Sam Smith takes the No.1 spot on the ARIA Albums chart for the first time with his debut album “In the Lonely Hour”, the set helped by his national tour starting the 25th of April and it jumps up four places after having spent 48 weeks on the charts and this is the sets 37th week within the Top 10.
“In the Lonely Hour” becomes the 728th No.1 album in Australia (1965 to 2014) and the 579th for ARIA (1983 to 2014), plus the sixteenth for the Capitol label, with their last being The Madden Brothers back in September 2014. As I mentioned the album has taken 48 weeks to climb to the top spot, as most albums these days debut at the top and then decline, but this is not the longest climb to the top, that achievement went to the INXS’ set “The Very Best” (TW-37) which took 77 weeks to reach No.1 back on the February 17th in 2014.
This is the eight album with ‘In the’ within its title, the last being Bliss N’ Eso with “Circus in the Sky” (July 2013), whilst it is only the second with ‘Lonely’ to reach No.1, the other being The Beatles classic “Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band” (from 5-Aug-1967 for 30 weeks) and the closest ‘Hour’ at the top in the past was with the You Am I set “Hourly Daily” (7th July, 1996). Sam Smith is the first British act to top our charts for 2015, the last being Ed Sheeran with his “x” album in the last week of 2014, whilst the last new No.1 for England was One Direction and “Four” (24-Nov-2014), and Sam’s album becomes the 139th No.1 by an English act to hit the top here. He is also the 203rd Solo Male artist to hit the top, the 67th English Artist to make it to the top of our charts, and also the 25th Solo English Artist to achieve a chart-topping album in Australia.
So after four weeks Lee Kernaghan loses the top spot for his album “Spirit of the ANZACS”, which could go back to top next week as this weekend sees ANZAC day celebrations across Australia and New Zealand (25th April), but for now he is sitting at No.2. Holding for a third week at its peak of No.3 is the soundtrack for “Fast & Furious 7” and also on hold at No.4 (in it’s 44th week within the Top 10) is recent tourist Ed Sheeran with “x” which is at No.1 in New Zealand this week after his tour there.
The first of three consecutive Top 10 debuts this week comes from Sydney four-piece Gang of Youths with their first album entitled “Positions” coming in at No.5. New at No.6 are the duo Alabama Shakes with their second studio and first Top 10 album “Sound & Color”, which beats their debut set “Boys & Girls” which peaked at No.36 in February 2013 after having initially charted back in mid-April 2012.
The third and final Top 10 entry is in at No.7, the fifth studio album for the seventh Australian Idol winner (2009) Stan Walker entitled “Truth & Soul”, which is a covers album of 1960’s and 70’s soul songs plus it features duets with Samantha Jade, Dami Im and Fourtunate. The album becomes his fourth to chart here and his third Top 10 album after his debut set “Introducing…” (HP-3, Dec 2009) followed by his second entry “From the Inside Out” (HP-2, Aug 2010). Dropping two places each are Taylor Swift with “1989” and Meghan Trainor with “Title” to No.8 and No.9 respectively, with Meghan picking up a ▲Platinum certification for her set. Last weeks highest new entry at No.2 for the Wombats entitled “Glitterbug” drops eight places to No.10 this week.
UP: Sia is back up four places to No.12 with her “1000 Forms of Fear” album, with the album scoring its first ▲Platinum cert this week, and after returning to the chart last week at No.17, AC/DC’s “Rock or Bust” is back up to No.14 this week, and this weeks highest re-entry is at No.23, Paul Kelly with “The Merri Soul Sessions” (HP-17). The 20th Anniversary edition of “Frogstomp” for Silverchair is back up to No.31 this week and George Ezra is up eight to No.33 with “Wanted on Voyage”, which is also newly crowned ▲Platinum in sales.
DOWN: The self-titled album for Hozier (HP-3) is down three this week to No.11 after eleven accumulated weeks within the Top 10, then down four to No.13 is Kendrick Lamar with “To Pimp a Butterfly” (HP-1×1) after five weeks in the ten and after three broken weeks inside the Top 10, “Chaos and the Calm” for James Bay this week drops six spots to No.16. Van Morrison is down ten to No.25 with his “Duets” album, after debuting at No.18 last week the debut set for Shawn Mendes “Handwritten” drops nine places to No.27 this week. All Time Low plummet twenty-one to No.32 with “Future Hearts”, “Run” for Alison Wonderland is down eight to No.34 and Sufjan Stevens and his “Carrie & Lowell” album is down ten to No.35. The Veronicas’ self-titled set drops back down sixteen to No.45, “V” for Maroon 5 is down fifteen spots to No.47 and dropping down from last weeks fifty are Beccy Cole (19 to 52), The Prodigy (37 to 56), Imagine Dragons (40 to 59), Troy Cassar-Daly (49 to 71), Tyler, The Creator (13 to 81), and falling out of the Top 100 from last weeks fifty are Judith Durham (#44) and Dwight Yoakim (#46).
Passenger debuts at No.17 with his sixth studio album “Whispers II”, with all money from the album going to the UK UNICEF program. This is a whole new album, not a repackaging of his fifth set “Whispers” (HP-2, June 2014) and it becomes his third albums chart entry here, as his fourth album “All the Little Lights” eventually went to No.2 in April 2013 after having first debuted in March 2012. The second Top 20 debut is the third album for US hip hop artist Yelawolf who is signed to the Shady record label (Eminem’s label), and his album “Love Story” becomes his first albums chart entry here this week, with the albums lead single “Till it’s Gone” having reached No.70 in late September of 2014.
Melbourne three-piece band Dallas Frasca (also the lead singers name) debut at No.29 with their first ARIA Albums chart entry and third studio album entitled “Love Army”. And one place lower at No.30 is the third entry and studio set for US act Passion Pit entitled “Kindred”. The band’s first entry was “Manners” which debuted and peaked at No.19 in May 2009, followed by “Gossamer” which reached No.12 upon entry in late July 2012.
Nana Mouskouri was in the country for shows recently, performing in Melbourne on the 14th of April, and her latest collection “Happy Birthday Tour” enters at No.41, with the tour having started in Europe almost two years ago for her 80th birthday. Nana was last on our charts back in May 1989 with the best of set “The Magic of” (HP-71). In time for the upcoming Australian Mothers’ Day comes the debut at No.44 “Viva la Dolce Vita” by Italian crooner Patrizio Buanne, becoming his fifth album to chart here (four studio and one best of), with his last entry being his fifth album “Patrizio” which made it to No.17 back in late September of 2009. The final entry to the fifty is new at No.50, Dr. Hook with the collection entitled “Timeless”, becoming the bands fifth best of set to chart here and their first since “The Definitive Collection” climbed to No.30 for two weeks in late April 2003.
Lower 50: “Jukebox” for Human Nature is back up twenty-five spots to No.55, OneDay returns to the hundred at No.62 with “Mainline”, “Piece by Piece” by Kelly Clarkson jumps back up twenty-one spots to No.66, Air Supply and their “Ultimate Collection” is back up fifteen rungs to No.74, “Down to Earth” for Flight Facilities returns at No.76, “21” by Adele is back in at No.88 and newly certified 15x▲Platinum (that as much as ‘Innocent Eyes” by Delta Goodrem, “Come on Over” by Shania Twain and “Greatest Hits” for Queen), back in at No.95 is Violent Soho with “Hungry Ghost” and at No.99 the “Greatest Hits” set for Guns N’ Roses also returns.
The only new entry in the lower fifty is at No.92, Frank Sinatra with the 2CD or 3CD collection “Ultimate Sinatra” with his last collection being the November 2011 set “Best of the Best” (HP-36), and this becomes his tenth collection to chart in Australia.
Written, Compiled and Researched by Gavin Ryan.
——————————————————————————————————————————————
Never miss a story! Get your free Noise11.com daily music news email alert. Subscribe to the Noise11 Music Newsletter here
Listen to the Noise11 Music News channel now at iHeartRadio
Follow Noise11.com on Facebook and Twitter
