CHART BEATS: A JOURNEY
THROUGH POP

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About Chart Beats

Chart Beats: A Journey Through Pop has been looking back at music from the '80s, '90s, 2000s and 2010s since 2012. Run by freelance journalist and content creator Gavin Scott in Sydney, Australia.

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Chart Recap
One-Hit Wonders
Interview

Dec 15, 2015
7 min

This Week In 1990: December 16, 1990

It's that time of year again — when the ARIA charts got ready to close down for the festive period. This week in 1990, the final top 50 b...

Dec 8, 2015
5 min

This Week In 1990: December 9, 1990

What do Pseudo Echo, Wa Wa Nee, Midnight Oil and The Church all have in common? Despite a run of hits in Australia, they all only had one...

Dec 1, 2015
4 min

This Week In 1990: December 2, 1990

Just like the chart from this week in 1985, there were also clear signs that the Christmas release period was in full effect this week in...

Nov 24, 2015
3 min

This Week In 1990: November 25, 1990

Regular readers will know that there were a number of big hits in 1990 that I couldn't stand — "Joey", "Check Out The Chicken", "All I Wa...

Nov 17, 2015
6 min

This Week In 1990: November 18, 1990

After a slow start in Australia, rap music was off and running in 1990. Two hip-hop singles had already been to the top of the ARIA top 5...

Nov 10, 2015
5 min

This Week In 1990: November 11, 1990

It used to be a proven formula: hit movie plus power ballad equals chart smash. And indeed, this week in 1990, two of the week's new entr...

Nov 3, 2015
5 min

This Week In 1990: November 4, 1990

It's always been the case in music that when one act fades away, another similar artist is waiting in the wings to take its place. And to...

Oct 27, 2015
5 min

This Week In 1990: October 28, 1990

It's amazing the difference a remix can make — not only to how good a song sounds but also to its chart performance. There have been coun...

Oct 20, 2015
4 min

This Week In 1990: October 21, 1990

They might look like a cross between Fabio and Derek Zoolander but the two guys below are music royalty. Not only were they second genera...

Oct 13, 2015
4 min

This Week In 1990: October 14, 1990

Just when I was beginning to despair at the state of the ARIA chart, things took a turn for the better this week in 1990. After a shockin...

Oct 6, 2015
3 min

This Week In 1990: October 7, 1990

As I write this post, I'm sitting on an un-air conditioned train in Sydney on a 35 degree day, and so it's very hard to muster much enthu...

Sep 29, 2015
5 min

This Week In 1990: September 30, 1990

It's the rare backing singer who makes the transition to becoming a star in their own right. Luther Vandross, Sheryl Crow and Whitney Hou...

Sep 22, 2015
4 min

This Week In 1990: September 23, 1990

As the latest seasons of The X Factor continue in both Australia and the UK, a new batch of contestants prepare for what seems to be an i...

Sep 15, 2015
5 min

This Week In 1990: September 16, 1990

In yesterday's 1985 post, we saw INXS debut at number 5 with "What You Need", the lead single from their Listen Like Thieves album. Almos...

Sep 8, 2015
4 min

This Week In 1990: September 9, 1990

As I take my weekly looks back at the ARIA charts from 1985 and 1990, it's always nice when there's a link between the two — like there i...

Sep 1, 2015
5 min

This Week In 1990: September 2, 1990

By 1990, image makeovers were not unusual - plenty of stars had traded in their tired old look for a shiny new veneer during the '80s. Bu...

Aug 25, 2015
4 min

This Week In 1990: August 26, 1990

It can happen without warning. One minute, a music act has the world at its feet, racking up hit singles and multi-platinum albums seemin...

Aug 18, 2015
7 min

This Week In 1990: August 19, 1990

It's a question every singer in a group must ask themselves - when's the right time to go solo? Step out on your own too early and fans m...

Aug 11, 2015
5 min

This Week In 1990: August 12, 1990

And then a new artist comes along, with the vocal range to carry on... right up the chart - but who could have predicted that the female ...

Aug 4, 2015
6 min

This Week In 1990: August 5, 1990

This week in 1985, the highest new entry on the ARIA top 50 singles chart was soundtrack hit "We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)" b...

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