Keith Urban achieves a unique first on this week’s ARIA Album Chart, landing his maiden number one on the main album chart with ‘The Story So Far’, some three years after his #1 achievement on the US Billboard Top 200 with ‘Defying Gravity’. Despite three Australian #1’s on the ARIA Country Chart, Urban’s highest point to date on the main album chart had been a #3 peak for ‘Defying Gravity’. ‘The Story So Far’ offers up 19 tracks from albums ‘Get Closer’, ‘Defying Gravity’, ‘Love Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing’, ‘Be Here’ and ‘Golden Road’, 14 of them US #1 singles, and marks his fourth ARIA Album Chart top 10 result.
On this week’s ARIA Singles Chart, Flo Rida holds for a third consecutive week at number one with the Gold certified ‘Whistle’, the track enjoying a solid sales lead over it’s rivals. The top 3 holds firm, with Nicki Minaj moving up a spot to #4 with ‘Starships’ following her Sydney and Melbourne concerts last week. Pitbull enjoys good progress with ‘Back In Time’ up 5 spots to #6, his fifth Australian top 10 single and first for the year. His first was ‘I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)’ which hit #6 in 2009, and most recent was ‘Rain Over Me’ which peaked at #9 in August last year, his biggest hit to date being ‘Give Me Everything’ which hit #2 last May. The Voice contestant Karise Eden delivers a first for the popular TV show and its contestants, as she debuts at #9 with her version of Rebecca Ferguson’s ‘Nothing’s Real But Love’, becoming the first contestant to debut in the top 10.
Outside the top 10 this week, and it’s Usher who looks set for another big hit, with ‘Scream’ racing up seven spots to #11. The Voice mentor Ricki-Lee jumps from 19 to 13 with ‘Do It Like That’, followed Justin Bieber who also enjoys a 6 spot lift with ‘Boyfriend’, which hits #14 this week. One Direction’s singles ‘One Thing’ and ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ both move back up two places, the former to #22 and the latter to #27. With an influx of new charting singles from The Voice, there are seven top 40 single debuts this week. Leading the way is The Voice’s Karise Eden at #9 with a further three new entries* following the contestant’s performances on last Monday night’s show. Justin Bieber debuts at 25 with ‘Turn To You’, Gym Class Heroes featuring Ryan Tedder lands at #38 with ‘The Fighter’ and The Fray returns with new single ‘Run For Your Life’ at #39.
In further ARIA Album Chart news, Adele moves from #1 to #2 this week, stringing together 67 weeks in the top 10 with a thirteen times platinum accreditation! Seal’s ‘Hits’ enjoys a new highpoint of #4 and Prince, fresh from a massively successful Australian tour, makes a 23 place leap to #5 with ‘The Hits/The B-sides’. It’s the best performed of his three albums in the top 100 this week, and it’s the second time that it has graced the top 5 – it hit #5 on debut back in September 1993 and has now enjoyed three weeks in the top 10. Prince’s last visit to the Australian top 10 was December 1996, when as Symbol, he reached #8 with ‘Emancipation’.
Shirley Manson and Garbage return with ‘Not Your Kind Of People’ debuting at #8, their fifth ARIA top 10 album – all of their albums to make the top 10 have gone on to reach the top 5! Norah Jones returns to the top 10, up from 11 to 9 this week, and Florence + The Machine moves up three spots to #10 with ‘Ceremonials’ – this former #1 has popped into the top 10 on three occasions across this year. Kimbra’s ‘Vows’ continues its upward trajectory, moving from 32 to 23, Nicki Minaj’s ‘Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded’ jumps from 29 to 26, and racing up seven places is Adele with ‘19’ at #27. Debuting in the top 40 along with Keith Urban and Garbage this week is John Butler with ‘Tin Shed Tales’ at 28, Ash Grunwald’s ‘Trouble’s Door’ at 29, James Morrison with ‘The Awakening’ at 38 and pop duo Beach House with ‘Bloom’ at 40.
ARIA Top 5 Albums w/c 21st May 2012
1. Keith Urban ‘The Story So Far’ (debut)
2. Adele ‘21’
3. One Direction ‘Up All Night’
4. Seal ‘Hits’
5. Prince ‘The Hits/The B-sides’
Further Top 40 Debuts:
8. Garbage ‘Not Your Kind Of People’
28. John Butler ‘Tin Shed Tales’
29. Ash Grunwald ‘Trouble’s Door’
38. James Morrison ‘The Awakening’
40. Beach House ‘Bloom’
ARIA Top 5 Singles w/c 21st May 2012
1. Flo Rida ‘Whistle’
2. Carly Rae Jepsen ‘Call Me Maybe’
3. Maroon 5 feat. Wiz Khalifa ‘Payphone’
4. Nicki Minaj ‘Starships’
5. Ed Sheeran ‘Lego House’
Top 40 Debuts:
9. Karise Eden ‘Nothing’s Real But Love’
15. Rachael Leahcar ‘Hands’*
25. Justin Bieber ‘Turn To You’
28. Viktoria Bolonina ‘Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)’*
36. Emma-Louise Birdsall ‘I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You)’*
38. Gym Class Heroes feat. Ryan Tedder ‘The Fighter’
39. The Fray ‘Run For Your Life’