Paul Kelly lands first ever #1 album

Debuts for Kesha, Jen Cloher, The Preatures and more!

With his 23rd studio album, Life Is Fine, celebrated Australian singer-songwriter Paul Kelly has taken out his first ever #1 on the ARIA Albums Chart (see below).

After eight weeks out of the top ten, Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2: Awesome Mix Vol. 2 has climbed 12 spots to #8, giving an eighth week in the top ten.

With a stage show based on her life set to open in Sydney next month, Carole King’s landmark Tapestry album has re-entered the chart this week at #11.

He may have lost the #1 this week but Ed Sheeran has moved up one spot to #10 with X and seven spots to #18 with +.

Other sizable moves this week come from the Trolls soundtrack (up six to #20) and The Weeknd’s Starboy (up eight to #30).

Debuts:

#1: Paul Kelly ‘Life Is Fine’ – Legendary Australian singer-songwriter Paul Kelly scores his first ever #1 on the ARIA Albums Chart with Life Is Fine. Kelly’s 23rd studio album comes following a busy 2016 that saw him release two albums: Seven Sonnets And A Song (#9 May ’16) and Death's Dateless Night (#16 Oct. ’16). Life Is Fine takes over from Songs From The South (#2 Jun. ’97) as Kelly’s highest-charting album and from ... Nothing But A Dream (#7 Aug. ’01) as his highest-charting studio album. Paul Kelly was inducted into the ARIA Hall Of Fame in 1997.

#3: Kesha ‘Rainbow’ – The third album from Kesha gives the American artist the highest peak of her career on the ARIA Albums Chart. Rainbow is Kesha’s first album since Warrior (#12 Dec. ’12) and the first to hit the top five since debut Animal (#4 Jan. ’10). The album includes the single ‘Praying’ (#6 Aug. ’17).

#5: Jen Cloher ‘Jen Cloher’ – With her self-titled fourth album, Melbourne singer-songwriter Jen Cloher makes her top 50 debut on the ARIA Albums Chart. The album is the follow-up to 2013’s In Blood Memory and features guest appearances from Dan Luscombe of The Drones and American singer-songwriter Kurt Vile.

#13: The Preatures ‘Girlhood’ – Album two from The Preatures gives the Sydney rock band their second appearance in the top 50 on the ARIA Albums Chart. Girlhood is the follow-up to the group’s ARIA-nominated debut Blue Planet Eyes (#4 Oct. ’14).

#14: Avicii ‘Avici’ – Swedish DJ/producer Avicii picks up his first appearance on the ARIA Albums Chart since Stories (#10 Oct. ’15) with the EP Avici. The six track release includes the track ‘Without You’ (#33 Aug. ’17) as well as collaborations with Rita Ora and AlunaGeorge.

#17: Dodie ‘You EP’ – London-based singer-songwriter and YouTuber Dodie hits the top 50 for the first time with the You EP. It’s Dodie’s second EP, following on from the Intertwined EP (#54 Nov. ’16)

#31: Kate Miller-Heidke & The Sydney Symphony Orchestra ‘Live At The Sydney Opera House’ – Brisbane singer-songwriter Kate Miller-Heidke teams with The Sydney Symphony Orchestra for the live album Live At The Sydney Opera House. Recorded in March 2017, the album includes performances of ‘Caught In The Crowd’ (#33 Jun. ’09), ‘The Last Day On Earth’ (#3 Aug. ’09). Miller-Heidke’s last studio album was O Vertigo! (#4 Mar. ’14).

#37: Justice For The Damned ‘Dragged Through The Dirt’ – The first ARIA Albums Chart appearance for Sydney metalcore band Justice For The Damned. Dragged Through The Dirt is the group’s debut album. They’ll soon be out on a national tour in support of the album.