Ed Sheeran’s Divide (Warner) logs an eleventh non-consecutive week atop Australia’s albums chart while Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s “Despacito” (Republic/Universal) featuring Justin Bieber, manages a third week at No. 1 on the national singles survey.
As fans clamoured to buy tickets to Sheeran’s upcoming stadium tour of these parts, it turns out they were also still reaching for his third album in significant numbers. Divide is quadruple platinum certified Down Under (280,000 units) and it holds at No. 1 in its 13th week on the chart, as former Powderfinger frontman Bernard Fanning opens at No. 2 with Brutal Dawn (Dew Process/Universal), his latest solo set. Brutal Dawn is Fanning’s fourth solo album, and fourth to crack the top two of the ARIA Albums Chart.
Also new this week is Ark (UNFD/Warner), the fourth album from local metalcore act In Hearts Wake. Ark sails in at No. 3 for the Byron Bay band’s third top five set and is the followup to Skydancer, which reached No. 2 in May 2015. FormerOne Direction singer Harry Styles’ one-time chart-topper Harry (Columbia/Sony) dips 2-4.
Four familiar faces make a big impression this week as the 50th anniversary reissue of the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (EMI) returns to the chart at No. 5. On its release in Australia in July 1967, the album spent 30 weeks at No. 1 between August 1967 and March 1968, according to ARIA. Sgt. Pepper’s seemingly makes a periodical march into the top 20. The celebrated set reached No. 4 in June 1987 when it was first released on CD to mark its 20th anniversary and again hit No. 16 when the legendary British band’s catalogue was remastered and rereleased in September 2009.
Meanwhile, Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s “Despacito” leads an all-international top 20 on the ARIA Singles Chart. The highest-ranked song from a homegrown artist this week comes from singer-songwriter Dean Lewis, whose "Waves” (Island/Universal) crashes 16-22.
The highest new entry this week is “There For You” (Epic/Sony), the collaboration between Dutch DJ Martin Garrix and Aussie singer and producer Troye Sivan. It starts at No. 25.