The Voice Pulling ARIA's Chart Strings

Ratings juggernaut The Voice - along with other reality TV talent quests - is pulling the strings on the charts this week, for contestants, judges and the songs being covered. All of the local entries in the top 30 of the ARIA singles charts this week are tied to one of the shows.

The top local entry this week is one Delta Goodrem, a judge on The Voice, who holds position five with her new single Sitting On Top Of The World. Next in line, at ten, is X-Factor winner Reece Mastin with his track Shut Up And Kiss Me. Former So You Think You Can Dance contestant Timomatic is the next Australian act at 12 with If Looks Could Kill.

Australian Idol graduate Matt Corby is at  14 with his Into The Flame EP, and then it's onto current contestant on The Voice Lakyn Heperi, whose cover of Big Jet Plane sits at 18. In a cross-promotion, purchases on the iTunes store during a specific time-frame count as votes towards the contestants of the show. As long as the show continues to be the ratings farm it has been so far, it will virtually guarantee instant chart appearances for the contestants throughout the series.

Heperi's cover has given the original a bump, with Angus & Julia Stone's version re-entering at 27. Heperi features again at 29 with her cover of Kids.

Even beyond 30, former Idol contestant Ricki-Lee sits at 31 with Do It Like That. Another Voice contestant, Fatai Veamatahauis at 32 with Love The Way You Lie.

It's not until 35 and that man Gotye (and his partner-in-crime Kimbra) with Somebody That I Used To Know, that there's an Australian artist in the singles chart who hasn't been boosted by a TV show. Although, you could credit Gotye's spike last week to the track's appearance on Glee.

The other judges on The Voice, who don't have new material to flog, are also enjoying a boost. In the catalogue charts (for back catalogue albums) Seal's best-of Hits holds the top position with Keith Urban's Greatest Hits: 18 Kids second. Angus & Julia Stone's Down The Way jumps from 16 to four this week. Joel Madden's band Good Charlotte also entered the Album Charts with Greatest Hits landing at 86 last week.