Lorde’s third studio album “Solar Power” becomes her third successive No.1 Album in both Australia and New Zealand this week.
“Solar Power” becomes the 923rd No.1 Album in Australia (1965 to 2021), the 773rd No.1 on the ARIA Album Charts (1983 to 2021), the 559th to debut at No.1, the 23rd chart-topping album for 2021 and the first for ‘Universal’ (direct) this decade, with their last being the ‘Fifty Shades Darker’ soundtrack on February 20th, 2017, plus their fifteenth overall since their first in 1998 for Aqua.
Lorde previously topped the ARIA Album Charts with her first two releases “Pure Heroine” (1 week on October 7th, 2013) and then “Melodrama” (1 week on June 26th, 2017), meaning it’s been just over four years since her last album was released. Lorde’s tally of three weeks at No.1 from three albums mirrors that of other acts in Prince, You Am I, Bliss N’ Eso, Arctic Monkeys, Tool, Paul Kelly, The Weeknd and The Killers, placing them all at equal 159th on the listing for ‘Accumulated Weeks at No.1: Albums (1965 to 2021)’
This is the first time that the word ‘Solar’ has appeared in a No.1 Album title, while it’s the third ‘Power’ at the top after Vanessa Amorosi with “The Power” (1 week on April 10th, 2000) and the last was AC/DC’s “Power Up” (4 weeks from Nov. 23rd, 2020). The album has also landed her a third No.1 Album in New Zealand this week, while the set has so far debuted at No.2 in England and Scotland, No.3 in The Netherlands and at No.4 in both Ireland and Germany.
The new No.1 Album for Lorde is now the twelfth chart-topping album by a New Zealand act, with Lorde’s last album in June 2017 being the last time a NZ’er was at the top in Australia. Of the four New Zealand acts to have hit the top in Australia, Lorde now equals the three No.1 Albums achieved by Split Enz in the 1980’s (1980, ’81 and ’82), while the leader with five is the rebirth of the ‘Enz in Crowded House (1987, ’88, ‘ 96, 2007 and 2010), plus the lead singer in both of those acts Neil Finn has logged one solo album in 1998. For Solo Female Artists (local or overseas), this is the 146th No.1 Album, and the ninth for 2021, while Lorde is still the only NZ Female Solo Artist to have topped our charts. The new album has also landed three Top 100 entries so far, this week’s new entry at No.29 “Mood Ring”, the albums first single and title track “Solar Power” (HP-14, TW-39) and second issued track “Stoned at the Nail Salon” (HP-74, August 2nd, 2021).
On hold at No.2 and No.3 are “SOUR” for Olivia Rodrigo and “Planet Her” for Doja Cat (a sixth week at it’s peak of No.3) respectively, with “SOUR” returning to No.1 in England this week (fifth overall week there), with the fourth and fifth female singers within the Top 10 being Billie Eilish and “Happier Than Ever” (4 to No.5, No.1 in America for a third week) and “Future Nostalgia” for Dua Lipa (7 to No.8), with Lorde, Olivia, Doja and Billie holding the top four spots on the New Zealand Albums chart this week.
Australian act Holy Holy see their fourth studio album “Hello My Beautiful World” debut at No.4 this week, becoming their fourth Top 15 entry, second Top 10 and now highest charted set, as their second album “Paint” made it to No.7 in March of 2017. Down one spot to No.6 is Kid Laroi with his “F**k Love” sets, with the album regaining the No.1 spot in Canada this past week thanks to his U.S., Canadian and Oz No.1 single “Stay” holding the top spots. The third and final Australian act within the Top 10 this week is the new entry at No.7 for Melbourne group Tropical F**k Storm” and third third album “Deep States”, which becomes their third chart entry and now second Top 10 placed set, as their second album “Braindrops” made it to No.10 in early September of 2019. And as the group has three female members within it’s four-member ranks, they become the sixth and final female act within the Top 10 this week.
U.S. rapper and singer Trippie Redd sees his fourth studio album “Trip at Knight” debut at No.9 this week, becoming his first Top 10 album in Australia, as he has previously charted with his first three albums and two mixtapes, making this his sixth overall Albums Chart entry, with his previous highest charted album being his first release “Life’s a Trip” (HP-14, August 2018). The final Top 10 entry this week is a one place dip to No.10 for The Weeknd collection “The Highlights”.
UP:
TOP 20: The only album to climb within the Top 20 this week is Ed Sheeran’s third set “÷ (Divide)”, up three places to No.13 thanks in part to a No.3 entry for his new single “Visiting Hours”, which is the first of three rising albums for Ed this week, while the only stable album within the twenty is Maroon 5’s “Singles Collection” at No.19.
TOP 30: There are seven albums rising back up within the thirty, two of which are for Taylor Swift, “folklore” up one to No.24 and “1989” back up three spots to No.29. With the new season of The Voice featuring Guy Sebastian as a chair-turner, his previous album “T.R.U.T.H.” leaps back up forty-three places this week to land at No.26, plus he issued a new single from the album called “Believer” on Friday (27th Aug). Further big climbs occur for Jungle Giants and “Love Signs”, rising twelve spots to No.27 and Ed Sheeran’s last studio album “No.6 Collaborations Project” leaping twenty-eight chart-rungs to No.30.
TOP 40: The XXXTentacion “?” set jumps back up six spots to No.31, the INXS “Very Best of” (45 to No.33) and Green Day “GH: God’s Favourite Band” (46 to No.38) collections rise substantially, while Ed’s third and final Top 50 climber is his second set “x”, which is also back up twenty-eights places, landing at No.40.
TOP 50: Last week the 2010 Kanye West album “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” (HP-6) returned to the Top 100 at No.51, and this week the set rises back up seven spots to No.44, followed by an eight place climb to No.45 for the Doja Cat album “Hot Pink” after two weeks outside of the Top 50. Another 2010 album to climb back into the Top 50 is Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream” (52 to No.47), the album’s second Top 50 placement for 2021, as it made it to No.50 on July 12th, while the recent Tyler, the Creator album “Call Me if You Get Lost” rebounds forty-one spots this week to land at No.49.
DOWN:
TOP 20: Two place drops occur for “Fine Line” by Harry Styles and “Diamonds” for Elton John to No.14 and No.15 respectively, with three place declines for “What You See is What You Get” for Luke Combs (14 to No.17), Lewis Capaldi (15 to No.18) and the first Billie Eilish album (17 to No.20).
TOP 30: There are three declining albums within this chart region, one place dips for “Rumours” for Fleetwood Mac and “Curtain Call: The Hits” for Eminem to No.21 and No.22 respectively, while Pop Smoke’s first set “Shoot for the Stars…” is down three to No.25.
TOP 40: Of the four albums to leave the Top 10 this week, only one lands within the Top 50, that being The Killers seventh album “Pressure Machine” (HP-6, WI10-1), which tumbles twenty-six spots to land at No.32. The only other dropping album within the Top 40 is the second Pop Smoke entry this week, “Faith”, which is down six spots to No.35.
TOP 50: John Mayer’s “Sob Rock” falls ten places this week to No.43, with the Taylor Swift “evermore” album dipping four to No.46, while local rapper Youngn Lipz sees his debut release “Area Baby” fall twenty-three spots this week to land at No.50. Last week’s No.1 Album entry for Luke Hemmings is nowhere to be seen within the Top 50 this week, dropping into the lower fifty hopefully, with the set only entering at No.124 in America this past week, with other new entries from last week to leave this weeks Top 50 being Polish Club (#8), Jungle (#10). $uicideboy$ (#18) and also Dan + Shay (#28).
FURTHER NEW ENTRIES:
* #11 (Comp#50) – Gone Fishin’ by Slim Dusty (EMI Australia) is a twelve track compilation of songs by local country legend Slim Dusty to do with fishing, just in time for our Father’s Day. Slim last charted in September of 2020 (14th) with the soundtrack to the film “Slim & I” (HP-8), while his last compilation to chart was “Prime Movers” (about trucks) in July of 2016 hitting No.43.
* #16 (LP#5) – Life is Strange (Game Soundtrack) by Angus & Julia Stone (BMG/ADA/Warner) is not only the brother and sister duo’s fifth studio album, but it’s also the soundtrack on the game ‘Life is Stranger: True Colors’, which is issued in the second week of September (PS4 & PS5) and Nintendo at the end of the year. Of the pair’s five studio albums, this is the first not to make it first week into the Top 10, while overall this is their seventh albums chart entry (5 studio, 1 live, 1 compilation) and their first chart entry as a pair since “Snow” (LP#4, HP-2, Sept. 2017), as Angus has charted under his moniker of Dope Lemon and Julia issued a solo album “Sixty Summer” (HP-16, May 2021).
*ARIA Chart info is based on sales for the week from the 20th to the 26th of August, 2021.
Written, Compiled and Researched by Gavin Ryan.
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Gavin Ryan reports with thanks to Australian-Charts.com
