Physical sales to decide Madonna & Springsteen ARIA chart tussle

The ARIA Albums Chart looks set welcome the return of two ’80s music icons, with new releases by Madonna and Bruce Springsteen headlining. 

Madame X and Western Stars were released last week, and midweek data suggests the two new records are set to vye for a #1 debut.

They’ll face stiff competition from a resurgent Jonas Brothers, Jimmy Barnes and Billie Eilish’s Platinum debut album who currently make up the Top 3 on the chart.

Both Madonna and Springsteen have had prolific success on the Albums Chart, with 16 Madonna albums landing in the Top 10.

Springsteen has been no slouch in Australia either. 12 of his albums have reached the Top 10, most recently with 2014’s High Hopes which went to #1.

An interesting caveat in this week’s battle looks set to be the impact of physical sales, with both artists’ core demographic more likely to purchase physical albums rather than access them on streaming services.

Meanwhile homegrown producer Hayden James looks set for a Top 10 debut for his first album Between Us.