Pop Smoke, the fast-rising hip-hop artist whose life was taken in a home invasion at the age of just 20, is the new leader of Australia’s albums chart.
The Los Angeles-based artist’s debut LP Shoot For The Stars Aim For The Moon (Universal) bows at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart, with three tracks from it impacting the national singles survey (“The Woo” at No. 25, “For The Night” at No. 32 and “Dior” at No. 48).
Pop Smoke’s posthumous release follows two mixtapes, Meet The Woo (2019) and Meet The Woo 2 (2020), the latter debuting at No. 33 last week and rising to No. 24 on the current list.
Shoot For The Stars is the first posthumous LP to top the Australian chart in more than two years. The last to do so was Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu’s history-making Djarimirri (Child Of The Rainbow) (Skinnyfish Music/MGM Distribution), which led the survey in April 2018.
Coming in at No. 2 on this week’s albums chart is King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard’s double set Chunky Shrapnel (Flightless Records/Inertia), the soundtrack to the prolific outfit’s music documentary.
Chunky Shrapnel dropped digitally in April, but makes a big splash on the ARIA Albums Chart following its release on vinyl. It’s the Melbourne psychedelic rock outfit’s 10th visit to the national top 10. Not surprisingly, Chunky Shrapnel rules the ARIA Vinyl Albums Chart.
This week’s top five is rounded out by Bob Dylan’s comeback album Rough and Rowdy Ways (down 2-3 via Columbia/Sony), Harry Styles’ Fine Line (down 3-4 via Columbia/Sony) and the all-star charity fundraising album Music From The Home Front (down 1-5 via Bloodlines/Universal).
The Original Broadway Cast recording of Hamilton – An American Musical (Atlantic/Warner) blasts back into the chart at No. 7, a new peak, following the arrival last week of a filmed version of the musical smash on Disney +.
Another album enjoying a burst of energy off the back of its movie counterpart is Eurovision Song Contest: The Story Of Fire Saga (Sony), which starts at No. 44. Fire Saga, which features Will Ferrell, Demi Lovato, Tiesto and others, is the soundtrack to the comedy film which released June 26 on Netflix and has been hit in these parts ever since.
Over on the ARIA Singles Chart, Kiwi producer Jawsh 685 (real name Joshua Stylah) extends his reign as “Savage Love (Laxed – Siren Beat)” (Columbia/Sony), his collaboration with Jason Derulo, starts a second straight week at No. 1. “Savage Love (Laxed – Siren Beat)” also rules the Official U.K. Singles Chart.
Kanye West bags his first Top 50 entry for the year as “Wash Us In The Blood” (Def Jam/Universal), his collab with Travis Scott, debuts at No. 31.
Finally, Gold Coast artist Amy Shark bounces into the ARIA Singles Chart with “Everybody Rise,” new at No. 49. Produced by New Zealander Joel Little (Taylor Swift, Lorde, Broods), it’s Sharks’ first new entry since “Mess Her Up” (Wonderlick/Sony) went to No. 29 in June 2019. It’s the hottest start for any homegrown single in Australia this week.
Shark recently signed a global management deal with powerhouse U.S. management company Red Light Management.
