How Did Aussie Talent Fare In ARIA’s 2021 Wrap?

ARIA’s 2021 End of Year Charts wrap has arrived with Aussie talent outweighed by internationals across both the Singles and Albums charts.

While Sydney-born talent The Kid LAROI continued his success, claiming three spots on the Singles Chart (two in the Top 10) and #3 on the Albums Chart with F*ck Love (Over You), the overall stats favour international acts.

UK rockers Glass Animals’ Heat Waves takes out #1 on the Singles Chart, while Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour tops the Albums Chart, closely followed by Adele’s 30 at #2.

While the Singles Chart Top 50 features seven local songs, three of those are from The Kid LAROI (Stay #2, Without You #4, So Done #28) and another two from Tones & I (Fly Away #24, Dance Monkey #37), meaning only four Aussie artists feature.

The other two local acts to place within the Top 50 include Masked Wolf with Astronaut In The Ocean at #12 and Vance Joy with Missing Piece at #43.

2021 ARIA End Of Year Singles Chart Top 10

1. Glass Animals - ‘Heat Waves’

2. The Kid Laroi & Justin Bieber - ‘Stay’

3. Olivia Rodrigo - ‘Drivers License’

4. The Kid Laroi with Miley Cyrus - ‘Without You’

5. Dua Lipa - ‘Levitating’

6. Olivia Rodrigo - ‘Good 4 U’

7. Ed Sheeran - ‘Bad Habits’

8. The Weeknd - ‘Save Your Tears’

9. Doja Cat Feat. SZA - ‘Kiss Me More’

10. Tiësto - ‘The Business’

How’s how the Singles Chart Top 50 has looked over the past four decades for comparison:

The Albums Chart Top 50 is comprised of 12% Aussie talent, with only one local artist, The Kid LAROI, placed in the Top 30.

Amy Shark’s Cry Forever lands at #34, followed by INXS’ The Very Best at #35, Spacey Jane’s Sunlight at #42, Guy Sebastian’s T. R. U. T. H. at #44 and Lime Cordiale’s 14 Steps To A Better You at #46.

2021 ARIA End Of Year Albums Chart Top 10

1. Olivia Rodrigo - ‘SOUR’

2. Adele - ‘30’

3. The Kid Laroi - ‘F*ck Love (Over You)’

4. Dua Lipa - ‘Future Nostalgia’

5. Justin Bieber - ‘Justice’

6. Ed Sheeran - ‘=’

7. Harry Styles - ‘Fine Line’

8. Doja Cat - ‘Planet Her’

9. The Weeknd - ‘The Highlights’

10. ABBA - ‘Voyage’

Although the figures might look a little low, overall Aussie talent had a huge year, with ARIA reporting that 14 Australian albums went to #1 across 2021, including:

• Illy - ‘The Space Between’
• Bluey - ‘Bluey The Album’
• The Kid Laroi - ‘F*ck Love (Savage)’
• The Rubens - ‘0202’
• Tash Sultana - ‘Terra Firma’
• Skegss – ‘Rehearsal’
• Amy Shark - ‘Cry Forever’
• Delta Goodrem - ‘Bridge Over Troubled Dreams’
• Jimmy Barnes - ‘Flesh And Blood’
• Tones And I - ‘Welcome To The Madhouse’
• The Jungle Giants - ‘Love Signs’
• Luke Hemmings - ‘When Facing The Things We Turn Away From’
• Ruby Fields - ‘Been Doin' It For A Bit’
• Rüfüs Du Sol - ‘Surrender’

Jimmy Barnes’ debuting at #1 in July with Flesh And Blood gave him his 13th solo #1. While he already holds the records for most #1 albums in Aus, it pushed him further ahead of Madonna and U2, both of who have 11 chart-toppers each.

Other records include Elton John becoming the oldest artist to have a #1 on the Singles Chart at 74 years and 7 months old, thanks to PNAU’s remix of Cold Heart, while bird calls album Songs Of Disappearance became the first of its kind to hit the ARIA Top 10, debuting at #5 last month before peaking at #3 the following week.

It’s also been revealed that 64 Australian albums appeared in the Albums Chart Top 10, while seven Australian singles appeared in the Singles Chart Top 10, with The Kid LAROI topping the chart with Stay and Without You.

You can check out the full charts here.