Daniel Johns Sets Chart Record as ‘FutureNever’ Returns to No. 1 In Australia
Daniel Johns is back in a familiar place — at No. 1 on Australia’s albums chart.
The ex-Silverchair frontman sets a chart record as FutureNever (BMG/ADA), his third solo album, returns to the summit on the ARIA Chart.
Following its release April 22, FutureNever bowed at No. 3 in Australia, then lifted to No. 1 in its third week.
Now, thanks to its release on vinyl, the album stages another return to the top.
Its 22 weeks between stays at the chart penthouse is the biggest gap for an album by an Australian artist, ARIA reports.
FutureNever, the best-seller on wax this week, earned Johns a nomination for best artist at the 2022 ARIA Awards, announced Wednesday (Oct. 12).
“To have FutureNever go to No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart twice in 2022 and spend 6 weeks in the ARIA Top 10 is amazing,” Johns says in a statement as the chart was published late Friday, local time.
“Thank you to the incredible people who worked on this album with me and a very special thank you to everyone who has listened to FutureNever and helped spread the word. For an album with no singles and no music videos, I’m truly grateful that the music is speaking for itself.”
Johns’ album also lends its name to the veteran rocker’s not-for-profit FutureNeverFund, which announced it would work closely with EquiEnergy Youth, a Newcastle, Australia-based charity dedicated to helping communities reduce instances of mental health distress, self-harm and suicide risk in young people, an alliance that coincides with Mental Health Month.
FutureNever is Johns’ first solo leader in Australia, and sixth in total, including all five of Silverchair’s studio LPs, from Frogstomp through to Young Modern, a feat no other band can match.
Meanwhile, a pair of new releases impact the ARIA top five, led by Stray Kids’ Maxident (ING), new at No. 4, a debut that easily eclipses the K-pop band’s previous chart peak, No. 14 for 2021’s Noeasy.
Close behind is Charlie Puth’s Charlie (Atlantic/Warner), which debuts at No. 5, for the U.S. pop singer’s third ARIA top 10.
Beyonce’s Renaissance (Columbia/Sony) roars back into the top 10, up 29-7, following its own release on vinyl. Over on the national singles chart, “Cuff It” becomes the second Renaissance single to crash the top 10, lifting 16-8 after going viral on TikTok.
There’s no change at the top of the ARIA Singles Chart, as Sam Smith & Kim Petras’ “Unholy” (Capitol/EMI) holds at No. 1, ahead of David Guetta and Bebe Rexha’s “I’m Good (Blue)” (via Warner) and OneRepublic’s “I Ain’t Worried” (Interscope/Universal), respectively.
The highest debut on the latest singles chart, published Oct. 14, is Ed Sheeran’s ”Celestial” (Atlantic/Warner), new at No. 37. Sheeran’s latest top 40 hit will appear on the Pokémon “Scarlet” and ”Violet” games, set to rollout Nov. 18 on the Nintendo Switch.
Lars Brandle
Billboard
