The Sydney based church group Hillsong United see their 64th released album become their third No.1 on the ARIA Albums chart this week, as their new set “Empires” blasts straight into the charts at the summit.
“Empires” becomes the 731st No.1 album in Australia (1965 to 2015) and the 582nd for ARIA (1983 to 2015), plus as I mentioned the third for Hillsong after their first “For All You’ve Done” (12-July-2004) as just Hillsong Church, and their last No.1 was on 4th of March 2013 with “Zion”, meaning that their in-house record label ‘Hillsong’ also lands its third No.1 too.
It’s the first time that the word ‘Empires’ has appeared in a No.1 title (although the group Cat Empire did go to the top in April 2005), and the new number one becomes the 182nd album by an Australian act to make it to the top, and the third Aussie act to reach No.1 this year, plus the first time since September 2014 that a local act has knocked off another local performer (back in Sept. it Vance Joy kicking Jimmy Barnes off the top).
Former Silverchair lead singer Daniel Johns sees his debut solo album “Talk” come in at No.2 this week, which is the second lowest position that any of his studio albums have ever debuted at, as all five studio albums for Silverchair entered at No.1, whilst his teaming with PaulMac for The Dissociatives album in April 2004 debuted and peaked at No.12.
Spending a third week in the charts and at its peak of No.3 is the ‘Pitch Perfect 2’ soundtrack, and after a 4 million plus ratings for SBS last weekend for their screening of the Eurovision Grand Final in Vienna, the accompanying album blasts up forty-nine places to land at No.4 this week, which is the first time that ANY Eurovision album has made it into the Australian Top 10, with the past four years sets all peaking within the Top 20, 2012 reached No.15, 2013 made it to No.16 and last years 2014 set went to No.13.
The fourth and final entry to this weeks Top 10 is the second album for US artist A$AP Rocky entitled “A.L.L.A. (At Long Last A$AP)” which was released a week earlier than expected and comes in at No.5 this week, beating the No.7 peak that his first set “Long Live A$AP” achieved upon entry back in late January 2013. The new album features the current single “Everyday” which debuted at No.49 last week and falls to No.62 this week.
Ed Sheeran is down two places to No.6 with his seven weeks-at-No.1 album “x” and last weeks No.1 debut “Dark Night Sweet Light” for Hermitude tumbles six places to land at No.7 this week. Sam Smith with “In the Lonely Hour” and Taylor Swift’s “1989” both drop two places each to No.8 and No.9 respectively, whilst last weeks No.2 debut for Faith No More entitled “Sol Invictus” falls eight places to No.10 this week.
UP: The DVD/BR release for ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ again helps the soundtrack back up this week, climbing four to No.12, whilst Ed Sheeran is back up eight to No.22 with his first album “+”. David Guetta jumps up fifteen places to No.28 with his “Listen” album, which also scores the only albums certification this week, going Gold (●) in sales. Alison Wonderland jumps back up twenty-one spots to No.31 with “Run” and back up twenty-four to No.32 is Sufjan Stevens with his recent album “Carrie & Lowell”. Drake returns to the Top 100 at No.32 with his former No.2 set “If You’re Reading This it’s Too Late” with further returning albums to the hundred coming from Skrillex and Diplo with “Jack U” at No.43 and the 1988 debut album for Tracy Chapman back in at No.47.
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DOWN: The four albums leaving the Top 10 this week are “Wilder Mind” for Mumford & Sons (HP-1×1, WI10-3) down six to No.11, “Title” by Meghan Trainor (HP-1×1, WI10-19) down five to No.13, “Stages” by Josh Groban (HP-2, WI10-3), also down five to No.14 and Sia with “1000 Forms of Fear” (HP-1×1, WI10-9) dropping six to No.16. The ‘Pitch Perfect (1)’ soundtrack drops down eight to No.23 and falling ten to No.24 is Brandon Flowers with his second album “The Desired Effect”. Lee Kernaghan is down seven to No.25 with his “Spirit of the ANZACS” and is also down seven to No.30 are The Hilltop Hoods with “Walking Under Stars”. In Hearts Wake fall eleven to No.38 with “Skydancer” and 2014 Eurovision winner Conchita drops down eighteen places to No.44, whilst Zac Brown Band and their “Jekyll + Hyde” sets falls fifteen to No.46, with last weeks No.11 debut of “Blurryface” for Twenty One Pilots descends thirty-eight spots to No.49. Falling hard into the lower fifty are Eminem (24 to 57), Gang of Youths (33 to 59), Zedd (19 to 79), Leonard Cohen (39 to 84), Hot Chip (29 to 92), Jasmine Rae (41 to 96), King Parrot (21 to 46) and San Cisco (32 to 100) and leaving the Top 100 from last weeks fifty are Ed Sheeran with his “5” set (#17) and B.B. King (#49).
The sixth greatest hits/compilation album for Mariah Carey debuts at No.18 this week entitled “#1 to Infinity”, becoming her second highest charted of the six such compilations to enter the ARIA Albums chart, her only higher set was her first “#1’s” which debuted and peaked at No.6 in November 1998, and this new set contains eighteen No.1 (USA) singles plus a new track entitled “Infinity”. The second soundtrack to the Channel 9 TV series “Love Child” debuts at No.19 this week, with the first set returning at No.66, and the second set surpasses the No.22 peak that the first album achieved. This new album features the recent No.1 single for Grace “You Don’t Know Me” and new entry from this week at No.40, “Anyone Who Had a Heart” by Anja Nissen. The seventh album for Melbourne act The Bamboos debuts at No.26 entitled “The Rules of Attraction” and features former You Am I front man Tim Rogers, which is the third album for the act to chart and becomes their highest charting set, beating the No.28 peak that their fifth album “Medicine Man” achieved in June 2012.
California pop/punk band The Story So Far sees their third album “The Story So Far” become their first chart entry in Australia as it debuts at No.35 this week, whilst the debut album for Swedish DJ Alesso entitled “Forever” comes in at No.41. Further Top 50 entries are “Multi-Love” by NZ/US act Unknown Mortal Orchestra with their third album and first entry here at No.45 and coming in at No.48 is “English Graffiti” by UK indie rock act The Vaccines, the bands third studio album and second to chart here, as the second set “Come of Age” debuted and peaked at No.43 in September 2012.
Lower 50: The Mark Ronson album “Uptown Special” jumps back up twenty-two places to No.69, Blink 182 jump up twenty-eight to No.72 with their “Greatest Hits” and the GH set for Fleetwood Mac is back up seventeen to No.73. There are six returning albums this week starting with Yelawolf at No.55 with “Love Story”, the self-titled third album for Angus & Julia Stone at No.58, the aforementioned “Love Child” season one soundtrack at No.66, Ben Howard at No.77 with “I Forget Where We Were”, Katy Perry with “Prism” at No.90 and finally at No.99 is Nicki Minaj with “The Pinkprint”. With the Eurovision album leaping into the Top 5 this week, a second set from the competition entitled “Very Best of Eurovision Song Contest – a 60th Anniversary” comes in at No.70 and becomes the sixth album from the long-running comp to chart here in Australia.
Written, Compiled and Researched by Gavin Ryan.
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