Doja Cat Paints Australia Red With First #1 Single Down Under

28 August 2023 | 9:36 am | Gavin Ryan

'Paint The Town Red' is the eighth #1 song for 2023.

Doja Cat

Doja Cat (Supplied)

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Doja Cat scored her first #1 single in Australia this week with Paint the Town Red.

Last week Paint the Town Red moved to the top of the singles chart in New Zealand, and now this week the track sees it's second worldwide #1 placement as it jumps from last weeks #6 to this week's top selling track, becoming the 1127th #1 Single in Australia (1940 to 2023), the 562nd for ARIA (1983 to 2023), the eighth #1 song for 2023 (six of which are by American artists), and the 72nd for the RCA record label (first for Doja's label Kemosabe) and second this year after Doja Cat's former collaborator SZA spent a week at the top on January 16th with Kill Bill (TW-22; which would later feature a remix with Doja Cat, but the song had already gone to #1 prior to their remix being issued), while the pair also logged six broken weeks at #2 with Kiss Me More (from May 10th, 2021). 

This new #1 song becomes only the second with paint in its title to hit the top spot, the previous one was for The Rolling Stones with Paint it, Black (3 weeks from June 18th, 1966), while it's the fourth with a town in it's title (as opposed to town within the title like Downtown, Uptown or even in Funkytown), with the last being Old Town Road for Lil' Nas X (13 broken weeks from April 22nd, 2019), and also now the fourth with the word red featured within its title, while it's almost 50 years since the last red song graced the top of the charts, Helen Reddy's Leave me Alone (Ruby Red Dress) (4 weeks from Dec. 24th, 1973). 

Doja Cat becomes the 105th Solo American Female artist to make it to #1 in Australia, plus Paint the Town Red becomes the 426th by an American Act (solo male or female, duo or group) and the 723rd overall song sung by an American Artist to hit the top locally. And as I mentioned earlier, the song is on hold in New Zealand for a second week at #1, while it leaps in England (15 to #4), Ireland (13 to #3), Canada (23 to #11) and holds in The U.S.A. (#15), plus it's also Top 10 in The Netherland, Norway (both #7), Lithuania (#2) and Latvia (#3). 

Another little chart-feat that occurs this week is the sample within Paint the Town Red being the Dionne Warwick single Walk on By, which I talked about when the song originally debuted three weeks ago. The original song has surpassed all of its previous peaks for the original 1964 release around the world, plus after 37 years since her last and only #1 single, Dionne Warwick is again within a #1 song. Of the 26 songs by her to chart in Australia, only her last entry made it to #1, that being That's What Friends are For (featuring Elton John, Stevie Wonder and Gladys Knight), with that song spending a single week at the top on March 3rd, 1986, after which Dionne had no further Top 100 chart entries in Australia. 

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Luke Combs speeds up the chart six places to land at a new peak of #2 with his cover of Fast Car, thanks to his current national tour here, while the song previously parked at #3 for two weeks (on June 19th & 26th), plus the track is newly certified in sales at 2x▲Platinum, while his recent visit to New Zealand also pulls the track up to a new peak there of #8, plus it holds at #2 in The U.S.A., dips on spot to #3 in Canada and lands at a new chart height in England (39 to #34). 

Dipping one spot to #3 is the Dave and Central Cee entry Sprinter, followed by the first of two stable entries within the Top 10, at #4 is Cruel Summer for Taylor Swift, which is also down a spot to #4 in The U.S.A., rises to #2 in Canada, rests at #5 in England and #6 in New Zealand. 

The new #1 song in England is also scoring a second week at the top in Ireland, while locally the song drops two places to #5, it's Dua Lipa with Dance the Night, with the track also sitting at #5 in New Zealand, #4 in Canada and #8 in The U.S.A. this week, plus it's the highest placed track from the regained #1 Album in the country Barbie The Album soundtrack (2nd week at #1), with last week's #1 entry for Billie Eilish and What Was I Made for?, this week plummeting six places to land at #7 after three weeks at the top, with the third and final Top 10 Barbie entry being the second non-mover for the week at #9, Nicki Minaj with Ice Spice and Aqua with Barbie World.

Scoring a half-a-year (26 weeks; equal 14th longest run of all time in Australia) within the Top 10 this week is the former eight-week running #1 song for Morgan Wallen with Last Night, which is back up one spot to #6, while he holds the top spot in Canada (fifth week at #1) as too does his album One Thing at a Time (19th week at #1), while the song also regains a Top 10 berth in New Zealand (12 to #10). The second and final Top 10 accreditation this week is a first-time-cert of ▲Platinum for vampire by Olivia Rodrigo, which drops three places to #8 this week, while climbing back into the Top 10, up one spot to #10, is the Gunna track FukUMean, for a fifth overall week within the Top 10. 

TOP 20: 

NEW PEAKS: Starting with a re-peak at #11 for a fourth overall stay is The Weeknd with Playboi Carti and Madonna on Popular, which previously docked this high on July 24th and 31st and then again on August 14th, while the song cracks the NZ Top 10 for the first time (13 to #9), plus it's joined within the Top 20 by his Ariana Grande duet on Die for You, up four spots to #22, which all rise back up due to his announcement this past week of an Australian national tour in November of this year. 

MORE NEW PEAKS: After 58 weeks within the Top 100 the Zach Bryan track Something in the Orange surpasses its former peak of #13 (June 19th) by moving up two places this week to a new chart height of #12 (newly 4x▲Platinum), while his LP American Heartbreak returns at #94 for a fourth overall stay in that chart. Last week's lower fifty entry for first-time chart-entrant Oliver Anthony Music and his song Rich Men North of Richmond is this week flying up a massive fifty-two places to land at #14, while the song has debuted at #1 in The U.S.A., #8 in Canada and #17 in New Zealand and flies in England (64 to #23) and Ireland (39 to #13) this week. The fourth and final peak within the Top 20 sees current tourist Luke Combs take his 59 week old entry The Kind of Love We Make into the twenty for the first time, as it jumps up four places to score a new peak of #17 this week. 

The only Top 10 dropout this week is last week's new entry for Olivia Rodrigo and bad idea right?, which drops down five places to land at #15, with single place drops for both Daylight by David Kushner and Flowers by Miley Cyrus to #13 and #16 respectively, while JungKook feat. Latto and Seven dropped down three to lay at #20 this week. 

TOP 30: 

NEW PEAKS: Luke Combs has four of the nine new peaks within the Top 50 this week, with his next being When it Rain it Pours moving up six places to land at #25, with further rising Top 30 entries being Boy's a Liar (pt.2) for PinkPantheress and Ice Spice (30 to #28) and Rush for Troye Sivan (37 to #29), which is also the #1 Dance Single and the #1 Australian Artist Single this week. 

Taylor Swift has two Top 30 entries this week with both tracks scoring new sales certifications, as Anti-Hero drops six places to #21 and now 5x▲Platinum, with the track leaving the Top 20 chart region for only it's second time, after it fell to #25 on August 7th, while on hold at #27 for a third week is her Karma track which scores it's first ever accreditation of 2x▲Platinum in sales. Dropping down are Chemical for Post Malone, declining four spots to #23 and then it's the first of two Top 50 entries for Travis Scott, as Telekinesis is down six to #30 and now his highest placed entry.

TOP 40: 

NEW PEAK: Peggy Gou again claims #1 Club track for her song (it goes like) Nanana, which this week rises four places to #32, while the fourth and final new peak for Luke Combs sees Beautiful Crazy move up four places to #35, with the song originally issued in May of 2018, it first saw a Top 100 placement on September 19th, 2022 when it entered at #49 spending six weeks in the Top 100, while it returned this year on January 23rd for one week (#98) and then again on March 27th from then on it hasn't left the chart, with this now it's 30th week within the Top 100 and only third inside the Top 50. 

Further rising tracks within the Top 40 are Heat Waves for Glass Animals (34 to #33), Creepin' by Metro Boomin'The Weeknd and 21 Savage (40 to #36), with another of The Weeknd's tracks rising back up being Save Your Tears, which zooms up seventeen places to land at #40, thanks to his November tour announcement here, plus lower down he also rebounds with Starboy (100 to #60) and Blinding Lights (83 to #64). The fourth (of five) Top 50 entries this week for Taylor Swift sees her Style decline eleven places this week to #26, while down three to #38 is the Lewis Capaldi track Someone You Loved, clocking it's 230th week within the Top 100 (around 4 years and 4 months). 

TOP 50: 

The last entries within the Top 50 for both Taylor Swift and Blank Space (33 to #41; she has six lower fifty entries this week, the only climber being August up to #63), and Travis Scott with Meltdown (29 to #46), both falling into this chart region {his last two Top 100 entries are I Know ? (#97) and FE!N (#98)}, with Lil' Durk and J. Cole down five places to #48 and their collaboration All My Life

The Killers' track Mr. Brightside is back up four places to #43, while returning to the Top 50 are Dreams for Fleetwood Mac (51 to #45; they also return at #100 with Go Your Own Way) and Ed Sheeran with Luke Combs and Life Goes On (55 to #47), which was last within the Top 50 on May 29th, 2023 when it peaked at #23. Luke also has four lower fifty entries this week, with a new peak occurring for She's Got the Best of Me (70 to #59) and a six place rebound to #89 for Beer Never Broke My Heart

NO NEW TOP 50 DEBUT'S THIS WEEK.

New Certifications: 

Fast Car by Luke Combs ▲2
vampire by Olivia Rodrigo ▲ (first cert.)
Something in the Orange by Zach Bryan ▲4
Anti-Hero by Taylor Swift ▲5 (was 1P)
Karma by Taylor Swift (and feat. Ice Spice) ▲2 (first cert.)

HP = Highest Position
LW = Last Week
WI10 - Weeks in Top 10

*ARIA Chart info is based on sales for the week from the 19th to the 25th of August 2023