by Andrew Miller
"I'm so stoked I could cry! I'm gonna ring my ex-girl in Spain and tell her the news," enthuses Tiki Taane as he scores his first #1 single, and in doing so becomes the first local act to go all the way based purely on digital sales.
Always On My Mind becomes the 62nd Kiwi chart-topper, more than half of which are credited to solo male acts.by Andrew Miller
"I'm so stoked I could cry! I'm gonna ring my ex-girl in Spain and tell her the news," enthuses Tiki Taane as he scores his first #1 single, and in doing so becomes the first local act to go all the way based purely on digital sales.
Always On My Mind becomes the 62nd Kiwi chart-topper, more than half of which are credited to solo male acts.It was touch and go, having been held out of the #1 position for the last month and a half by Chris Brown. In fact, it's taken 11 weeks on the chart to finally reach the peak, the last five of which have been at #2 or #3.
The song is not only the week's top-seller, but it's fortunes are helped as well by a surge in airplay as Adult Contemporary stations have begun to spin the track following in the footsteps of Pop, Urban and Alternative radio. As a result, Always On My Mind moves six places to #4 on the RadioScope100 as well - the most-played Kiwi song of the week.
The parent album Past, Present, Future meanwhile sits at #6 on that list and has just gone platinum.
Return Of The Drop
It's a pretty good week for the folks at Rhythmethod, and digital distributors DRMNZ. Not only do the two companies have their first #1 single, with Tiki Taane, they also team up to see a #14 debut for another act - the much-loved Fat Freddy's Drop.
In the 108 chart weeks, with over 120,000 copies sold and numerous awards, Based On A True Story is one of the most successful local albums of all time.
For a band that took several years to record a debut studio album, it's perhaps not surprising that we've had to wait a while for the follow-up.
Now the wait is almost over; with lead track featuring English soul singer Alice Russell going on digital sale. The Camel lands straight in at #14, taking highest new entry honours for the week and boding well for their sophomore set.
Now That's To Be Expected
With the boom in digital sales and consumers creating their own custom-compilations from downloads, one might think the days of pre-determined physical compilation CDs are numbered.
Think again. Now That's What I Call Music 27 goes where you might not expect it to - straight to the top of the Compilations chart. In its first few days on sale Now 27 hits platinum status with its collection of 18 current hits.
Yanni Who?
Greek pianist Yiannis Chrysomallis relocated to the US at the age of 18, calling himself simply Yanni. He's had a trio of chart albums in the mid '90s here; the biggest being Live At The Acropolis which hit #6 in 1995 but has been out of print for a number of years.
Now re-released as a DVD it leaps straight to the top of the DVD chart this week, ending the 13-week run by Andre Rieu.
The New Singles
#14 Fat Freddy's Drop featuring Alice Russell - The Camel
See story above.
#37 The Veronicas - This Love
Brisbane twins, Lisa Marie and Jessica Louise, have a pair of hits this week. In fact, they're back-to-back. The 21-week former #9 Untouched is at #36, while brand new This Love makes an appearance at #37. Both cuts are taken from their #23 sophomore album Hook Me Up (#24 this week).
#39 Disturbed - Inside The Fire
The staying power of the Disturbed Indestructible album (two weeks at #1, and now into a third straight frame at #2) is complemented by the fact the Chicago hard rockers now also have their very first hit single, Inside The Fire, fresh at #39.
The New Albums
#8 Motley Crue - Saints Of Los Angeles
Fourteen years ago the self-titled Motley Crue was the last time Vince Neil, Mick Mars, Nikki Sixx and Tommy Lee graced our charts. Now Saints Of Los Angeles claims number five on the album charts and is their second to go Top 10. October 1989's #5 album Dr Feelgood is Motley Crue's biggest to date here.
#13 Hillsong - This Is Our God
Hillsong, the Sydney-based church formed by former Kiwi state house kid Brian Houston features Brooke Fraser amongst its congregation. The #13 debut of This Is Our God equals their previous highest placing, achieved in March 2007 with All Of The Above. In all, Hillsong have charted eight worship albums here since 2002.
#22 John Mayer - Where The Light Is: Live In Los Angeles
It's a double debut for John Mayer and Where The Light Is: Live In Los Angeles. The CD version drops in at #22, while the DVD version cracks #2 on that list. The 30-year-old American, last heard on Fall Out Boy's cover of Michael Jackson's Beat It, now has five chart albums here over the past six years.
You can contact Andrew at: andrewmiller@radioscope.co.nz
"The Official New Zealand Top 40 premieres Friday nights at 8pm on C4"
09/07/08