Karnivool stages a comeback to remember with Versus (via Cymatic Records/Sony Music), which blasts to No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart.
Versus is the hard rock outfit’s fourth studio album, and first in 13 years. Hailing from Perth, Western Australia, and led by Birds of Tokyo singer Ian Kenny, Karnivool has three acclaimed and platinum-certified records under their collective belt: Themata (No. 41 peak in 2005), Sound Awake (No. 2 in 2009) and the ARIA Award-winning No. 1 album Asymmetry (2013).
“We can’t believe it,” reads a statement from the band. “After 13 years of waiting it’s bloody lovely not to be forgotten, and at such a wild time for music to get a No. 1 record is pretty amazing. Karnivool as a band has never followed a conventional path, god knows we aren’t even on TikTok, and this album is on our own label through our friends at Sony. So we will raise a glass to our fans, families, Forrester and our friends who worked on the record, and anyone who walks their own path. See you at a show.”
Versus, which was born out of “relentless experimentation in their Perth studio with longtime collaborator Forrester Savell,” reads a message from the band, opens atop the ARIA Chart, published Friday, Feb. 13 and it’s the week’s best-seller on vinyl.
With Karnivool in charge on the national tally, Olivia Dean’s The Art of Loving (Universal) loses its crown, down 1-2, while Japanese Australian singer Joji completes the podium with Piss In The Wind (Virgin Music Group/Inertia), his fourth studio album. It blows in at No. 3. Piss In The Wind is the followup to 2022’s Smithereens, which blew up at No. 3, and 2020’s Nectar, which topped the frame for one week.
Bad Bunny has been the headlines, everywhere, following his halftime show at Super Bowl LX and Grammy Award win for album of the year. That attention sees Bunny’s DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS (Orchard) on the rise, powering 20-4 on the latest ARIA Chart for the Reggaeton superstar’s first top 10 appearance in Australia. That easily eclipses the album’s peak position of No. 16 in 2025.
Meanwhile, the lead track from the LP, “DtMF,” enters the ARIA Singles Chart for the first time, at No. 4. The Puerto Rican star also bows at No. 25 with “NUEVAYoL” and at No. 34 with “BAILE INoLVIDABLE.”
J. Cole’s sixth and final album, The Fall-Off (Interscope/Universal), enjoys a top 10 debut. It’s new at No. 7. The U.S. hip-hop star has a string of top 10 appearances here, including a week at No. 1 with 2018’s KOD.
Olivia Dean might’ve lost her grip on the albums chart title, but she continues to reign over the ARIA Singles Chart with “Man I Need,” and completes another one-two as “So Easy (To Fall In Love)” holds at No. 2. The Brit’s breakout hit enters its 13th consecutive week at No. 1, and becomes just the fourth song to dominate for such a stretch since the official ARIA Charts launched in 1983.
“Man I Need” joins Coolio and L.V.’s “Gangsta’s Paradise” (1995-96), Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber’s “Despacito” (2017) and Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” (2019), each of which led the survey for at least 13 weeks. The all-time chart champion is Tones and I’s “Dance Monkey,” led for 24 non-consecutive weeks in 2019-20.
Sombr bags a fourth top 40 appearance with his new track, “Homewrecker” (Warner), new at No. 18. He’s so hot right now, all four of those songs are currently in the top 40: “12 to 12” (down 6-8), “Back To Friends” (down 14-15) and “Undressed” (down 23-26). The lanky New Yorker visited Australia last December for his The Late Nights & Young Romance Tour, produced by Frontier Touring, and for a spot on four-show Spilt Milk run.
Finally, Tame Impala’s “Dracula” (Columbia/Sony) climbs to a new peak, up 32-22, with a little help from JENNIE. The BLACKPINK star contributes vocals to a new mix for the Deadbeat single, which had, until this week, notched a No. 26 best on the ARIA Chart. It’s the only Australian-made recording in the ARIA Top 50.
