# Better in Blak

Better in Blak is the debut studio album by Australian singer-songwriter Thelma Plum, released on 12 July 2019 through Warner Music Australia.
Better in Blak achieved commercial success, peaking at number 4 on the ARIA Albums Chart, and winning two awards: Best Cover Art at the 2019 ARIA Music Awards and Album of the Year at the 2020 Queensland Music Awards.
An anniversary edition featuring previously unreleased tracks was released on 6 November 2020.

## Critical reception

Professional ratings :
| Review scores ||
| Source | Rating |
| The Newcastle Herald | |
Better in Blak received critical acclaim.
Josh Leeson of The Newcastle Herald wrote: "Emotional, and unapologetically honest, the Indigenous artist addresses racism, sexism and her broken heart", adding, "Plum's voice is placed at the forefront of the mix, allowing the sparse indie-folk instrumentation to provide casual direction."
Al Newstead from Triple J wrote that Better in Blak is "an album of healing, [and] transforming the pain and sadness of a dark few years into a courageous, self-assured debut album."
Thomas Bleach described the album as "a collection of hard-hitting and thought invoking [sic] moments", and "one of the most impressive debuts of the year". He also wrote that Better in Blak "embodies the different sides of her artistry in an honest and endearing way."

## Charts
### Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for Better in Blak :
| Chart (2019) | Peak position |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) | 4 |

### Year-end charts

2019 year-end chart performance for Better in Blak :
| Chart (2019) | Position |
| Australian Artist Albums (ARIA) | 46 |
2020 year-end chart performance for Better in Blak :
| Chart (2020) | Position |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) | 87 |

## Certifications

Certifications and sales for Better in Blak :
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
| Australia (ARIA) | Gold | 35,000$^‡$ |
| $^‡$ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |||

## Release history

Release history and formats for Better in Blak :
| Region | Date | Format | Edition | Label | Catalogue |
| Various | 12 July 2019 | CDLPdigital downloadstreaming | Standard | Warner Music Australia | 5419704880 |
| Various | 6 November 2020 | Digital downloadstreaming | Anniversary Edition | Warner Music Australia | Not applicable |
| Australia | 12 November 2020 | LP | Anniversary Edition | Warner Music Australia | 5419708255 |

## Awards and nominations
### ARIA Music Awards

| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
| 2019 | Better in Blak | Album of the Year | Nominated |
| 2019 | Better in Blak | Best Cover Art | Won |
| 2019 | Better in Blak | Best Female Artist | Nominated |
| 2019 | Better in Blak | Best Pop Release | Nominated |
| 2019 | Better in Blak | Breakthrough Artist | Nominated |

### Australian Music Prize

| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
| 2019 | Better in Blak | Album of the Year | Nominated | |

### J Awards

| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
| 2019 | Better in Blak | Australian Album of the Year | Nominated | |

### National Indigenous Music Awards

| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
| 2019 | Better in Blak | Album of the Year | Nominated | |

### Queensland Music Awards

| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
| 2020 | Better in Blak | Album of the Year | Won | |