Pop Stars Sia & Adele To Battle For Top Spot On ARIA Albums Chart

Off the back of her hugely successful 2014 record 1000 Forms Of Fear, Australia's own Sia returns this week with her seventh studio album This Is Acting and she is set to battle it out for top spot on the ARIA Albums Chart against fellow pop star Adele, with her acclaimed sophomore album, 25.

The UK singer has dominated the Albums Chart since the release of her latest album back in November, which has not dropped out of the top three even once, but Sia's new offering is set to land comfortably at the pointy end of the charts, ensuring that whoever takes out top spot will be a surprise for all. 

To make the battle even juicier, the two artists both worked together on their respective albums, with Sia's lead single Alive (co-written by Adele and Sia) initially intended for Adele's 25.

Sydney trio RÜFÜS will also contend for a spot at the top after their latest, Bloom took out the #1 spot last week. 

Meanwhile, US star Rihanna is vying for a top five debut with ANTI, despite reports suggesting this week that the album has sold fewer than 1000 copies in the US this week — check out our review here. 

Other album debuts this week include Dream Theater's The Astonishing, Charlie Puth with Nine Track Mind, Bloc Party's Hymns, Elle King's Love Stuff, Tedeschi Trucks Band and Let Me Get By and Polaris' The Guilt & The Grief.

Moving on to the Singles Chart, ex-One Direction member Zayn makes his return with his first solo track, Pillowtalk, which has stunningly garnered over 36 million views on YouTube in under one week. 

Expect to hear the lead track from Rihanna's album, Work featuring Drake, while the Canadian rapper releases his own track, Summer Sixteen and Sydney producer Flume drops his latest, Smoke & Retribution, featuring Vince Staples and Kucka.