The Kid LAROI, Pnau Power Into Top 5 Singles Worldwide For 2022

While Australian acts continue to have a tough time cracking the domestic singles chart, homegrown stars got away two of the biggest hits on the planet last year.

The IFPI last week published three year-end charts — for recording artist, single and album of the year, with Pnau and The Kid LAROI among the best performers from these parts.

Raised in Sydney, now based in Los Angeles, LAROI lands at No. 3 with “Stay,” his July 2021 collaborative release with Justin Bieber, which last year raked-up 1.74 billion “global subscription stream equivalents,” a methodology the IFPI uses to complete its rankings. 

Known to friends and family as Charlton Howard, LAROI is already a star and he hasn’t yet left his teens.

The Gadigal-born artist with Kamilaroi roots has won a string of APRA Awards, including the coveted song of the year, also for “Stay,” and songwriter of the year, adding to a collection that includes ARIA Awards and NIMAs, several Billboard Music Awards and a Grammy Award nomination for best newcomer.

“Stay” does exactly what its title says. It was the No. 2 digital single worldwide in 2021, according to the IFPI, amassing 2.07 billion “streaming equivalent” units, eclipsed then only by The Weeknd’s “Save Your Tears” (2.17 billion streams).

Meanwhile, Elton John and Dua Lipa’s collaboration “Cold Heart,” remixed by Pnau, comes in at No. 4 on the Federation’s singles list for 2022.

The cut, reworked by the Sydney electronic trio of Nick Littlemore (Empire of the Sun, Vlossom, Teenager), his brother Sam Littlemore, and Peter Mayes (Empire of the Sun), bagged 1.34 billion “global subscription stream  equivalents.”

Released in 2021, “Cold Heart” won an American Music Award (collaboration of the year), was nominated for song of the year at the Brit Awards, collected a Billboard Award for Top Dance/Electronic Song, it has cruised past one billion streams, and saw the trio crack Spotify’s Top 100 streamed artists.

Along the way, the single, which interpolates “Sacrifice” with “Rocket Man,” “Kiss the Bride” and “Where’s My Shoorah,” detonated several records.

It became Elton’s eighth No. 1 single in his homeland and first for 16 years, making the Rocket Man the first act in history to score a U.K. Top 10 single in six different decades.

In Australia, the single took 12 weeks to reach the summit. When it got there, it made Elton, at 74 years, seven months and 14 days, the oldest artist to top the ARIA Singles Chart, overtaking Paul McCartney.

It’s now Elton’s longest-reigning No. 1 in Australia, at 10 non-consecutive weeks.

ARIA CEO Annabelle Herd congratulates LAROI and Pnau on their world-beating efforts.

 “It is absolutely incredible to see two Australian acts in the top five global singles for 2022,” she says in a statement.

“Congratulations to The Kid LAROI and Pnau for representing our incredible home grown industry on the global stage.”
 
Herd adds, “This again proves the world-class talent that exists within Australia and the enormous cultural and economic potential to be unlocked with more considered government support for Australian music.”

The IFPI Global Single Award is presented to the artist with the world’s best-selling single of the year across all digital formats – including paid subscription streaming, ad-supported platforms, and single-track downloads.

Harry Styles’ “As It Was” tops the tally with 2.28 billion streams, with Glass Animals’ “Heat Waves” at No. 2 with 1.75 billion streams.

According to the IFPI, Taylor Swift was the Global Recording Artist of the Year, doing so for a record third time, while Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti was IFPI’s Global Album Award winner.

Also, LAROI’s U.S. and Australian chart-leading mixtape from 2020, F*ck Love, appears at No. 19 on the IFPI’s global album list.