Dircadirca

It is, although technically speaking the OCC don't actually get the Thursday Spotify data, they just estimate it.

I'd go further and say it's more of a personal commitment to spend 5 hours listening to something than spending under a dollar on it as well. (Before anyone points out that people can just stream things in the background without listening, people can and also will buy things they don't listen to, people for whom that amount of money is a trifle).

25/03/2024 Singles 01 01 09 01 BEAUTIFUL THINGS Benson Boone 02 02 02 02 WE CAN'T BE FRIENDS (WAIT FOR YOUR LOVE) Ariana Grande 03 03 05 03 END OF BEGINNING Djo 04 06 22 01 STICK SEASON Noah Kahan 05 05 52 01 CRUEL SUMMER Taylor Swift 06 07 18 06 LOSE CONTROL Teddy Swims 07 04 06 02 TEXAS HOLD 'EM Beyonce 08 08 27 02 GREEDY Tate McRae 09 09 06 05 CARNIVAL Kanye West, Ty Dolla $ign 10 10 19 01 LOVIN ON ME Jack Harlow 11 13 30 06 I REMEMBER EVERYTHING Zach Bryan Feat. Kacey Musgraves 12 16 10 12 SCARED TO START Michael Marcagi 13 12 31 03 PRADA Casso x Raye x D-Block Europe 14 15 15 13 LEAVEMEALONE Fred again.. & Baby Keem 15 14 04 08 SATURN SZA 16 17 88 06 SOMETHING IN THE ORANGE Zach Bryan 17 20 06 19 STUMBLIN' IN Cyril 18 23 29 02 STRANGERS Kenya Grace 19 25 59 01 LAST NIGHT Morgan Wallen 20 21 27 06 WATER Tyla 21 26 07 26 HOME Good Neighbours 22 11 10 02 YES, AND? Ariana Grande 23 63 02 23 AUSTIN Dasha 24 24 74 01 ANTI-HERO Taylor Swift 25 29 05 12 TRAINING SEASON Dua Lipa 26 30 13 10 SAVING UP Dom Dolla 27 27 10 16 REDRUM 21 Savage 28 48 02 28 THE BOY IS MINE Ariana Grande 29 32 33 01 PAINT THE TOWN RED Doja Cat 30 34 12 23 FEATHER Sabrina Carpenter 31 31 22 15 UNWRITTEN Natasha Bedingfield 32 28 19 07 HOUDINI Dua Lipa 33 33 62 01 FLOWERS Miley Cyrus 34 18 02 18 SUPERNATURAL Ariana Grande 35 44 189 06 RIPTIDE Vance Joy 36 35 59 21 SNOOZE SZA 37 37 51 02 FAST CAR Luke Combs 38 42 14 30 ONE OF THE GIRLS The Weeknd 39 43 03 39 WHATEVER SHE WANTS Bryson Tiller 40 41 61 03 LOVER Taylor Swift 41 40 35 01 WHAT WAS I MADE FOR? Billie Eilish 42 50 10 23 NEVER LOSE ME Flo Milli 43 45 18 15 EXES Tate McRae 44 19 02 19 BYE Ariana Grande 45 36 40 03 MURDER ON THE DANCEFLOOR Sophie Ellis-Bextor 46 56 07 11 FE!N Travis Scott feat. Playboi Carti 47 47 12 25 DELILAH (PULL ME OUT OF THIS) Fred Again.. 48 38 08 19 PRAISE JAH IN THE MOONLIGHT YG Marley 49 NE 01 49 FRI(END)S V 50 22 02 22 ETERNAL SUNSHINE Ariana Grande Bubbling Under 18 (17) BURN Kanye West, Ty Dolla $ign 19 (18) STAYINIT Fred Again.. & Lil Yachty & Overmono 20 (NE) ACT II: DATE @ 8 (REMIX) 4Bats & Drake Albums 01 01 002 01 ETERNAL SUNSHINE Ariana Grande 02 02 021 01 1989 (TAYLOR'S VERSION) Taylor Swift 03 04 239 01 LOVER Taylor Swift 04 05 191 01 FOLKLORE Taylor Swift 05 08 163 02 THE HIGHLIGHTS The Weeknd 06 06 077 01 MIDNIGHTS Taylor Swift 07 07 332 01 REPUTATION Taylor Swift 08 09 067 01 SOS SZA 09 10 048 03 THE DIAMOND COLLECTION Post Malone 10 12 055 01 ONE THING AT A TIME Morgan Wallen 11 14 161 01 EVERMORE Taylor Swift 12 15 028 01 GUTS Olivia Rodrigo 13 18 148 01 SOUR Olivia Rodrigo 14 17 123 01 RED (TAYLOR'S VERSION) Taylor Swift 15 19 041 06 STICK SEASON Noah Kahan 16 13 041 01 TRUSTFALL P!nk 17 NE 001 17 THE TRUE NORTH Peter Garrett 18 22 354 11 SINGLES COLLECTION Maroon 5 19 23 314 07 THIS ONE'S FOR YOU Luke Combs 20 21 037 01 SPEAK NOW (TAYLOR'S VERSION) Taylor Swift 21 20 006 01 VULTURES 1 Kanye West, Ty Dolla $ign 22 24 034 01 UTOPIA Travis Scott 23 NE 001 23 EVERYTHING I THOUGHT IT WAS Justin Timberlake 24 25 242 01 STARBOY The Weeknd 25 26 302 03 DIAMONDS Elton John 26 NE 001 26 DEEPER WELL Kacey Musgraves 27 28 181 16 CHRONICLE: THE 20 GREATEST HITS Creedence Clearwater Revival 28 27 071 02 GRADUATION Kanye West 29 31 426 01 CURTAIN CALL: THE HITS Eminem 30 48 094 03 HOZIER Hozier 31 29 112 01 FEARLESS (TAYLOR'S VERSION) Taylor Swift 32 33 073 05 THE ESSENTIAL Foo Fighters 33 32 409 01 TEENAGE DREAM: THE COMPLETE CONFECTION Katy Perry 34 34 030 02 ZACH BRYAN Zach Bryan 35 NE 001 35 BELL BOTTOM COUNTRY Lainey Wilson 36 30 471 01 RUMOURS Fleetwood Mac 37 35 294 16 GREATEST HITS: GOD'S FAVORITE BAND Green Day 38 38 068 05 HEROES & VILLAINS Metro Boomin 39 40 368 01 ÷ Ed Sheeran 40 37 228 01 WHAT YOU SEE AIN'T ALWAYS WHAT YOU GET Luke Combs 41 42 167 02 DANGEROUS: THE DOUBLE ALBUM Morgan Wallen 42 41 052 02 GETTIN' OLD Luke Combs 43 36 491 01 1989 Taylor Swift 44 44 010 01 AMERICAN DREAM 21 Savage 45 43 299 01 AM Arctic Monkeys 46 39 112 22 CTRL SZA 47 46 283 01 BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY (THE ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK) Queen 48 45 096 01 HARRY'S HOUSE Harry Styles 49 50 260 01 WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? Billie Eilish 50 47 024 01 FOR ALL THE DOGS Drake "Beautiful Things" is #1 for a 3rd week. The lead is solidified so I don't expect anything to change next week. In what is a relatively quiet week, we've got a new bolting in for Dasha, which ARIA have curiously allowed on the New Music chart despite being a few weeks over for that, maybe they're using the album release date. Of course it's far from the biggest muck up that we've got this week, as you'll notice a big surge for "the boy is mine". I'll have to forgive for not paying close enough attention to the Ariana Grande debuts last week to notice myself, but suffice to say, it should never have been as low as #48 then. It dropped from #22 to #29 on this week's Spotify chart if you want a decent estimate on where it should have been, but what a bizarre thing to not only happen but actually be corrected. We've also got a return for Travis Scott, and a sneak-in for V who is buoyed by all the sales of the instrumental & sped-up versions and such to get his first ever solo entry. Bubbling Under we can shine a light on another error, where it seems like the second week reaction strikes again. This time it's for 4batz who charts a week late compared to everywhere else, and at a considerable distance away from the top 50 for something that went #15->#24 in New Zealand this week. So not only did ARIA not count it last week but if the typo on the chart is anything to go by, it's very possible that they didn't even combine the two versions. Ariana Grande scores a second week at #1. She'll probably come crashing down to the Taylor Swift zone next week which means someone else will be #1 then. Maybe Future & Metro. Leading the new arrivals is a second solo album for Peter Garrett, who you either know from Midnight Oil or Kevin Rudd's Labor ministry back in the day. His first solo album debuted at #3 behind Good Charlotte, this one can't quite match its second week position at #17. But in any case, that's nothing compared to the drop off for Justin Timberlake who arrives well short of any of his previous albums, and his last album hit #2. Kacey Musgraves also made the top 10 with her last album but instead retreats to a more typical debut position for herself. On the optimistic side, Lainey Wilson is charting for the first time ever with her new album.

Have always suspected as much. Just this week's chart has goddard. & Dylan Gossett converting their #185 & #192 weekly Spotify ranks (with no appearance on Apple's chart at present) to #58 & #67 on the OCC chart. Polyhex also tells an interesting story: The number of new entries on the chart is relatively stable post-ACR/3-track rule, but the average weeks on the chart comfortably lifted past the highs of 2015-2016, suggesting an increasing disconnect between the mega-hits and the also-rans that are given a whimpering breath of life by the rules. But then I wonder if we're on the brink of a dam burst, somewhat like the album chart where the average number of new entries has started to decline.

She's out from #20 in Australia with no obvious sign of replacement so probably not.

+5 Ariana Grande - yes, and? +4 Djo - End Of Beginning (if I had a nickel for every song I liked a lot years ago in this top 10...) +3 Dua Lipa - Training Season +2 Beyonce - TEXAS HOLD 'EM +1 YG Marley - Praise Jah In The Moonlight -1 Benson Boone - Beautiful Things -2 Teddy Swims - Lose Control -3 Taylor Swift - Cruel Summer -4 Kanye West & Ty Dolla $ign - CARNIVAL (why is the only good part of this song when it samples a better Ye song) -- +5 Dua Lipa - Training Season +4 Djo - End Of Beginning +3 Beyonce - TEXAS HOLD 'EM +2 YG Marley - Praise Jah In The Moonlight +1 Benson Boone - Beautiful Things -1 Teddy Swims - Lose Control -2 Taylor Swift - Cruel Summer -3 Kanye West & Ty Dolla $ign - CARNIVAL -4 Ella Henderson - Alibi (funniest song I've heard this year admittedly)

18/03/2024 Singles 01 01 08 01 BEAUTIFUL THINGS Benson Boone 02 NE 01 02 WE CAN'T BE FRIENDS (WAIT FOR YOUR LOVE) Ariana Grande 03 09 04 03 END OF BEGINNING Djo 04 02 05 02 TEXAS HOLD 'EM Beyonce 05 03 51 01 CRUEL SUMMER Taylor Swift 06 04 21 01 STICK SEASON Noah Kahan 07 07 17 07 LOSE CONTROL Teddy Swims 08 06 26 02 GREEDY Tate McRae 09 05 05 05 CARNIVAL Kanye West, Ty Dolla $ign 10 08 18 01 LOVIN ON ME Jack Harlow 11 34 09 02 YES, AND? Ariana Grande 12 10 30 03 PRADA Casso x Raye x D-Block Europe 13 11 29 06 I REMEMBER EVERYTHING Zach Bryan Feat. Kacey Musgraves 14 12 03 08 SATURN SZA 15 13 14 13 LEAVEMEALONE Fred again.. & Baby Keem 16 18 09 16 SCARED TO START Michael Marcagi 17 14 87 06 SOMETHING IN THE ORANGE Zach Bryan 18 NE 01 18 SUPERNATURAL Ariana Grande 19 NE 01 19 BYE Ariana Grande 20 19 05 19 STUMBLIN' IN Cyril 21 20 26 06 WATER Tyla 22 NE 01 22 ETERNAL SUNSHINE Ariana Grande 23 22 28 02 STRANGERS Kenya Grace 24 15 73 01 ANTI-HERO Taylor Swift 25 17 58 01 LAST NIGHT Morgan Wallen 26 30 06 26 HOME Good Neighbours 27 16 09 16 REDRUM 21 Savage 28 24 18 07 HOUDINI Dua Lipa 29 21 04 12 TRAINING SEASON Dua Lipa 30 23 12 10 SAVING UP Dom Dolla 31 27 21 15 UNWRITTEN Natasha Bedingfield 32 25 32 01 PAINT THE TOWN RED Doja Cat 33 33 61 01 FLOWERS Miley Cyrus 34 26 11 23 FEATHER Sabrina Carpenter 35 32 58 21 SNOOZE SZA 36 31 39 03 MURDER ON THE DANCEFLOOR Sophie Ellis-Bextor 37 37 50 02 FAST CAR Luke Combs 38 28 07 19 PRAISE JAH IN THE MOONLIGHT YG Marley 39 NE 01 39 TRUE STORY Ariana Grande 40 75 34 01 WHAT WAS I MADE FOR? Billie Eilish 41 29 60 03 LOVER Taylor Swift 42 36 13 30 ONE OF THE GIRLS The Weeknd 43 56 02 43 WHATEVER SHE WANTS Bryson Tiller 44 40 188 06 RIPTIDE Vance Joy 45 41 17 15 EXES Tate McRae 46 NE 01 46 WISH I HATED YOU Ariana Grande 47 39 11 25 DELILAH (PULL ME OUT OF THIS) Fred Again.. 48 NE 01 48 THE BOY IS MINE Ariana Grande 49 38 20 01 IS IT OVER NOW? (TAYLOR'S VERSION) [FROM THE VAULT] Taylor Swift 50 46 09 23 NEVER LOSE ME Flo Milli Bubbling Under 16 (NE) AUSTIN Dasha 17 (13) BURN Kanye West, Ty Dolla $ign 18 (15) STAYINIT Fred Again.. & Lil Yachty & Overmono 19 (17) MURDER ON THE DANCE FLOOR - TRIPLE J LIKE A VERSION Royel Otis 20 (21) MAKE YOU MINE Madison Beer Albums 01 NE 001 01 ETERNAL SUNSHINE Ariana Grande 02 02 020 01 1989 (TAYLOR'S VERSION) Taylor Swift 03 NE 001 03 ON MY OWN Ricki-Lee 04 01 238 01 LOVER Taylor Swift 05 03 190 01 FOLKLORE Taylor Swift 06 04 073 01 MIDNIGHTS Taylor Swift 07 05 331 01 REPUTATION Taylor Swift 08 06 162 02 THE HIGHLIGHTS The Weeknd 09 07 066 01 SOS SZA 10 08 047 03 THE DIAMOND COLLECTION Post Malone 11 RE 086 11 CARESS YOUR SOUL (10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY) Sticky Fingers 12 11 054 01 ONE THING AT A TIME Morgan Wallen 13 10 040 01 TRUSTFALL P!nk 14 09 160 01 EVERMORE Taylor Swift 15 14 027 01 GUTS Olivia Rodrigo 16 NE 001 16 INVINCIBLE SHIELD Judas Priest 17 12 122 01 RED (TAYLOR'S VERSION) Taylor Swift 18 15 147 01 SOUR Olivia Rodrigo 19 17 040 06 STICK SEASON Noah Kahan 20 13 005 01 VULTURES 1 Kanye West, Ty Dolla $ign 21 16 036 01 SPEAK NOW (TAYLOR'S VERSION) Taylor Swift 22 18 353 11 SINGLES COLLECTION Maroon 5 23 21 313 07 THIS ONE'S FOR YOU Luke Combs 24 19 033 01 UTOPIA Travis Scott 25 22 241 01 STARBOY The Weeknd 26 23 301 03 DIAMONDS Elton John 27 25 070 02 GRADUATION Kanye West 28 24 180 16 CHRONICLE: THE 20 GREATEST HITS Creedence Clearwater Revival 29 20 111 01 FEARLESS (TAYLOR'S VERSION) Taylor Swift 30 30 470 01 RUMOURS Fleetwood Mac 31 27 425 01 CURTAIN CALL: THE HITS Eminem 32 26 408 01 TEENAGE DREAM: THE COMPLETE CONFECTION Katy Perry 33 28 072 05 THE ESSENTIAL Foo Fighters 34 31 029 02 ZACH BRYAN Zach Bryan 35 35 293 16 GREATEST HITS: GOD'S FAVORITE BAND Green Day 36 29 490 01 1989 Taylor Swift 37 38 227 01 WHAT YOU SEE AIN'T ALWAYS WHAT YOU GET Luke Combs 38 32 067 05 HEROES & VILLAINS Metro Boomin 39 33 111 22 CTRL SZA 40 42 367 01 ÷ Ed Sheeran 41 39 051 02 GETTIN' OLD Luke Combs 42 41 166 02 DANGEROUS: THE DOUBLE ALBUM Morgan Wallen 43 45 298 01 AM Arctic Monkeys 44 37 009 01 AMERICAN DREAM 21 Savage 45 43 095 01 HARRY'S HOUSE Harry Styles 46 44 282 01 BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY (THE ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK) Queen 47 40 023 01 FOR ALL THE DOGS Drake 48 74 093 03 HOZIER Hozier 49 34 007 27 EMAILS I CAN'T SEND Sabrina Carpenter 50 48 259 01 WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? Billie Eilish "Beautiful Things" is #1 for a second week. It does not look to be under immediate threat although we must always consider the volatility/tendency to spike of new arrivals. With that in mind, Ariana Grande scores a second #2 debut of the year. She briefly found herself atop the Spotify chart but things have calmed down a little since then. Djo also continues to vault with "End Of Beginning" and should close the gap a little even if he can't keep that momentum up in the week following me hitting the Add Reply button. Ariana Grande releasing a new album is a prompt for everyone else to take the week off so there's not much else to say, with the exception of a new arrival for Bryson Tiller. This is actually his first ever lead artist entry, he's only made the top 50 before with "Wild Thoughts". A rare W for the Australian music scene in 2020 was managing to get to #1 ahead of tough competition, namely Ariana Grande's "Positions" album. It spent its first two weeks at #2 behind Midnight Oil & Kylie Minogue and never got there in the end. Ariana Grande reverses fortunes to go back to #1 with her newest album, which gives her 5 #1 albums in total. In that regard you could take this week as an Australian music L but actually I think it's quite impressive that some 2 decades after first appearing on Australian Idol, Ricki-Lee scores her highest ever album chart position. Of course maybe at this point she's more recognised as a media personality but in any case she released her first new album in a decade and hits #3 with it. Speaking of new points, Australian music culture war focal point Sticky Fingers take their first album to its highest ever position thanks to an anniversary vinyl. Kylie Minogue's anniversary vinyl looks to have just missed the top 50. We've also got Judas Priest returning to the chart for the first time in 6 years, where the top 10 still eludes them but they're quite consistently making the top 20, even on what could still be considered a tough week.

Oh, I understand the dissonance in that regard. To an extent the album chart tips the balance as a lot of those bands with unremarkable single success sold truckloads of albums instead. Growing up in the 2000s I didn't really understand or experience much of the appeal of CD singles (outside of one novelty single I got my parents to buy when I was 7). Further to that, my version of your events was that everyone I knew just illegally downloaded & burned CDs, which made for a lot of widely distributed artists who were gaining notoriety without sales to match. The funny thing about all this is that when I started reading charts & chart discussions, I would find people for whom this disparity served their interests well (people who like the charts are more likely to keep following them, not shocking), and they would drum out lines about how if people really were fans of so-and-so, then they would buy their music. I found early Spotify charts in Australia very interesting in that regard because they opened things up to the kinds of things the sales chart never envisioned: The xx & Flume flooding the chart with their new albums, artists like Grimes & Alpine skirting around the top 20, "Retrograde" by James Blake going top 5 on the official streaming chart. It all really gave voice to the fact that the sales format was creating a distorted version of things since it represented such a small sample of the music listening audience. Inevitably this ended up being true of the early streaming chart as well but it was still boasting a higher audience reach than the sales chart so there was at least something in it. So I guess what I really meant to ask is whether or not there were ever articles written in a tone of 'What's to be done with the Singles Chart?' in response to an endemic of charity singles & the like diminishing the credibility of a #1 hit. Because I sure see a lot of takes based on nebulous conjecture that it's all the fault of passive streams. Not saying I actually agree with the former (a sale is a sale, that's what the chart is/was for). Honestly I think they're both in a similar bucket of elitism, the kind that never gets called out because it's in the context of mainstream music chart fandom.

I'm curious because it's before my time but was there ever any discourse surrounding the validity of records in the '80s/'90s etc that charted high (or often got to #1) on the basis of charity/not-necessarily-wanted gifts and the like? Because it feels like a parallel to the whole thing with intentional vs. incidental streams*. It feels like nowadays there's just an accepted validity to the word of the sales figure of yesteryear and only controversy when it happens nowadays because we have the empirical data that tells us not that many people are actually listening to the LadBaby singles or things of that nature. *I still suspect that there's an inherent belief that this is making the chart 'worse' because everyone thinks their favourite songs have more active support. In reality I think labels work overtime to try and push us onto new hit songs and the charts would be even less fresh if left to actively pursued streams. Like it's the difference between TikTok hits that get a marketing push and the ones that don't and just flutter away after a couple of weeks.

+5 Ariana Grande - yes, and? +4 Beyonce - TEXAS HOLD 'EM +3 YG Marley - Praise Jah In The Moonlight +2 Teddy Swims - Lose Control +1 Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Murder On The Dancefloor -1 Benson Boone - Beautiful Things -2 casso - Prada -3 Taylor Swift - Cruel Summer -4 Tate McRae - greedy ---- +5 Ariana Grande - yes, and? +4 Dua Lipa - Training Season +3 Beyonce - TEXAS HOLD 'EM +2 YG Marley - Praise Jah In The Moonlight +1 Teddy Swims - Lose Control -1 Benson Boone - Beautiful Things -2 casso - Prada -3 Taylor Swift - Cruel Summer -4 Tate McRae - greedy

:cheeseblock: :cheeseblock: :cheeseblock: PRECISION TUNES :cheeseblock: :cheeseblock: :cheeseblock:

Thanks for posting that article, appreciate it as a measured observation rather than a thinly veiled whinge that a lot of these articles can be. I'm not sure I could necessarily agree on this point. I think if anything it's increased internet visibility of opinions, which is increasingly aged & jaded. People who don't like things complain on Facebook and/or Reddit. People who like things avoid those negativity zones and just enjoy it to themselves. Furthermore, if anything's happened, it's that the new dominance of streaming has shifted the dominant demographic so rapidly that a lot of folk have found their interests pushed aside, almost like a whole generation was skipped. Streaming and such makes for an easy scapegoat as well. You can bet that the moment the Bryan Adams (or Frankie Laine ~) record is beaten, there'll be debate on the merits of it that'll largely be fuelled by people not willing to accept the changing of the guard. Everyone loves to quote the records & milestones that serve their interests until they don't. :lol: The merits of physical product is worthwhile to discuss without an easy solution. A while back I was watching a talk between label heads about the industry and one of them admitted that utilising pre-orders/formats was their only way to get a strong first week chart position, but that it felt like cheating to them. I always get a bit suspicious of them on the UK Charts as well, like last year when for a while, about half of the songs that hit #1, did so with conveniently timed physical boosts. Not only that, but often conveniently stacked, like Lewis Capaldi pulling out two narrow victories, and pulling more CD sales for a brand new single than a new Metallica album one week. It just feels like a carefully planned design that always seems to work out. I can't say for sure if it's all above board but in any case, it takes away the illusion that the public at large is choosing what's going to #1. There's an argument to be made that a streaming only chart would make for something more historically relevant, but admittedly I've never been a fan of gate-keeping music consumption. Maybe the ratios could use some tweaking, but I don't want to just assume that someone is buying a single to never spin it, nor that someone passively hearing a song on a playlist necessarily enjoys it less than someone who typed it into the search bar.

11/03/2024 Singles 01 03 07 01 BEAUTIFUL THINGS Benson Boone 02 02 04 02 TEXAS HOLD 'EM Beyonce 03 01 50 01 CRUEL SUMMER Taylor Swift 04 04 20 01 STICK SEASON Noah Kahan 05 12 04 05 CARNIVAL Kanye West, Ty Dolla $ign 06 06 25 02 GREEDY Tate McRae 07 07 16 07 LOSE CONTROL Teddy Swims 08 05 17 01 LOVIN ON ME Jack Harlow 09 14 03 09 END OF BEGINNING Djo 10 11 29 03 PRADA Casso x Raye x D-Block Europe 11 13 28 06 I REMEMBER EVERYTHING Zach Bryan Feat. Kacey Musgraves 12 08 02 08 SATURN SZA 13 56 13 13 LEAVEMEALONE Fred again.. & Baby Keem 14 16 86 06 SOMETHING IN THE ORANGE Zach Bryan 15 09 72 01 ANTI-HERO Taylor Swift 16 23 08 16 REDRUM 21 Savage 17 33 57 01 LAST NIGHT Morgan Wallen 18 38 08 18 SCARED TO START Michael Marcagi 19 45 04 19 STUMBLIN' IN Cyril 20 36 25 06 WATER Tyla 21 25 03 12 TRAINING SEASON Dua Lipa 22 24 27 02 STRANGERS Kenya Grace 23 18 11 10 SAVING UP Dom Dolla 24 29 17 07 HOUDINI Dua Lipa 25 30 31 01 PAINT THE TOWN RED Doja Cat 26 32 10 23 FEATHER Sabrina Carpenter 27 20 20 15 UNWRITTEN Natasha Bedingfield 28 19 06 19 PRAISE JAH IN THE MOONLIGHT YG Marley 29 10 59 03 LOVER Taylor Swift 30 34 05 30 HOME Good Neighbours 31 22 38 03 MURDER ON THE DANCEFLOOR Sophie Ellis-Bextor 32 31 57 21 SNOOZE SZA 33 41 60 01 FLOWERS Miley Cyrus 34 40 08 02 YES, AND? Ariana Grande 35 15 49 02 KARMA Taylor Swift 36 43 12 30 ONE OF THE GIRLS The Weeknd 37 49 49 02 FAST CAR Luke Combs 38 28 19 01 IS IT OVER NOW? (TAYLOR'S VERSION) [FROM THE VAULT] Taylor Swift 39 RE 10 25 DELILAH (PULL ME OUT OF THIS) Fred Again.. 40 55 187 06 RIPTIDE Vance Joy 41 51 16 15 EXES Tate McRae 42 17 25 16 DON'T BLAME ME Taylor Swift 43 47 40 08 POPULAR The Weeknd Feat. Playboi Carti, Madonna 44 54 04 24 BURN Kanye West, Ty Dolla $ign 45 58 36 01 VAMPIRE Olivia Rodrigo 46 53 08 23 NEVER LOSE ME Flo Milli 47 52 22 11 RICH BABY DADDY Drake feat. Sexxy Red & SZA 48 61 47 04 DAYLIGHT David Kushner 49 RE 12 41 ADORE U Fred again.. & Obongjayar 50 67 92 02 I AIN'T WORRIED OneRepublic Bubbling Under 15 (NE) STAYINIT Fred Again.. & Lil Yachty & Overmono 16 (20) WHATEVER SHE WANTS Bryson Tiller 17 (18) MURDER ON THE DANCE FLOOR - TRIPLE J LIKE A VERSION Royel Otis 18 (22) MADE FOR ME Muni Long, Lil Jon 19 (NE) BREATHE Yeat 20 (NE) DOCTOR (WORK IT OUT) Pharrell Williams feat. Miley Cyrus Albums 01 02 237 01 LOVER Taylor Swift 02 03 019 01 1989 (TAYLOR'S VERSION) Taylor Swift 03 04 189 01 FOLKLORE Taylor Swift 04 01 072 01 MIDNIGHTS Taylor Swift 05 05 330 01 REPUTATION Taylor Swift 06 07 161 02 THE HIGHLIGHTS The Weeknd 07 10 065 01 SOS SZA 08 12 046 03 THE DIAMOND COLLECTION Post Malone 09 06 159 01 EVERMORE Taylor Swift 10 09 039 01 TRUSTFALL P!nk 11 15 053 01 ONE THING AT A TIME Morgan Wallen 12 08 121 01 RED (TAYLOR'S VERSION) Taylor Swift 13 11 004 01 VULTURES 1 Kanye West, Ty Dolla $ign 14 17 026 01 GUTS Olivia Rodrigo 15 18 146 01 SOUR Olivia Rodrigo 16 13 035 01 SPEAK NOW (TAYLOR'S VERSION) Taylor Swift 17 16 039 06 STICK SEASON Noah Kahan 18 20 352 11 SINGLES COLLECTION Maroon 5 19 21 032 01 UTOPIA Travis Scott 20 14 110 01 FEARLESS (TAYLOR'S VERSION) Taylor Swift 21 26 312 07 THIS ONE'S FOR YOU Luke Combs 22 22 240 01 STARBOY The Weeknd 23 24 300 03 DIAMONDS Elton John 24 28 179 16 CHRONICLE: THE 20 GREATEST HITS Creedence Clearwater Revival 25 25 069 02 GRADUATION Kanye West 26 30 407 01 TEENAGE DREAM: THE COMPLETE CONFECTION Katy Perry 27 31 424 01 CURTAIN CALL: THE HITS Eminem 28 32 071 05 THE ESSENTIAL Foo Fighters 29 23 489 01 1989 Taylor Swift 30 29 469 01 RUMOURS Fleetwood Mac 31 35 028 02 ZACH BRYAN Zach Bryan 32 34 066 05 HEROES & VILLAINS Metro Boomin 33 37 110 22 CTRL SZA 34 27 006 27 EMAILS I CAN'T SEND Sabrina Carpenter 35 36 292 16 GREATEST HITS: GOD'S FAVORITE BAND Green Day 36 NE 001 36 CHORUS Mildlife 37 33 008 01 AMERICAN DREAM 21 Savage 38 39 226 01 WHAT YOU SEE AIN'T ALWAYS WHAT YOU GET Luke Combs 39 45 050 02 GETTIN' OLD Luke Combs 40 40 022 01 FOR ALL THE DOGS Drake 41 41 165 02 DANGEROUS: THE DOUBLE ALBUM Morgan Wallen 42 38 366 01 ÷ Ed Sheeran 43 46 094 01 HARRY'S HOUSE Harry Styles 44 42 281 01 BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY (THE ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK) Queen 45 44 297 01 AM Arctic Monkeys 46 NE 001 46 INFINITE DESIRES Donny Benét 47 NE 001 47 UNDER THE LIGHT San Cisco 48 51 258 01 WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? Billie Eilish 49 48 206 01 FUTURE NOSTALGIA Dua Lipa 50 49 204 01 AFTER HOURS The Weeknd "Beautiful Things" climbs to #1. How long it takes up residence there obviously depends on the competition willing to unseat it. Beyonce's timing has been pretty bad and doesn't look like contending anymore. Djo climbs into the top 10 for the first time with a bit of momentum still on his side. The big news of, actually two weeks ago was Fred again.. announcing a run of very soon Australian shows (well, just Melbourne & Sydney). He's actually already done the Melbourne shows, but in any case, all of his stuff is flying up, most notably "leavemealone" which scores a massive new peak and is his highest charting single ever now. Michael Marcagi & CYRIL also take big climbs into the top 20, I can't actually figure out how the latter is quite so high even though his sales are quite good. Also Muni Long's team has worked out the lifehack for the New Music chart by crediting the Lil Jon version, since the original is too old to be included. After nearly 5 years, "Lover" finally scores a second week at #1. Of her #1 albums, it was one of only a few that hadn't stayed multiple weeks, and gives us a whole new permutation of her holding the top 5. With Ariana Grande & The Weeknd (thankfully not together) this reign of tomfoolery will very much be over next week. We've got a real new music problem on the album chart this year too. "american dream" and "Vultures 1" are the only albums this year to last more than a single week in the top 50. We've got three more for the pile of one weekers here, and as a nice treat they're all Australian. As a less nice treat, they're all down on previous peaks, one has to wonder if that general influx in new streamers this year is gonna make a serious roadblock in the charts to come. Anyhow, congrats to Mildlife, Donny Benét & San Cisco for getting to the top 50, because it ain't easy anymore.

Yeah exactly. Popularity begets popularity to such an extent that you rarely see any sign of fatigue...see your own avatar :lol: but then even on the iTunes chart, there's so little new music that people are exposed to liven it up. Stuff like "The Sound Of Silence" (the cover) and "A Thousand Years" have been mainstays on that chart from new purchases for like a decade now. As a side note too: there's been a big influx in new users on Spotify this year, #50 on the chart is often 90K a day when it used to be 70K for ages. Can't imagine it's favouring new music.

+5 Ariana Grande - yes, and? +4 Jack Harlow - Lovin On Me +3 Noah Kahan & Sam Fender - Homesick +2 casso - Prada +1 Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Murder On The Dancefloor -1 Teddy Swims - Lose Control -2 Taylor Swift - Cruel Summer -3 Tate McRae - greedy -4 The Weeknd - Popular ------- +5 Ariana Grande - yes, and? +4 Jack Harlow - Lovin On Me +3 YG Marley - Praise Jah In The Moonlight +2 Benson Boone - Beautiful Things +1 casso - Prada -1 Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Murder On The Dancefloor -2 Teddy Swims - Lose Control -3 Taylor Swift - Cruel Summer -4 Tate McRae - greedy Think it gets better but wasn't super fond of the charts last month.

I think it depends on how you look at it. In terms of latching onto new things, Australia seems to be particularly slow (look at Ariana Grande's Spotify debuts yesterday compared to US/UK). I think that's partly because our time zones keep us in the cold for international news/hype cycles, but possibly also there's less focus on promotion here because we're so far away + not a high enough population to warrant it. Wasn't always like this though, I feel like 10-15 years ago we were often a proving ground for new hits & artists. And otherwise I won't deny that ARIA's zero recurrency policy does contribute as well, but I'll always say there's merit to it because it gives more meaning to the baton passing when it actually happens. Like 'oh, "Dance Monkey" was finally dethroned for good' as opposed to 'well, "Lovin On Me" would still be #1 but we've decided we're sick of it and it declined three weeks in a row so we're giving someone else a chance'. It's a catch-22 where if you don't understand how the chart works, it's confusing, but if you do understand how it works, it feels manufactured and takes away any catharsis because it feels unearned. And it's still confusing anyway lmao.

^ "Dial Drunk" is 2023 right? It was on the first deluxe version of the album, not the standard.

04/03/2024 Singles 01 01 49 01 CRUEL SUMMER Taylor Swift 02 03 03 02 TEXAS HOLD 'EM Beyonce 03 02 06 02 BEAUTIFUL THINGS Benson Boone 04 04 19 01 STICK SEASON Noah Kahan 05 05 16 01 LOVIN ON ME Jack Harlow 06 06 24 02 GREEDY Tate McRae 07 10 15 07 LOSE CONTROL Teddy Swims 08 NE 01 08 SATURN SZA 09 07 71 01 ANTI-HERO Taylor Swift 10 08 58 03 LOVER Taylor Swift 11 09 28 03 PRADA Casso x Raye x D-Block Europe 12 14 03 10 CARNIVAL Kanye West, Ty Dolla $ign 13 11 27 06 I REMEMBER EVERYTHING Zach Bryan Feat. Kacey Musgraves 14 69 02 14 END OF BEGINNING Djo 15 13 48 02 KARMA Taylor Swift 16 17 85 06 SOMETHING IN THE ORANGE Zach Bryan 17 16 24 16 DON'T BLAME ME Taylor Swift 18 15 10 10 SAVING UP Dom Dolla 19 23 05 19 PRAISE JAH IN THE MOONLIGHT YG Marley 20 30 19 15 UNWRITTEN Natasha Bedingfield 21 20 22 03 ...READY FOR IT? Taylor Swift 22 19 37 03 MURDER ON THE DANCEFLOOR Sophie Ellis-Bextor 23 34 07 20 REDRUM 21 Savage 24 33 26 02 STRANGERS Kenya Grace 25 12 02 12 TRAINING SEASON Dua Lipa 26 21 33 03 YOU NEED TO CALM DOWN Taylor Swift 27 24 11 17 THE MAN Taylor Swift 28 32 18 01 IS IT OVER NOW? (TAYLOR'S VERSION) [FROM THE VAULT] Taylor Swift 29 25 16 07 HOUDINI Dua Lipa 30 28 30 01 PAINT THE TOWN RED Doja Cat 31 29 56 21 SNOOZE SZA 32 44 09 23 FEATHER Sabrina Carpenter 33 36 56 01 LAST NIGHT Morgan Wallen 34 41 04 34 HOME Good Neighbours 35 27 28 01 CARDIGAN Taylor Swift 36 35 24 06 WATER Tyla 37 22 10 21 LOVE STORY (TAYLOR'S VERSION) Taylor Swift 38 45 07 33 SCARED TO START Michael Marcagi 39 31 26 01 WILLOW Taylor Swift 40 18 07 02 YES, AND? Ariana Grande 41 26 59 01 FLOWERS Miley Cyrus 42 38 28 01 ALL TOO WELL (TAYLOR'S VERSION) Taylor Swift 43 52 11 30 ONE OF THE GIRLS The Weeknd 44 37 05 37 YOU BELONG WITH ME (TAYLOR'S VERSION) Taylor Swift 45 77 03 45 STUMBLIN' IN Cyril 46 40 13 28 DELICATE Taylor Swift 47 54 39 08 POPULAR The Weeknd Feat. Playboi Carti, Madonna 48 39 23 01 LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO Taylor Swift 49 43 48 02 FAST CAR Luke Combs 50 42 04 32 MISS AMERICANA & THE HEARTBREAK PRINCE Taylor Swift Bubbling Under 14 (14) EXES Tate McRae 15 (12) NEVER LOSE ME Flo Milli 16 (13) BURN Kanye West, Ty Dolla $ign 17 (17) LEAVEMEALONE Fred again.. & Baby Keem 18 (15) MURDER ON THE DANCEFLOOR - TRIPLE J LIKE A VERSION Royel Otis 19 (NE) LOVE ON Selena Gomez 20 (NE) WHATEVER SHE WANTS Bryson Tiller Albums 01 01 071 01 MIDNIGHTS Taylor Swift 02 03 236 01 LOVER Taylor Swift 03 02 018 01 1989 (TAYLOR'S VERSION) Taylor Swift 04 04 188 01 FOLKLORE Taylor Swift 05 05 329 01 REPUTATION Taylor Swift 06 07 158 01 EVERMORE Taylor Swift 07 09 160 02 THE HIGHLIGHTS The Weeknd 08 08 120 01 RED (TAYLOR'S VERSION) Taylor Swift 09 11 038 01 TRUSTFALL P!nk 10 12 064 01 SOS SZA 11 06 003 01 VULTURES 1 Kanye West, Ty Dolla $ign 12 15 045 03 THE DIAMOND COLLECTION Post Malone 13 13 034 01 SPEAK NOW (TAYLOR'S VERSION) Taylor Swift 14 14 109 01 FEARLESS (TAYLOR'S VERSION) Taylor Swift 15 16 052 01 ONE THING AT A TIME Morgan Wallen 16 17 038 06 STICK SEASON Noah Kahan 17 21 025 01 GUTS Olivia Rodrigo 18 19 145 01 SOUR Olivia Rodrigo 19 NE 001 19 SWING FEVER Rod Stewart, Jools Holland 20 23 351 11 SINGLES COLLECTION Maroon 5 21 22 031 01 UTOPIA Travis Scott 22 25 239 01 STARBOY The Weeknd 23 24 488 01 1989 Taylor Swift 24 26 299 03 DIAMONDS Elton John 25 27 068 02 GRADUATION Kanye West 26 28 311 07 THIS ONE'S FOR YOU Luke Combs 27 30 005 27 EMAILS I CAN'T SEND Sabrina Carpenter 28 29 178 16 CHRONICLE: THE 20 GREATEST HITS Creedence Clearwater Revival 29 33 468 01 RUMOURS Fleetwood Mac 30 35 406 01 TEENAGE DREAM: THE COMPLETE CONFECTION Katy Perry 31 31 423 01 CURTAIN CALL: THE HITS Eminem 32 38 070 05 THE ESSENTIAL Foo Fighters 33 32 007 01 AMERICAN DREAM 21 Savage 34 37 065 05 HEROES & VILLAINS Metro Boomin 35 36 027 02 ZACH BRYAN Zach Bryan 36 40 291 16 GREATEST HITS: GOD'S FAVORITE BAND Green Day 37 34 109 22 CTRL SZA 38 42 365 01 ÷ Ed Sheeran 39 44 225 01 WHAT YOU SEE AIN'T ALWAYS WHAT YOU GET Luke Combs 40 46 021 01 FOR ALL THE DOGS Drake 41 43 164 02 DANGEROUS: THE DOUBLE ALBUM Morgan Wallen 42 50 280 01 BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY (THE ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK) Queen 43 39 012 02 THINK LATER Tate McRae 44 45 296 01 AM Arctic Monkeys 45 47 049 02 GETTIN' OLD Luke Combs 46 51 093 01 HARRY'S HOUSE Harry Styles 47 41 183 02 LEGEND: THE BEST OF BOB MARLEY AND THE WAILERS Bob Marley And The Wailers 48 52 205 01 FUTURE NOSTALGIA Dua Lipa 49 55 203 01 AFTER HOURS The Weeknd 50 56 090 15 LOOK AT ME: THE ALBUM. XXXTentacion Not gonna post it on here, but if you're at all interested in my favourite songs of 2023, here you go. Considering that "End Of Beginning" was on my 2022 list, maybe there's a future hit here as well. It's a second week at #1 for "Cruel Summer". Statements made last week regarding the potency for "TEXAS HOLD 'EM" have perhaps been made too soon. It does reach #2 which is Beyonce's highest charting single since "Sweet Dreams" in 2009 if you can believe it, but the momentum is also Benson Boone next week, who'll be striving for that top spot. Just like Dua Lipa last week, SZA defies her Spotify peak (#11) to reach the top 10 on debut. Aforementioned Djo reaches the top 50 for the first time and will be gunning for top 10 next week. The only other notable action is the ever rare NEW AUSTRALIAN MUSIC KLAXON. We've already surpassed last year as now two Australian artists have hit the top 50 for the first time, with CYRIL's cover of "Stumblin' In" getting some attention. Maybe next time it won't be a cover of a recently viral song. Next week will be a big Taylor Swift exodus that might just be slightly replaced by Fred again.. who is the new talk of the town. In what's probably the last week of these extremities, Taylor Swift's declines aren't quite the same as that of "VULTURES 1" so she's beaten her own record and has the top 6 all to herself. The lingering threat of "The Highlights" strongly suggests a crack in the armour next week, after which we can consider if the expanded tracklist can finally get it to #1. We've only got one debut this week, with Rod Stewart & Jools Holland. It's the first time Jools Holland has ever appeared on our charts actually. Also new album peaks are so rare that I should probably point out that Sabrina Carpenter got a little bit higher as well.

26/02/2024 Singles 01 04 48 01 CRUEL SUMMER Taylor Swift 02 02 05 02 BEAUTIFUL THINGS Benson Boone 03 38 02 03 TEXAS HOLD 'EM Beyonce 04 01 18 01 STICK SEASON Noah Kahan 05 03 15 01 LOVIN ON ME Jack Harlow 06 05 23 02 GREEDY Tate McRae 07 17 70 01 ANTI-HERO Taylor Swift 08 31 57 03 LOVER Taylor Swift 09 06 27 03 PRADA Casso x Raye x D-Block Europe 10 07 14 07 LOSE CONTROL Teddy Swims 11 08 26 06 I REMEMBER EVERYTHING Zach Bryan Feat. Kacey Musgraves 12 NE 01 12 TRAINING SEASON Dua Lipa 13 45 47 02 KARMA Taylor Swift 14 10 02 10 CARNIVAL Kanye West, Ty Dolla $ign 15 12 09 10 SAVING UP Dom Dolla 16 58 23 16 DON'T BLAME ME Taylor Swift 17 11 84 06 SOMETHING IN THE ORANGE Zach Bryan 18 26 06 02 YES, AND? Ariana Grande 19 09 36 03 MURDER ON THE DANCEFLOOR Sophie Ellis-Bextor 20 RE 21 03 ...READY FOR IT? Taylor Swift 21 70 32 03 YOU NEED TO CALM DOWN Taylor Swift 22 89 09 21 LOVE STORY (TAYLOR'S VERSION) Taylor Swift 23 22 04 22 PRAISE JAH IN THE MOONLIGHT YG Marley 24 76 10 17 THE MAN Taylor Swift 25 15 15 07 HOUDINI Dua Lipa 26 16 58 01 FLOWERS Miley Cyrus 27 67 27 01 CARDIGAN Taylor Swift 28 13 29 01 PAINT THE TOWN RED Doja Cat 29 21 55 21 SNOOZE SZA 30 20 18 15 UNWRITTEN Natasha Bedingfield 31 82 25 01 WILLOW Taylor Swift 32 46 17 01 IS IT OVER NOW? (TAYLOR'S VERSION) [FROM THE VAULT] Taylor Swift 33 14 25 02 STRANGERS Kenya Grace 34 23 06 20 REDRUM 21 Savage 35 19 23 06 WATER Tyla 36 18 55 01 LAST NIGHT Morgan Wallen 37 RE 04 37 YOU BELONG WITH ME (TAYLOR'S VERSION) Taylor Swift 38 90 27 01 ALL TOO WELL (TAYLOR'S VERSION) Taylor Swift 39 RE 22 01 LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO Taylor Swift 40 RE 12 28 DELICATE Taylor Swift 41 68 03 41 HOME Good Neighbours 42 RE 03 32 MISS AMERICANA & THE HEARTBREAK PRINCE Taylor Swift 43 25 47 02 FAST CAR Luke Combs 44 41 08 23 FEATHER Sabrina Carpenter 45 35 06 33 SCARED TO START Michael Marcagi 46 32 06 23 NEVER LOSE ME Flo Milli 47 30 20 11 RICH BABY DADDY Drake Feat. Sexyy Red & SZA 48 24 02 24 BURN Kanye West, Ty Dolla $ign 49 29 34 01 VAMPIRE Olivia Rodrigo 50 37 14 15 EXES Tate McRae Bubbling Under 15 (14) MURDER ON THE DANCE FLOOR - TRIPLE J LIKE A VERSION Royel Otis 16 (18) STUMBLIN' IN Cyril 17 (16) LEAVEMEALONE Fred again.. & Baby Keem 18 (09) BACK TO ME Kanye West, Ty Dolla $ign 19 (21) ANGEL NUMBERS / TEN TOES Chris Brown 20 (23) SPIN YOU AROUND (1/24) Morgan Wallen Albums 01 04 070 01 MIDNIGHTS Taylor Swift 02 02 017 01 1989 (TAYLOR'S VERSION) Taylor Swift 03 03 235 01 LOVER Taylor Swift 04 07 187 01 FOLKLORE Taylor Swift 05 08 328 01 REPUTATION Taylor Swift 06 01 002 01 VULTURES 1 Kanye West, Ty Dolla $ign 07 13 157 01 EVERMORE Taylor Swift 08 15 119 01 RED (TAYLOR'S VERSION) Taylor Swift 09 06 159 02 THE HIGHLIGHTS The Weeknd 10 NE 001 10 PRATTS & PAIN Royel Otis 11 09 037 01 TRUSTFALL P!nk 12 05 063 01 SOS SZA 13 20 033 01 SPEAK NOW (TAYLOR'S VERSION) Taylor Swift 14 24 108 01 FEARLESS (TAYLOR'S VERSION) Taylor Swift 15 12 044 03 THE DIAMOND COLLECTION Post Malone 16 14 051 01 ONE THING AT A TIME Morgan Wallen 17 11 037 06 STICK SEASON Noah Kahan 18 NE 001 18 TANGK Idles 19 17 144 01 SOUR Olivia Rodrigo 20 NE 001 20 FAITH CRISIS PT 1 Middle Kids 21 16 024 01 GUTS Olivia Rodrigo 22 18 030 01 UTOPIA Travis Scott 23 19 350 11 SINGLES COLLECTION Maroon 5 24 36 487 01 1989 Taylor Swift 25 21 238 01 STARBOY The Weeknd 26 23 298 03 DIAMONDS Elton John 27 28 067 02 GRADUATION Kanye West 28 26 310 07 THIS ONE'S FOR YOU Luke Combs 29 25 177 16 CHRONICLE: THE 20 GREATEST HITS Creedence Clearwater Revival 30 86 004 30 EMAILS I CAN'T SEND Sabrina Carpenter 31 30 422 01 CURTAIN CALL: THE HITS Eminem 32 27 006 01 AMERICAN DREAM 21 Savage 33 29 467 01 RUMOURS Fleetwood Mac 34 22 108 22 CTRL SZA 35 34 405 01 TEENAGE DREAM: THE COMPLETE CONFECTION Katy Perry 36 32 026 02 ZACH BRYAN Zach Bryan 37 31 064 05 HEROES & VILLAINS Metro Boomin 38 33 069 05 THE ESSENTIAL Foo Fighters 39 42 011 02 THINK LATER Tate McRae 40 35 290 16 GREATEST HITS: GOD'S FAVORITE BAND Green Day 41 55 182 02 LEGEND: THE BEST OF BOB MARLEY AND THE WAILERS Bob Marley And The Wailers 42 44 364 01 ÷ Ed Sheeran 43 39 163 02 DANGEROUS: THE DOUBLE ALBUM Morgan Wallen 44 38 224 01 WHAT YOU SEE AIN'T ALWAYS WHAT YOU GET Luke Combs 45 41 295 01 AM Arctic Monkeys 46 37 020 01 FOR ALL THE DOGS Drake 47 40 048 02 GETTIN' OLD Luke Combs 48 50 012 02 ONE MORE TIME... Blink-182 49 NE 001 49 2093 Yeat 50 43 279 01 BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY (THE ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK) Queen This is the part where I'm supposed to make a joke about how I don't understand what's going on because the only international pop star I know who's playing here (Western Australia) is P!nk. Alternatively I'll shout out all of the wise souls who have ever complained about how iT's NoT eVeN sUmMeR aNyMoRe, WhY aRe PeOpLe StIlL lIsTeNiNg To CrUeL sUmMeR? Great news y'all, it IS still a miserable hot summer here. It still will be for all of the next tracking week too. Anyhow, "Cruel Summer" becomes Taylor Swift's 11th #1 hit which I'm told is a record. Last week I said that Benson Boone was moving up with better momentum than Beyonce, in the past week that's flipped around to be a lot closer. Anyway, to put this week into context, Taylor Swift only has 1 less entry than Michael Jackson had on the week that he died. I'm not sure if she'll climb or fall next week but don't expect much to change. Amongst all of this, you might overlook that it's actually a top 50 debut for "You Belong With Me (Taylor's Version)". The stats also reveal that several songs (mostly from "Reputation") were not being tracked until this week, so points for improved chart accuracy. With this in mind, Dua Lipa has probably chosen a bad release week and doesn't quite hit the top 10, but she also only got to #18 on Spotify so #12 is a pretty good result all things considered. The longevity wizard doesn't seem to be a fan at this stage however. Taylor Swift once again has the entire top 5 in a slightly different order to the last time. Maybe next week she can up the ante to a top 7, I'm not sure what the big new arrivals are gonna be. In the meantime, Royel Otis have chosen a very bad week to release their debut album, as one might think they'd have a chance to challenge the top spot on several weeks but instead end up behind the pack at #10. They can at least boast beating Taylor Swift on the vinyl chart. IDLES return with their 3rd top 50 album, higher than the last one but not as high as the one before that. One of the more famous people to inexplicably follow me on Twitter are the band Middle Kids who last got to #5 but have a bit of a downturn to #20 this time around, bad week still admittedly. Sabrina Carpenter benefits from being on the east side of the country as her album returns with a new peak to boot. I've always suspected that streaming isn't fully being counted for Bob Marley's "Legend". This might still be the case but nonetheless it gets its highest position since 1994 this week. Yeat also charts for the first time.

I dunno, I'm not seeing anything that even puts it on the same conversation as "Running Up That Hill", just a far bigger splash in general and could even be argued that it was a catalyst to changing OCC chart rules. "Murder On The Dancefloor" doesn't even look like it's the biggest 2000s throwback to come back in January 2024, "Unwritten" has a pretty substantial lead over it on global Spotify now and could wind up sticking the landing better by the end of the year.

I gotta say I was worried when I saw the list of co-writers and producers on this album, and saw Philip Etherington wasn't on it. He produced nearly every song on her first two albums and it felt like a dream team. In fact what made me pay attention 2 years ago was the bridge in "reckless driving", which was his idea. Willing to accept that this isn't gonna sound like "five seconds flat" (might be my favourite album this decade, not sure, but also haven't listened to much), but this is really good. Glad she's not doing the major label pivot to cashing in on blatant For You page bait. Very curious what the rest of the album is gonna sound like outside of the vague descriptor from ages ago that it's 'sad' lol.

I like to read it as a consistent benchmark to show the overall strength of the chart :lol:

19/02/2024 Singles 01 01 17 01 STICK SEASON Noah Kahan 02 03 04 02 BEAUTIFUL THINGS Benson Boone 03 02 14 01 LOVIN ON ME Jack Harlow 04 06 47 02 CRUEL SUMMER Taylor Swift 05 04 22 02 GREEDY Tate McRae 06 05 26 03 PRADA Casso x Raye x D-Block Europe 07 07 13 07 LOSE CONTROL Teddy Swims 08 09 25 06 I REMEMBER EVERYTHING Zach Bryan Feat. Kacey Musgraves 09 08 35 03 MURDER ON THE DANCEFLOOR Sophie Ellis-Bextor 10 NE 01 10 CARNIVAL Kanye West, Ty Dolla $ign 11 12 83 06 SOMETHING IN THE ORANGE Zach Bryan 12 10 08 10 SAVING UP Dom Dolla 13 11 28 01 PAINT THE TOWN RED Doja Cat 14 14 24 02 STRANGERS Kenya Grace 15 15 14 07 HOUDINI Dua Lipa 16 21 57 01 FLOWERS Miley Cyrus 17 25 69 01 ANTI-HERO Taylor Swift 18 19 54 01 LAST NIGHT Morgan Wallen 19 17 22 06 WATER Tyla 20 18 17 15 UNWRITTEN Natasha Bedingfield 21 53 54 21 SNOOZE SZA 22 22 03 22 PRAISE JAH IN THE MOONLIGHT YG Marley 23 20 05 20 REDRUM 21 Savage 24 NE 01 24 BURN Kanye West, Ty Dolla $ign 25 27 46 02 FAST CAR Luke Combs 26 13 05 02 YES, AND? Ariana Grande 27 NE 01 27 BACK TO ME Kanye West, Ty Dolla $ign 28 16 37 08 POPULAR The Weeknd Feat. Playboi Carti, Madonna 29 24 33 01 VAMPIRE Olivia Rodrigo 00 26 19 11 RICH BABY DADDY Drake Feat. Sexyy Red & SZA 31 52 56 03 LOVER Taylor Swift 32 23 05 23 NEVER LOSE ME Flo Milli 33 NE 01 33 F*K SUMN Kanye West, Ty Dolla $ign 34 NE 01 34 STARS Kanye West, Ty Dolla $ign 35 33 05 33 SCARED TO START Michael Marcagi 36 68 61 01 KILL BILL SZA 37 28 13 15 EXES Tate McRae 38 NE 01 38 TEXAS HOLD 'EM Beyonce 39 35 03 35 MURDER ON THE DANCE FLOOR - TRIPLE J LIKE A VERSION Royel Otis 40 29 184 06 RIPTIDE Vance Joy 41 37 07 23 FEATHER Sabrina Carpenter 42 34 44 04 DAYLIGHT David Kushner 43 38 38 03 DANCE THE NIGHT Dua Lipa 44 NE 01 44 PAID Kanye West, Ty Dolla $ign 45 63 46 02 KARMA Taylor Swift 46 46 16 01 IS IT OVER NOW? (TAYLOR'S VERSION) [FROM THE VAULT] Taylor Swift 47 31 10 28 LEAVEMEALONE Fred again.. & Baby Keem 48 30 09 30 ONE OF THE GIRLS The Weeknd 49 39 89 02 I AIN'T WORRIED OneRepublic 50 32 20 21 GOT ME STARTED Troye Sivan Bubbling Under 17 (13) HOME Good Neighbours 18 (21) STUMBLIN' IN Cyril 19 (NE) FOREVER Noah Kahan 20 (NE) STYLE (TAYLOR'S VERSION) Taylor Swift Albums 01 NE 001 01 VULTURES 1 Kanye West, Ty Dolla $ign 02 01 016 01 1989 (TAYLOR'S VERSION) Taylor Swift 03 03 234 01 LOVER Taylor Swift 04 02 069 01 MIDNIGHTS Taylor Swift 05 10 062 01 SOS SZA 06 07 158 02 THE HIGHLIGHTS The Weeknd 07 05 186 01 FOLKLORE Taylor Swift 08 04 327 01 REPUTATION Taylor Swift 09 36 036 01 TRUSTFALL P!nk 10 NE 001 10 YOURS FOREVER Jessica Mauboy 11 09 036 06 STICK SEASON Noah Kahan 12 06 043 03 THE DIAMOND COLLECTION Post Malone 13 13 156 01 EVERMORE Taylor Swift 14 08 050 01 ONE THING AT A TIME Morgan Wallen 15 21 118 01 RED (TAYLOR'S VERSION) Taylor Swift 16 15 023 01 GUTS Olivia Rodrigo 17 12 143 01 SOUR Olivia Rodrigo 18 17 029 01 UTOPIA Travis Scott 19 11 349 11 SINGLES COLLECTION Maroon 5 20 25 032 01 SPEAK NOW (TAYLOR'S VERSION) Taylor Swift 21 18 237 01 STARBOY The Weeknd 22 58 107 22 CTRL SZA 23 16 297 03 DIAMONDS Elton John 24 38 107 01 FEARLESS (TAYLOR'S VERSION) Taylor Swift 25 19 176 16 CHRONICLE: THE 20 GREATEST HITS Creedence Clearwater Revival 26 20 309 07 THIS ONE'S FOR YOU Luke Combs 27 14 005 01 AMERICAN DREAM 21 Savage 28 23 066 02 GRADUATION Kanye West 29 27 466 01 RUMOURS Fleetwood Mac 30 22 421 01 CURTAIN CALL: THE HITS Eminem 31 29 063 05 HEROES & VILLAINS Metro Boomin 32 24 025 02 ZACH BRYAN Zach Bryan 33 26 068 05 THE ESSENTIAL Foo Fighters 34 28 404 01 TEENAGE DREAM: THE COMPLETE CONFECTION Katy Perry 35 32 289 16 GREATEST HITS: GOD'S FAVORITE BAND Green Day 36 33 486 01 1989 Taylor Swift 37 30 019 01 FOR ALL THE DOGS Drake 38 37 223 01 WHAT YOU SEE AIN'T ALWAYS WHAT YOU GET Luke Combs 39 31 162 02 DANGEROUS: THE DOUBLE ALBUM Morgan Wallen 40 34 047 02 GETTIN' OLD Luke Combs 41 44 294 01 AM Arctic Monkeys 42 42 010 02 THINK LATER Tate McRae 43 39 278 01 BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY (THE ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK) Queen 44 40 363 01 ÷ Ed Sheeran 45 50 255 01 WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? Billie Eilish 46 NE 001 46 COMING HOME Usher 47 47 201 01 AFTER HOURS The Weeknd 48 46 248 07 DIVINELY UNINSPIRED TO A HELLISH EXTENT Lewis Capaldi 49 45 069 36 STUDIO ALBUMS ABBA 50 RE 011 02 ONE MORE TIME... Blink-182 Australia is a serious hotbed for live shows that aren't festivals lately. Taylor Swift will be #1 next week with "Cruel Summer". Like it's so not close that it's completely fair to call the race now. Benson Boone is making a move though so he could still get there afterwards. Beyonce less so, but she'll still jump a lot next week. SZA also announced her Australian tour last week which has vaulted her back up the chart, with "Snooze" such a beneficiary that it returns to its prior #21 peak. The Bubbling Under chart has shrunk a little bit recently. I think it's moderately interesting to see "Style (Taylor's Version)" in there for the first time. The New Music chart has its own 3 track rule so this is genuinely the first time it's appeared (it also becomes ineligible next week). When the album first came out, that version was not doing especially well and got overtaken by the original even. It's re-asserted itself this time around in a major way. Good Neighbours will unfortunately reach the top 50 next week, and also shout out to CYRIL, a rare Australian entry in this chart. I'm not touching that. SZA's boosts also are reflected here except "Ctrl" does get a new peak of #22, it previously only got to #30. This week's only Australian entry in the top 50 is from Jessica Mauboy. She's not had a top 50 single since 2019 but this is her 7th top 10 album. "Forget You" is a banger. We can also see the effect of the new deluxe version of The Weeknd's compilation, which had to be significant given that Post Malone's compilation went from behind ahead to 6 spots behind this week. P!nk & blink-182 have also been playing in Australia as you can figure from the rebounds. Usher also sneaks in with his new album, which helps contribute to this being the first week all decade that Harry Styles isn't charting.

I've heard from people in the industry that it's generally more viable to release on Wednesday or Thursday because you can utilise that fandom to make a stronger impression (and a stronger case for playlisting) while you're not competing with everyone else at once. Friday can be winging it in some regards because you can miss the press cycle and then Saturday/Sunday are the worst days of the week for new music. A lot of those songs back in the day with 'wasted' Thursday sales probably would not have done as well on a Friday, in the moment and in their life time. If something's gonna be a hit, the first week doesn't matter, if it's not, then very few people care about the difference between a #19 peak and a #27 peak.

+5 Ariana Grande - yes, and? +4 Tyla - Water +3 Dua Lipa - Houdini +2 Jack Harlow - Lovin On Me +1 Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Murder On The Dancefloor -1 Teddy Swims - Lose Control -2 casso - Prada -3 Taylor Swift - Cruel Summer -4 Tate McRae - greedy ---------- +5 Ariana Grande - yes, and? +4 Dua Lipa - Houdini +3 Jack Harlow - Lovin On Me +2 Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Murder On The Dancefloor +1 Noah Kahan & Sam Fender - Homesick -1 Teddy Swims - Lose Control -2 casso - Prada -3 Taylor Swift - Cruel Summer -4 Tate McRae - greedy