Kerser Has A Shot At Beating Metallica To #1 On This Week's ARIA Chart

Controversial Australian rapper Kerser is staring down another high-placing ARIA Charts battle almost exactly a year after he had a legitimate shot at (but ultimately missed out on) the crown against Justin Bieber and One Direction.

With his previous album, Next Step, landing at #5, Kerser's new full-length, Tradition, is a real contender for the upper echelons come the week's end. This time around, the artists posing the biggest threat to Kerser's pole-position chances are veteran metal icons Metallica, whose newest full-length Hardwired… To Self-Destruct is on a straight shot for the top place.

Meanwhile, British group Little Mix, who scored the ignominious distinction of releasing the UK's first female-led #1 single of the year at the end of October, are also right up there, standing as a viable threat to both Metallica and Kerser.

A little further out, we should see a solid landing for diminutive soul-man Bruno Mars with 24K Magic, easily inside the top 10, while old-school metallers Sixx:A.M. are eyeing off a top-20 result for new full-length Prayers For The Blessed. Also newly of note in the full-length stakes and looking to make a top-half entry are fresh full-lengths from DNCE (DNCE), Miranda Lambert (The Weight Of These Wings), Disturbed (Live At Red Rocks) and Justice (Woman), while Dodie's extended player Intertwined also looks set for a top-50 debut.

Spurred on by her recent tour announcement, it's expected that Adele's most recent album, 25, and its predecessor, 21, will move back up the list, as will freshly minted J Award-winner D.D Dumbo (Utopia Defeated) and inbound Brits Coldplay (A Head Full Of Dreams).

Being the time of year it is, there will be fewer new entries in the Singles stakes — we're pretty much expecting a sole top-50 entry for The Weeknd's I Feel It Coming featuring Daft Punk and not much else.

However, there will be a bit of activity throughout for some incumbent favourites, with Rae Sremmurd's Black Beatles looking a solid prospect for the top three, and both Clean Bandit (Rockabye ft. Sean Paul and Anne-Marie) and Bruno Mars (24K Magic) expected to hit the top five.

Beyond that, Best International Artist ARIA nominee Drake (Fake Love) and stalwart sister act The Veronicas (On Your Side) also stand to make some northward gains, as both are expected to end up inside the top 25.