Australian Album Report 2 June 2023

Four months after its last appearance at No.1, an expanded edition of Taylor Swift’s “Midnight” sees it jump back to the top of the ARIA Albums Chart.

“Midnights” (‘The Til the Dawn’ edition) now notches up it’s thirteenth overall week at No.1 in Australia, with five weeks from Oct. 31st to Nov. 28th, 2022, then six more weeks between Dec. 19th, 2022 and Jan. 23rd, 2023, while it’s last appearance was for a week on February 13th, just under four months ago, plus the expanded edition also jumps back to the top in New Zealand (7th week, NZ.LW-3) and Ireland (LW-3), while it also jumps 10 to No.2 in England and it currently sits at No.3 in The U.S.A. and Canada (it might regain their No.1 spots this coming week).

There are three extra tracks featured on the new ‘Til Dawn Edition’ of “Midnights” (No.7 Vinyl) with “Karma” (now featuring rapper Ice Spice) jumping 59 to No.2, while an expanded version of “Snow on the Beach” with Lana Del Rey sees it return to the singles chart at No.12 (former peak No.3), and she also debuts at No.16 with “Hits Different”, plus her fourth Top 20 entry this week is with the albums first single “Anti-Hero” (TW-10, WI10-27, her longest ever Top 10 single in Australia). Another week at No.1 for Taylor Swift also increases her tally on the ‘Accumulated Weeks at No.1: Albums (1965 to 2023)’ listing to now 39 weeks (from 10 No.1 Albums), making her ninth on that list, now one ahead of Rod Stewart (38 weeks from 7 No.1’s) and just behind ABBA (40 weeks from 5 No.1’s), while for this decade she has now amassed 23 weeks at the top (Harry Styles is in second place with 12 weeks).

Four former No.1 Acts all had the chance to become the new chart-topping album in Australia this week if it hadn’t of been for Taylor’s repacked set, but alas Matchbox 20, Jimmy Barnes with Chris Cheney from The Living End and finally Boy & Bear all take out new entry positions between No.2 and No.4. Landing at No.2 is the fifth studio album for Matchbox 20 called “Where the Light Goes” (No.4 Vinyl), arriving almost eleven years since their last set “North” (1 week at No.1 on September 10th, 2012), and with the band announcing their February 2024 tour this album could return to No.1 potentially then. All six of the band’s albums (5 studio, 1 best of) have all landed between No.1 and No.3 in the past with their three other former chart-topping albums being “Yourself of Someone Like You” (6 weeks from May 24th, 1998), “Mad Seasons” (5 weeks from May 29th, 2000) and their collection “Exile on Mainstream” (3 weeks from October 8th, 2007).

The self-titled debut album for the collaborative act The Barnestormers enters at No.3, a collection of rockabilly tunes performed by Jimmy Barnes, Chris Cheney, Stray Cats drummer Slim Jim Phantom, Jools Holland (on Piano) and producer Kevin Shirley (on Bass), with covers of songs like “Working for the Man”, “Real Wild Child (Wild One)”, “Sweet Nothin’s” and “Dear Dad” among the eleven tracks on the album. This now becomes Jimmy’s (solo career) 24th Top 10 Album in Australia, made up of 19 Studios, 1 Live, 1 Soundtrack, 2 compilations and now 1 collaborative set, plus the album lands at No.1 on the Vinyl Sales Chart.

Another self-titled album enters at No.4, Boy & Bear (No.2 Vinyl) which is the fifth studio album for the Sydney band and now their fifth Top 10 entry, having first reached No.2 with their debut set “Moonfire” (August 2011), followed by their two No.1 albums “Harlequin Dream” (1 week on August 26th, 2013) and “Limit of Love” (1 week on October 19th, 2015), while they last charted with “Suck on Light” (HP-7, October 2019).

Three further rises occur within the Top 10 this week, with the current U.S. (12th week) and Canadian (11th week) No.1 Album for Morgan Wallen and “One Thing at a Time” up one spot to No.5 (No.1 Country Album), “The Highlights” for The Weeknd (9 to No.8; No.1 Catalogue Album) and after it’s first week outside of the top 10 (ever) the Harry Styles album “Harry’s House” is back up one spot to No.10 (WI10-53).

Dropping down two places each are the new Ed Sheeran album ” – (subtract)” (No.10 Vinyl) and “SOS” for SZA (No.9 Vinyl, No.1 Hip Hop/R&B Album) to No.6 and No.7 respectively, while last week’s No.2 entry for John Farnham and the “Finding the Voice” documentary soundtrack falls seven places to land at No.9.

TOP 20:
Taylor Swift has four albums within the Top 20 section this week, starting with “1989” up one to No.11, “Lover” rises back up three to No.15 (No.12 Vinyl), her “Reputation” dips one spot to No.18 (No.16 Vinyl) and back up three places to No.20 is “folklore”.

Lewis Capaldi debuted at No.1 last week with his second set “Broken by Desire to Be Heavenly Sent” (HP-1, WI10-1), which retains a second week at the top in England, but here it drops down twelve places to No.13, but it should rebound as her tours here is in five weeks time. Elton John’s “Diamonds” set rises back up three to No.16, Metro Boomin’ logs half-a-year (26 weeks) within the chart and is back up one spot to No.19 (it hasn’t dropped any lower than No.25). A full week of sales for the Tina Turner collection “All the Best” helps it to rise up eleven spots and land at a new peak of No.17, while she also returns to the lower fifty with “Private Dancer” (No.53) and “Tina!” (No.58), plus she has singles chart returns with “The Best” (No.29) and “What’s Love Got to Do With it” (No.84).

TOP 30:
Dropping six places to No.21 is the soundtrack for ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ “Awesome Mix 3” (No.5 Vinyl), with three best of sets within this chart region, Post Malone “The Diamond Collection” (No.22), “Curtain Call: The Hits” for Eminem (No.23) {both down one spot each) and Maroon 5 with their “Singles Collection”, up one to No.28 and also logging 312 weeks within the Top 100 (equal to six years of charting). Luke Combs has two stable albums this week, with “Gettin’ Old” at No.14 and then “This One’s for You” spends a third week of sitting at No.26, followed by Morgan Wallen and “Dangerous: The Double Album” which resides again at No.27 and is newly certified ▲Platinum in sales.

TOP 40:
Two further best of sets climb back up for Foo Fighters and “The Essential” (35 to No.31) and Eminem’s “Curtain Calls 2” (37 to No.35), while Luke Combs “What You See Ain’t Always What You Get” dips two places to No.36 and last week’s No.3 entry for Sleep Token and “Take Me Back to Eden” falls thirty-four places to No.37 (No.8 Vinyl), with last week’s returned set for Kanye West and “Graduation” rising this week five places to No.38, while the Arctic Monkeys’ “AM” set is down three to No.39 (No.18 Vinyl)

TOP 50:
Coldplay’s “Live in Buenos Aires” falls back down twelve places to No.44, with Ed Sheeran’s ” = (equals)” down seven to No.47, the Green Day “Greatest Hits: God’s Favourite Band” rises back up to No.50. Two of last week’s Top 10 debuts fall into the lower fifty this week for The Vanns and “Last of Your Kind” (LW-8) and BAD//DREEMS with “HOO HA!” (LW-10).

FURTHER NEW ENTRIES:
* #32 (LP#8) – Almost Healed – Lil’ Durk (Alamo Records/Sony) is the eighth studio album for the American rapper and his second Top 50 placement in Australia, as his 2021 teaming with Lil’ Baby called “The Voice of the Heroes” debuted and peaked at No.20 on June 14th, 2021, while his only other entry was with “7220” (HP-79, March 28th, 2022), with the albums lead single “All My Life” featuring J. Cole becoming Lil’ Durk’s first (solo) Top 10 entry and second overall, that track is sitting at No.11 this week after peaking at No.9 last week.

* #33 (LP#6) – Where Only Memory Can Find You – Mick Thomas’ Roving Commission (Coolin’ by Sound) is the sixth for the former Wedding’s, Parties, Anything lead singer under the Roving Commission group, with their first set “Coldwater” issued in March of 2019, but this is their first chart entry under that name, while of Mick’s twenty albums issued since his first in 1998 this is only his third to chart, the other two were “Spin! Spin! Spin!” (with The Sure Thing, HP-52, May 4th, 2009) while his last chart entry was with “The Last of the Tourists” (HP-80, March 26th, 2012).

———————-==/\==——————–

New Certifications:

Dangerous: The Double Album by Morgan Wallen ▲

F**k Love (mixtape) by The Kid LAROI ▲2

HP = Highest Position
LW = Last Week
WI10 – Weeks in Top 10

*ARIA Chart info is based on sales for the week from the 25th of May to the 1st of June 2023

Written, Compiled and Researched by Gavin Ryan.

Gavin Ryan reports with thanks to Australian-Charts.com

Stay updated with your free Noise11.com daily music news email alert. Subscribe to Noise11 Music News here

Be the first to see NOISE.com’s newest interviews and special features on YOUTUBE and updated regularly. See things first SUBSCRIBE here: Noise11 on YouTube SUBSCRIBE