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Missy Higgins is back on top with The Second Act (via Eleven/EMI), which debuts at No. 1 on Australia’s albums chart.
Higgins’ first full-length LP in six years, The Second Act opens at No. 1 on the ARIA Chart, published Friday, Sept. 13, for her fourth career leader.
The Second Act arrives 20 years after the release of Higgins’ breakthrough debut The Sound Of White, which dominated the tally for seven non-consecutive cycles.
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Her sophomore set On A Clear Night (from 2007) and third collection The Ol’ Razzle Dazzle (2012) also led the chart, while Oz (2014), Solastalgia (2018) and Total Control (2022) all cracked the top 3.
“I could not be happier or more grateful. This album was just so important to me and I just want to say a massive thank you to all the fans. I’m so touched,” she comments, as her album hits the ARIA Chart summit. “I wanted this No. 1 more than any other album I think. It’s 20 years since The Sound of White went No. 1 so I feel like the luckiest person alive to still be doing what I do to this day. Thank you guys to much. This means the world to me.”
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With that feat, the Melbourne singer and songwriter becomes only the seventh Australian artist in history to have No. 1 albums in at least three consecutive decades.
The Second Act is the fifth homegrown album to hit No. 1 in the past month, a lineup that includes recordings by Lime Cordiale, Tones And I, Amy Shark and Cold Chisel.
Higgins will be inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame, during the annual ARIA Awards, set for Nov. 20 at Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion.
Also new to the national chart is Ten Days (Atlantic/Warner), by prolific British electronic music producer Fred Again. That’s one better than USB from June this year, which peaked at No. 4. Earlier in 2024, Fred Again embarked on unique tour of Australia – a “pop-up” jaunt, which sold almost one quarter of a million tickets, without any marketing spend.
Further down the tally, legendary Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour lands at No. 6 with Luck and Strange (Leg/Sony), his fifth solo album.
It’s the followup to Rattle That Lock, which reached No. 2 in 2015. As a member of Pink Floyd, ARIA reports, he notched 20 ARIA Top 50 albums, including leaders with Wish You Were Here (in 1975), The Wall (1979), The Division Bell (1994) and Pulse (1995).As a member of Pink Floyd, he has racked up 20 top 50 albums, hitting the summit with Wish You Were Here in 1975, The Wall in 1979, The Division Bell in 1994 and Pulse in 1995 (their biggest-selling collection, The Dark Side Of The Moon, reached at No. 2 here in 1973).
Over on the ARIA Singles Chart, Sabrina Carpenter’s “Taste” (Island/Universal) holds top spot ahead of Billie Eilish’s “Birds Of A Feather” (Interscope/Universal) and Lady Gaga’s collaboration with Bruno Mars, “Die With A Smile” (Warner/Universal), respectively.
Taylor Swift has once again surprised fans by dropping the Dombresky remix of her track “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” today (Sept. 13).
It’s been a whirlwind week for Swift, who not only endorsed Kamala Harris for the 2024 presidential election but also won seven awards at the 2024 VMAs, which were held at UBS Arena in New York on Wednesday (Sept. 11).
At the awards show on Wednesday, Swift scored Video of the Year award for “Fortnight,” a track from The Tortured Poets Department featuring Post Malone. This brings the singer-songwriter’s career total of Moonpersons to an even 30, which enables her to tie Beyoncé as the top winner in the show’s history.
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In her acceptance speech, she thanked her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, and encouraged fans to vote. “Everything this man touches turns to happiness and fun and magic,” Swift said of the Kansas City Chiefs tight end.
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The Tortured Poets Department has been an extraordinary commercial success, solidifying Swift’s reign on the Billboard charts. The album, which marks her 14th No. 1, ties her with Jay-Z for the most No. 1 albums by a solo artist. With only The Beatles ahead of her with 19 No. 1s, Swift continues to break records while exploring new creative territories.
Meanwhile “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart”, the album’s second single, opened and peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Global 200 chart, and placed within the top 10 in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Stream the Dombresky remix of Taylor Swift’s “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” below.
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Lady Gaga recently responded to an old Facebook group created by some of her ex-classmates, who mocked her dreams of stardom several years ago.
Gaga briefly attended NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts before leaving in 2005 to pursue a music career. At the time, she had just started performing under her now-iconic stage name, and word of her performances spread quickly among her peers, leading to the creation of the Facebook group titled “Stefani Germanotta, you will never be famous.”
Members of the group reportedly ridiculed her dreams of becoming famous, mocking her performances and aspirations.
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Now, a TikTok post that has gone viral, screenshots of the now-deleted Facebook group were shown, followed by a list of Gaga’s numerous accolades, including her 13 Grammy wins, an Oscar, and a long list of other prestigious awards.
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The “Die With a Smile” singer herself commented on the video, addressing the hate she experienced during her early years: “Some people I went to college [with] made this way back when. This is why you can’t give up when people doubt you or put you down—gotta keep going.”
Gaga’s journey to fame wasn’t an overnight success.
After leaving college, she began playing small gigs around New York City under the stage name Lady Gaga. Little did her classmates know, she’d go on to release The Fame just a few years later in 2008, with hits like “Just Dance” and “Poker Face” dominating the Billboard charts.
In 2016, one of her former classmates, Lauren Bohn, shared her memories of the Facebook group, recalling how the members would belittle Gaga’s ambitions and even trample on flyers for her shows.
“I also remember one dude posting a flyer for one of her upcoming gigs at a local village bar. He had clearly stomped on the flyer, an outline of his muddy [sole] struggling to eclipse her name,” Bohn wrote, praising Gaga for sticking to her dreams and breaking through despite the negativity.
Since those early days, Gaga has become one of the most decorated artists in the world. She’s won 13 Grammy Awards, including a Grammy for her A Star Is Born anthem “Shallow,” which also earned her an Oscar.
She’s landed five No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and multiple No. 1 albums, including Born This Way and Chromatica. Her latest track with Bruno Mars, “Die With a Smile,” also scored the No. 1 spot on Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts.
And let’s not forget that she was also named Woman of the Year at Billboard Women in Music 2015.
Big Sean joined Usher for a surprise love fest on Thursday night (Sept. 12) during the first of the Usher: Past Present Future Tour shows at Little Caesars Arena in the rapper’s home town of Detroit.
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Usher brought out Big Sean two-thirds of the way into the concert, during “Superstar” — which the latter samples on “Who You Are (Superstar),” a track from his just-released sixth studio album Better Me Than You.
“If we’re gonna come to Detroit we gotta make sure to shout out all the legends,” Usher told the crowd before introducing Big Sean, who spit out some lines from his track followed by his 2015 single “Blessings” as he and Usher waded into the crowd to walk to a second stage at the rear of the arena floor, which was decked out like a strip club, complete with a pole dancer and a bar.
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“Big Sean, I don’t mind you taking over the stage, but I gotta make a drink,” Usher said as he got behind the bar, mixing drinks for VIP fans in the area. Big Sean then took over with a rapid-fire mini-set that included portions of “So Good,” “A$$,” “Bounce” Back” and “I Don’t Fuck With You.”
He also told the crowd that Usher had accompanied him to the downtown Detroit Boys and Girls Club earlier in the day to inspect the facility, including its recording studio. Thanking Usher for allowing him to sample “Superstar,” he noted that “me and Usher haven’t done a song together. We made a promise we’re gonna do a song together,” although he did not say when, and even if, that might happen.”
Big Sean did get in a plug for Better Me Than You before heading off and leaving the rest of the show to Usher — who will be back at Little Caesars Arena on Friday, Sept. 13.
It was the latest major performance for Big Sean in his home town this year. He performed on the opening night of the National Football League draft in April and was part of the nationally televised opening concert for the newly renovated Michigan Central, the city’s former railway station, in June. He was performing earlier Thursday evening for a private show at a nearby nightclub, and on Monday, Sept. 16, he’ll be performing “a very special acoustic you” sponsored by Amazon Music at the Detroit Institute of Arts.
Usher — who performed the halftime show at Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas on Feb. 11 — kicked of the Past Present Future tour on Aug. 20 in Washington, D.C. and wrap up the North American leg with rescheduled concerts in his home town of Atlanta during December. A European tour begins March 29 in London with the first of 10 dates at the O2 Arena, as well as performances in Paris, Amsterdam and Berlin.
Miranda Lambert’s much-anticipated ninth album, Postcards From Texas, is officially out today (Sept. 13). The 14-song project marks the Grammy-award-winning artist’s first release since signing with Republic Records earlier this year and was recorded at Austin’s Arlyn Recording Studios. Lambert teamed up with producer Jon Randall to craft the album, which offers a glimpse into […]
After a six-year wait, Snow Patrol is back with The Forest Is the Path, their first studio album since 2018’s Wildness.
Released today (Sept. 13), the 12-track project marks a new chapter for the Northern Irish band, showcasing their signature mix of introspective lyrics and sweeping melodies.
Produced by Fraser T Smith (Adele, Stormzy) and the band, The Forest Is the Path was written by Snow Patrol’s core trio: frontman Gary Lightbody, guitarist Johnny McDaid, and guitarist Nathan Connolly. The album’s lead single, “The Beginning,” offers a taste of the band’s evolution, with its melodic thrum and poignant lyrics: “There is only you and me in this life / And I don’t want to f— it up now.”
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In a previous statement, Lightbody shared how the album reflects on love and memory, saying, “The album is rooted in reflection, introspection, and interrogation, with a key building block being the idea of looking at love from the distance of time passed.”
The Forest Is the Path also celebrates Snow Patrol’s 30-year career. “This album took us on many uncharted routes,” the band wrote on Instagram upon announcing the album.
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“We honor the past, deeply… but while we honor the past, we also want to cherish the present and look to the future.”
The band will support the LP with a tour in 2025, which includes dates in the U.K., Europe, and the U.S.
Snow Patrol has made a lasting impact on the Billboard 200, with two albums landing in the top 10. Fallen Empires (2012) peaked at No. 5, while A Hundred Million Suns (2008) reached No. 9. Their 2006 album Eyes Open spent 66 weeks on the chart, driven by the global smash hit “Chasing Cars,” which became the most-played song of the 21st century on British radio, according to licensing body PPL. The track reached No. 6 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart, and No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, powered by a sync in Grey’s Anatomy.
Stream Snow Patrol’s The Forest Is the Path below.
Billboard’s Latin Music Awards are coming soon, and we have the list of finalists. This year they include: Peso Pluma, Bad Bunny, Karol G, Grupo Frontera and more! Keep watching to see if your favorite Latin artists made the list! To see the full list of finalists, click here. Narrator: Bad Bunny, Karol G, and […]
Tastemakers and scene shakers were celebrated at Billboard‘s 2024 R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players event. While the celebrations took place inside, the neighboring Time Square intersection was also flooded with congratulatory feels, courtesy of INFINITI. On a massive jumbotron outside of the venue, a victorious message showed love to all the recipients of this year’s R&B/Hip-Hop Power […]
Chappell Roan told a photographer off at the 2024 MTV VMAs red carpet, and spoke about why she did it. Keep watching to see her reasoning. Narrator:Chappell Roan had a big night at the MTV VMAs and made a bold statement on the red carpet with a fiery exchange with a photographer. Chappell made her […]
Green Day is heading down under next year for a multi-date stadium tour.
The Rock Hall-inducted rock trio’s The Saviors Tour will swing into Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium on March 1, followed by Engie Stadium in Sydney on March 3, and wrap March 5 at CBUS Super Stadium, on the Gold Coast.
Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool will play in full Dookie, which this year marks its 30th anniversary, and American Idiot, celebrating its 20th year. The set list will include cuts from Saviors, their 14th and latest album, and hits from across their career.
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West Coast rockers AFI is the support, marking their first dates in Australia since 2017.
“We’ve never been more excited to unleash new music than with Saviors, a record that’s meant to be rocked live, together,” reads a statement from Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool. “And we cannot wait to return to Australia, it’s been way too long. So let’s thrash.”
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Live Nation and Triple M are presenting the Australian leg of Green Day’s world tour.
Green Day is always welcome in Australia. Earlier this year, Saviors arrived at No. 2 on the ARIA Chart, for the rockers’ 12th top 10 album here. Three of those LPs led the national chart: Dookie (in 1994), American Idiot (2004) and Father Of All Motherf—ers (2020).
The California band was last booked to play Australia and New Zealand in 2020 for the four-date Hella Mega Tour, also featuring Fall Out Boy and Weezer. That run, however, was cancelled due to the pandemic. The Saviors Tour will be their first visit to these parts since 2017, in support of Revolution Radio.
Green Day’s Saviors Tour made headlines last week when their performance at Comerica Park in Detroit was paused when a unauthorized drone was reportedly spotted hovering within sight of the stage. The bandmates were pulled from the stage, mid-song, returning 10 minutes later.
Green Day’s “The Saviors Tour” – Australia 2025 With AFI
March 1 — Marvel Stadium, Melbourne
March 3 — Engie Stadium, Sydney
March 5 — Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast