Mediaweek editor James Manning takes a look at the ARIA Charts for the week starting March 5.
Singles
• Drake enjoys week 6 at #1, XXXTentacion only top 50 newbie
Not a lot of chart movement this week would be an understatement.
Drake makes it six weeks at #1 with “God’s Plan”.
Two new arrivals in the top 10 with each posting a new chart peak:
#12 to #8: Zedd & Grey with “The Middle” featuring Maren Morris (6 weeks on charts)
#13 to #9: Marshmello & Anne Marie with “Friends” (4 weeks on the chart)
The only new release to make it into the top 50 on debut:
#33: XXXTentacion with “Sad!” First time in top 50, single from forthcoming second album.
We need to note Ed Sheeran’s presence on the singles chart this week as over 1m people pass through the concert turnstiles in Australia and New Zealand:
#6: “Perfect” starts its second year in the chart (7 times Platinum)
#11: Eminem’s “River” featuring Ed Sheeran at #11 after 12 weeks (Platinum)
#25 from #34: “Shape Of You” 61 weeks on chart for former #1 single (9 times Platinum)
#54 from #75: “Castle On The Hill” (5 times Platinum)
Albums
• Ed Sheeran world – three albums top 10 for total of 548 weeks
We dedicate this week’s coverage to Ed Sheeran with yet another staggering record chart achievement.
Sheeran has all three albums sitting in the top 10 with a combined 548 weeks on the chart:
#1: “Divide” 53 weeks, 23 weeks at #1 (Diamond)
#5: “Multiply” 194 weeks on the chart (Diamond)
#8: “Plus” 301 weeks on the chart (6 times Platinum)
There wasn’t much else to get excited about this week. But for the record, the top 50 new arrivals were:
#6: Camp Cope with “How To Socialise & Make Friends” First top 10 appearance for Melbourne trio with second album.
#13: j-hope with “Hope World”: Korean rapper who is a member of BTS with first solo release.
#44: The Breeders with “All Nerve”: Band’s fifth album and the first since 2008.
Sales figures: Platinum equals 70,000 sales. Diamond is 500,000 sales.