British singer James Arthur begins week six at the summit of Australia’s singles chart with “Say You Won’t Let Go” (Columbia/Sony) while homegrown rapper Illy nabs his first-ever No. 1 album Down Under with Two Degrees (Warner) and Leonard Cohen achieves a posthumous career equal-best with his last album.
Illy’s fifth studio set features the domestic hits "Papercuts" (No. 2 in August) and "Catch 22" (No. 12 in November) and eclipses the No. 4 peak of his 2013 album Cinematic.
Two Degrees holds off Leonard Cohen’s final LP You Want It Darker (Columbia/Sony), which rises 20-2 on the ARIA Albums Chart after news broke of the legendary Canadian singer and songwriter’s death. Darker, which debuted at No. 6 in October, equals Cohen’s previous high mark on the albums chart with Old Ideas, which topped out at No. 2 in February 2012.
John Farnham and Olivia Newton-John’s yuletide set Friends For Christmas (Sony) starts at No. 3, ahead of Michael Buble’s own Christmas (Reprise/Warner), which improves 8-4, and Jessica Mauboy’s Sony Music recording The Secret Daughter (Songs From The Original TV Series) slips 2-5.
Veteran British singers Phil Collins and Sting enjoy strong debuts with their respective new releases The Singles (at No. 6 via Rhino/Warner) and 57th & 9th (at No. 9 via A&M/Universal).
James Arthur’s long reign over the ARIA Singles Chart means The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk “Starboy”(Republic/Universal) spends another week at No. 2; "Starboy" does, however, retain the lead on ARIA’s Streaming Tracks chart. Calum Scott’s “Dancing On My Own” (Capitol/EMI) lifts 4-3 on the ARIA Singles Chart, Neiked’s “Sexual” (Polydor/Universal) is up 7-4 and The Chainsmokers feat. Halsey's “Closer” (Columbia/Sony) falls 3-5.