Olivia Dean Beats Harry Styles to ARIA Chart Crown

Harry Styles’ comeback can’t overcome Olivia Dean on Australia’s singles chart, while Megadeth rocks harder than anyone else on the national albums tally.

After more than 40 years of blowing hair back with their thunderous brand of metal, Megadeth bag their first No. 1 on the ARIA chart with their 17^th — and final — studio album.

The self-titled collection Megadeth debuts at No. 1, ahead of Dean’s The Art of Loving, unchanged at No. 2, and finishes the most recent chart cycle as the best-seller on wax.

All told, the American heavy music legends boast 11th top 50 appearance in these parts, including three top 10 entries: Youthanasia (peaking at No. 9 in 1994), Dystopia (No. 6 in 2016) and The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead (No. 2 in 2022).

Also new to the chart is Louis Tomlinson, whose third solo album, How Did I Get Here?, completes a podium finish at No. 3. That feat keeps the British pop singer’s streak of solo top 10 appearances intact. His 2020 post-One Direction debut Walls reached No. 6, and his sophomore effort, 2022’s Faith In The Future, went to No. 2.

U.S. singer and YouTuber Poppy has her hands full with Empty Hands, new at No. 7. It’s her seventh studio album and first to crack the ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart.

Homegrown indie act The Paper Kites fly for a top 20 debut with If You Go There, I Hope You Find It. It’s new at No. 13. Hailing from Melbourne, If You Go There, I Hope You Find It is the rock act’s seventh studio album and their third top 20 spot after States (No. 17 in 2013) and Twelvefour (No. 8 in 2015).

Close behind is EsDeeKid, who converts viral notoriety into a cold, hard chart position with Rebel. It’s new at No. 14.

Olivia Dean can’t stop winning. On the weekend, the British singer and songwriter came in at No. 1 on Triple J’s Hottest 100 countdown with “Man I Need”. The hit continues to reign over the ARIA Singles Chart for an 11th consecutive week.

Only Dean could stop Harry Styles from ascending the chart throne, published late Friday, Jan. 30. The former One Direction star’s first new music in three years, “Aperture,” debuts at No. 2. Styles has accumulated 13th top 10 singles as a solo artist, including two leaders: “Sign Of The Times: (one week in 2017) and “As It Was” (eight weeks in 2022).

As a member of 1D, Styles enjoyed 10 top 10 hits including a leader with 2015’s “Drag Me Down.”

As it does every year, several entries on triple j’s Hottest 100 are energized on the ARIA Singles Chart. Among them, Olivia Dean’s “So Easy (To Fall In Love)”lifts 6-4, its peak position; Keli Holiday’s “Dancing2” returns to the chart at No. 24, besting its previous peak of No. 66; while Tame Impala’s ”Dracula” bounces 51-26, trouncing its previous peak of No. 28.