Australian Charts: Illy has the Number One Album with 'The Space Between'

Just like last week, it’s a one-two entry to the ARIA Albums Chart this week, with the sixth studio album for local rapper Illy called “The Space Between” entering at No.1, becoming his second successive chart-topper locally.

“The Space Between” by Illy becomes the 903rd No.1 Album in Australia (1965 to 2021), plus the 753rd for ARIA (1983 to 2021), and the 540th to debut in the top spot (since 1976), while it’s now the second (new) No.1 album of 2021 and the second for Illy, whose last album “Two Degrees” spent a single week at the top of the ARIA Albums Chart on November 21st, 2016.

This is the second No.1 appearance for both of the words ‘Space’ and ‘Between’, with the other ‘space’ belonging to Pearl Jam with “Backspacer” (1 week on 28-Sept-2009) and the previous ‘between’ for Jack Johnson with “In Between Dreams” (4 weeks from 7-March-2005). The new No.1 album also becomes the 252nd by an Australian Act (solo, duo, group, male or female) and the 258th by a Solo Male Artist (local or overseas). Illy is also the only solo Male Australian rapper to land two No.1 albums too, surpassing his tie with Drapht, while for local rap groups the winners are The Hilltop Hoods with six chart-toppers.

American five-piece boy-band Why Don’t We see their second studio album called “The Good Times and The Bad Ones” enter at No.2 this week, becoming their second chart entry and second Top 10 placing, as their debut set “8 Letters” debuted and peaked at No.10 in September of 2018, while no singles from this new album have managed to chart here (yet).

Rebounding two places to regain its former No.3 peak for a fourth time is the Kid Laroi mixtape “F**k Love” along with his EP “Savage”, giving us two local rappers within the Top 3 this week and four (local and o’seas) within the entire Top 10 too. This is followed by a one place drop to No.4 for the EOY/NY No.1 album “evermore” by Taylor Swift, and then a rebounding Eminem set “Music to Be Murdered by”, up twenty-one places this week to No.5 thanks to it’s deluxe 2CD edition being released last week, with it last rebounding into the Top 10 to No.7 in the last week of 2020 thanks to it’s digital release.

Dropping down four places from it’s entry position of No.2 to No.6 this week is the new American and Canadian No.1 album for this week, Morgan Wallen with “Dangerous: The Double Album”, followed by a three place dip to No.7 for “Fine Line” by Harry Styles”. Last week’s No.1 entry for Barry Gibb and other artists with “Greenfields: The Gibb Brothers’ Songbook 1” falls seven places to No.8, while Pop Smoke’s “Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon” is down two to No.9. The third and final Top 10 debut this week is the third solo album for former 1D member Zayn called “Nobody is Listening”, which becomes his second Top 10 album in Australia after his debut set “Mind of Mine” (HP-1×1, early April, 2016), while his album in-between then and now was called “Icarus Falls”, which made it to No.60 in late December of 2018.

UP:
TOP 20: There are no rising albums within the Top 20 this week, only AC/DC’s “Power Up” set is stable at No.11.
TOP 30: Machine Gun Kelly’s “Tickets to My Downfall” jumps back up nine spots to No.24 this week, while a vinyl release of the debut self-titled Harry Styles album (#5 TW on the vinyl chart) sees it rise sixteen spots to No.28.
TOP 40: Two rising albums in this chart region, the XXXTentacion set “?” (35 to No.32) and the INXS “Very Best of” (43 to No.39).
TOP 50: After debuting at No.6 in the last week of 2020, then falling out of the Top 100 in the second week of 2021, the Paul McCartney set “McCartney III” returns to the entire chart this week at No.42 thanks to a vinyl release, and it is the top selling vinyl set of the week, while the other climber into the Top 50 this week is up four spots to No.48, Doja Cat with her second set “Hot Pink”, which also has a No.46 debut from the album in “Streets” this week.

DOWN:
TOP 20: Three of the four Top 10 dropouts fall into the Top 20 this week, “What You See is What You Get” by Luke Combs (8 to No.12, HP-1×1, WI10-16), “Future Nostalgia” by Dua Lipa (10 to No.13, HP-1×1, WI10-17) and “Plastic Hearts” for Miley Cyrus (9 to No.15, HP-3, WI10-6). Falling four places each are “folklore” by Taylor Swift and “Positions” by Ariana Grande to No.16 and No.18 respectively, while Guy Sebastian drops five places to No.20 with his “T.R.U.T.H.” set.
TOP 30: After leaping back up to No.17 last week The Weeknd set “After Hours” drops back down five to No.22, with six place drops for both the Luke Combs debut album “This One’s for You” (21 to No.27) and the Maroon 5 “Singles Collection” (24 to No.30).
TOP 40: Eminem’s “Curtain Call: The Hits” is down four places to No.31, and as the album came out sixteen years ago (Dec 2005), it this week notches up it’s 260th week within the Top 100, that’s equal to five years worth of charting. Falling five places each are Ed Sheeran’s “No.6 Collaboration Project” and “AM” for The Arctic Monkeys (#4 vinyl TW) to No.34 and No.35 respectively, while Lime Cordiale had a heap of entries in this years Triple J Hottest 100, so I expect their set “14 Steps to a Better You” to rebound next week, but this week it is down six to No.36, as too is the Queen biopic soundtrack for ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ (31 to No.37).
TOP 50: Spacey Jane scored the #2 position in the JJJ100 2020 poll, and their set could also rise next week in “Sunlight”, which this week falls twelve places to No.44, which is followed by the fourth and final Top 10 departing set, Passenger with “Songs for the Drunk and Broken Hearted” (HP-6, WI10-1), which plummets thirty-nine places to land at No.45. Two female U.S. rappers who also drop are SZA with “Ctrl”, down ten to No.49, followed by Megan Thee Stallion with “Good News”, slipping eight to No.50.

NEW ENTRIES
* #46 (mix#1) – DemiDevil (mixtape) by Ashnikko (Parlophone) is the first mixtape for the U.S. singer songwriter, and it features her singles chart entry from last year called “Daisy” (HP-53) along with guest vocals from Kelis and Avril Lavigne (thanks to samples from their songs) and a guest appearance by Grimes and Princess Nokia.

* #47 (LP#11) – Spare Ribs by Sleaford Mods (Rough Trade) is this first album chart entry in Australia for the English electro-punk duo from Nottingham, with this being their eleventh studio album, which features guest Billy and Amy from the band Amyl & the Sniffers, and the album has become their highest charting in their homeland of England, coming in at No.4 this past week.

*ARIA Chart info is based on sales for the week from the 15th to the 21st of January, 2021.