Finally, Ball Park Music has a No. 1 album.
When the ARIA Charts were published late Friday, April 11th, the Brisbane pop-rock outfit was atop the leaderboard with Like Love, for their first leader.
Ball Park Music has released eight studio albums, seven of which impacted the top 10. Three of those reached the runner-up spot: Puddinghead in 2014, Ball Park Music in 2020 and Weirder & Weirder in 2022. Now they have a No. 1.
Like Love is the first homemade LP to lead the ARIA Albums Chart this year. Indeed, the last Australian artist to go to the top was Kylie Minogue, whose Tension II opened at the top in late October 2024, one of six Australian-made leaders that year.
Ball Park Music will support the new album with a 30-date tour of ANZ, starting Friday, May 2nd at Forth Pub, Fort, Tasmania.
Completing the podium is Sabrina Carpenter’s Short N’ Sweet and Tate McRae’s So Close To What.
Meanwhile, Australian metal specialists Thornhill drop in at No. 4 on the ARIA Albums Chart with BODIES. Hailing from Melbourne, Thornhill’s debut album, The Dark Road, peaked at No. 20 in 2019, and their most recent, Heroine, reached No. 3 in 2022.
Also new to the chart is Elton John’s collaborative collection with Brandi Carlile, Who Believes In Angels? It’s new at No. 26. The British pop legend has landed 41 top 20 albums, stretching back to his self-titled 1971 album, which peaked at No. 2, ARIA reports. His last studio album to crack the ARIA top 20 was 2021’s The Lockdown Sessions, flying to No. 2.
ARIA Hall of Fame inducted folk hero John Williamson makes a dent on the tally with How Many Songs, new at No. 51. Williamson has released 21 studio albums, including Warragul, which logged one week at No. 1 in 1989. Across his career, Williamson has collected four ARIA Awards and was elevated into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2010.
Over on the ARIA Singles Chart, Alex Warren stays put at No. 1 for a third straight week with “Ordinary,” ahead of Rosé and Bruno Mars’ “APT.” (unchanged at No. 2) and Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club” (up 4-3 for a new peak position), respectively.
The top debutant is Ed Sheeran, whose new single “Azizam” appears at No. 30. The lead track from the British singer and songwriter’s forthcoming album, Play, “Azizam” is his 51st top 40 single, a tally that includes six No. 1s.
Vance Joy’s 2013 smash “Riptide” is the only homegrown cut on the ARIA Top 50, down 36-42.
