CHART BEATS: A JOURNEY
THROUGH POP

What do "Take On Me" by a-ha , Bros's "I Owe You Nothing" and "Creep" by Radiohead all have in common? Very little, but they were all...

From Dame Edna to Priscilla , Australia has always liked a bit of camp. And there was no camper song in 1993 than one of the new entries...

When it comes to chart success, some artists have the misfortune of being ahead of their time. Although great for their legacy, it...

One number 1. Three number 2s. Three number 3s. Nine other top 20 singles. INXS had enjoyed an illustrious career on the ARIA top 50 in...

Things change quickly in pop music. One minute you're landing hits and selling a stack of singles, the next you're barely making the top...

One day you're up, the next you're down — something that can be said for many of the acts we'll see in this week's flashback to the ARIA...

It's always interesting how differently an artist can fare in one country compared to another, especially when their debut single is a...

You've got to hand it to the Swedes — they really do know their way around a good pop song. This week, the third most successful Swedish...

Yes, this week in 1993, a single debuted at number 1 for only the fourth time in ARIA chart history. But the less time I have to spend...

Some artists start their careers with massive success and then it's all downhill from there. Others begin big and just keep getting...

There are some songs you know will be hits eventually. All it takes is the right version by the right performer at the right time — like...

Back in 1993 when the release of a new album wasn't preceded by a dripfeed of tracks in the weeks prior, getting the order of singles right was crucial in setting up a successful album campaign. And no one knew that better than Janet Jackson, whose lead single from her then-current album had given her the first Australian chart-topper of her career. Things might have been very different if Janet Jackson had gone with "If" as lead single As she arrived with the album's second

What a difference three years makes. In 1990, countless R&B songs that had been big hits in the US made little to no impact in Australia....

Music acts remake songs for all sorts of reasons. This week in 1993, Australia's favourite British boy band debuted on the ARIA chart...

This week in 1993 on the ARIA singles chart, two instances of a common problem for musicians occured: the less successful follow-up to a...

In between all the reggae, grunge, Eurodance and rock remakes that defined 1993, moments of pure pop were few and far between. Thank...

Some songs are bigger than a chart position — going on to sum up a moment in time or become a statement about life. "Everybody Hurts" by R.E.M. is one of those songs. Michael Stipe in the memorable video for "Everybody Hurts" Although a substantial hit following its debut on the ARIA singles top 50 this week in 1993, its sentiment and message have seen its legacy go beyond sales success into something more meaningful. The biggest sales success of this week in 1993 was UB40's

By 1993, sampling was well-established as part of music — and was generally being done much more legally than at first. Great samples helped PM Dawn and Us3 into the top 50 This week that year, two singles based heavily on samples made their debut on the ARIA top 50 and also worked well as new songs in their own right. A track with a couple of samples in it was still at number 1 this week in 1993. "Informer" by Snow spent its fifth and final week on top. Off The Chart Numbe

Originally posted in 2018. Updated in 2020. When I started this blog six years ago, I took a look back at the first ARIA chart I...

On the ARIA singles chart this week in 1993, there were a handful of ho-hum entries in the top 50, but something much more interesting...