Kanye West Almost Robbed Of Number One Album In Australia Due To Chart Error

Australia almost refused to let Kanye West be great on Saturday (June 22) when Yeezus landed at number two on the album chart behind an LP of covers by local country singers Troy Cassar-Daley and Adam Harvey. It was a huge surprise given the massive hype surrounding the new dad‘s opus and raised murmurs of a possible mix-up.

The following day, the Australian Record Industry Association (ARIA) announced that they had, in fact, made a mistake. ARIA’s CEO Dan Rosen issued a statement saying Cassar-Daley and Harvey’s sales were overstated: “The calculation was due to a data classification error, whereby a small number of sales that were initially considered eligible, were later found to be ineligible for chart calculation purposes.”

“This more detailed information only became available to ARIA, after the initial publication of the charts. Given the very close race for the No.1 position this week, this was enough to impact the result at the top of the chart,” he continued.

It obviously came down to the wire, which must be some consolation for the hapless Aussies who were downgraded to second place. No? probably not. While exceedingly rare, similar situations have occurred in the US. In 2004 George Strait and Usher swapped spots at the top of the Hot 200 due to a reporting error from a retailer.

It’s doubtful West was even aware of the situation but how do you think he would react if informed? Let us know in the comments.