The charts are only three weeks into 2017 and we have two new records set this week, the first of which is Ed Sheeran becoming the first act to debut in the top two spots on the singles chart, the ultimate winner being “Shape of You” which also stepped into the No.1 spot in New Zealand, England, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway and Sweden this week.
“Shape of You” becomes the 1060th No.1 Single in Australia (1940 to 2017) and the 495th for ARIA (1983 to 2017), PLUS the 1000th weekly chart-topping single, as Australia’s weekly chart info can be traced back to January 1949, and now 68 years later we have our thousandth weekly No.1 single. It also becomes 27th No.1 single for the Atlantic record label, and the first time since March 2012 that an Atlantic released track has knocked off another act from the same label, when “We Are Young” by Fun took over from “Ass Back Home” by Gym Class Heroes feat Neon Hitch.
This is the first track to feature the word ‘Shape’ in its title to reach the chart summit, the previous highest shape was from The Backstreet Boys and “Shape of My Heart” (HP-5, peaked Nov 2000, and was No.1 in New Zealand this week in 2001), but the 103rd to feature the word ‘You’, the most recent was only two chart-topping songs ago, “Say You Won’t Let Go” by James Arthur.
Ed Sheeran becomes the first English act since George Michael (5 in total here) to have 3 or more #1’s singles in Australia, matching the three also racked-up by Paul McCartney (achieved as a solo act or with Wings) outside of The Beatles, and also Elton John. Whilst “Shape of You” also becomes the 202nd No.1 song by an English act to hit the top here. And as this new track becomes Ed’s third here, he also moves up to equal fifteenth on the list for ‘Accumulated Weeks at No.1: 2010’s’ alongside the seven accumulated weeks by Pink (4 #1’s) and John Legend (2 #1 appearances).
So Ed Sheeran also debuts at No.2 with “Castle on the Hill”, both tracks taken from his early March due third album ” ÷ ” (Divide), becoming the first act to ever debut in the top two positions (this is that 2nd record I was talking about from the first paragraph), the last act to almost come close to achieving this was The Voice Season 1 winner Karise Eden who debuted at No.1 and No.3 (late June 2012), but she outdoes Ed as she was already at No.2, and also scored a No.5 entry in the same week, so in effect she had four songs within the Top 5, three of which were new entries, but no one has done it as a debut in the #1 and #2 positions the first week, plus Ed also does the same two spots on both the digital and streaming charts.
So after six weeks at the top “Rockabye” by Clean Bandit with Anne-Marie & Sean Paul is down two places to No.3, and after returning to its former peak of No.3 last week, the Zayn and Taylor Swift duet “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever” is back down a spot to No.4 this week, whilst leaping four places to land at No.5 is Andy Grammer and his track “Fresh Eyes”, making Australia its highest placed chart position in the world, as it is stable at No.8 in New Zealand this week (it’s only other Top 10 market at the moment).
After a record-breaking twelve-week run at No.2, “Starboy” by The Weeknd and Daft Punk drops to its lowest Top 10 placing so far, down four to No.6, whilst the pairs second Top 10 entry is stable at No.7, “I Feel it Coming”. Bulleting into the Top 10 this week is Train and their “Play That Song” track, up fifteen places from last weeks No.23 to a new peak of No.8 this week. This becomes the band’s third Top 10 single in Australia after “Drops of Jupiter” (HP-5×2, Sept 2001) and their highest placing single “Hey, Soul Sister” (HP-1×4, peaked March & April 2010) and the song is also Gold (●) in sales. The final two Top 10 items this week drop to the lower end, with “Stranger” for Peking Duk down four to No.9 and “24K Magic” for Bruno Mars falling six to No.10.
UP:
* Pnau last week scored their highest charting single with “Chameleon”, which this week becomes the band’s first Top 20 entry, up seven to a new peak of No.15.
* After slowly climbing the charts late last year, the current UK Top 5 single “Human” by Rag’N’Bone Man is up thirteen spots this week to land at No.21.
* Sage the Gemini leaps sixteen places to a new chart height of No.24 with “Now & Later”.
* Milky Chance climb again this week with “Cocoon”, up four spots to a new peak of No.25.
* The trio of producers in Robin Schulz, David Guetta and Cheat Codes rise again with “Shed a Light”, up five to No.26.
* After eight weeks in the lower fifty, the duet between Machine Gun Kelly and Camilla Cabello in “Bad Things” leaps up twenty-three places to land at No.31.
* Whilst spending longer in the lower chart region has been Amy Shark (9 weeks), with her track “Adore” now up sixteen spots to a new peak of No.40, her first week within the Top 50.
* Also cracking the fifty for the first time are the duo Sofi Tukker with “Drinkee”, which is up nine spots to No.42 and newly certified Gold (●) in sales.
* Returning to the Top 50 this week is the John Legend single “Love Me Now” (HP-25), back up fourteen spots to No.44.
* Adele will be touring here in February and March, and the fourth (official) single from her “25” album “Water Under the Bridge” is up twenty-two spots this week and into the Top 50 for the first time to No.46.
* The ‘Moana’ soundtrack is at No.3 this week and it also sees two of its main actor’s debut for the first time, but last week’s entry for Alessia Cara from the set in “How Far I’ll Go” is up fifteen spots to No.52.
* Former No.66 single “All Night” by The Vamps is up seven spots to a new peak of No.62.
* Ed Sheeran also returns to the chart with two former Top 10 hits in “Thinking of You” (HP-1) at No.76 (110th week within the Top 100) and “Photograph” (HP-9) at No.80.
* In between those two Ed returns is a new peak for Noah Cyrus and “Make Me (Cry)” (former peak #79), which is up ten places this week to No.78.
* Also surpassing it’s former peak is the Bliss N’ Eso track “Friend Like You” (formerly #85), which rises nine spots this week to a new peak of No.84.
DOWN:
* Two big former No.1 singles leave the Top 10 this week, the first of which is James Arthur and “Say You Won’t Let Go” (HP-1×7, WI10-15), which is only down one spot this week to No.11.
* After charging into the Top 10 last week (and the UK Top 10 this week), Sydney singer Starley is back down four to No.12 with “Call on Me” (HP-8, WI10-1)
* The second former No.1 to leave the Top 10 this week is “Closer” (HP-1×12, WI10-23) by The Chainsmokers and Halsey lasting 23 weeks within the ten, almost equalling the record amount of weeks within the ten, as set by three previous songs in Australia; 1976’s “Fernando” by ABBA, 1992-93’s “November Rain” for Guns N’ Roses, while the last was “Breathe” by The Prodigy in 1996-97, all spending a total of 24 weeks within the Top 10.
* Maroon 5 and Kendrick Lamar drop six spots to No.20 with “Don’t Wanna Know”.
* Down seven to No.22 are Rae Sreummurd with “Black Beatles”.
* Tumbling twelve places to No.23 is Justin Timberlake’s “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” from this week’s No.1 album again “Trolls”.
* “The Mack” for Nevada with Mark Morrison and Fetty Wap is down three to No.28 and newly certified ▲Platinum in sales.
* DJ Snake and Justin Bieber’s “Let Me Love You” is down nine to No.29, whilst the other Bieber collaboration in “Cold Water” with Major Lazer drops eight to No.35.
* Little Mix tumble twelve to No.30 with “Shout Out to My Ex”, and also down twelve is Calum Scott and “Dancing on My Own” to No.33.
* Drake drops with two songs this week, his “Fake Love” is down six to No.39 and his first No.1 “One Dance” drops twenty spots to No.55.
* Two of last week’s Top 40 entries fall into the lower end of the Top 50 this week, “After the Afterparty” by Charli XCX (39 to 47) and “Mercy” by Shawn Mendes (38 to 50).
* After a couple of weeks within the Top 30, The Veronicas are down twenty-seven spots this week to No.57 with “On Your Side”.
* Falling sixteen spots each are “Papercuts” for Illy (43 to 59) and “Don’t Let Me Down” by The Chainsmokers (44 to 60), whilst dropping nineteen places to No.61 is Flume with “Never Be Like You”.
* After returning to its former peak of No.45 last week, The xx drops back down eighteen places this week to No.63 with “On Hold”.
* Also down eighteen are twenty one pilots and “Heathens” to No.65.
* Down seventeen is Sia’s “Cheap Thrills” to No.69 and plummeting twenty-six to No.75 are Calvin Harris and Rihanna with “This is What You Came for”.
* After climbing back up the past few weeks, the Alan Walker track “Faded” is now down twenty places this week to No.79, the same goes for “7 Years” by Lukas Graham, this week down twenty-one chart-rungs to No.83.
* Dropping a massive thirty places this week are Zay and Zayion with “Juju on the Beat (TZ Anthem)” to No.91.
* The longest charting single for the week was challenged by former leader Ed Sheeran and “Thinking Out Loud” returning at No.76 for a 110th week in the chart, but still leading at 113 weeks is “Uptown Funk” for Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars, which is down fifteen spots to No.95.
NEW ENTRIES:
* #41 – Move Your Body by Sia is the fourth single released from her album “This is Acting” (TW-33), and the second from the updated section of the album, and this track has so far reached No.3 in Norway and No.8 in Finland, whilst it is currently Top 70 in France and Sweden.
* #45 – Don’t Leave by Snakehips feat MØ becomes the English duo’s third chart entry in Australia and Top 50 hit in the same instance, as previously they have charted with “All My Friends” (HP-3) and “Cruel” (HP-34) both from 2016.
* #49 – How Far I’ll Go by Auli’i Cravalho is the original screen version of the current No.52 Alessia Cara track taken from the latest Disney animated film ‘Moana” (LP TW-3), and like it’s 2013 predecessor “Frozen” with “Let it Go” it seems people like both the original and end-credits versions of the song.
* #51 – Bad and Boujee by Migos feat Lil’ Uzi Vert is the new No.1 single in the USA this week and takes over from “Black Beatles” by Rae Sremmurd, both songs having a similar beat, and both being used in ‘Mannequin Challenge’ clips. The trio Migos from Georgia is set to release their second album “Culture” at the end of January in the US.
* #77 – You’re Welcome by Dwayne Johnson is the third track from the current No.3 album, the ‘Moana’ soundtrack, and it becomes the former wrestler and current actor’s first ARIA Singles Chart appearance, joining other actors this century to chart such as Gwenyth Paltrow, Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor, Hailee Steinfeld (she acted before she sung), Anna Kendrick and many others.
* #94 – Touch by Little Mix is the second single lifted from their current No.16 album “Glory Days” (#1 in the UK for the 5th week this week), and follows on from their former No.4 single “Shout Out to My Ex” which is down to No.30 this week.
* #100 – You Don’t Know Me by Jax Jones feat RAYE is the second chart entry and first solo entry for UK producer, songwriter, DJ and multi-instrumentalist Jax Jones (real name Timucin Fabian Kwong Wah Aluo). His first chart appearance was on the 2014 track “I Got U” by Duke Dumont (HP-17), and this is the second entry for RAYE (real name Rachel Keen) who is currently sitting at No.43 on the Jonas Blue track “By Your Side” (HP-33).
Chart compiled by Gavin Ryan for Australian-Charts.com
