CHART ACTION #3: MORE "IDOL" ACTION
Two more "Australian Idol" contestants entered the ARIA chart this week. But it's been upside down. Third place getter and punk boy Lee Harding's single "Wasabi" enters at #1 (and goes gold), while "Idol III" winner Kate DeAraugo's "A Place I've Never Been" album comes in at #10. Meantime her single "Maybe Tonight" drops to #3 after two weeks at #1. The "Undercover" site declared DeAraugo was the least worthy of any platinum certification. The album only sold 15,600 copies last week, yet was declared platinum because 70,000 units were sold to stores.

According to chart historian Gavin Ryan, Harding is the 12th performer from a reality TV show, to hit #1 in Oz. He's also the sixth non-winner to reach No.1 -- a testament to the power (although declining) of the "Australian Idol" brand. Harding goes on tour opening for Shannon Noll shortly. The irony is that Harding, who sang in a cover band called Bedrock, almost missed his audition. He says his drink was spiked while he went clubbing, and he awoke the next day at 3 pm. He was the last to audition

"Wasabi" is the 22nd #1 single for 2005, and the sixth Austraian performer to reach to the top. He becomes the 32nd Australian solo male artist to hit No.1 in the past 65 years, and is the 84th Australian to make it to the top of the charts with the 131st Australian performed song.

Ryan also makes the point that "Wasabi" is the seventh song to go to No.1 in Australia with an "Asian" word in its title. The other six being...

On a Slow Boat to China - Kay Kyser (May 1949) Sukiyaki - Kyu Sakamoto (July 1963) 55 Days at Peking - Rob E.G. (August 1963) Kung Fu Fighting - Carl Douglas (Dec 1974) Turning Japanese - The Vapors (June 1980) One Night in Bangkok - Murray Head (March 1985)

That was interesting.
THanks KK