London Calling: Tonight Alive, Troye Sivan, crack UK charts

Sydney band Tonight Alive and Perth-hailed Troye Sivan have entered the UK charts in the same week that they also made debuts on the Australian ARIA charts.

Their UK success comes at a crucial moment in their careers, and both have described their new records as “freeing”.

Tonight Alive’s fourth album Underworld, which has debuted at #55, marks their first through independent label Hopeless Records.

Earlier global success came with their first label Sony Music.

Underworld was a record which singer Jenna McDougall says she wrested back control of her art from the major, undergo a year of chronic fatigue, chronic eczema, and depression, and turned to numerology and yoga nidra to help her calm down and focus on creating music.

Tonight Alive are currently on a 32-date tour through the U.S. – they’re in Indiana tonight – until March 1 will then head off for shows through Britain and Europe.

Underworld, recorded in Thailand, and released in Australia on Unfied, this week came into the ARIA chart at #11 – their fourth appearance on the Top 50.

Their last one, Listless, peaked at #6 in 2016.

Troye Sivan’s latest single ‘My My My’ entered the UK charts at #38 while it also debuted in Australia at #14 – his second highest chart placing next to ‘Happy Little People’ which peaked at #10 in 2014.

The track marks a difference in style from his past work and pushes commercial radio with its lyrical theme of sexual desire.

He explains the title, “The phrase just jumped out. Here I was, very much in love, and I wanted something that would capture the exhilaration of being free.”

The United States remains his biggest market. The 22-year old lives in Los Angeles with model Jacob Bixenman, also aged 22.

On the weekend he made his debut on Saturday Night Live in an episode hosted by actress Jessica Chastain, and performed ‘My! My! My!’ and ‘The Good Side’, the latter an apology to an earlier boyfriend about their break up.

An ardent fan of the show and long time dreaming of appearing on it, he threw up as the time drew nearer.

This month, Sivan fronted the campaign for Valentino Menswear, telling his 10 million Twitter followers that life had been a “rollercoaster” with so many things going on in his life.

Over in the European Border Breakers Chart, Zayn’s ‘Dusk Till Dawn’ featuring Adelaide-born Sia is sitting at #1.