It’s A Blue Christmas For Aussie Acts

In the glory days of the major labels, in the ’80s and ’90s, the second-last chart before Christmas was everything. The record company retail reps worked tirelessly, knowing that chart shaped the final furious week of sales.

Unfortunately, this year’s Christmas chart is bleak reading for fans of Australian music.

The Top 40 features six albums by Taylor Swift and just one by an Aussie act – Cold Chisel’s best-of at number 19.

On the singles side, the Top 40 has just one homegrown hit – The Kid LAROI’s Nights Like This at #38.

Overall, taking into account a few collaborations, ARIA’s Top 40 singles chart features 37 entries by American acts, four from the UK, one from Ireland, one from Canada, and two by New Zealand/South Korea’s Rosé.

The Top 40 albums chart features 30 American artists, five from the UK, two from Canada, one from Ireland and one from New Zealand/South Korea.

Female artists dominate the Top 10, with eight albums and seven singles. 

It’s a quiet year for Christmas albums, with just one in this week’s Top 40 – Michael Bublé’s blockbuster Christmas collection at #13.

The Top 40 features five Christmas songs, led by Mariah Carey’s 13-times platinum All I Want For Christmas Is You at #8.

The Top 40 includes nine best-of albums, led by The Weeknd’s The Highlights at #11.

With just two charts remaining for 2024, no Australian singles have hit number one this year. Indeed, just one homegrown hit has cracked the Top 10 – Dom Dolla’s Saving Up spent one week at #10 in February.

Six Australian albums have reached the summit in 2024, including a blaze of chart-toppers in August, when Lime Cordiale, Tones and I, Amy Shark and Cold Chisel all hit number one.

Missy Higgins topped the charts in September, followed by Kylie Minogue in October.

But all of them, except Chisel, have disappeared from the Top 40 as Aussie acts splutter to the finish line.