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ELLA & OLIVIA BACK ON TOP, COUNTRY ICON DOLLY PARTON MOURNED
Ella Langley wears the Singles Chart crown for a 15th week while Olivia Dean returns to the Albums Chart's top spot. The passing of Country Icon Dolly Parton sees her back in the Top 40 and HINE tops the local Albums Chart.
PHOEBE BRIDGERS FINDS HER WAY TO #1 WITH LOST WEEKEND. REB FOUNTAIN TOPS LOCAL ALBUMS CHART WITH WATER FOR GASOLINE
Phoebe Bridgers brings it home this week with her first-ever Aotearoa Top 40 #1 album. Lost Weekend debuts in the top spot, bearing the prints of a group of esteemed contributors. Reb Fountain claims her third #1 on the Aotearoa Top 20 Albums Chart, with Water For Gasoline.
MEL PARSONS CLAIMS HER FIRST-EVER TOP 40 #1 ALBUM WITH CASTLE HILL
Tūī-winning indie folk artist Mel Parsons lands her first-ever Top 40 #1 album this week, with her seventh studio album, Castle Hill. Parsons becomes the second act from Aotearoa to land a Top 40 #1 in 2026, after Six60 achieved the feat in February with Right Here Right Now.
ELLA & OLIVIA BACK ON TOP, COUNTRY ICON DOLLY PARTON MOURNED
The week's Top 40 chart-toppers are familiar with the territory – Ella Langley wearing the Singles Chart crown for a 15th week with ‘Choosin' Texas’ and Olivia Dean returning to the Albums Chart's top spot with The Art Of Loving.
However, it's the sad passing of a true music icon which shifts things around at the top end of the Singles list as a streaming surge sees Dolly Parton back in the Top 40. The Queen of Country not only had a string of hits in Aotearoa across half a century, including some which pre-date the Official Charts entirely, but also contributed as a songwriter to the success of many others, perhaps most notably the 11-week #1 smash ‘I Will Always Love You’ performed by Whitney Houston. This week sees ‘Islands In The Stream’ with Kenny Rogers back in the Top 40 at #5, ‘Jolene’ at #9 and ‘9 To 5’ at #11. Her Ultimate album is back in too, making it to #3 on the Albums Chart.
It's a notable week for waiata Māori on the Aotearoa Albums Chart, in particular Ōtaki artist HINE (Ngāti Kahungunu ki te Wairoa, Ngāti Tuwharetoa, Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga) whose Ka Mua Ka Muri EP reaches #1. The five-track EP showcases Georgia-Grace Crayford’s weaving of taonga pūoro and te reo Māori with jazz and folk, backed by a band that includes her father and brother. It's a similar story at #11 where South Auckland indie rock act Greatsouth, led by Payton Taplin, make abundant use of taonga pūoro (traditional Māori musical instruments) on their debut LP Hellhole Of The Pacific.