An Anthony Callea Covers Record Is This Week's ARIA #1 Album - Way To Go, Australia

This is nothing personal against Anthony Callea as a human being or a performer. The former Australian Idol runner-up is a fine singer, and seems to be a very nice man.

It's just when, of all the music that has been released into the world recently, a covers compilation ascends to the top of the ARIA Albums Chart — in this case Callea's fifth studio album Backbone (featuring renditions of songs originally performed by the likes of Michael Jackson, Pat Benetar, Whitney Houston, Queen, TLC and more, as well as its bespoke title track) — and trumps all who come before it as far as commercial success goes to plant itself at the top of the pile, it's just… like… a little bit sad, is all.

That's not meant to minimise the achievement, however; in Callea's defense, this is his first #1 since his 2005 self-titled debut and first top-10 album since A New Chapter, which peaked at #9 in December 2006, and to be honest it only adds to the distinction of Nick Cave breaking the threshold last week on most Aussie albums to hit #1 in a single year — 2016's total is now 16, though there are still a few weeks to shoot for a cool 20.

Speaking of Cave, Callea's album actually thoroughly displaces his & The Bad Seeds' Skeleton Tree (which drops to #3 here this week while staying where it was, at #2, in the UK) as a resurgent Suicide Squad soundtrack pushes back through to #2, up from #4. Cave's bronze effort bumps Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris' My Dear Companion: Selections From The Trio Collection down a notch to #4 before Usher breaks things up with a debutante effort for Hard II Love, making its entry at #5.

Not far behind, further top-10 debuts come from the Bridget Jones's Baby soundtrack, which enters headfirst at #7, while Die Antwoord's Mount Ninji & Da Nice Time Kid slides into the #9 position, one spot ahead of lauded Aussie hip hop artist REMI, whose Divas & Demons lands at #10. Just outside, Mac Miller steps out at #13 with The Divine Feminine, and Harts' excellent Smoke Fire Hope Desire at #21, being denied a top-20 spot by Crowded House's The Very Very Best Of, which lands at #20.

Calvin Harris brings the highest debut for the Singles rankings, hitting #13 on entry with My Way, while James Arthur follows suit at #25 with Say You Won't Let Go; it's The Chainsmokers who are the real winners here, though, remaining unmoved from #1 for a seventh week for their wildly popular single Closer, ft. Halsey. Upward movement comes from Hailee Steinfeld, whose Starving has jumped up five spots to #5 after hanging around the lower rungs of the top 10 for a few weeks, as well as Ellie Goulding, who sees Still Falling For You take an eight-spot jump to #21.