Tones and I has done it again.
The hitmaking Australian singer and songwriter debuts at the summit of the ARIA Chart, published late Friday, with “Beautifully Ordinary” (via Bad Batch Records) — and does so with one of biggest opening weeks for an Australian album in 2024.
Led by the single “Dance With Me,” “Beautifully Ordinary” is the followup to 2021’s “Welcome to the Madhouse,” which also debuted at No. 1 in Australia.
“There was never a theme or tone I aspired to,” she says of the recording. “Each song is a different story, meant for its own moment. Some songs have been inspired by the same life experience, but through a different perspective. Mostly the album presents itself as whatever the listener takes from it. There’s an undertone of loneliness, heartbreak, desperation, fear, vulnerability, and triumph (but not too much).”
Chart glory comes naturally for Tones. The one-time busker flipped the script and became a global star with 2019’s “Dance Monkey,” which went to No. 1 on sales charts in at least 30 countries, including the United Kingdom and Australia.
“Dance Monkey” hung around at the top of the Official U.K. Singles Chart for 11 weeks, a record for a solo female artist, while on the ARIA Chart, it reigned for 24 non-consecutive weeks — the all-time mark.
Earlier this year, “Dance Monkey” passed three billion streams on Spotify, making Tones (real name: Toni Watson) the first female solo artist to cross that threshold.
Tones has been impossible to miss. Her 2023 single “I Made It” soundtracks a heavily-rotated Qantas campaign, a tie-in for Australia’s Olympic and Paralympic teams.
On the live circuit, she recently completed a 20-date stadium tour of Australia and New Zealand – a record for any act – opening for Pink’s Summer Carnival trek, winner of the Variety Live Biz Breakfast’s tour of the year.
She’ll set out on her own for a national tour in support of “Beautifully Ordinary,” kicking off next Saturday, Aug. 17th at Adelaide Entertainment Centre, with Coterie in support.
Tones will take a brief pause from her tour when she participates in a keynote interview with ABC personality Myf Warhurst for BIGSOUND 2024.