Foo Fighters Punch-In With Ninth No. 1 In Australia
Written by djfrosty on June 9, 2023
Just days after the Foo Fighters announced another stadium lap of Australia, the rock legends land at No. 1 with their new album, But Here We Are (via RCA/Sony).
The Foos’ 11th studio LP becomes their ninth leader on the ARIA Chart, following One By One (2002), In Your Honor (2005), Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace (2007), Greatest Hits (2009), Wasting Light (2011), Sonic Highways (2014), Concrete And Gold (2017), and their most recent LP, 2021’s Medicine At Midnight.
Earlier in the week, the Foos confirmed a major jaunt in November and December of this year, produced by Frontier Touring.
Coming in at No. 2 on the national albums survey is Stray Kids, new at No. 2 with 5-Star (ING). It’s the K-pop act’s third charted release in Australia following Noeasy, which peaked at No. 14 in 2021; and the EP Maxident, with a No. 4 peak in 2022. Stray Kids has an Aussie connection; band mates Bang Chan and Felix both hail from these parts.
Completing an all-new top three is Metro Boomin Presents Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse (Republic/Universal). Metro Boomin’s Spidey soundtrack, which features guest appearances from Swae Lee, Future, Nas, 21 Savage, Lil Wayne, ASAP Rocky, James Blake and 2 Chainz, is new at No. 3.
Further down the list, homegrown punk-rock trio DZ Deathrays bags a fifth top 50 appearance with R.I.F.F. (Orchard). It’s new at No. 8, for the award-winning act’s third stint in the top 10, following Bloody Lovely (No. 4 in 2018) and Positive Rising: Part 2 (No. 4 in 2021).
Over on the ARIA Singles Chart, Dave and Central Cee are the top sprinters as the British hip-hop artists team up for a fresh No. 1.
“Sprinter” (via Virgin Music Australia/Universal) races to the summit, becoming the first U.K. hip-hop single to debut at the top, and ending the eight-week reign of Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” (Republic/Universal), down 1-2.
The first U.K. rap single to scale the Australian chart mountain was Russ Millions and Tion Wayne’s “Body,” completing a six-week climb in May 2021.
“Sprinter” is the first Australian chart leader for both acts. Dave’s previous best in Australia was No. 8 for 2022’s “Starlight,” and Central Cee’s top effort was 2022’s “Doja,” which reached No. 3. Based on midweek sales and streaming data published by the Official Charts Company, “Sprinter” is also on track for the U.K. No. 1.
Meanwhile, Dua Lipa’s shimmies into the Australian top 20 with “Dance The Night” (Atlantic/Warner), lifted from the soundtrack to the forthcoming Barbie movie. “Dance” rises 22-14 for the Brit’s 12th top 20 hit in Australia, ARIA reports. It’s some way from contesting her biggest career hit here, her collaboration with Elton John on “Cold Heart,” remixed by homegrown electronic trio PNAU, which logged 10 weeks at No. 1 in 2021 and 2022.
Finally, the Queen of Pop makes a long overdue appearance in the top tier. “Popular” (Universal) by the Weekend, Playboi Carti and Madonna debuts at No. 24 on the ARIA Singles Chart, published June 9. The last time Madonna appeared in the top 30 was in 2012, when “Give Me All Your Luvin’” with Nicki Minaj and M.I.A reached No. 25.