The tenth and final album from local MC and rapper Kerser called “A Gift & a Kers” becomes his first #1 Album locally.
“A Gift & a Kers” (ABK/Warner Australia) becomes the 981st #1 Album in Australia (1965 to 2023), the 832nd for ARIA (1983 to 2023; anniversary this coming week), the 612th to debut at #1 plus the nineteenth chart-topping album for 2023, while it’s also the first for Kerser’s own label ABK and the 36th for Warner Music, their first since Muse on September 5th, 2022, plus it’s also the No.1 Hip Hop/R&B Album this week.
Last week U.S. rapper Gunna debuted at #49 with his album “a Gift & a Curse”, now this week the local rapper goes way better, marking his first #1 Album locally, and now his eighth consecutive Top 10 entry and tenth chart placement overall, as he first charted with his debut set “The Nebulizer” (HP-73, Oct 24th, 2011) and his first Top 50 entry was with his second set “No Rest for the Sickest” in November 12th, 2012 (HP-15). Kerser wanted to produce ten albums in ten years, which would’ve happened if the pandemic hadn’t occurred, but now just under twelve years since his debut set he has fulfilled his prophecy and issued his tenth album.
Both the word’s ‘gift’ and ‘curse’ (or even ‘Kers’) have never appeared in a #1 Albums title before, with the previously highest placed ‘gift’ being the Susan Boyle set “The Gift” (HP-2×5, Nov-Dec 2010) and never has a ‘curse’ (or ‘Kers’) been present within the Top 10 before. Both the last time that a Solo Aussie Male Artist and dual back-to-back Aussie Acts occurred at #1 was when Paul Kelly’s Xmas set took over from Jimmy Barnes Xmas Album (5th to 12th of December, 2022), as last week we saw The Teskey Brothers debut at the top, now another local act takes over this week, becoming the fourth Aussie Act at #1 for 2023. Overall Kerser’s #1 set becomes the 282nd by a Local Australian Artist to make it to #1 (solo male or female, duo or group), while it’s also the 283rd by a Solo Male Artist (local or overseas; 7th for 2023). Kerser himself becomes the 135th Australian Act to hit #1 since The Seekers did so first in 1968, plus he is also the 36th Solo Australian Male Artist to land a #1 berth, since the first in 1981, Billy Field.
NOW the other big news of the week is that Taylor Swift has five Top 10 Albums this week, with nine in total throughout the Top 50, whereas she also has ten Top 50 Singles this week, all due to her tickets going on sale for her February 2024 tour here, which means that this will most likely occur again in the new year. Her latest release “Midnights” climbs three places to land at #2 (No.8 Vinyl), while it retakes the top spot in New Zealand (8th overall week), even though she is not playing any shows there. Taylor’s 2019 release “Lover” flies up eight places from last week to land at #3 (No.14 Vinyl, No.1 Catalogue Album; last time within the Top 10 in March 2020), while she also sees a four place rise to #5 for her 2014 release “1989” and up seven to #6 is her 2017 set “Reputation” (No.10 Vinyl; last within the Top 10 November 2018), with her fifth and final Top 10 entry being “folklore”, up six spots to #10 (last within the Top 10 on March 22nd, 2021 after it won a Grammy for Album of the Year).
The new UK No.1 Album this week is the second studio album for UK singer Maisie Peters called “The Good Witch”, which locally lands at #4, becoming her first chart entry, as her debut set “You Signed Up for This” (Sept. 2021) didn’t make the Top 100 here, peaking at #2 in England. Signed to Ed Sheeran’s Gingerbread Man record label and playing as his opening act in 2022-23 world tour, she played Glastonbury this past week and with this album debuting at the top in England, Maisie becomes the youngest solo British female artist in almost a decade to hit #1 (Ella Henderson in 2014 was the last).
Apart from the Taylor-sets within the Top 10, two albums drop down three places apiece, with the Metro Boomin’ infused soundtrack to “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-verse” descending to #7 and “One Thing at a Time” by Morgan Wallen to #9 (No.1 Country Album). The third and final Top 10 debut is the fourth album for Newcastle punk rock band Trophy Eyes with “Suicide and Sunshine”, which enters at #8, becoming the band’s third Top 10 appearance and now third successive #8 album, as they also debuted and peaked their with “The American Dream” (LP#3, HP-8, August 2018) and “Chemical Miracle” (LP#2, HP-8, October 2016) sets.
TOP 20:
Three of the six Top 10 dropouts land within the Top 20 this week, as The Weeknd and “The Highlights” (HP-2×5, WI10-98) is down four to #11, “SOS” by SZA (HP-1×1, WI10-28) dips four also, to #12 (No.15 Vinyl), it’s first time outside of the Top 10, followed by “Harry’s House” (HP-1×10, WI10-56) for Harry Styles, falling three to #13 for only it’s second ever non-Top-10-appearance, plus The Weeknd has a second Top 20 entry this week as “Starboy” falls two places to #14.
Taylor Swift sees all of her Top 20 entries from last week move up into the Top 10 this week, so she has replaced the risen sets with three more album within the Top 20, starting with “Red (TsV)” jumping twenty-five spots to land at #15 (first time this high on the charts since December 2022), followed by a thirty-three place leap to #17 for “evermore” (last this high in June 2021), with “Fearless (TsV)” rising twenty-seven spots to land at #18 (last this high November 2021).
Honorable mention must go to Luke Combs managing two Top 20 albums this week too, as his latest set “Gettin’ Old” is down one to #16 (featuring the current #4 single “Fast Car” which climbed to #2 in the U.S.A. this week), along with his debut set “This One’s for You” rising two spots to #20, while the only album on hold this week within the entire Top 50 being “5-Star” for Stray Kids at #19.
TOP 30:
Lewis Capaldi played at the Glastonbury Music Festival this past week, but due to a tourettes attack he was unable to finish some of his songs, with the crowd helping him out, thus he sees his two albums rise back up this week, starting with his debut set “Divinely Uninspired to Hellish Extant” jumping twelve places to #25, which is the only rising album within the Top 30 this week.
Four collections are located within this chart region for Elton John at #21, Eminem’s first best of at #22, Post Malone is at #24 and down five to #30 are Foo Fighters with “The Essential”. Landing in between those first lot of collections is a 30th Anniversary re-issue of The Cruel Sea and their third album “The Honeymoon is Over” (HP-4, June 1993) which returns to the chart this week at #23 (No.3 Vinyl), while a nine place drop occurs for Metro Boomin’ and “Heroes & Villains”, dropping to #27, it’s first time out of the Top 20 since mid-April.
TOP 40:
Two further Top 10 dropouts fall into the Top 40 this week, with last week’s #1 set for The Teskey Brothers and “The Winding Way” (WI10-1) falling thirty-two places to land at #33 (No.6 Vinyl), while last weeks #2 entry for Queens of the Stone Age with “In Times New Roman…” (WI10-1) falls thirty-five places to #37 (No.7 Vinyl), with four week old entry “But Here We Are” for Foo Fighters falling twenty-four spots to land down at #38 (No.17 Vinyl).
Taylor Swift’s ninth and final Top 50 entry this week sees her 2010 set “Speak Now” jump twenty-one spots to land at #34, its first Top 50 appearance since May 15th of this year. Two five place drops occur for both “Dangerous: The Double Album” by Morgan Wallen to #35 and “AM” by Arctic Monkeys to #40 (No.16 Vinyl)
TOP 50:
Nine albums drop within this chart region, with the only rising set being Lewis Capaldi’s recent second album “Broken by Desire to Be Heavenly Sent”, which jumps up nine places to #42. The smallest drop is a five place drop to #49 for Billie Eilish and “When We All Fall Asleep”, again the albums lowest ever chart position.
Nine place drops occur for “Future Nostalgia” by Dua Lipa (39 to #48, it’s lowest ever spot too) and “Teenage Dream” by Katy Perry (41 to #50), ten spot declines are by Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours” (31 to #41) and “What You See…” by Luke Combs (33 to #43), eleven spots dips are by Eminem’s “Curtain Call 2” (34 to #45) and “Graduation” for Kanye West (36 to #47) with bigger falls occurring for “Fine Line” by Harry Styles down fourteen (32 to #46) and falling fifteen to #44 (LW-29) is Ed Sheeran’s latest album ” – (subtract)”. The Travis Collins entry “Any Less Anymore” debuted at #3 last week and leaves the Top 50 this week.
FURTHER NEW ENTRIES:
* #26 (LP#2) – Minecraft Volume Alpha – C418 (C418) is the soundtrack to the video game Minecraft, first being issued in March of 2011, this is the album’s first ever chart appearance for German electronic musician Daniel Rosenfeld under his moniker of C418 (as ‘see 4 18’). The album was issued on vinyl recently, debuting at No.2 on the Vinyl sales chart this week, while its follow-up ‘Beta’ from 2013 has also landed at No.5 on that same chart.
* #31 (LP#10) – chemistry – Kelly Clarkson (Atlantic) is the tenth studio album for the first U.S. Idol winner, and now her tenth to chart here (9 studios and 1 compilation), and her first new studio album since November 2017’s “Meaning of Life” (HP-6), as in-between then and now she has issued her seasonal set “When Christmas Comes Around…” (Oct. 2021) and now has her own talk show in America too, with her new album also landing at No.18 on the Vinyl Chart this week.
* #36 (LP#3) – BUSINESS IS BUSINESS – Young Thug (Young Stoner/300 Entertainment) is the third album for the U.S. rapper and third to chart, as he saw his highest chart entry with his last set “Punk” (HP-26, October 25th, 2021), while this new set matches the entry and peak position of his debut release “So Much Fun” (HP-36, August 2019).
* #39 (LP#2) – Perfect World – Lastling (Liberation) is the second album for the local duo from the Gold Coast, Queensland, who saw their debut set “First Contact” debut and peak at No.89 (November 30th, 2020), while this new set has also debuted at No.9 on this weeks Vinyl chart.
HP = Highest Position
LW = Last Week
WI10 – Weeks in Top 10
*ARIA Chart info is based on sales for the week from the 23rd to the 29th of June 2023
Written, Compiled and Researched by Gavin Ryan.
Gavin Ryan reports with thanks to Australian-Charts.com
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