Global
Taylor Swift Set to Take U.K. Chart Crown With ‘Midnights’
If 2022 was the year of Taylor Swift in the U.K., the New Year appears much the same as Swift’s Midnights (EMI) takes pole position on the midweek chart. Based on data published by the Official Charts Company, Midnights is on track for the first No. 1 of 2023, and land a fourth non-consecutive week at the summit. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news If it keeps its momentum, the OCC notes, Midnights will eclipse Swift’s 2020 LP Folklore to become her longest-reigning album in the U.K. Meanwhile, SZA’s sophomore album SOS (RCA/Top Dawg) is set to lift 8-2, and the Weeknd’s career retrospective The Highlights (Republic Records/XO) could bounce 15-4 following the release of “Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength),” the Canadian R&B singer’s single ...
Australian Music Retailer Sanity to Close Its Physical Stores
BRISBANE, Australia — It’s closing time for Sanity, the once-great Australian music retail specialist which confirmed it would close all its bricks-and-mortar stores in the coming months. In a statement issued Wednesday (Jan. 4), Sanity announced plans to close its remaining 50 stores by the end of April 2023, in line with the lease expiry of each outlet. It’s a sad end to a music and entertainment chain which, like so many brands in the business of racking physical soundcarriers, has been left behind as consumers move to streaming platforms. “With our customer shifting to digital for their visual and music content consumption, and with diminishing physical content available to sell to our customer, it has made it impossible to continue with our physical stores,” explains Sanity CEO and ow...
Wham’s ‘Last Christmas’ Returns to No. 1 In U.K.
Wham’s “Last Christmas” (via RCA) is the gift that keeps giving, as the ‘80s classic returns to No. 1 in the U.K. The holiday standard lifts 2-1 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart, published Dec. 30, for its second stint at the summit in 2022. According to the Official Charts Company, “Last Christmas” scoops over 79,000 combined chart units, including a market-leading 18 million streams, to bag the last No. 1 of the year. Less than a year earlier, “Last Christmas” was finally crowned on the survey, setting a new mark for the longest journey to the top, at 36 years. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The latest survey is brimming with Christmas spirit. Indeed, holiday numbers swamp the Top 40, taking out 34 spots, including nine of the top 10. Mari...
INI Talks About Its ‘Awakening’ Album and the Band’s Future
INI is a global boy band made up of 11 members (Rihito Ikezaki, Takumi Ozaki, Masaya Kimura, Takeru Goto, Yudai Sano, Fengfan Xu, Hiromu Takatsuka, Shogo Tajima, Hiroto Nishi, Kyosuke Fujimaki, and Jin Matsuda), the winner of one of Japan’s biggest audition shows, PRODUCE 101 JAPAN SEASON 2. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Since debuting on Nov. 3, 2021, they’ve released three singles, all of which took first place on Billboard Japan’s weekly singles sales chart, Top Singles Sales. On Dec. 14, they released their long-awaited first album, Awakening. Hopes are high for their further success. Billboard Japan interviewed the entire band and talked to them not only about the album, but also about the current state of INI. You’ve already mad...
Mariah Carey Extends ‘Christmas’ Streak In Australia
Mariah Carey already locked up the Christmas No. 1, now she’s certain to see in the New Year as queen of the Australian singles chart. Carey’s nine-times platinum hit from 1994, “All I Want For Christmas Is You” (Columbia/Sony), enters a third week at No. 1 on the latest ARIA Singles Chart, as holiday numbers flood the survey. “All I Want” leads an “all-Christmas” top ten, published Dec. 30, and is one of 18 Christmas songs impacting the top 20, with SZA’s “Kill Bill” (down 2-12 via RCA/Sony) and Sam Smith & Kim Petras’ former leader “Unholy” (down 3-14 via Capitol/Universal) the only exceptions. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news A string of Xmas-themed tracks impact the upper tier of the chart for the first time, including the late Nat King ...
LadBaby Rings up Chart Record With U.K. Christmas No. 1
LadBaby lands the ultimate Christmas present with “Food Aid” (via BMG) earning the coveted Christmas No. 1 in the U.K. — and doing so in record-busting fashion. The charity single debuts at No. 1 on the Official Singles Chart with more than 65,000 chart sales, the Official Charts Company reports, for the fastest-selling week of any recording in 2022. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The husband-and-wife duo of Mark and Roxanne Hoyle become the first act to nab five Official U.K. Christmas No. 1 singles, beating the old mark held by the Beatles, who bagged four non-consecutive Christmas leaders in 1963, 1964, 1965 & 1967. Previously, LadBaby ruled the Christmas chart with “We Built This City” (in 2018), “I Love Sausage Rolls” (2019), “Don’t S...
Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ Dominates Down Under
Mariah Carey isn’t called the queen of Christmas for nothing. The U.S. pop veteran lives up to her nickname as her enduring holiday classic “All I Want For Christmas Is You” rings in Christmas as the No. 1 single in Australia. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Carey’s 1994 release bags a second consecutive week at the top Down Under, and a fifth year at No. 1 during the Christmas week, ARIA reports. Although it’s peak summer in Australia, a time when Aussies head to the beach en masse, those wintry yuletide classics dominate playlists in these parts, a fact that’s reflected by both main ARIA Charts. Four of the top 10 singles on the chart published Dec. 23 are Christmas numbers, including Wham’s “Last Christmas” (up 6-3), Michael Bublé’s “It’s Be...
Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ Is No. 1 In Australia
The queen of Christmas is crowned on Australia’s chart, while SZA makes her presence felt on both main surveys with her sophomore album and several singles from it. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Nothing can top Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” (via Columbia/Sony) at this time of year. The 1994 holiday classic lifts 3-1 on the ARIA Singles Chart, published Dec. 16, ahead of former leaders “Unholy” (Capitol/Universal), by Sam Smith & Kim Petras; and “Anti-Hero” (Universal) by Taylor Swift, respectively. Carey’s seasonal number finally cracked the summit in 2018. It has returned there each December, like clockwork. SZA’s long-anticipated second album SOS (RCA/Sony) has been well-received by Aussie fans, as album track “Kill B...
Mariah Carey Leads Christmas Trifecta on Midweek U.K. Chart
The Christmas takeover is about to begin on the U.K. chart, with three holiday classics jostling for the crown. Based on sales and streaming data published by the Official Charts Company, Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” (Columbia) holds the edge at the halfway point, ahead of Wham’s “Last Christmas” (RCA) and Ed Sheeran & Elton John’s “Merry Christmas” (Atlantic), respectively. Just 1,000 chart sales separate the three tracks at the midweek point, the OCC reports. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news All three tracks have led the Official U.K. Singles Chart, with Carey’s 1994 classic the current No. 1. They’ll face some stiff competition for the coveted Christmas No. 1 in the form of LadBaby. The husband and wife duo of Mark and...
Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ Sleighs to No. 1 In U.K.
The Christmas invasion is in full swing on the U.K. singles chart, as Mariah Carey‘s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” (via Columbia) returns to the summit. Carey’s 1994 holidays classic took 26 years to reach No. 1 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart, a record-setting feat it finally achieved in 2020. It’s right back at the top, having returned to the top 40 earlier than usual. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “All I Want For Christmas Is You” rockets 8-1, with 10.8 million streams during the latest cycle, the Official Charts Company reports, to unseat Taylor Swift’s “Anti-Hero” (down 1-5 via EMI) after six weeks. It’s the second stint at No. 1 for Carey’s “Christmas,” which, in 2020, set a new mark for weeks spent in the top 40 before reaching ...
Olly Murs Bags U.K. Chart Crown With ‘Marry Me’
Olly Murs lands his fifth U.K. No. 1 with Marry Me (EMI), which bows at No. 1. Marry Me is the British singer and songwriter’s seventh album, with In Case You Didn’t Know (2011), Right Place Right Time (2012), Never Been Better (2014), 24 HRS (2016) and now Marry Me all reaching the summit of the weekly survey. The X Factor alum brushed-off controversy surrounding the lyrics to album track “I Hate You When You’re Drunk” to lead at the halfway point, and then on Friday, Dec. 9 when the chart proper was published. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Murs outpaces Taylor Swift‘s former leader Midnights (EMI), which lifts 3-2 on the latest survey, published Dec. 9. Meanwhile, Atlanta recording artist and producer Metro Boomin blasts to No. 3 ...
Paul Kelly’s ‘Christmas Train’ Stops at No. 1 on Australia’s Albums Chart
Paul Kelly scores an early Christmas gift, as the veteran Australian singer, songwriter and wordsmith bags the chart crown with his holiday collection. Kelly’s “2022 Edition” of Christmas Train (GAWD/EMI) stops at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart, published Dec. 9. That’s one better than Christmas Train’s No. 2 debut and peak position following its original release in 2021, an effort that made it the highest-charting Christmas album of the year in Australia. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Christmas Train collects a batch of classics, and features a new recording of Ron Sexsmith’s “Maybe This Christmas” — recorded with Kelly’s live band at Soundpark Studios in Melbourne — and, of course, Kelly’s own holiday standard, “How to Make Gravy,” a tale o...
