This Week In Pop – 22 December 2021

Welcome to This Week In Pop.

This week is Adele's fourth at #1 on the Albums Chart. Meanwhile, Elton and Dua hold the #1 single for the fourth week, too.

This week's album chartifacts

#1: Adele ‘30’ – Adele’s '30' takes out the #1 spot on the ARIA Albums Chart for the fourth straight week. The British pop superstar’s fourth album has now spent half as much time in the pole position as previous album '25' (#1 November ’15) and an eighth as much as blockbuster '21' (#1 May ’11). '30' tops the ARIA Vinyl Albums Chart, also giving it four weeks at #1 on that chart.
#3: Australian Bird Calls ‘Songs Of Disappearance’ – After debuting at #5 last week, the Australian Bird Calls album 'Songs Of Disappearance' has moved up two spots to score a new peak at #3. Featuring the birdsong of 53 of the most threatened species of Australian native birds, the project is a collaboration between the nature recordist David Stewart, Nature Sound, the Bowerbird Collective, BirdLife Australia, Charles Darwin University and Mervyn Street of Mangkaja Arts. Proceeds from the album go towards BirdLife Australia's conservation efforts.
#7: Juice WRLD ‘Fighting Demons’ – Juice WRLD takes out the week’s highest debut at #7 with 'Fighting Demons'. It’s the second posthumous album from the late American rapper, who passed away in December 2019, after 'Legends Never Die' (#1 July ’20). 'Fighting Demons' includes the singles ‘Already Dead’ (#29 November ’21) and ‘Wandered To LA’ (#44 December ’21), as well as contributions from Justin Bieber, Polo G, Trippie Redd and Suga of BTS. The album serves as a tie-in for documentary 'Juice WRLD: Into the Abyss', which was released in the US on 16 December.

This week's single chartifacts

#1: Elton John & Dua Lipa ‘Cold Heart (Pnau Remix)’ – Elton John and Dua Lipa take out their fourth week at #1 with ‘Cold Heart (Pnau Remix)’. It’s the track’s second run of two straight weeks at #1, following a two-week run in November.
#2: Gayle ‘abcdefu’ – Four weeks into its residency in the chart, Gayle’s ‘abcdefu’ moves up two spots to claim a new peak at #2. It matches the peak already hit by the single in the UK and Ireland.
#9: Acraze Feat. Cherish ‘Do It To It’ – After two weeks at #11, Acraze’s remix of Cherish’s ‘Do It To It’ moves up two spots to hit the Top Ten for the first time at #9. The track has peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart in the US.

Top 10 Albums

1. '30' – Adele
2. '=' – Ed Sheeran
3. 'Songs Of Disappearance' – Australian Bird Calls
4. 'Red (Taylor's Version)' – Taylor Swift
5. 'Paul Kelly's Christmas Train' – Paul Kelly
6. 'Voyage' – ABBA
7. 'Fighting Demons' – Juice WRLD
8. 'Christmas' – Michael Buble
9. 'SOUR' – Olivia Rodrigo
10. 'Planet Her' – Doja Cat

Top 10 Singles

1. 'Cold Heart (Pnau Remix)' – Elton John & Dua Lipa
2. 'ABCDEFU' – Gayle
3. 'Stay' – The Kid Laroi & Justin Bieber
4. 'Easy On Me' – Adele
5. 'Heat Waves' – Glass Animals
6. 'Bad Habits' – Ed Sheeran
7. 'Shivers' – Ed Sheeran
8. 'All I Want For Christmas Is You' – Mariah Carey
9. 'All Too Well (Taylor's Version)' – Taylor Swift
10. 'Do It To It' – Acraze featuring Cherish