Niall Horan’s ‘The Show’ Starts at No. 1 In Australia

It’s the Niall Horan Show on the ARIA Albums Chart this week as the Irish pop artist bows at No. 1.

The former One Direction star arrives at the summit with The Show (Capitol/Universal), his third studio album — and his first solo leader.

Horan clears the last hurdle after his previous two albums, Flicker (from 2017) and Heartbreak Weather (2020) both peaked at the runner-up position.

As a member of 1D, Horan tasted victory with four albums: Up All Night (2011), Take Me Home (2012), Midnight Memories (2013) and Four (2014).

He’ll support the latest album in these parts when ‘The Show’ Live On Tour heads Down Under in April and May 2024, presented by TEG Live and Nova Entertainment.

Completing the podium on the latest ARIA Chart, published Friday, June 16, is Metro Boomin Presents Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse (Republic/Universal, up 2-3, and Stray Kids5-Star (ING), down 2-3.

The next-best debut belongs to American rockers Extreme, as Six (Ear/RKT) starts at No. 32. Six is, as its name would suggest, the sixth album from the “More Than Words” band, and their first studio LP since Saudades de Rock dropped in August 2008.

Over on the ARIA Singles Chart, “Sprinter” (Virgin Music Australia/Universal) by Dave and Central Cee outraces the opposition to start a second week at No. 1.

Country music is booming in Australia this year, led by U.S. starts Morgan Wallen and Luke Combs — who currently occupy two of the top 3 positions. On the latest tally, Wallen’s former leader “Last Night” (Republic/Universal) holds at No. 2, and Combs’ cover of “Fast Car” (Columbia/Sony) rises 5-3, surpassing the No. 4 peak of the original cut by Tracy Chapman back in 1988.

Kylie Minogue keeps the hits coming with “Padam Padam” (Liberation), which climbs 40-29 for a new high. The saucy EDM tune is the Aussie “princess of pop’s” 43rd top 30 hit in her homeland, ARIA reports, and her first since “Timebomb” peaked at No. 12 in 2012.

Finally, BTS bags the highest new entry on the latest chart with “Take Two” (BigHit Entertainment/ING) released as part of the celebrations for the superstar K-pop act’s 10th anniversary. The band’s biggest hit here is “Dynamite,” which exploded to No. 2 in 2020.

Lars Brandle

Billboard