Hillsong United Crack Top Five On US Billboard Album Charts

Less than a week after they crashed the Daniel Johns party at home on the ARIA Charts, Hillsong United — the house band of Aussie-born, now-global megachurch Hillsong — have managed what so many other local artists could not over the past year, making their debut on this week's Billboard 200 album chart at #5 with new full-length Empires. 

We get that Hillsong United may be something of a special-interest consideration, but there's no denying the impressiveness of the achievement regardless of how you feel about rock hymns: consider, if you will, that Hillsong's nearest fellow Australian contender is long-time chart occupant Sia, whose 1000 Forms Of Fear actually moves up a place this week to move a little further inside the top 40, now sitting at #38. And that's Sia. 

Old mate Vance Joy is still charting in the States, too, putting in the nation's third-highest-placing effort this week with the still-a-thing Dream Your Life Away, up five places to #76 this week, while Brisbane-bred pop-poster-kids Sheppard are also on the bounce-back, rising 10 spots this week to get back to #150 — though, with their highest reach coming just outside the top 50 a few weeks ago, we're unlikely to see any major spikes from the lower Aussies at this advent.

However, there's better news in the Dance Club Charts this week, where Sydney sisters Miriam & Olivia Nervo — aka Nervo - have climbed five places to sit comfortably inside the top 20, resting at #18 with Haute Mess this week.

As for those holding us down back on the full-lengths ladder, though, this week the albums clocking in ahead of Hillsong come from Pitch Perfect 2, its soundtrack picking up #4, a #3 debute for Boosie BadAzz and Touch Down 2 Cause Hell, a strong consecutive week at #2 for Taylor Swift's 1989, and the triumphant arrival of A$AP Rocky's polarising new set At.Long.Last.A$AP.

See the full charts at Billboard.