Tones and I beats Ed Sheeran with new record on the top of the ARIA singles chart for 16 weeks
Pop phenomenon Tones and I has entered uncharted territory with Dance Monkey being at the top of the ARIA singles chart for 16-weeks in a row.
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Pop gamechanger Tones and I has deposed British songwriting supremo Ed Sheeran to set a new record for the longest reign atop the ARIA singles chart.
Our new chart queen now enters uncharted territory with her breakthrough smash hit Dance Monkey which has enjoyed a 16-week streak at No. 1, beating Sheeran’s Shape Of You which had 15 non-consecutive weeks in 2017.
The twenty something Australian artist, who is currently on a sold-out tour of the UK and US, made no secret of her ambition to claim Sheeran’s Australian record as Dance Monkey continued its phenomenal streaming streak here and around the world.
“Thank you so much Australia for the love and support around my career and single Dance Monkey,” she said in a statement from London.
“It’s been a crazy ride watching what this song has done but now to break the Aussie record is just a huge achievement!
“An Aussie now holds the Aussie ARIA chart record!”
The song is rapidly closing in on one billion streams worldwide, a significant achievement for an Australian artist, generating eight million streams a day and 40 million last week just in China.
Other homegrown chart heroes with the billion streams under their belt include Dean Lewis with his bloke break-up anthem Be Alright, electronic pop guru Flume with Never Be Like You, hit maker Nat Dunn for her work on the Marshmello and Anne-Marie hit FRIENDS and Cookin’ on 3 Burners for This Girl.
Dance Monkey has reached No. 1 in 18 countries since its release in May, including seven weeks on top of the UK singles chart, equalling the longest run for a solo female artist since Leona Lewis with Bleeding Love in 2007.
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“It’s overwhelming to think this song is really resonating in another country,” Tones told the UK’s Official Chart Company.
“It’s a really good feeling, I’m really proud of myself. Dance Monkey is a special song for me and my friends – I wrote it for them. It’s always going to be a song that reminds me of busking, playing in streets and making people happy.”
Denis Handlin, the head of Sony Music Entertainment which released Dance Monkey here, said Australia should be proud of Tones’ global success.
“Tones has made Australian music history with a song that has captured the world’s attention,” he said.
“She is a very special artist and a beautiful person, with unique creativity and ability, and we are so incredibly proud of her.
“It’s brilliant to see her artistic vision embraced by her fans in Australia and around the world, and we look forward to so much more to come.”
After her club shows in London, New York and Los Angeles and a spot on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Tones heads home for the 2019 ARIA Awards where she is expected to perform her Dance Monkey hit.
It is believed she was keen to move on from that song and showcase the title track of her debut EP The Kids Are Coming, but with Dance Monkey scoring eight nominations, organisers were adamant she perform her No. 1 hit on the night.
Tones has enjoyed a remarkable rise to success in less than a year from busking to hundreds of people on the streets of Byron Bay to winning millions of fans worldwide.
Her next chart frontier to conquer is America. It’s the toughest market in the world because of the dominance of hip hop and R & B.
Originally published as Tones and I beats Ed Sheeran with new record on the top of the ARIA singles chart for 16 weeks
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