Ella & Ariana Take Top 40 Honours, Local Albums Galore Shake Up Aotearoa Top 20

Ella Langley chalks up her 12th non-consecutive week at #1 on the Official Top 40 Singles Chart with the now double platinum smash 'Choosin' Texas'. However, it's Ariana Grande who takes the Albums Chart honours with her sixth #1 album, petal. Taylor Swift and Pink are the only female artists to have more chart-toppers with 15 and 7, respectively.

The single of the same name puts the 33-year-old at #1 on the Hot 40 Chart too. With 21 Hot chart-toppers now to her name, Grande has more Hot Chart #1s than any other artist.

It's been an uncommonly good week for local music. 'Freaked Out' by Fat Papi and prodshushy, which is now hitting rare heights in the US Billboard 100 and charting all over the world, enjoys a third week at #1 down here. Meanwhile, a whopping eight new albums, including half the entire Top 10 on the Aotearoa Top 20 Albums Chart, make a splash this week.

At #1, and entering the Top 40 Albums Chart at #23, Romi Wrights is making waves with her debut album Andy. Of Tokelauan, Samoan and African American descent, Romi was raised in the Hutt Valley and draws on the spirit of the late-60s soul/funk era for her sound. Close behind Romi are three NZ music veterans – Hammond Gamble, Larry Killip and Brent Eccles – with their good-time blues rock EP Street Corners #1 at #2,  young up-and-coming hip hop duo Shaskey & AKL MADZ at #3 with CoDependence and APRA Silver Scroll-nominated Hina with Descending Dreams at #4.

Also new to the Charts this week are albums by reggae siblings Zentarge (#7), young Dunedin riot grrrls Seek Help!, a reissue by old school metallers Inebritation (#12), Christchurch alt-goth trio Luna and the Aether (#15) and the ever-prolific R&B/hip hop maestro Kings (#17).

'Mānawa Maiea Matariki' by TAWAZ and friends continues its run at #1 on the Tukutahi Tiketike 10 Te Reo Māori, and 'Higher' by Lance Savali feat. Rita Ora tops the Aotearoa Hot Chart this wiki. Savali has one other Aotearoa Hot #1 ('Floor Is Lava' topped the Chart back in 2021).