Taylor Swift returns to the zenith of Australia’s albums chart with Lover, while Hozier bags a sweet No. 1 single. As Swifties waited, and anticipated, the release of The Tortured Poets Department, which dropped at midnight, many in Australia turned to her catalog. Lover (via Universal) rebounds 4-1 for a third non-consecutive week at No. 1, and first stint at the summit since 2019. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Swift’s Lover leads a top three ahead of SZA’s SOS (RCA/Sony), up 13-2, and Swift’s rerecorded LP 1989 (Taylor’s Version), up 5-3, respectively. SZA’s sophomore album spikes as her Australian arena tour gets underway, Friday, April 19 with a concert at Brisbane Entertainment Centre, produced by Live Nation. Trending on Billboard Further down the ARIA Chart, published late Friday, is Linkin Park’s fourth compilation Papercuts (Warner), new at No. 7. The nu-metal favorites have previously led the national tally with 2000’s Hybrid Theory, 2007’s Minutes To Midnight and 2010’s A Thousand Suns. Also new to the national survey is We Still Don’t Trust You (Universal/Sony), the second collaborative album from Future and Metro Boomin. It’s new at No. 15, and the followup to We Still Don’t Trust You, which recently bowed at No. 2. Over on the ARIA Singles Chart, Hozier bags his first No. 1 with “Too Sweet” (Columbia/Sony), up 2-1. “Too Sweet” is Hozier’s second top 10 appearance on the Australian chart after his signature song “Take Me To Church” reached No. 2 back in 2013. “Too Sweet” also lifted to No. 1 in the U.K. earlier this month, for Hozier’s first leader there. According to ARIA, Hozier is the fourth solo male singer to reach the top this year on the Australian chart, following U.S. artists Jack Harlow (“Lovin On Me”), Noah Kahan (“Stick Season”) and Benson Boone (“Beautiful Things”). “Beautiful Things” (via Warner) dips 1-2 on the latest frame, while British EDM producer Artemas holds onto third spot with “I Like The Way You Kiss Me” (10K/ADA). The top new debut on the ARIA Singles Chart belongs to U.S. pop singer and actor Sabrina Carpenter, whose “Espresso” shoots in at No. 7. “Espresso” (Island/Universal) is the follow-up to “Feather,” which peaked at No. 22 in 2023. Also appearing for the first time on the ARIA Chart is Dua Lipa’s “Illusion” (Warner UK), new at No. 21.“Illusion” is the third single from the British pop star’s forthcoming third studio album Radical Optimism, following “Houdini” (No. 7 peak) and “Training Session” (No. 12).

Surprise! Taylor Swift gave night owls a bonus when she dropped the secret, second part of The Tortured Poets Department. Swift had teased a mysterious 2am countdown ahead of the conventional midnight release of Tortured Poets. For Swifties, it was worth the wait as the collection extended by an additional 15 songs. “It’s a 2am surprise: The Tortured Poets Department is a secret DOUBLE album,” writes Swift on Instagram. “I’d written so much tortured poetry in the past 2 years and wanted to share it all with you, so here’s the second installment of TTPD: The Anthology. 15 extra songs. And now the story isn’t mine anymore… it’s all yours.” Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The final, sprawling edition comes in at 31 songs, and more than two hours of playing time. If three is the magic number, two is a godsend for Swifties, many of whom have noticed that their idol has been waving the number 2 in their faces for weeks. Her Tortured Poets Spotify library installation in Los Angeles featured a peace-sign statuette, and Swift herself flashed two fingers on camera at the 2024 Grammys when she first announced her new record. The clocks at the library pop-up and in her cryptic “Fortnight” music video announcement from earlier this week have all been set to 2 o’clock, and the star tweeted Wednesday, “✌️days til THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT.” Trending on Billboard Swift’s stamina is hard to beat. Tortured Poets is her fifth studio album in less than five years, a period that has also included four re-recorded Taylor’s Version albums. So, make that nine full length recordings since the months prior to the pandemic. Her epic The Eras Tour is currently on a break, and will restart next month for a summer stadium run across the U.K. and Europe. TayTay announced The Tortured Poets Department at the 2024 Grammy Awards in February, where she won album of the year for a record fourth time, with Midnights, her 10th studio effort. In the same month, Swift collected the IFPI’s Global Recording Artist award for a fourth time, also a record. Stream The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology in full below.

Following the experimental music journey that was 2020’s Gigaton, Pearl Jam returns to familiar, heavy turf on Dark Matter, the legendary Seattle rock band’s 12th studio album. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Dropping at the stroke of midnight, Dark Matter (via Monkeywrench Records/Republic Records) spans 11 (mostly) burly numbers, including the previously-released midtempo cut “Wreckage” and the title track, which powered to No. 1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay and Rock & Alternative Airplay Charts. Grammy Award-winning producer Andrew Watt is back behind the desk on Dark Matter, built on foundations of blazing guitars and busy drumming, and which ought to be played “loud, like, really loud,” frontman Eddie Vedder told Alt 98.7. Trending on Billboard Pearl Jam was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 2017, recognition of a mighty, three-decade-plus career that has yielded 12 top 10s on the Billboard 200 chart, including five leaders, and over 85 million albums shifted worldwide, according to reps. The members of Pearl Jam—Vedder, Jeff Ament (bass), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Matt Cameron (drums)—workshopped the album last year at Rick Rubin’s Shangri-La Studios in Malibu. With Watt at the desk, the creative process found turbo-packs, and the record came together in three weeks. Vedder, McCready, and Ament premiered the LP at a listening party in West Hollywood earlier this year, attended by a few hundred family, friends, industry professionals and media, the Associated Press reported at the time. “You all get together as a group as we’ve been doing for 30-plus years and you say, ‘Let’s try it again,’” Vedder reportedly told guests from the stage as he introduced the record. “No hyperbole, I think this is our best work.”In support of the new LP, Vedder and CO. will embark on a world tour. Those Dark Matter World Tour 2024 dates will see the band visit nine countries and 25 cities, kicking off at May 4 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, BC. Stream Dark Matter in full below.

Nicki Minaj wasn’t messing around when she was teasing bringing the heavy hitters out for her “FTCU” remix. The Barbz leader revealed on Thursday (April 18) that the star-studded trio of Travis Scott, Chris Brown and Sexyy Red would be joining her for the “FTCU (Sleeze Mix).” Mere hours later, Nicki closed out Aries season […]

Why take your gin straight when you can have it with a side of Hardy? In honor of Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre‘s new Gin & Juice canned cocktail venture, the country-rock star released a cover of the hip-hop duo’s classic “Gin and Juice” on Friday (April 19), with a music video to follow next […]