Beyoncé Rides to No. 1 In Australia With ‘Cowboy Carter’

Beyoncé lassos the chart title in Australia as Cowboy Carter debuts at No. 1.

Cowboy Carter (via Columbia/Sony) gives Bey her fourth leader on the ARIA Chart, following Beyoncé in 2013, Lemonade in 2016 and Renaissance in 2022.

According to ARIA, it’s the first country album by a woman to land at No. 1 (excluding the new versions of Taylor Swift’s country LPs) since 2017, when homegrown artist Kasey Chambers logged one week at the summit top with Dragonfly (in January) and Shania Twain’s Now spent one week at the top (in October).

Powered by Cowboy Carter, Beyoncé’s global hit “Texas Hold ‘Em” rebounds 7-2 on the ARIA Singles Chart, its equal peak position on 2. Album cut “II Most Wanted” with Miley Cyrus is the highest debut on the singles tally this week at No. 16, and Bey’s reinterpretation of the Dolly Parton standard “Jolene” arrives at No. 24. Parton’s original peaked at No. 99 in these parts back in 1974, ARIA reports, while Olivia Newton-John’s rendition reached No. 29 two years later, in 1976.

Beyoncé’s latest LP leads a top four on the ARIA Chart, published Friday, April 5, that’s dominated by U.S. solo female artists: Ariana Grande’s Eternal Sunshine and Taylor Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) and Lover, respectively (all through Universal).

Further down the list, Australian duo the Pierce Brothers arrives No. 14 with their third studio album, Everything Is Bigger Than Me (Ditto Music). It’s the Melbourne act’s sixth appearance on the ARIA Chart, including top 10s with 2015’s Into The Dirt (No. 10) and 2017’s The Records Were Ours (No. 9). Everything Is Bigger Than Me is the only Australian recording in the ARIA Top 40; the next-up LP from the land Down Under is the soundtrack to Ego: The Michael Gudinski Story (at No. 46 via Bloodlines/UMA), the documentary on the life and career of the late Mushroom Group founder, which next week premieres on Australian network TV.

Meanwhile, BTS star J-Hope (real name: Jung Ho-seok) nudges the chart at No. 62 with the EP Hope On The Street Vol. 1. J-Hope hit No. 13 in 2018 with Hope World and No. 27 in 2022 with Jack In The Box.

Over on the ARIA Singles Chart, Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things” (Warner Records) logs a fifth week at No. 1, ahead of Bey’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” and Djo’s “End Of Beginning” (AWAL), respectively.

Lars Brandle

Billboard