As the calendar flips over to February, Australia finds itself in stick season.
Noah Kahan earns his first No. 1 single in Australia as “Stick Season” (via Universal) climbs 2-1 on the ARIA Chart, published Friday, Feb. 2. “Stick Season” gets there in its 15th week on the tally.
Last month, Kahan completed his We’ll All Be Here Forever Tour, which included dates across Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and Perth — his first Australia trek since 2019. According to reps from Universal Music Australia, Kahan performed to more than 50,000 people on the jaunt, produced by Live Nation, and made his breakfast TV debut on Channel 7’s free-to-air Sunrise, for an in-studio performance of the hit single.
Kahan has more to come. Next Friday, Feb. 9 sees the release of Stick Season (Forever), the “final pieces” of his release strategy, says a UMG rep, following the rollout of the Stick Season album in 2022 and, in late July 2023, Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever).
It’s mid-summer in Australia, another scorcher where heatwaves or storms are the forecast for any given day. The hottest months here never pass without an edition of Triple J’s Hottest 100 poll, which was counted down last week, and saw Doja Cat’s “Paint The Town Red” (RCA/Sony) crowned the winner.
A string of entries in the Hottest 100 enjoy bumps on the ARIA Chart, led by “Paint The Town Red,” up 10-6.
Also, Aussie EDM producer Dom Dolla’s flashes the cash with “Saving Up” (Sony), which vaults 44-11 on the ARIA Chart. “Saving Up” came in at No. 3 on the triple j poll, which raked in 2,355,870 votes. That result is easily Dom’s highest-charting single in Australia, eclipsing the No. 32 best for “Rhyme Dust.” After blasting in at No. 4 on the Hottest 100 poll, “Rhyme Dust” reenters the ARIA Chart this week at No. 41.
G Flip had a record-breaking result as seven of their songs appeared on the Hottest 100. Less than a week later, G Flip’s former No. 1 LP Drummer (Future Classic/Universal) returns at No. 42.
There’s no moving Taylor Swift from the top of the ARIA Albums Chart, as Taylor’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) (via Universal) holds at No. 1 for a 13th non-consecutive week. If it logs one more week at No. 1, the latest Taylor’s Version would tie with Midnights as her longest reigning album in Australia, at 14 weeks.
According to ARIA, Swift chalks up 55 total number of weeks at No. 1 across 12 albums, starting with Speak Now in 2010.
The top debut on the albums tally is the Smile’s Wall Of Eyes (XL/Inertia), new at No. 7. It’s the second album from the Radiohead side project, following 2022’s A Light For Attracting Attention, which peaked at No. 15 on the ARIA Chart.