Paul Kelly, Pink Rule Australia’s Charts
Paul Kelly's 40-year wait for a No. 1 album in his homeland is finally over. Pink, meanwhile, grabs her ninth singles chart leader.
Paul Kelly’s agonising wait for a No. 1 album in his homeland is finally over with Life Is Fine (EMI), his 23rd studio album, snatching top spot on the national survey, while Pink claims a ninth Australian singles chart crown with “What About Us” (RCA/Sony).
Kelly, revered as one of Australia’s greatest songwriters, has won just about all the prizes on offer. Earlier this year he was recognized in the Australia Day honors, he’s a member of the ARIA Hall of Fame and a recipient of the Ted Albert Award For Outstanding Services to Australian Music, one of the highest accolades in this market’s music biz.
Over a 40 year career he’s won numerous ARIA Awards and clocked up multi-platinum sales. But he’s never claimed an albums chart title, until now.
Life Is Fine breaks the spell by debuting at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart, eclipsing the No. 2 peak of his 1997 compilation Songs From The South as his highest charting LP (his highest charting studio set was Nothing But A Dream, which reached No. 7 in 2001).
Homegrown singer-songwriter Jen Cloher starts at No. 5 with her self-titled fourth album (via Inertia), while another Australian act, The Preatures, earn a second career top 20 with Girlhood (Island/Universal), new at No. 13. It’s the followup to the Sydney group’s ARIA-nominated debut Blue Planet Eyes, which reached No. 4 in 2014. Also new this week is Avicii’s Avici EP (Universal) at No. 14, which gives the returning Swedish DJ and producer (real name Tim Bergling) his first appearance on the ARIA Albums Chart since Stories climbed to No. 10 in October 2015.
On the ARIA Singles Chart, Pink’s “What About Us” topples Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s “Despacito” (Republic/Universal), featuring featuring Justin Bieber, to earn the superstar singer her ninth No. 1.
The track, written by Pink, Johnny McDaid of Snow Patrol and Steve Mac and produced by Mac, is the first lifted from her forthcoming seventh album Beautiful Trauma, due in October.
Pink is in familiar turf at the top. Aside from her nine singles chart leaders, The U.S. artist has had four albums top the album chart with combined sales in excess of 3.6 million units, according to Sony Music.
With her latest chart feat, Pink draws level with Delta Goodrem for the second most No. 1 singles since the inception of the ARIA Charts in mid-1983. Two artists share the lead with 10 each: Madonna and Kylie Minogue.