Many have challenged the late great Michael Jackson, but it’s taken a bunch of Central Coast teens to bring his reign on the charts to an end. Short Stack have knocked Jacko off the ARIA charts top spot this week with their debut album Stack is the New Black.
It was another impressive debut for Paul Dempsey, who’s sitting at number five with his sophomore solo effort Everything is True. Meanwhile Lisa Mitchell has slipped down a couple of notches with her debut effort Wonder. It’s sitting at number eight.
Kate Miller-Heidke is leading the Aussie charge in the singles charts. Her latest track, “The Last Day on Earth”, is holding steady at number three. She’s just edged out Guy Sebastian, who jumps two places to sit at number four with “Like it Like That.”
Following global trends, Michael Jackson’s albums and singles have dominated this week’s ARIA charts. The late King of Pop has an amazing 15 albums in the top 100, and another 34 singles in the charts this week.
MJ is holding down the top three spots on the album charts with The Essential Michael Jackson, #1s, and Thriller. Thriller’s title track is also leading the singles charge, sitting pretty at number three ahead of “Black or White,” “Billie Jean,” and “Man in the Mirror.”
The Michael Jackson sold 62, 015 albums last week, which equates to 29.6% of all albums sold. Not a bad effort at all I’d say!
Click below to see just how Michael charted this week.
This week the Australian Idol contestants tackled the music of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. He might have gone a little wacko over the years, but it’s impossible to deny the genius of his musical output. Our Idols showed they were up to the challenge with some exceptional performances.Even guest judge Jermaine Jackson thought so!
Teale Jakubenko kicked things off with a sultry version of “Billie Jean.” It took me a little while to warm to this as it was a carbon copy of the rendition American Idol winner David Cook did earlier this year. But by the end he had me. Teale’s voice is getting better and better, and he brought an emotional intensity that really tapped into the lyric.
Next up we had self-confessed Jacko fan Mark Spano with a song he felt reflected his personality rather than his ability: “Bad.” The problem with this song is that the verses tend to operate on one level. The choruses really kicked, but by the time they came in most people had already changed channel or started a conversation.
Chrislyn Hamilton was ambitious, taking on the monster hit “Thriller.” It was always going to be a big ask, and she just didn’t have what it took to carry this off. There wasn’t quite enough energy, and combined with some pitch problems a great song became a little lacklustre.
Luke Dickens followed with a very smart choice: a bluesy cover of “The Way You Make Me Feel.” When I saw he’d picked this pop classic I was really nervous, but his rootsy makeover was right in the pocket. He took a risk here but it definitely paid off. For a man who was a sheep shearer a few months ago, his musical instincts astound me.
Wes Carr closed the night with a showstopping version of “Black or White.” This is what a Michael Jackson song should be: pure unadulterated fun. He held nothing back here and I reveled in it. I actually gave him a standing ovation in my lounge room. There are not enough superlatives to describe how good this was.
We’re really getting to the pointy end of the competition, and I’m a little worried Mark Spano won’t be around to see it. Chrislyn didn’t have her finest performance either, but as the only girl left she might be given another chance. All will be revealed tomorrow night on the verdict show!
Sony BMG Australia plan to release the ultimate Michael Jackson compilation just for its local fans. For three weeks starting today, the record label is encouraging Aussie MJ devotees to vote for their favourite songs at mj50.com.au.
The 30 most popular songs will appear on the album alongside a new megamix by Jason Nevins. King of Pop will be released only in Australia on August 29, Michael Jackson’s 50th birthday.
