Ed Sheeran ‘x’ has returned to the top of the ARIA album chart.
With Ed Sheeran performing at the AFL Grand Final and a couple of songs on The X Factor this past week, it all helps his second album “x” to return to the top of the ARIA Albums chart for a fourth non-consecutive week.
“x” is up five to the No.1 spot on the Australian Albums chart and the last time an album went back to the top for a third time was Michael Buble with his “Christmas” album (Dec 2011, Dec 2012, Dec 2013), whilst the last concurrent (still charting during its No.1 period) No.1 was Pink with “The Truth About Love” which went to the top on four separate occasions (Sept/Oct 2012, July, August and September 2013).
Last weeks No.1 debut for Barbra Streisand, “Partners” drops back down a place to No.2 and is newly certified Gold (●) in sales, with over 80% of its sales being physical CD’s, whilst around the country the current school holidays has seen a rush on the former No.1 soundtrack “Frozen”, which leaps back up fourteen places to No.3, over 90% of its sales are physical too.
The debut album for The Preatures entitled “Blue Planet Eyes” is the highest new entry of the week coming in at No.4, whilst the other Top 10 entry of the week is the thirteenth studio album for Leonard Cohen “Popular Problems” which comes in at No.6 and becomes his fourth Top 10 album in Australia, plus his second highest charting set, with his last album from February 2012 “Old Ideas” debuting and peaking at No.2.
Four of last weeks six Top 10 debuts retain their status this week, with “Oz” for Missy Higgins down two places to No.5 and Alt-J with their second album “This is All Yours” down five places to No.7 this week, and down three to No.10 are Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga with “Cheek to Cheek”. Swapping around this week are The Madden Brothers with “Greetings from California” (9 to 8) and Sam Smith with “In the Lonely Hour” (8 to 9).
NEW PEAKS & MOVERS: Taylor Henderson leaps back up twenty-six places to No.14 with his “Burnt Letters” album and Ed Sheeran’s tour this past week also helps his first album “+” back up thirty-eight places to No.18, whilst “Ultraviolent” for Lana Del Rey halves its position from last week, up twenty-five places to No.25 thanks to it being under $10 on some digital providers. Sheppard are back in the country and touring at the moment, which helps their “Bombs Away” album back up twenty places to No.38 and returning to the Top 100 at No.49 are Nickelback with “The Best of Volume 1”.
DOWN DOWN: Jimmy Barnes is down a single place to No.11 with his former No.1 “30:30 Hindsight” after four weeks within the Top 10, and two of last weeks Top 10 debuts drop down this week, “X” for Chris Brown (4 to 19) and The Script with “No Sound without Silence” (5 to 21). Ariana Grande drops six places to No.22 with “My Everything” and Tim McGraw tumbles seventeen places to No.28 with “Sundown Heaven Town”. Kasey Chambers drops ten places to No.32 with “Bittersweet” and after landing his first Top 50 chart entry last week, Aphex Twin drops eighteen this week to No.39 with “Syro”. Coldplay are down thirteen spots to No.40 with “Ghost Stories” whilst Maroon 5 drop twelve to No.41 with “V”. The self-titled album for Royal Blood is down eighteen to No.44 and Megan Washington tumbles for a second week, with “There There” down twenty-three places to No.48, and albums leaving from last weeks Top 50 includes The Amity Affliction (44 to 53), Robbie Williams (28 to 54), London Grammar (40 to 56), Pharrell Williams (47 to 59), Iggy Azalea (41 to 60), Kingswood (34 to 62), Justin Timberlake’s “FutureSex/LoveSounds” (42 to 64 and newly 6x▲Platinum), Train (38 to 77, who are playing the NRL Grand Final this weekend), Linkin Park (48 to 78) and a massive drop for Pentatonix (19 to 95), whilst leaving the Top 100 from last weeks Top 50 are Lenny Kravitz (#31), Andrea Bocelli (#39) and Amber Lawrence (#43).
Prince debuts at No.15 with “Art Official Age” and again at No.33 with “PLECTRUMELECTRUM”, the second entry is alongside his new backing band 3rdEyeGirl, both albums were released simultaneously this week, and are the 25th and 26th studio albums for Prince (33rd & 34th overall including soundtracks and compilations). Princes’ last studio album to chart was his 22nd set “Planet Earth” in July 2007 which hit No.38 upon debut, but he has since re-charted with some of his compilations including “The Hits” which re-peaked at No.5 in May 2012 when he toured here again.
SBTRKT (subtract) sees his second album “Wonder Where We Land” enter at No.20 this week, far surpassing the No.67 peak (peaked Feb 2012) of his self-titled debut album. Back in August 2014 Bluejuice announced they were splitting up at the end of this year, and thus a greatest hits package entitled “Retrospectable” debuts at No.27 this week to become the bands third chart entry and also third Top 40 placing.
Former lead singer of My Chemical Romance Gerard Way sees his solo debut album “Hesitant Alien” come in at No.29 this week, whilst a few places lower at No.31 is Kenny Chesney with “The Big Revival”, his fifteenth studio album and his fourth to chart in Australia, plus it becomes his highest charting album here now, surpassing the No.34 peak of his thirteenth album “Welcome to the Fishbowl”.
Jamie T sees his third album “Carry on the Grudge” come in at No.35 this week, becoming his second Top 50 placing, as his last album “Kings and Queens” debuted and peaked at No.17 in September 2009, and another US country act to debut is Blake Shelton who comes in at No.46 with “Bringing Back the Sunshine”, his eighth studio album and third to chart on the ARIA Albums chart, his last set “Based on a True Story” making it to No.38 in April 2013, whilst the last Top 50 debut this week comes in one place lower at No.47, Tove Lo with her first album “Queen of the Clouds”.
Lower 50: Blackjack Billy leap up seventeen places to a new peak of No.52 with “Rebel Child” and returning to the charts at No.58 are Daft Punk with their “R.A.M.” album. Eminem leaps back up thirty-five places to No.65 with “The Marshall Mathers LP 2” and back up seventeen to No.68 is Lorde with “Pure Heroine”, with Rufus up nine to No.74 with their “Atlas” album. Currently touring around the country, The McClymonts see their current album “Here’s to You and I” back in at No.80, with Pink and “The Truth About Love” back in at No.84, and also returning are “Red” for Taylor Swift (#98) and Bob Marley’s “Legend” (#99).
The only lower entry this week is the 22nd studio album for John Mellencamp entitled “Plain Spoken”. It’s his first new material in just over four years, as he last charted in September 2010 with “No Better Than This” (HP-83) and this becomes his seventeenth album to chart in Australia (fifteen studio albums and two collections).
Written, Compiled and Researched by Gavin Ryan.
