Ball Park Music Scores First No. 1 Album on ARIA Chart With ‘Like Love’

After more than a decade of building one of Australia’s most beloved indie catalogues, Ball Park Music has officially reached the top.

The Brisbane five-piece scores its first-ever No. 1 album on the ARIA Albums Chart with Like Love, debuting at the summit on the chart dated April 11. It’s the band’s eighth studio album — and the first to reach the top spot after a long streak of near-misses. Until now, three of the band’s releases had stalled at No. 2: Puddinghead (2014), Ball Park Music (2020), and Weirder & Weirder (2022). Seven of their albums have landed in the top 10.

Like Love also claims a key milestone as the first Australian-made album to top the ARIA Albums Chart in 2025.

The last local release to hit No. 1 was Kylie Minogue’s Tension II, which opened at the summit in late October 2024. That was one of six Australian albums to top the chart last year — an achievement that speaks to the rarity of homegrown titles hitting No. 1 in today’s global streaming-dominated landscape.

The band will celebrate the release of Like Love with a massive 30-date tour across Australia and New Zealand, kicking off May 2 at the Forth Pub in Tasmania. The album was released independently via the band’s own label, and continues their streak of success as a self-managed, self-releasing act — a rarity in an industry dominated by major-label machinery.

In this week’s top three, Ball Park Music holds off strong international competition from Sabrina Carpenter’s Short N’ Sweet at No. 2 and Tate McRae’s So Close to What at No. 3.

Melbourne metalcore band Thornhill enters the ARIA Albums Chart at No. 4 with BODIES, continuing their upward trajectory. The band’s debut album The Dark Road peaked at No. 20 in 2019, followed by Heroine, which hit No. 3 in 2022.

Elton John also enters the chart this week at No. 26 with Who Believes in Angels?, a collaborative collection with Brandi Carlile. It marks his 42nd top 40 album in Australia. His first ARIA top 20 entry dates back to 1971’s Elton John (No. 2), and his last studio effort to crack the top 20 was The Lockdown Sessions, which peaked at No. 2 in 2021.

Folk legend and ARIA Hall of Fame inductee John Williamson also makes a new chart appearance at No. 51 with How Many Songs. The prolific songwriter has released over 20 studio albums and first hit No. 1 in 1989 with Warragul. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2010 and remains one of Australia’s most enduring voices in country and folk music.

Over on the ARIA Singles Chart, Alex Warren’s breakout hit “Ordinary” holds the No. 1 position for a third straight week, continuing its impressive reign. Rosé and Bruno Mars’ collaborative single “APT” holds steady at No. 2, while Chappell Roan’s viral anthem “Pink Pony Club” climbs to a new peak of No. 3, up one spot from last week.

The highest new entry belongs to Ed Sheeran, whose latest single “Azizam” lands at No. 30. The track — the lead single from his forthcoming album Play — becomes Sheeran’s 51st top 40 single in Australia. He’s already claimed six No. 1 hits on the ARIA Singles Chart across his career.

Despite a strong week for international artists, just one Australian song appears in the ARIA Singles Chart’s top 50: Vance Joy’s enduring 2013 hit “Riptide,” which slips from No. 36 to No. 42.

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