Tones and I has managed to achieve the latest massive achievement in a long list of highlights, taking out the top spot on the ARIA albums chart with her highly-anticipated debut album, Welcome to The Madhouse.
First released last week, Welcome to The Madhouse was a long time coming for the globally-recognised artist. Arriving almost two years on from her debut EP, The Kids Are Coming, the record was bolstered by the success of singles such as “Fly Away”, “Won’t Sleep”, and “Cloudy Day”, with all of them receiving widespread recognition from both critics and the public alike.
“Wow wow wow!” said Tones and I in a press release. “Thank you so much Australia for your ongoing love and support, I am blown away. I can’t bloody believe it, I will not be quitting any time soon. Haha!”
“This is an incredible result for Tones And I, and for Australian music,” added ARIA CEO Annabelle Herd. “As the world’s number one songwriter in 2020 and after ruling the singles charts in 30 countries, Tones epitomises the unbelievable credibility of our home-grown recording industry.
“The chart-topping Welcome to The Madhouse continues an incredible string of successes that we are proud to champion.”
Notably, Tones and I also took part in a world-first last week when her appearance on the first edition of Rolling Stone Australia was sold as a limited edition NFT. On sale for just 24 hours earlier this week, 91 people purchased the NFT, which also came with a digital download of Tones’ album, which in turn saw each sale being ARIA Charts accredited.
“We know that being featured on the cover of an iconic masthead like Rolling Stone is a monumental moment for artists, and it was no different for Tones And I who was picked by The Brag Media’s Managing Editor, Poppy Ried, to feature on the cover of our first issue last May,” explained The Brag Media’s Chief Executive Officer, Luke Girgis.
“By minting an exclusive NFT of this cover to celebrate the issue and create a one-of-a-kind collectable for the NFT community, we also have an opportunity to – hopefully – help Tones And I achieve the first-ever #1 ARIA album sold as a NFT on our new store,” Girgis added.
In addition to Tones and I managing to take out the top spot on the Albums chart (the tenth Aussie album to do so this year), the Australian flag is clearly flying high right now, with The Kid LAROI also appearing atop the Singles chart with his recently-released single, “Stay”.
Featuring Justin Bieber on vocals, “Stay” previously debuted atop the Singles chart just last week, knocking Ed Sheeran off the top spot, and giving him his second number one single since 2020’s “Without You” reached the top spot in May.
