Pull up a seat. The beginning of what’s set to be Taylor Swift‘s global chart massacre has begun.
The young country superstar has made clear she’s a force to be reckoned with on the Australian, UK and New Zealand album charts this week with her newest offering Red debuting straight at #1 in these territories. Check out the damage after the jump.
Elsewhere, it’s been a good week for Brandy, Mika, Labrinth and Emeli Sandé, Kelly Clarkson and – heck – even Girls Aloud is back on the charts.
– AUSTRALIA –
Taylor Swift‘s Red has expectedly debuted at #1 in Australia and the UK this week. It’s also expected to enter on top of the US Billboard 200 later this week with opening week sales of 1.1 million copies. If Red does indeed sell a million copies, it’ll make Taylor the only female act to ever manage a million first-week album sales twice.
Here in Australia, the American country star’s breakthrough album Fearless also bounds back at #59 while its predecessor 2010’s Speak Now returns at #96.
Over at the singles bar, everything free falls now that the full album’s out. The keynote single ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together’ tumbles from #15 to #26 in its 11th week, while ‘I Knew You Were Trouble’ dips from #10 to #27. Two other album tracks ‘State of Grace’ and ‘Red’ both bow out of the ARIA Top 100, while ‘Everything Has Changed’ (featuring Ed Sheeran) becomes the project’s sole new entry this week at #75.
Up in the UK, Red becomes Taylor Swift‘s first #1 album in the country. This album’s also given her the best run yet on the singles chart with ‘Never’ peaking at #4 and all four promo singles making the Top 40. Having said that, just like it was in Australia, interest in the existing charting singles all wane now the Red is out – with the exception of ‘Everything Has Changed’, which debuts at #50 in the UK.
Reece Mastin‘s debut studio album Beautiful Nightmare enters at #3 in Australia this week, evidently unable to compete with the aforementioned country superstar. Meanwhile his X Factor mentor, Guy Sebastian, sees his new album Armageddon slip alarmingly from #2 to #7 in its second week.
Swedish House Mafia‘s new album Until Now debuts at #12 in Australia this week. Over at the singles bar: ‘Don’t You Worry Child’ makes a chart killing in Australia, blasting to a new peak of #3 this week – making this the EDM trio’s biggest mainstream hit to date. The single has already made #1 in the UK a couple of weeks back.
Angus Stone‘s Broken Brights has astonishingly flown from #75 to #18 on the ARIA charts this week. Elsewhere, Gypsy and The Cat‘s new album The Late Blue debuts at #23. I actually went out and bought their last album just off the strength of what I heard when they opened for Kylie‘s Aphrodite – Les Folies tour.
Bruno Mars scores his fifth Aussie Top 10 hit this week with his new one ‘Locked Out of Heaven’ rising to #10. Although he always attracts radio support, the American singer/songwriter’s last charting excellence here was the twee ‘Marry You’.
Delta Goodrem‘s piano-based ballad ‘Wish You Were Here’ moves up to #5 on our ARIA charts this week, making it her 12th Top 5 single. The hit-and-miss new album Child of The Universe is slated to be the biggest new debut on next week’s chart. Stay tuned for action on the project’s fourth single ‘Hunters and The Wolves’, which sounds like the most blatant of Florence + The Machine rip offs.
Little Mix‘s ‘Wings’ takes off from #34 to #20 in its third week. Now that they’re in the country doing promo galore – don’t be surprised if it goes as far as the Top 10 by this time next week.
Meanwhile, the Mixers’ new single ‘DNA’ bullets from#65 to #41 in its second week on the UK airplay chart. They’ve only got another two weeks before the single drops – can they make enough of an impact by then?
Of Monsters and Men‘s ‘Little Talks’ is inches away from claiming a Top 20 placement in Australia. The stand out strummy la la choon makes a new peak of #23 on our ARIA charts after seven weeks. Meanwhile over in the UK, their new single ‘Mountain Sound’ bullets up the airplay chart to #18.
Cher Lloyd‘s ‘Want U Back’ leaps back into the Top 50 at #41 this week thanks to her promo appearances in the country last week. Meanwhile, her killer Sticks and Stones album bounces from #73 to #51 in its third week – proving to be as wildly tempestuous as her own weekly singles sales. Over in US, Sticks and Stones flounders to #63 after three weeks.
Christina Aguilera‘s ‘Your Body’ stays triumphant by merely not free falling out of the ARIA Top 100. It edges from #63 to #59 this week. Meanwhile in New Zealand, it clamours its way back up to #36 in its third week. Could your faves? Say.
Elen Levon‘s ‘Dancing To The Same Song’ climbs from #96 to #81 in its second week in the Top 100. Three superb singles in and the Sydney teen is still contemplating whether she should do an album yet or not, which is totally fair enough.
– UK –
Emeli Sandé‘s re-release of Our Version of Events sees the album pick up to #2 this week. While she’s unable to cross Taylor Swift’s furious first-week sales, Sandé is proving to be the true overall achiever across several formats.
She’s co-signing on top of the singles chart this week as a feature artist on Labrinth‘s ‘Beneath Your Beautiful’, which became his first ever #1 hit. Elsewhere, Sandé‘s feature power also helped rapper Naughty Boy secure a Top 10 entry with ‘Wonder’. He previously featured on her own single ‘Daddy’, which was her lowest charting single from Our Version of Events.
Leona Lewis‘ Glassheart is getting shattered in the worst way – sinking from #3 to #10 in its second week. The poor Hackney diva struggled in the face of more brazen new releases this week from Taylor Swift (Red – #1), Lawson (Chapman Square – #4), Dappy (Bad Intentions – #6) and Irish TV personality Daniel O’Donnell (Songs from the Movies and More – #7).
Leona‘s current single ‘Trouble’ is hardly taking care of business for her, dropping out from #13 to #25 after just three weeks. It also falls from #19 to #34 on the UK airplay charts after six weeks.
Ellie Goulding‘s Halcyon is almost out of the UK Top 20 after just three weeks, while the lead single ‘Anything Could Happen’ drops to #17. Halcyon‘s in trouble out in the US too, falling from #9 to #26 on the Billboard 200 after just two weeks.
JLS‘ insipid ‘Hottest Girl In The World’ surprised me to be the biggest selling new single in the UK this week – debuting at a respectable #6. Their fanbase must be rock solid. That’s all I can say, because their music just don’t excite me in any way.
Girls Aloud‘s life-changing comeback single ‘Something New’ debuts at a quiet #87 on the UK airplay charts. I mean, granted it only premiered on Capital FM four days before the end of this charting week – you can’t really hold it against them now, can you?
– US –
Brandy‘s Two Eleven has impressively debuted at #3 on the US Billboard 200 with 65,000 first-week sales – making it the bona fide career-affirming comeback nobody counted on. I am so fucking proud – this is her first Top 10 album in over eight years. Two Eleven also became Brandy‘s first #1 R&B album since 2002’s Full Moon. Meanwhile, the hit single ‘Put It Down’ (featuring Chris Brown) climbs to a new peak of #65 on the Hot 100.
As we speak, Two Eleven is dominating two spots in the US iTunes R&B/Soul Albums Top 10 – the deluxe edition crowns at #1 (beating Alicia Keys‘ Girl on Fire, Usher‘s Looking For Myself and Ne-Yo‘s new one R.E.D.) while the standard edition sits at #9. I mean, fuck, the album’s even in the Japanese iTunes R&B/Soul Top 3. Stay pressed.
Mika‘s The Origin of Love has surprisingly made the Top 50 in America, debuting at #47 on the Billboard 200. I didn’t even know he had fans there. The creative pop star’s last studio album 2009’s The Boy Who Knew Too Much – which was generally slept on everywhere else in the world – became his best charting effort, peaked at #19 on the Billboard 200. Mika’ breakthrough album 2007’s Life in Cartoon Motion only managed to go #29 in America.
Taylor Swift‘s final promo single ‘State of Grace’ debuts at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the biggest new single in America this week. Just so you know, she has five hits in the Hot 100 at the minute.
Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj‘s dull ‘Beauty and The Beat’ re-enters the Hot 100 at #71 this week, thanks in no small part to the music video and endless promo on VEVO and YouTube. Could it match the Top 10 status of its predecessors ‘Boyfriend’ and ‘As Long As You Love Me’?
Kelly Clarkson‘s new single ‘Catch My Breath’ debuts at #54 in the US Billboard Hot 100 and #40 on the Australian charts this week. It saddens me a great deal to see her curb the Stronger era after just three singles. I mean, ‘You Love Me’ needed to fucking happen.
Rita Ora‘s ‘RIP’ has risen to #1 on the US Billboard Dance/Club play songs, making it her second American chart topper – albeit at a volatile, flop-infested chart. The anthemic ‘How We Do (Party)’ also made #1 there.
Side bar: last week’s crowning dance/club #1 single Mariah Carey‘s ‘Triumphant’ got escorted out of the Top 10 to #11. Can the lambs deal?
– NEW ZEALAND –
New albums blasting into the New Zealand Top 10 this week include Taylor Swift‘s unbeatable Red (#1), Australian X Factor rocker Reece Mastin‘s Beautiful Nightmare (#2) and surprisingly enough Gary Clark Jr. Blak and Blu (#6) – which only managed to debut at #34 in Australia this week.
One Direction‘s ‘Live While We’re Young’ sink from #8 to #12 in its fourth week on the Kiwi charts. Over in the US, it worryingly falls from #21 to #31 after just three weeks. No wonder they’re moving out with the next single ‘Little Things’ already.
Ke$ha‘s ‘Die Young’ looks set to leave the NZ Top 20 next week, y’all. It has surprisingly clung to the Australian Top 20 for a month now, despite barely coming close to the Top 5 like you would expect for an exciting new Ke$ha release. ‘Die Young’ is perched at #18 in New Zealand and #12 in Australia. Over in the UK, where it’s still got a month before the single arrives, there’s been a slow uptake on the radio airplay chart – ‘Die Young’ reluctantly crawls from #87 to #59 in its second week.
Bridgit Mendler‘s summer smash ‘Ready or Not’ was first embraced in New Zealand, don’t you forget that. The single has been in the Top 40 for seven weeks before it finally cracked the US Billboard Hot 100 last week at #98.
– FUTURE FEED –
Kylie Minogue‘s The Abbey Road Sessions is expected to make a splash somewhere in the Top 20 next week if we’re lucky – her biggest local competition is Delta‘s new album Child of The Universe. It managed to peak in the Australian iTunes album Top 5 on the first day out on Friday. So far in the first 24 hours, the album’s crept in the UK iTunes albums Top 10.
Loreen‘s Heal arrives in the UK this week and dropped in Australia on Friday. So far, Heal has hit the top of the Swedish and Swiss iTunes album charts, while the new single ‘Crying Out Your Name’ make the Swedish iTunes Top 10. Heal has made #1 on the iTunes Dance album charts in at least eight countries.
Robbie Williams‘ comeback single ‘Candy’ finally arrives in the UK this week. The single has struggled to catch on everywhere, so they must be banking everything on a positive reception in his home country.
Thanks to the slow build up, ‘Candy’ has gotten a chance to ease its way up the UK radio airplay charts – peaking at #7 this week after six weeks on the airwaves. Within the first 24 hours on digital shelves, the ‘Candy’ digital EP is already #1 on the UK iTunes album chart and the track #7 on the singles chart.
Robbie‘s long-awaited album Take The Crown arrives in Australia this Friday and the UK next week. It’ll be going up directly against Calvin Harris‘ hit-filled 18 Months album. Let the hunger games begin.
The Wanted‘s ‘I Found You’ is set to drop in the UK next week. If airplay is any indication, it should lead the pack of new releases quite comfortably. The falsetto-abusing club stomper blasts from #30 to #15 on the UK airplay charts.
Lana Del Rey‘s ‘Ride’ races from #70 to #22 on the UK airplay charts in its second week. The actual single is not set to drop until 12 November, though. The same day as Stooshe‘s prosaic cover of TLC‘s ‘Waterfalls’, which scaled the airplay charts to a new peak of #26 this week.
Olly Murs‘ catchy new one ‘Troublemaker’ (featuring Flo Rida) is set to drop in three weeks over in the UK, and it’s already making a bold statement on the airplay charts, zooming from #46 to #36 in its second week. The man can do no wrong over there, can he?
Feed Limmy 