Calvin Harris and Hurts), ‘Heroes (We Could Be)’ (with Tove Lo) and ‘Let Me Go’ (with Hailee Steinfeld and Florida Georgia Line). ‘Remedy’, meantime, is out now.
• Eminem surprised the music world yesterday by dropping a brand new album called ‘Kamikaze’. The 13 tracker is the follow up to 2017’s ‘Revival’ and features appearances from Joyner Lucas, Royce Da 5’9 and Jessie Reyez. “Tried not 2 overthink this 1,” he explains on his socials when dropping the new LP digitally yesterday afternoon.
• Australia’s own Kira Puru has confirmed the release of a self-titled EP. The singer dropped via the Triple J studios yesterday morning to break the news, at the same time performing a cover of Katy Perry’s ‘Last Friday Night (TGIF)’ as part of the ‘Like A Version’ series. The Jon Hume-produced EP will comprise five tracks (‘Tension’, ‘Say Something’, ‘Molotov’, ‘Fly’ and ‘Alone’). “It’s such a dream to release this EP,” she reveals. “I feel like this collection of songs really represents who I am as a person and an artist – honest, fun and weird in all the right places.”
• And Gyroscope’s Dan Sanders is stepping back into the solo sphere with his debut album ‘Bloody Banks Of The Swan’ confirmed to drop at the end of the month. The new long player is preceded by a double a-side single ‘Lawyer’ and ‘I Want An Axe To Break The Ice’, both of which are available now as grat tracks with the album pre-order. The latter was penned following the death of one of Dan’s heroes, David Bowie. “I went to my studio and I’ve never done this before, but I wrote and tracked the song ‘I Want An Axe To Break The Ice’ in its entirety,” he explains. “I had everything plugged in, I was necking red wine, and that was musically a total Bowie thing. It absorbed me.” The album will land at retailers everywhere on Friday September 28.
• Country music superstar Carrie Underwood will be in the country later this month for her much-anticipated appearance at the Deni Ute Muster. But with her new album ‘Cry Pretty’ due to land at retailers everywhere in just two weeks time, her label EMI have confirmed that Carrie will arrive into the market a few days earlier to undertake a series of high profile media appearances. She’ll be on ground for promo from September 26 to 28 before heading to Deniliquin for the weekend of September 28 and 29.
• Speaking of country stars… Australia’s own Morgan Evans has confirmed the release of his debut album ‘Things That We Drink To’. “My album is a collection of songs that I wrote over the last two years,” he explains. “It’s my story. It’s leaving behind everything and everyone you know to chase down a country music dream on the other side of the world. It’s the excitement of the unknown, it’s the fun, it’s the loneliness and it’s the struggle. It’s losing someone and finding the strength to keep your head up and make them proud. It’s meeting a girl, falling hopelessly and marrying the love of your life. It’s the ‘Things That We Drink To’. Morgan co-penned every song on the eleven tracker, which is due to land at retailers everywhere on Friday October 12.
• Thundamentals will ramp up the promotion for the release of their new album ‘I Love Songs’ later this month via a series of pop-up stores and listening parties. The ‘I Love T-Shirts’ pop-up stores and listening parties include Thundamentals DJ sets, plus exclusive signed merchandise, giveaways and meet and greets with the band and will take place at Blutes Bar in Brisbane this Wednesday (as part of Bigsound), the West Oak Hotel in Adelaide on Friday, Paradise Alley in Melbourne on September 12, the Rosemount Beergarden in Perth on September 13, the front bar at Cambridge Hotel in Newcastle on September 14 and at Lady Hampshire in Sydney on Thursday September 20. Thundamentals’ new album will then land at retailers across the planet on Friday September 21.
• After two weeks at No.1 on the UK singles chart, George Ezra’s single ‘Shotgun’ has made way for a new track to be crowned ‘top of the pops’. That single this week is ‘Eastside’ by Benny Blanco (with Halsey and Khalid). It leaps from No.3 to No.1, with the Calvin Harris/Sam Smith single ‘Promises’ following the lead, jumping from No.4 on debut to No.2. ‘Shotgun’ is down from No.1 to No.3, with Drake’s ‘In My Feelings’ down from No.2 to No.4. Loud Luxury’s ‘Body’ is steady at No.5. In the middle of the teens, there’s a big jump for Dynoro and Gigi D’Agostino’s ‘In My Mind’ (No.36 to No.15), while the new Marshmello/Bastille collaboration ‘Happier’ takes a 15 place leap, up from No.31 to No.16. South Korean boyband BTS just miss the top 20 on entry with ‘Idol’ (No.21).
• Ariana Grande has vanished from top spot on the UK album chart; her new album ‘Sweetener’ spending just week at the summit, succumbing to the power of the ‘Mamma Mia : Here We Go Again’ soundtrack (No.2 to No.1) and the soundtrack to ‘The Greatest Showman’ (No.3 to No.2). George Ezra and Drake make up the top five. Interpol’s ‘Marauder’ is in the top ten mix, entering at No.6; ditto Alice In Chains’ ‘Rainier Fog’ (entering at No.9). BTS’s ‘Love Yourself : Answer’ misses the top ten, but does mightily, premiering in the No.14 spot.
• There’s no denying the love for Drake in the US at the moment. Everything the Canadian superstar touches turns to gold. And the same can be said for his latest single ‘In My Feelings’. It’s up to its seventh successive week at No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, again holding all comers at bay. The entire Stateside top six is steady this week, with Maroon 5 and Cardi B in positions two and three respectively. Ariana Grande scores two top ten singles in one week; ‘No Tears Left To Cry’ up from No.12 to No.7 and ‘God Is A Woman’ bulleting from No.30 to No.8 as her new album makes its presence felt. It’s good news also for 5 Seconds Of Summer, whose No.1 Aussie hit ‘Youngblood’ edges two places higher to No.15.
• Over on the US album chart, Ariana Grande premieres at No.1 with her fourth album ‘Sweetener’. It’s her third long player to achieve the No.1 mantle, after her previous record (2016’s ‘Dangerous Woman’) missed out. In debuting on top, Ari knocks Travis Scott’s ‘Astroworld’, Nicki Minaj’s ‘Queen’ and Drake’s ‘Scorpion’ down one position apiece. Cole Swindell scores a No.7 debut with his album ‘All Of It’, while a compilation entitled ‘Young Stoner Life : Slime Language’ enters right behind him at No.8. Death Cab For Cutie just miss the top ten on debut with ‘Thank You For Today’, which enters at No.13.
• That’s just about enough from us and for another edition of The Purge. But as always, we’ll be slaving away over a hot keyboard throughout the day to bring you up to speed with all the happenings on the charts here at home. All for a little segment we like to call ARIA Chart Watch. The ARIA top 100 singles and albums charts dissected. This afternoon from 5pm.
TICKETS PLEASE
TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 04 : The Gooch Palms (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane)
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 05 : Phil Collins (Nationally)
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 06 : Falls Festival (Nationally)
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 07 : Bring Me The Horizon (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane)
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