CHART BEATS: A JOURNEY
THROUGH POP

Success in America has always been seen as the jackpot for music acts around the world, and sometimes all the stops have to be pulled out...

I've probably said this before — I do tend to repeat myself a bit — but when it comes to cover versions, if you're going to bother remaking a song, you may as well do something interesting with it rather than just record it in exactly the same way as the original. Elton John and RuPaul had a kiki... without Kiki. This week in 1994, three of the week's new entries on the ARIA singles chart were updates of old songs — two from the '70s and one from the '60s — and all of them di

If 1993 had been the year of reggae, 1994 was shaping up to be the year of the big ballad. In weeks past, we've seen hits by Celine Dion...

Each week, there's usually something really obvious for me to talk about before I dive into the new entries on the ARIA singles chart. It...

Before songs were constantly available in the digital age, tracks that hadn't been successful first time around had to be re-released if there was any hope of them charting. The practice was fairly common, with record companies often believing in a song enough (or wanting a chance to recoup some of their initial outlay) to give it a second shot. D:Ream subscribed to the theory that if you release a song enough times, it will become a hit Sometimes, a remix and/or new video we

It's weeks like this that make looking back at the ARIA top 50 singles chart from 1994 enjoyable — six new entries that I (mostly) like...

It's not every week a future number 1 single enters the ARIA chart. It's even less common for two chart-toppers to debut in the one week....

It's a testament to how massive a music act is when there are huge hits in their back catalogue that can become forgotten. Artists like...

It's funny how some pop acts can be absolutely massive in one country and barely cause a ripple in another. That was the situaition with...

Few would have guessed this week in 1994 that the rapper making his first appearance on the ARIA top 50 would go on to have one of the most successful careers in modern music, appearing on no less than 26 hits to date. Before long, "What's My Name" isn't a question this rapper would need to ask Yes, many of those appearances were as a guest on someone else's track or in collaboration with other performers, but his impact is not to be denied, especially since the turn of the c

Where New Edition and New Kids On The Block led in the '80s, countless other boy bands followed in the '90s. And this week in 1994, a...

There's always one — the pop group member who breaks from the band to explore new musical opportunities. From Siobhan Fahey to Geri...

Welcome to 1994, with our look at the ARIA singles charts from years gone by firmly in the mid-'90s — a post-grunge explosion, pre-girl power era where anything went on the top 50. Although compared to 1993, there was a lot less reggae. Music's three musketeers swashbuckled their way to number 1 And what better way to start off the year than with the arrival of one of 1994's top 10 highest-selling singles — a three-way sing-off by a trio of superstars who'd all visited numb

I know I've been a bit rough on 1993 from time to time over the past 12 months as I've recapped each week's ARIA singles chart from that year (links to all previous posts at the bottom of this one). But there was also a lot of great pop music that came out that year. These two new entries would end up as the top 2 by late February 1994 In fact, the new entries on the final chart for 1993 were a pretty good batch of tunes as far as I was concerned, with one of the three new po

I recently held a poll on the Chart Beats Facebook page about whether I should continue my journey through the ARIA singles charts of...

Music history is littered with singles that never saw the light of day in Australia for one reason or another. From Madonna alone, the...

Back in 1993, it was still possible to wring every last possible single out of a smash album, whereas these days the best way to have a...

There are some voices that are unmistakable — for better or for worse. And this week in 1993, one of the most distinctive singers on the...

Cute kids are a sitcom and advertising staple, and this week in 1993, pre-teens were an integral part of two of the new entries on the ARIA singles chart. Cute kids were part of the appeal of two of this week's new entries In one case, a 10-year-old girl provided the enduring visual image for a top 10 hit by a new US band. In the other, a five-year-old French kid entered the chart with his former European number 1 single. The number 1 single in Australia this week in 1993 w

Back in 1988, Salt 'n' Pepa had been one of the first hip-hop acts to enjoy a big hit on the ARIA chart and, as 1992 began, landed one of...