Josh Pyke Duels Jay-Z For Top Chart Spot

The number one spot of next week's ARIA Albums Chart is still very much up in the air this week with Bliss N Eso in with a chance of holding onto the top spot, according to midweek figures.

Last week their album Circus In The Sky gave them their second consecutive number one with over 20,000 scans – the most of any local artist's first week this year. The main competition comes from Jay-Z whose new album Magna Carta was released on Monday. As we've seen recently, releases which are at odds with the ARIA cycle (Friday through Friday) have struggled and with only five days of sales to count on it's actually too early to tell the impact Jay-Z will have on the chart.

Another challenge comes from the corner of Sydney troubadour Josh Pyke, although issues with the physical edition of new album The Beginning And The End Of Everything – it wasn't available in all stores on release day – may hinder first week figures. Pyke told fans recently, “Sorry for the CDs not being in the shops on release day. Needless to say, I'm more disappointed then anyone. We've been told that it's in all shops now.”

Despite the issue Pyke will likely debut in the territory of his previous records – Chimney's Afire (2008) peaked at three while Memories & Dust (2007) and Only Sparrows (2011) both managed four.

The Voice winner Harrison Craig had very strong second week sales (not far off Bliss N Eso) last week after a shortened window of sales in his first week following his win. Tour dates are keeping those figures steady while Pink's The Truth About Love refuses to go away, thanks to her tour, as well.

Swedish stadium DJ Avicii will likely hold the top spot in the ARIA Singles Chart with Wake Me Up featuring Aloe Blacc. Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines, featuring T.I. and Pharrell, is still scanning strong at two as are bullet performers OneRepublic's Counting Stars and Miley Cyrus' We Can't Stop.

As in the albums chart, Pink's arena tour is boosting sales on her releases – particularly single True Love.