John Farnham and Olivia Newton-John's 'Friends For Christmas' Rises to No. 1 Down Under

12/18/2016 by Lars Brandle

Courtesy of Sony Music
John Farnham & Olivia Newton-John receive a plaque to commemorate platinum sales of "Friends For Christmas"

It’s taken five weeks to get there, but John Farnham and Olivia Newton-John’s Friends For Christmas (Sony Music) has finally reached No. 1 in Australia. 

Friends For Christmas is now platinum certified (70,000 units) after debuting at No. 3 in November. The festive set rises to the top after two weeks at No. 4. 

Farnham and Newton-John’s last collaborative album, the live LP Two Strong Hearts, also reached the top spot on the national albums chart for three week, giving the popular pair their second consecutive No. 1 in as many years. Farnham and Newton-John also topped the survey with Highlights From The Main Event (also featuring Anthony Warlow) for two weeks back in December 1998. Farnham has racked up 10 No. 1s albums over his career, and Newton-John has scored five.

Meanwhile, Michael Buble’s Christmas (Reprise/Warner) holds at No. 2 on the new ARIA Albums Chart, ahead of The Rolling Stones’ Blue & Lonesome (Polydor/Universal), down 1-3; Keith Urban’s Ripcord (Capitol/EMI), up 4-7; and Adele’s 25, which stays at No. 5 (XL/Inertia). 

J. Cole has the week’s best debut with his fourth album, 4 Your Eyez Only (Interscope/Universal), which starts at No. 6.  It’s the rapper’s first stint in the top 10 (his previous best was No. 14 for his July 2013 set Born Sinner).  

A pair of Coldplay albums climb the top 50 in the week the band completed its national stadium tour. The British group’s most recent album, A Head Full Of Dreams (Parlophone), is up 14-8 and their four CD catalog set soars 50-27, a new peak.

The ARIA Singles Chart is led for a third week by Clean Bandit featuring Sean Paul & Anne-Marie’s “Rockabye” (EastWest/Warner). The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk’s “Starboy” (Republic/Universal) is unmoved at No. 2 (it stays at No. 1 on the Streaming Singles chart); while Zayn Malik and Taylor Swift’s “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever” (Republic/Universal) debuts at No. 3 on the national singles chart. Bruno Mars’ “24K Magic” (Atlantic/Warner) improves 6-4, a new high; and James Arthur’s “Say You Won’t Let Go” (Columbia/Sony) dips 4-5. 

EDM star Steve Aoki and One Direction singer Louis Tomlinson's collab “Just Hold On” (Liberation/Universal) opens at No. 25. It’s Tomlinson’s first appearance on the chart as a solo artist and Aoki's first stint inside the top 40 since his collab with Laidback Luke, “Turbulence,” reached No. 37 in May 2011.