• Good morning and welcome to your Saturday edition of The Purge! We’re kicking it off things week with a new single from Aussie duo Angus & Julia Stone. While the boys of 5 Seconds Of Summer have been off covering Queen’s classic ‘Killer Queen‘, sibling duo Angus and Julia have turned their hand to covering the recent 5SOS No.1 smash ‘Youngblood’. “I was listening to a Spotify playlist and as I played through the songs, ‘Youngblood’ stood out to me and I thought it would be a great song to cover,” Julia explains. “The melody was lovely… I listened through a few times and thought, we could do a version in our style, with Angus and me singing gently in unison. I put the idea to Angus, and then we booked a studio with the band and went in and arranged the song. It felt great to sing it together.” The song’s available digitally now.
• We’ve got a new deluxe edition of Sia’s seasonal album ‘Everyday Is Christmas’ to call our own. The newly-released collection (digital only) features three extra songs; ‘Sing For My Life’, ‘My Old Santa Claus’ and a cover of the Perry Como track ‘Round And Round’. Warner Music has also confirmed new certifications for two of Sia’s biggest hits; a new triple platinum accreditation for ‘The Greatest’ and a seventh platinum certification for ‘Chandelier’, meaning it’s sold in excess of 490,000 units.
• Great news for fans of Just A Gent, with the release yesterday of his new EP. Creatively titled ‘http://EP’, the release features six tracks in total, including lead single ‘Drowning’. “I was super inspired by the concept of people merging with machines/the internet and made a lot of these beats with that industrial futuristic theme in mind,” he explains. “The concept is that this EP is the conglomeration of the favourite tracks of five human/androids and what they were listening to when the world fell apart.” The EP is at all DSPs now.
• We’re getting a Vance Joy live album for Christmas. ‘Live At Red Rocks Amphitheatre’ was recored at the iconic venue in Colorado as part of Vance’s recent ‘Nation Of Two’ world tour. If features 16 tracks in total, including his hit singles ‘Mess Is Mine’, ‘Fire And The Flood’, ‘Riptide’ and ‘Lay It On Me’. Speaking of ‘Lay It On Me’, his label Liberation has confirmed that the single has just ticked over the triple platinum sales barrier, meaning it’s sold in excess of 210,000 units. Look for ‘Live At Red Rocks Amphitheatre’, meantime, digitally and on special double vinyl from Friday November 16.
• UK performer David Gray has announced that his new album ‘Gold In A Brass Age’ will be released on Friday March 08. The new album, his first in more than four years, is preceded by the lead single ‘The Sapling’, which is available at all digital service providers now. David was also recently confirmed as part of the line-up for next year’s Bluesfest in Byron Bay.
• The Cat Empire have continued their 2018 musical output with the release of their latest single ‘Sola’. As you may be aware, the band has been dropping singles regularly since July this year. ‘Sola’ is one of seven new tracks the band is releasing in 2018 and all will feature as part of the band’s next album project. That album project is entitled ‘Stolen Diamonds’ and it’s been locked in for a February 15 release.
• Post Malone’s Australian tour has grown again, with the addition of third and final shows in both Sydney and Melbourne. Second dates in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane went on sale throughout the week, but demand in our two largest cities has seen the team at Live Nation add third and final shows in both. The third Melbourne show will take place at the city’s Rod Laver Arena on Thursday May 02. The third Sydney gig, meantime, will take place at Qudos Bank Arena on Thursday May 09. Live Nation members get first access to a pre-sale for the two new dates – from 9am Thursday. General tickets hit the sales desk from 9am AEDT on Friday, November 09.
• EMI recording artist Odette will hit the road in April on her ‘Lotus Eaters’ tour. The singer’s second headline tour will so far take in shows in Melbourne (Corner Hotel on March 29), Sydney (Metro Theatre on April 05) and Brisbane (The Triffid on April 12). But we’ve been told that more dates will be added to the run soon. Tickets are on sale now.
• Victoria’s Grampians Music Festival has confirmed their all-important line-up for 2019. To take place in Halls Gap from February 15-17, the 2019 edition is headed by the likes of Sampa The Great, Wafia, Slum Sociable and Angie McMahon. Jade Imagine, Body Type, Benny Walker and more are also on the bill. Tickets are on sale now.
• Speaking of Victorian festivals, the Beyond The Valley Festival over new years has sold out. The 2018 edition will return to Lardner Park in Warragul from December 28 to January 01 and, although tickets have been exhausted, organisers aren’t done with the line-up, confirming the addition of a swag more acts to the line-up including Oxia, Made In Paris, Cassian, Jordan Brando and many more.
• No change to the top of the UK singles chart this week, with Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper maintaining their edge with their ‘A Star Is Born’ track ‘Shallow’. This despite a concerted push from the ladies of Little Mix, whose new single ‘Woman Like Me’ rushes from No.6 to No.2. There’s a little bit of movement elsewhere in the top ten; Freya Ridings joining the party with a move from No.13 to No.9 with her single ‘Lost Without You’. The latest posthumous XXXTentacion track ‘Arms Around You’ scores the week’s highest debut – at No.14.
• Despite doing big business at the cinemas, the ‘A Star Is Born’ soundtrack isn’t strong enough to hold at No.1 on the UK albums chart this week; displaced by the power of Andrea Bocelli. The superstar’s new album ‘Si’ premieres at No.1 ahead of the soundtracks for ‘A Star Is Born’, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and ‘The Greatest Showman’. The new Tom Odell long player ‘Jubilee Road’ is also new to the UK album chart mix, premiering at No.5. Now that ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ is in the cinemas, Queen’s ‘The Platinum Collection’ soars (from No.34 to No.7). There are four debuts from No.11 to No.20; Boy George & Culture Club’s ‘Life’ (No.12), Thom Yorke’s ‘Suspiria’ soundtrack (No.13), Kingdom Choir’s ‘Stand By Me’ (No.17) and Tory Lanez’ ‘Love Me Now’ (No.18).
• It’s now six successive weeks in the No.1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for the latest Maroon 5 smash ‘Girls Like You’. Last week, it was the Kodak Black track ‘Zeze’ mounting the biggest challenge. This week, however, it’s Travis Scott’s ‘Sicko Mode’ doing the business behind the No.1 mantle, bulleting from No.7 to No.2. Marshmello and Bastille’s ‘Happier’ is also on the up this week, improving from No.6 to No.4. Post Malone and Swae Lee score a top ten debut (No.9 to be precise) with ‘Sunflower’.
• Future and Juice WRLD threw everything they had at the No.1 spot on the Billboard 200 album chart in the US this week, but it wasn’t enough to dethrone the soundtrack to ‘A Star Is Born’, which maintains its No.1 heading for a third successive week. ‘Future & Juice WRLD Presents… WRLD On Drugs’ premieres in the No.2 position, with debuts for Greta Van Fleet’s ‘Anthem Of The Peaceful Army’ at No.3 and Disturbed’s ‘Evolution’ at No.4. Khalid’s ‘Suncity’ joins the top ten party at No.8 on debut, but Lil Yachty just misses out, premiering at No.12 with ‘Nuthin’ 2 Prove’.
• No more o say for this weekend’s edition of The Purge, but we’ll be here at 5pm AEDT with the latest edition of ARIA Chart Watch, our weekly wrap of the ARIA top 100 singles and albums charts. Catch you then.
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WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 07 : Arctic Monkeys (Nationally)
THURSDAY NOVEMBER 08 : Postmodern Jukebox (Nationally)
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 09 : Post Malone (Sydney, Melbourne)
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