Genesis breaks the top 5

Four-time ARIA Award winner Genesis Owusu is back. The second studio album from the homegrown hero, Struggler, makes a top 5 debut on the ARIA Albums Chart this week, while the Barbie soundtrack marks a second non-consecutive week on top. 

Genesis’ first album, Smiling With No Teeth, won ARIA Album of the Year and peaked at #27 in 2021. The debut of Struggler marks a chart peak and the first time he has broken the top 10.

Barbie The Album rises from #2 to #1 this week, with three songs from the soundtrack sitting in the top 10 on the Singles Chart: Dua Lipa’s Dance The Night at #5, Billie Eilish’s former #1 What Was I Made For? at #7, and Barbie World by Nicki Minaj, Ice Spice and Aqua at #9.

Hozier’s Unreal Unearth is new at #13. It is the Irish singer-songwriter’s third album. His first, Hozier, peaked at #3 here in 2014, while the follow-up, Wasteland, Baby!, reached #8 in 2019.

Dan Sultan’s eponymous album debuts at #15, marking the Australian singer’s eighth album. To date, his best performer was Blackbird, which hit #4 in 2014. Sultan has won four ARIA Awards, most recently in 2019, when Nali & Friends won Best Children’s Album.

Continuing the local success, Gretta Ray’s second studio album Positive Spin debuts at #17, while Australian metalcore legends Parkway Drive enter at #32 with Don’t Close Your Eyes. The expanded version of the two-time ARIA Award winning band's 2004 debut includes the original eight tracks, plus bonus tracks included from their split album with I Killed The Prom Queen and compilation albums What We've Built and True Til Death, Volume 1. 

ISTJ – The 3rd Album by NCT Dream also debuts at #20, marking the first release by the sub-unit of the South Korean boy band NCT to chart in Australia. Another NCT sub-unit, NCT 127, has charted twice here, with 2 Baddies reaching #3 last year.

On the singles chart, Doja Cat’s Paint The Town Red jumps from #6 to #1, marking her first #1 in Australia. Her previous best was Kiss Me More featuring SZA, which reached #2 in 2020.

On the back of his Australian tour, Luke Combs’ Fast Car bounces to a new peak of #2, up from #8 last week. It reached #3 in June, topping the original version by Tracy Chapman, which peaked at #4 in 1988. Luke’s The Kind Of Love We Make climbs to a new peak of #16 in its 62nd week on the chart while several other Luke tracks also rise, including When It Rains It Pours (#24) and Beautiful Crazy(#34).