The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) has released its year-end charts for 2022, highlighting the albums and singles Australians listened to most throughout the year. Taylor Swift had the number one album of the year with Midnights. Harry Styles‘ Harry’s House came in second, followed by The Weeknd‘s The Highlights (2021), Olivia Rodrigo‘s Sour (2021) and Ed Sheeran‘s = (2021).
Doja Cat‘s Planet Her (2021), Styles’ Fine Line (2019), Dua Lipa‘s Future Nostalgia (2020), Eminem‘s Curtain Call: The Hits (2005) and The Weeknd’s Dawn FM rounded out the top 10 albums for 2022. Only three of the top 10 albums were actually released last year.
‘As It Was’ Tops ARIA’s 2022 Singles Chart
The 2022 ARIA End Of Year Albums Chart #1 is: Midnights by @taylorswift13❣️
To find out what else made the list, head to the link in our bio.#ARIACharts #TaylorSwift #HarryStyles #TheWeeknd #OliviaRodrigo #EdSheeran #DojaCat #DuaLipa #Eminem pic.twitter.com/FVe1Vadjss
— ARIA (@ARIA_Official) January 4, 2023
Meanwhile, Styles’ hit ‘As It Was’ landed on top of ARIA’s 2022 singles chart, with Glass Animals‘ ‘Heat Waves’ behind. The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber‘s ‘Stay’, Elton John and Dua Lipa‘s ‘Cold Heart’ (PNAU remix) and Sheeran’s ‘Bad Habits’ made the top five.
The second half of the top 10 includes Lost Frequencies and Calum Scott’s ‘Where Are You Now’, Jack Harlow‘s ‘First Class’, OneRepublic‘s ‘I Ain’t Worried’ and Lizzo‘s ‘About Damn Time’. Similar to the albums chart, only four singles in the top 10 – ‘As It Was’, ‘First Class’, ‘I Ain’t Worried’ and ‘About Damn Time’ – were released in 2022.
Just missing the top 10 was Kate Bush‘s 1985 song ‘Running Up That Hill’ – which experienced a Stranger Things-assisted resurgence last year.
Australian artists sorely underrepresented
Of the top 100 singles, only 11 were by Australian artists (12 if you count PNAU for ‘Cold Heart’, which it doesn’t look like ARIA does). It’s the same number for the top 100 albums. It’s an issue that’s sparked renewed discussion particularly over the last 12 months. Midnight Oil called attention to the problem when their latest album, Resist, debuted at number one on the ARIA Albums chart in February 2022 – the only Australian album in the top 10 when it did so.
In a statement shared at the time, the band expressed shock that themselves and INXS were among only five Australian artists with top 40 albums that week. “What year is it again?” they wrote. In their statement, the Oils suggested the lack of Australian representation could be a structural problem, and urged for change.
“We’ve been fortunate to have some great media support, particularly from the ABC and Triple M,” the band said at the time. “But clearly the federal government needs to introduce better local content rules – and better enforcement of those rules – across all platforms to make sure that the next generation of local artists get a fair go.”
When it comes to the top singles by Australian artists in 2022, the chart was led by LAROI with ‘Stay’, followed by Joji‘s ‘Glimpse of Us’, Luude and Colin Hay‘s ‘Down Under’, LAROI’s ‘Thousand Miles’ and Vance Joy‘s ‘Missing Piece’. ‘Dance Monkey’ by Tones and I, LAROI and Miley Cyrus‘ ‘Without You’, Shouse‘s ‘Love Tonight’, Dean Lewis‘ ‘Be Alright’ and Rüfüs Du Sol‘s ‘On My Knees’ rounded out the top 10.
LAROI’s F*ck Love (Over You) mixtape was the top Australian album for 2022, followed by INXS’ greatest hits compilation The Very Best. Daniel Johns‘ FutureNever came in at third, Spacey Jane‘s Here Comes Everybody at four and The Best of Cold Chisel at five.
Like the overall albums chart, the ARIA vinyl chart for 2022 was led by Swift’s Midnights and Styles’ Harry’s House. Spacey Jane’s Here Comes Everybody came in at third on that list, with Arctic Monkeys‘ AM (2013) at four and Sheeran’s = (2021) at five.
Further Reading
ARIA Launches Australian Dance Singles and Australian Dance Albums Charts
Gang of Youths Score #1 Album But ARIA Charts Lacking Australian Artists
