Australian Album Chart: Olivia Rodrigo Returns To No 1

The debut album for Olivia Rodrigo called “SOUR” returns twelve weeks after it last topped the ARIA Albums Chart, now logging an eighth overall stay at the top in Australia.

“SOUR” also regained the top spot in Ireland this week, and here it’s now spending it’s third time in the No.1 spot, having first spent six weeks atop the Albums chart from May 31st to July 5th, and then a seventh week on July 19th, 2021, extending it’s lead as ‘Longest Running No.1 Album’ for this current decade of No.1 Albums, placing Olivia at equal 90th on the list for ‘Accumulated Weeks at No.1: Albums (1965 to 2021)’ alongside other eight week running No.1 Acts like George Harrison, Fleetwood Mac and Eric Clapton (all with one No.1 Album), with further eight week accumulated No.1 artists being Post Malone, The Offspring, Janet Jackson (all with 2 #1’s), Barbra Streisand (3 #1’s) and Ariana Grande (4 #1’s). Olivia’s eight weeks at No.1 also sits just behind Taylor Swift’s nine weeks at No.1 from her three chart-topping albums during this decade, and “SOUR” is now the second album this decade to score three separate No.1 berth’s, with Justin Bieber’s “Justice” being the first one in March, April and May of this year.

For now this could be the last week of the year that we see an album returning to the No.1 spot, as the remainder of 2021 will see some big albums released, starting with next week’s potential chart-topping sets from either local artist Baker Boy with his debut album, or the new Coldplay set “Music of the Spheres” (25th Oct.). Further potential No.1 Albums for the rest of the year could be (Nov. 1st) Elton John, Lana Del Rey or Rufus du Sol, (Nov. 8th), Ed Sheeran (also that week Tori Amos, Dami Im, Bad Wolves), (Nov. 15th) ABBA, (Nov. 22nd) Taylor Swift (also Courtney Barnett, Rod Stewart, Little Mix, Silk Sonic), and then from November 29th for the rest of the year could be the fourth Adele album “30” (out Nov. 19th).

So last week’s returnee for Drake and “Certified Lover Boy” is back down one spot to No.2 after reclaiming a third week at No.1, with the set holding for a fifth week at No.1 in his homeland of Canada. On hold at No.3 for an eighth overall week at that peak is the Doja Cat album “Planet Her”, followed by the highest new entry of the week at No.4, the thirteenth studio album and first Top 10 placement for Australian hard-rock act The Hard-Ons called “I’m Sorry Sir, This Riff’s Been Taken”, who are now fronted by You Am I singer Tim Rogers, which could also be why of the four Top 100 entries for the act this is now their first ever Top 10 placing. The Hard-Ons issued their first album “Smell My Finger” in November of 1986, and saw their first chart entry with their fourth album “Yummy!” (HP-93, Jan. 1991), followed 18 months later by the EP “Dateless Dudes Club” (HP-78, Aug. 1992) and the last entry was with October 1994’s “A Decade of Rock” compilation (HP-68, Oct. 1994).

Billie Eilish announced a 2022 Australian tour this past week, which has helped her second album “Happier Than Ever” to rebound back up five spots to No.5 this week, followed by a seven place surge back up to No.6 for Justin Bieber’s “Justice” set, thanks to it being expanded with extra tracks last week, the set now spending a 21st week within the Top 10. Down three places to No.7 is the debut set for Lil’ Nas X called “Montero”, followed by a stable No.8 for Dua Lipa’s “Future Nostalgia”, which next week will have logged a year within the Top 10 (TW-51 weeks).

The second and final Top 10 debut this week is the tenth studio album for U.S. heavy metal act Trivium with “In the Court of the Dragon” which enters at No.9, becoming their seventh Top 10 album in Australia of a total of eight chart entries (all #14 or higher), with the band hitting No.5 in early May of 2020 with their ninth set “What the Dead Men Say”. Lastly down one place to land at No.10 is the Kid Laroi “Fuck Love” sets, as he logs a fourteenth week at No.1 on the singles chart with “Stay”, with this album now spending it’s 45th week within the Top 10.

UP:
TOP 20: There are only climbing, non-movers or new entries within the Top 20 this week (no drops), as “Donda” for Kanye West is back up one to No.11, “Highlights” for The Weeknd is back up three to No.12 and after a re-screening last week of his biopic ‘Rocketman’ and his current No.2 single, the Elton John comp “Diamonds” rises back up four to No.14 (with his new duets album a few weeks away). With a new track issued on Friday (Oct. 15th), the older Adele albums leap back up this week, with her last issued set “25” zooming up thirteen places to land at No.18 (it was last in the Top 20 in early Sept. of 2017), followed by a three place rebound back into the Top 20 for the first Billie Eilish album to No.19.
TOP 30: Of the two Taylor Swift albums within the Top 30, one rises and one falls, with “1989” back up four spots to No.22, with the second Adele album “21” rebounding a massive thirty-six places this week to No.24 after returning to the Top 100 last week at No.60, this set hasn’t been this high on the charts since late April of 2017. Guy Sebastian’s “T.R.U.T.H.” album rises back up six spots to No.28, followed by a massive turn-around for Iron Maiden’s “Senjutsu”, leaping back up nineteen places to No.29 and thanks to its vinyl release last week and it’s position as the second highest selling vinyl album this week, returning to the Top 100 at No.30 is the third new No.1 of the year “Bluey The Album”.
TOP 40: Taylor Swift has two four-place rising albums within this chart region, “Lover” (38 to No.34) and “evermore” (40 to No.36), the only two sets to move back up here.
TOP 50: Ed Sheeran’s “x” set climbs back up eleven places to land at No.41, while the Morgan Wallen “Dangerous: The Double Album” rebounds five spots to land at No.44, again the only two climbing albums here.

DOWN:
TOP 20: All three of this week’s Top 10 dropouts slip into the lower fifty this week, with the returning U.S. No.1 Album this week in “Fearless (Taylor’s version)” by Taylor Swift (LW-5, HP-1×1, WI10-6a) being the highest dropout, followed by the new entries from Pond and “9” (HP/LW-6, WI10-1) and Client Liaison with “Divine Intervention” (HP/LW-7, WI10-1). There are no falling albums within the Top 20.
TOP 30: Of the four Taylor Swift albums within the Top 50 the only one dropping (other than the dropout) is “folklore”, down two spots to No.25, with the only other Top 30 declining album being “Rumours” for Fleetwood Mac, down three to No.27.
TOP 40: The only two new entries from last week to stay within the Top 50 are “Love for Sale” by Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga, down twenty-two spots to No.33 and “Tales from the Script: Greatest Hits” for The Script, dropping twenty-one to No.37, with that album showing up as Gold (●) in sales on the chart after only being issued two weeks ago.
TOP 50: The 30th Anniversary of Metallica’s ‘Black Album’ drops down fourteen places to No.43, with other sliding albums being “Legends Never Die” for Juice WRLD (42 to No.47), Ed Sheeran with his “No.6 Collaborations Project” (43 to No.49) and “The Gurrumul Story” drops sixteen places to No.50.

FURTHER NEW ENTRIES:
* #15 (LP#10 – Old Gods by Shihad (Warner New Zealand) is the tenth album for the New Zealand act, and now their sixth No.1 set in their native homeland (plus fourth in a row), while it’s their first new material since August 2014’s “FVEY” (HP-9) and overall this is the bands’ seventh albums chart entry (all Top 50 peaks).

* #17 (LP#2) – Life of a Don (L.O.A.D.) by Don Toliver (Cactus Jack/Atlantic) is the second studio album and now third Top 20 placement for the American singer and rapper, as he previously charted with his debut set “Heaven or Hell” (LP#1, HP-20, March 2020) and prior to that his collaborative set “JackBoys” with Travis Scott (HP-5, Jan 2020), who also features on two of the tracks on this new album.

* #46 (LP#2) – Seventeen Going Under by Sam Fender (Dew Process) is the second studio and second Scottish and English No.1 Album for the 27 year old UK musician, while here this new entry becomes his highest charted, surpassing the No.62 entry and peak of his September 2019 debut release “Hypersonic Missiles”.

*ARIA Chart info is based on sales for the week from the 8th to 14th of October, 2021.

Written, Compiled and Researched by Gavin Ryan.

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