Welcome to This Week In Pop.
This week, Taylor Swift scores a #1 double while Silk Sonic, Courtney Barnett, Flight Facilities and Little Mix get top ten debuts.
This week's album chartifacts
#1: Taylor Swift ‘Red (Taylor's Version)’ – American pop superstar Taylor Swift scores her second ARIA Charts #1 album for 2021 and her fourth in two years as she debuts in the top spot with 'Red (Taylor's Version)'. The new version of 'Red' (#1 November ’12) is the second of the singer-songwriter’s planned six re-recorded albums, in response to the master recordings of her back catalogue being sold and comes just over six months on from 'Fearless (Taylor’s Version)' (#1 April ’21).#4: Silk Sonic ‘An Evening With Silk Sonic’ – American R&B superduo Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak make their ARIA Albums Chart at #4 with their debut album as Silk Sonic, 'An Evening With Silk Sonic'. The album includes the singles ‘Leave The Door Open’ (#10 March ’21), ‘Skate’ (#32 August ’21) and ‘Smokin Out The Window’ (#8 November ’21). It’s the first album release from Mars since '24K Magic' (#3 November ’16) and the first for .Paak since 'Ventura' (#19 April ’19).
#5: Courtney Barnett ‘Things Take Time, Take Time’ – Melbourne singer-songwriter Courtney Barnett claims her fourth ARIA Top Ten entry as she debuts at #5 with 'Things Take Time, Take Time'. Barnett’s third solo album comes three years on from 'Tell Me How You Really Feel' (#2 May ‘18), which won Best Rock Album at the 2018 ARIA Awards. She’s also previously charted with 'Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit' (#4 March ’15) and the collaboration with Kurt Vile, 'Lotta Sea Lice' (#5 October ’17).
#6: Flight Facilities ‘Forever’ – Sydney electronic duo Flight Facilities take out their second ARIA Top Ten entry as they debut at #6 with 'Forever'. The pair’s long-awaited second album is the follow-up to 'Down To Earth' (#3 November ’14), which earned them three ARIA Awards nominations in 2015. Forever includes a host of collaborators including Emma Louise, Broods and American rapper Channel Tres.
#7: Kylie Minogue ‘DISCO’ – A year on from debuting at #1 on the Albums Chart, Kylie Minogue’s 'DISCO' re-enters at #7. It comes on the back of the release of reissue packs known as the 'Guest List Edition'. Along with the original album, the updated version features new tracks – including collaborations with Years & Years, Gloria Gaynor and Jessie Ware – plus previously unreleased remixes. 'DISCO' has earned Minogue nominations for Best Artist and Best Adult Contemporary Album at the 2021 ARIA Awards.
#8: Little Mix ‘Between Us’ – British pop group Little Mix hit the chart at #8 with the compilation 'Between Us'. Released to mark the band’s mark first decade, the album includes some of their biggest hits including ‘Wings’ (#3 November ‘12), ‘Change Your Life’ (#8 April ‘13) and ‘Shout Out To My Ex’ (#4 October ‘16). It also features five new tracks, the first released by Little Mix as a trio after Jesy Nelson departed the group in December 2020.
This week's single chartifacts
#1: Taylor Swift ‘All Too Well (Taylor's Version)’ – On top of scoring her ninth #1 on the ARIA Albums Chart, Taylor Swift has swept into the top spot of this week’s ARIA Singles Chart with ‘All Too Well (Taylor's Version)’. The singer-songwriter released two versions as part of the re-recording package of Red (Taylor’s Version), the original and a ten-minute version. The original track didn’t chart in the Top 50 in Australia when it was released in 2012. It becomes Swift’s eighth #1 single in Australia after ‘Love Story’ (#1 March ’09), ‘Shake It Off’ (#1 September ’14), ‘Blank Space’ (#1 November ’14), ‘Bad Blood’ (#1 June ’15), ‘Look What You Made Me Do’ (#1 September ’17), ‘Cardigan’ (# August ’20) and ‘Willow’ (#1 December ’20).#8: Silk Sonic ‘Smokin Out The Window’ – American duo Silk Sonic climb 28 spots to hit #8 with ‘Smokin Out The Window’. It becomes their second Top Ten single after ‘Leave The Door Open’ (#10 March ‘21). The single’s move comes in the same week the pair’s debut album, 'An Evening With Silk Sonic' debuts at #4.
Top 10 Albums
1. 'Red (Taylor's Version)' – Taylor Swift2. 'Voyage' – ABBA
3. '=' – Ed Sheeran
4. 'An Evening With Silk Sonic' – Silk Sonic
5. 'Things Take Time, Take Time' – Courtney Barnett
6. 'Forever' – Flight Facilities
7. 'DISCO' – Kylie Minogue
8. 'Between Us' – Little Mix
9. 'SOUR' – Olivia Rodrigo
10. 'Planet Her' – Doja Cat
Top 10 Singles
1. 'All Too Well (Taylor's Version)' – Taylor Swift2. 'Easy On Me' – Adele
3. 'Cold Heart (Pnau Remix)' – Elton John & Dua Lipa
4. 'Stay' – The Kid Laroi & Justin Bieber
5. 'Shivers' – Ed Sheeran
6. 'Bad Habits' – Ed Sheeran
7. 'Heat Waves' – Glass Animals
8. 'Smokin Out The Window' – Silk Sonic
9. 'Industry Baby' – Lil Nas X & Jack Harlow
10. 'One Right Now' – Post Malone & The Weeknd
