Bliss N Eso Take #1 On ARIA Charts, Ending Ed Sheeran's Reign Of Terror

6 May 2017 | 5:36 pm | Staff Writer

Hail to the kings, baby

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Veteran Australian rap crew Bliss N Eso have done what eight weeks' worth of contenders could not, displacing Ed Sheeran from the top of the ARIA Albums Chart.

The hip hop mainstays achieved the feat have claimed the #1 position with their new full-length, Off The Grid, knocking the resilient Sheeran and ÷ (Divide) down to #2 for the first time in its ninth week on the chart.

Sheeran's hold over the Singles chart, too, has come to an end, as DJ Khaled's all-star Im The One, featuring Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance The Rapper and Little Wayne toppling the UK singer-songwriter's Shape Of You down to #2 after a lengthy stay at the top.

However, despite the long-overdue shake-up, we'd not expect Sheeran — who still has three tracks in the top 20, and seven in the top 100 — to be going too far away overall, given the strong speculation this week that he's destined to head to Australia before the year's out for another tour.

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Back in the album stakes, the long-awaited Humanz, from animated outfit Gorillaz, has managed a strong top-five debut, hitting #4 on entry, while the Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 Awesome Mix Vol 2 soundtrack and Kendrick Lamar's DAMN. hold steady at #3 and #5 respectively.

Not too far behind, Adam Harvey & Beccy Cole's The Great Country Songbook Vol II steps out just outside, at #6. Their closest fellow new contenders are Lea Michele, whose Places comes in at #25, and a collection of R&B songs called Tailored For Now at #28, while legendary Aussie musician Tim Rogers' new solo effort An Actor Repairs nabs a respectable debut result at #30.

Just on his heels, the Bee Gees' see their Timeless: The All-Time Greatest Hits make its way into the ranks at #31, while long-serving pop-punk outfit New Found Glory manage a top-40 entry with Make Me Sick, making its landing at #36, just ahead of the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 collection (#37) and Willie Nelson's God's Problem Child (#38). Also nice to see: local songstress Airling puts in a commendable effort with Hard To Sleep, Easy To Dream, entering comfortably in the top half of the ladder by taking out #45 on debut.

A little further down, other new faces include the Mark Lanegan Band, whose Gargoyle makes its debut at #65, and Feist, hitting #69 on entry with Pleasure. It's also interesting to see another Guardians Of The Galaxy title, Cosmic Mix Vol 1, make its first-ever appearance on the chart at #73 (as distinct from Awesome Mix Vol 1, which jumps up to #8 from #15 this week), while Mary J Blige's Strength Of A Woman skates in to grab the cut-off spot at #100.

Among the debuts, it bears mentioning that Bruno Mars' 24K Magic has solidly run up the charts after being buoyed by his upcoming Australian visit, jumping 21 spots to hit #10, while Nathan Kneen's appearance on The Voice seems to have had a positive impact for former outfit The Ten Tenors, whose Wish You Were Here also makes a 20-rung leap to make it to #29 this week.

Remember, these are the final ARIA Albums chart results to omit streaming services from the rankings, so it'll be interesting to see how digital play impacts the overall make-up of the ladder from next week.

Meanwhile, there is a solid number of first-time entries on the Singles list too, with DJ Khaled & Co joined by Kygo and Ellie Goulding (First Time, #29), Katy Perry (Bon Appetit ft Migos, #35), Cashmere Cat (Quit ft Ariana Grande, #56), Imagine Dragons (Thunder, #61), Chris Stapleton (Tennessee Whiskey, #70), the Oz-bound Harry Styles — whose #78 result for Sweet Creature doesn't quite match up to the kind of frenzy that saw his tour sell out in a flash this week (nor the impassioned anger that followed) — plus Hailee Steinfeld (Most GIrls, #91) and Fall Out Boy (Young & Menace, #97).