This Week In Pop – 20 July 2021

Welcome to This Week In Pop.

This week, Olivia Rodrigo is atop the Albums Chart for a seventh week, while The Kid Laroi scores his second #1 single with a Justin Bieber collaboration.

This week's album chartifacts

#1: Olivia Rodrigo ‘SOUR’ – After a week at #2, Olivia Rodrigo’s 'SOUR' returns to #1 on the ARIA Albums Chart. It’s the seventh week in the top spot for the American singer-songwriter’s debut album. In the US and UK, 'SOUR' has spent three non-consecutive weeks at #1, while in Canada it’s spent seven straight weeks at #1.
#4: DZ Deathrays ‘Positive Rising: Part 2’ – Brisbane’s DZ Deathrays take out their second ARIA Top Ten entry as they debut at #4 with 'Positive Rising: Part 2'. It's the follow-up to 'Positive Rising: Part 1' (#21 September ’19), which was nominated for Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Album at the 2019 ARIA Awards. The trio first hit the ARIA Top 10 with 'Bloody Lovely' (#4 February ’18). 'Positive Rising: Part 2' has topped this week’s ARIA Vinyl Albums Chart.
#10: Magic Dirt ‘Friends In Danger’ – Reissued to mark its 25th anniversary, Magic Dirt’s 'Friends In Danger' scores a new ARIA Charts peak. The Geelong band’s debut album peaked at #25 on the chart when it was released in September 1996. It was the only album released by Magic Dirt to feature guitarist Dave Thomas, who passed away in March 2020.

This week's single chartifacts

#1: The Kid Laroi & Justin Bieber ‘Stay’ – Australian hip hop star The Kid Laroi and Canadian star Justin Bieber debut at #1 on this week’s ARIA Singles Chart with ‘Stay’. The track is the first to be released from Laroi's upcoming mixtape, 'F*ck Lov3'. It becomes his second ARIA #1 single after topping the chart for a week in May with ‘Without You’ (#1 May ’21); that track has moved back up to #10 this week. For Bieber, it’s his fifth chart-topper after ‘What Do You Mean?’ (#1 September ’15), ‘Love Yourself’ (#1 December ’15), ‘I Don’t Care’ with Ed Sheeran (#1 May ’19) and ‘Peaches’ (#1 April ’21).
ARIA CEO Annabelle Herd says: “From Waterloo to the world! A huge congratulations to The Kid Laroi on taking out his second ARIA #1 single with 'Stay'. It's fantastic to see an Australian artist receiving global recognition while also tasting big success at home.”
#6: BTS ‘Permission To Dance’ – Korean megastars BTS take out their fourth Top Ten single on the ARIA Charts as they debut at #6 with ‘Permission To Dance’. It’s the group’s third English-language single after ‘Dynamite’ (#2 August ’20) and ‘Butter’ (#6 May ’21). The track was co-written by Ed Sheeran, among others. This week ‘Butter’ climbs back eleven spots to #26.

Top 10 Albums

1. 'SOUR' – Olivia Rodrigo
2. 'Flesh And Blood' – Jimmy Barnes
3. 'Planet Her' – Doja Cat
4. 'Positive Rising: Part 2' – DZ Deathrays
5. 'Future Nostalgia' – Dua Lipa
6. 'Justice' – Justin Bieber
7. 'All I Know So Far: Setlist' – P!nk
8. 'F*ck Love (Savage)' – The Kid Laroi
9. 'The Highlights' – The Weeknd
10. 'Friends In Danger' – Magic Dirt

Top 10 Singles

1. 'Stay' – The Kid Laroi & Justin Bieber
2. 'Bad Habits' – Ed Sheeran
3. 'Good 4 U' – Olivia Rodrigo
4. 'Beggin' – Maneskin
5. 'Kiss Me More' – Doja Cat featuring SZA
6. 'Permission To Dance' – BTS
7. 'Levitating' – Dua Lipa
8. 'Save Your Tears' – The Weeknd
9. 'Heat Waves' – Glass Animals
10. 'Without You' –The Kid Laroi with Miley Cyrus