Endangered Aussie Birds Make ARIA Chart History

The pecking order of this week’s ARIA charts has been unveiled, with endangered Aussie birds claiming the highest debut on the Albums Chart.

Earlier this week, it was revealed that Songs Of Disappearance, an album featuring the sounds of 53 of the county’s most threatened avian species, was looking to swoop in and potentially claw #1 from Adele, having pre-sold 1,500 copies.

Unsurprisingly, the UK pop megastar is still flying high and retains the top placing for a third straight week, but Songs Of Disappearance has perched itself at #5, marking the highest debut of the week.

ARIA has also confirmed that “it’s the first album of its kind to chart in the ARIA Top 10”.

With an aim to raise awareness of the actions needed to preserve habitats and revive important populations, Songs Of Disappearance is an initiative from Birdlife Australia, who pieced it together following a recent study on how Australia's climate change is affecting birds.

“This album is a very special record with some rare recordings of birds that may not survive if we don’t come together to protect them,” BirdLife Australia CEO Paul Sullivan said.

“While this campaign is fun, there’s a serious side to what we’re doing, and it’s been heartening to see bird enthusiasts showing governments and businesses that Australians care about these important birds.”

Meanwhile, Paul Kelly’s festive release, Paul Kelly’s Christmas Train, keeps chugging along, this week climbing from #3 to #6 as the Aus music legend’s Making Gravy tour quickly approaches, and Melbourne outfit The Teskey Brothers debut at #11 with their Live At Hamer Hall LP, which follows on from #1 album Live At The Forum in May of last year.

Over on the Singles Chart, it’s beginning to sound a lot like Christmas, with Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You leaping to #8, Michael Bublé’s It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas soaring to #14 and Ed Sheeran & Elton John’s Merry Christmas debuting at #27.