A song about de stigmatising sex in the mainstream becoming big this year? Well, colour me shocked as we have this all-female hip hop trio to thank for why sex prudes became rarer as the decade went on (OK so they were far from the leading cause of this happening but still.) Strangely the girls were still yet to find success in their native America, although their fortunes would change there with their next album.
This was the first song that MJ released following the final stages of his plastic surgery which transitioned him from a man of colour to a Caucasian, naturally this was meant to be a song that inspires racial harmony from a man who have a very wide demographic regardless of their skin colour.
This was the second single from Prince's Diamonds and pearls album, although given how it was the runaway success from the album, you'd be forgiven into thinking it was the lead single. I don't think he's ever sounded hornier on any other track than he does on here, which is perhaps why this remains his most successful single even if it's not one of his more iconic.
Well regardless of what you think of this song (it has a great bassline even if Vanilla stole it from Queen to use for his weak rapping) you can't deny this songs achievement for becoming the first hip hop track to top the Billboard charts, thankfully both MC Hammer and Young MC topped the Australian charts before this did. It's a bit of a tragedy to see how quickly Robert's fall from grace was following this songs success.
This was originally a hit for the Righteous brothers back in the mid 60's, however when this ballad was used in a steamy love scene with Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore in the comedy horror Ghost, it became a hit all over again as the scene turned the love ballad into a raunchy sex jam overnight.
And who says joke songs have only become a recent phenomenon? OK so this was a huge success back in the day, proving that even back then, people thought that the idea of clowning on toxic narcissists like these guys do throughout the track was the height of comedy. I'm in no way saying this is a bad thing, rather I feel that people find this way funnier than I do.
Now I use the AMR charts to determine what the order these songs/E.P's appear on these lists (that is, how well they did on those charts) however I have to make an exception here as this E.P from Ratcat didn't chart on the AMR singles chart (rather it was on the album charts) but it did on ARIA's singles chart and thus here we are.
That out of the way, we have this E.P from Ratcat which proved to be a massive success for the band likely through the strength of its designated signature track "That ain't bad" on the radio. This led the band to having massive success later in the year with their debut album Blind love and its singles.
So, for whatever reason, someone decided to do a mashup of "You're the one that I want," "Greased lightning" and "Summer nights" from the Grease soundtrack where it managed to become a massive success at the start of the decade. The DJ gave full credit to both stars of the film, and as such it recharted later in the decade when the 20th anniversary of the film was released.
This is the song where many people had turned on Bryan Adams for a few reasons, first off it was number one in the UK for sixteen weeks, making it one of the best charting songs of all time over there. Secondly it was tied to the Kevin Costner version of the famous Robin Hood fable which to this day divides audiences due to his admittedly terrible performance as the titular character.
It looked like that Daryl's previous album's success was a fluke and that he would again fade into obscurity, however he then released this cover of the Ricki Lee Jones track (best known for its usage throughout Jerry Maguire later in the decade) which became a huge success for him likely due to backing vocals from Margaret Urlich who was fresh off the success of her solo album Safety in numbers.
The last time we mentioned Maria McKee on this site was when she wrote Feargal Sharkey's biggest hit "A good heart" from five years prior, here she is now with a song of her own that she wrote for the Tom Cruise flick Days of thunder which sees the heartthrob play a race car driver hotshot. The film is noticeable for being the first of three he made with his future wife Nicole Kidman.
This was the biggest hit to come from Chrissie Amphlett and company, mainly because it was a clear display of Chrissie's sexual appeal which naturally turned many listeners on whenever it came on the radio. The success of this track here in Australia led to it being released internationally where it became a huge hit for the band a decade after they first broke through with the likes of "Boys in town" and "Science fiction."
This was the theme song to the second Terminator film as well as the lead single to the Use your illusions era which produced two very long albums from Axel Rose and company that would dominate the music landscape for about eighteen months with its singles. It was certainly an ambitious project for them to take on and one that arguably does live up to their early promise they had on their debut album.
Even though Londonbeat were an American band, they were based in the UK when they released their first album which is why it took them a while to find success with this track in their native America this year. A big part of that was due to this becoming a huge hit in Australia, likely due to how they blended RNB with pop rock in a way that I'm surprised hasn't been replicated that often over the years.
This was the song that encouraged us Aussies to check out Black box's one and only album Dreamland this year, I'm guessing due to it being a cover of an Earth wind and fire track we unfairly ignored back in the day and Martha Walsh doing an admirable job in updating the 70's RNB jam on this track. This would be the last song the Italian group had a hit in Australia, although they would score two hits in America this year.
Mermaids is perhaps the most underrated film in Cher's filmography, mainly because it doesn't live up to the standards of her other Hollywood blockbusters Silkwood, Mask and especially Moonstruck and the Witches of Eastwick. Despite that, it's a charming coming of age story about how her daughter played by Winona Ryder comes to terms with the family she's a part of. The film has Cher's cover of the Merry Clayton track as its theme song due to it bizarrely being set in 1963.
This was the debut single for one Melissa Tkautz, a rising star in the acting scene in Australia who was looking to get into the music industry much like her fellow actors from Neighbours. I will say that it's a bit uneasy listening to this track knowing that she was only sixteen when she recorded it, it would've been fine if she were older but hearing the lyrics "if you wanna wait till later, hands off my detonator" coming out of a minor is disturbing.
This is a song that was false advertising for the music the band in question was making, Extreme are best known for their hard rock tracks and hair metal image and yet it was this acoustic ballad that made them a household name worldwide. The lyrics are often misinterpreted as people seem to think it's a love ballad which it technically is, however, it's actually about how the phrase "I love you" no longer has any meaning given how easy it is for anyone to recite.
This was a huge comeback for Rod Stewart given how he hadn't had a major hit on the Australian charts for nearly a decade, it goes to show that while he is willing to experiment with his sound on occasion that his bread and butter are the ballads that appeal to his core audience. This would be his last major hit single on the charts, although he did score a moderate hit later in the decade through his appearance on MTV unplugged.
This was the lead single to Martika's second and to date final album Martika's kitchen, an album that was largely a collaboration with Prince around the time he was reinventing himself following the disaster that was his third film Graffiti bridge. This was a huge hit for Martika here in Australia despite it not being as big anywhere else in the world, I'm guessing more for her vocals than anything.
This song was written by Michael Jackson, I just thought I'd put that out there as this not only explains his guest appearance in the first episode of season three but also how this managed to become a huge success given how cartoon shows (even adult oriented ones like the Simpsons) don't tend to produce chart topping singles like this. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that MJ was a huge fan of the show given that it's a spinoff of the Tracey Ullman show.
It looked like Paula Abdul no longer had any issues with finding success here in Australia as this lead single to her second album proved to be a huge success for her here, that is until the rest of the album came out and flopped here. For what it's worth, Paula did see a surprise hit later in the decade down under with "My love is for real," so it's not like we always unfairly ignored her music.
Much like in their native America, this was the bigger hit for Color me Badd in Australia likely due to it being catchier than their debut single from the New jack city soundtrack. It's impressive to think that these guys were as successful as they were considering how few people fondly remember their music, sure it was upbeat, but it didn't win a ton of critical praise for the quartet.
In most parts of the world, Robbie Nevil is a one hit wonder with "C'est la vie" likely due to audiences only connecting with the one song from him and none of his other tracks. In Australia, he scored a second hit with this track where he expresses a desire to be with someone he finds inspirational, this helping him escape the one hit wonder bin down under with a song twice as big as his previous entry to boot.
Well, if you wanted to hear what a Sam and Dave track would sound like if you replaced their vocals with Jimmy Barnes and John Farnham then knock yourself out with this duet between the two pub rockers. It was a huge hit for them off of Jimmy's Soul deep album so I'm guessing there are people out there who like this.
It looked like Roxette were also able to survive the transition from the 80's to the 90's as this title track from their third album became a huge hit throughout the world, although admittedly they did tweak their sound to have less synthesizers compared to their earlier work so perhaps, they did make more of an effort to change with the times than many of their peers. Their time would come to an end when they appeared on the Super Mario brother's soundtrack two years later.
It appears that these guys had redeemed themselves for their "joke" song about the Doctor Who fandom from the late 80's, now they're one of the most well respected EDM groups who scored a massive worldwide hit with this live rendition of one of their earlier tracks that flopped due to them being seen as a novelty act. This led to them having a highly successful album that spawned multiple hits for them.
To think that the debut single for one of the more divisive boy bands of the decade was originally meant for the New Jack city soundtrack, indeed I have a feeling the movie's critical and commercial success was what helped it become a hit for Color me Badd as public opinion on the song hasn't been kind over the years. I guess if you want this otherwise family friendly group to get their sexual charge on then this is for you.
This was the first single to feature Deni Hines as the lead vocalist for the Rockmelons, and they wanted you to know she was the vocalist during this phase of their career as all of the singles give her a featuring credit despite her officially being part of the band during this point in time. This is a cover of a Bill Withers track, and like the rest of his catalogue, it wasn't a hit for him originally.
This is a song whose success came completely out of nowhere here in Australia, mainly because the last time anyone cared about the lead vocalist Mick Jones was during his time with the Clash before he was unceremoniously fired from the band almost a decade prior. He came back bigger than ever with this track which seemed to go off in different directions throughout its runtime, thus explaining its success.
Although they would go on to have massive success with their second album later in the decade, it was the lead single to Screaming jets debut album that made them a household name due to how angry they came off on this track similar to how Nirvana launched their career with their seminal classic "Smells like teen spirit." In a way, these guys were able to help the trio find success here due to their similarities.
This was the signature tune for Nat King Cole during his lifetime, so it only makes sense that his daughter would cover the track forty years after its initial release and would find massive success with her version. What rubbed people the wrong way about this cover is that she made it into a virtual duet with her father, that is she took the original recording and inserted her vocals onto the original to make it seem like she was duetting with him in real time.
It seems weird that UB40 would initially struggle to find success in Australia with their album Labour of love II when they found little issues with scoring a hit with Robert Palmer on this cover of the Bob Dylan track. I guess this is what the band needed to find success here with a later entry on this list given how Robert was still one of the hottest stars in the world when he agreed to do this duet.
While this song does rely on cheap nostalgia baiting with what it used as the melody, I will admit that Dimples D makes the sample work on this track given how she promoted this song with the parenthesis "A witch for love." This is an obvious reference to how cunning the genie often was in I dream of genie, and indeed the lyrics of this song indicate a cunning side of the female rapper that helped it retain its popularity once it exploded this year here in Australia and over in NZ.
This was released the previous year to deafening silence in Australia, as was the entirety of UB40's Labour of love II likely because we Aussies wanted to leave these guys in the 80's. That didn't end up happening as this became a huge success over in America which meant that this cover of the Al Green track managed to crossover here where it became a bigger his than otherwise anticipated.
It looks like Black box weren't the only band who utilised Martha Walsh as a vocalist in their music, here she is credited as Freedom Williams scoring a massive hit with C+C Music factory with a song that's become synonymous with the early 90's house scene. She would have another hit this year (stay tuned for it) before becoming fed up with being pushed aside in the marketing for more conventionally attractive women of colour.
With the negative press that Madonna received from her album Like a prayer, I think Bette Midler wanted to reassure audiences that God was real with this song originally written by Nanci Griffith while also acknowledging that yes, bad things do happen to good people sometimes because God simply isn't looking hard enough at the problems of the world. The only thing I'll say is that it's songs like this that make me glad I don't follow religion.
Given the success of their E.P from earlier on this list, we have the debut single from Ratcat which promised them a ton of success this decade that ended up being restricted to their debut album which admittedly was a huge hit for them this year. There was a ton of hype for these guys when the album dropped, so there was little chance that it was going to fail which is more than I can say for their later material.
Given how Enya managed to score a massive hit with "Orinoco flow" as the 80's was coming to an end, it seemed inevitable that the new age trend would explode this decade which it did beginning with this track from the German duo Enigma. Something this adds over what Enya released prior was Gregorian chanting, making this feel like it belongs in a monk temple despite it being a huge success worldwide.
There was a lot of hype going into Toni Child's second album, that hype was met when the lead single became a huge success for her here in Australia despite her still being unable to find success in her native America (something that she never wound-up accomplishing.) Indeed, this would be her last hit single anywhere in the world as once the album cycle ended, she was considered yesterday's news.
It was a new decade and Jenny Morris released this track which tried to change with the times given how some of her contemporaries failed to do so which resulted in their popularity dwindling throughout the decade. Although this was a success for the NZ pop star, it was merely through residual good will she acquired throughout the previous decade as she too found it difficult to keep her momentum going this decade.
One of the biggest contemporary Christian artists of all time, Amy Grant was able to find success this year by temporarily moving away from her comfort zone and into a more adult contemporary sound which resulted in her scoring two hits this year with this being her first. She did have a Billboard chart topper prior to this become her second number one hit in America with Peter Cetera of all people.
OK as much flack as these guys received over the years, at least their earlier entry remains a classic on the dance floor to this day due to how much command and respect that Martha Walsh has on that track. Here she scores a second hit with a band that feels like it was tailor made to be a McDonalds commercial, indeed I've heard a remix of this track used in their ads over the years and it fits perfectly.
This was the one and only hit from white female rapper Icy blue, an underage MC who made it big with a song about how good she is in bed err.... I mean on the dancefloor given how many guys fail to keep up with her until she comes across this seeming dweeb who outdoes her at the end of the night. The song is notable for sampling "Push it" from Salt n Pepa, which is perhaps why it was a flop in her native America.
The 90's were here, which means it was time to get our love for the 70's into gear which Kylie was here to do with the second single to her third album Rhythm of love. Indeed, this was a huge hit for her due to everyone's love for the 70's, specifically the O'jays despite them not having any success here back in the day. The decade would have many highs and lows for her as she would experiment with her sound.
While there's no denying that this is a silly hair metal track that was clearly meant for the ladies, it's still a ton of fun to listen to thanks to the killer instrumentation and how much fun the band is having while recording this track. Strangely this was their only hit in Australia despite it not being their biggest hit in their native America, although their other songs are nowhere near as fun as this track.
This was a flop in 2 in a room's native America, likely because dance tracks in general don't do well on Billboard especially if they're from local artists over there. This didn't prevent the track from being a huge success throughout Europe which had its success translate here in Australia where dance music was often welcomed with open arms. Like many American dance acts this decade, they were a one hit wonder.
This was the only hit that the German band Scorpions were able to achieve in the English language market, although they are one of the most popular bands throughout Europe so it's more our loss that the best they could do internationally was this ballad about how things were changing. This was inspired by the fall of the Berlin wall, making it an anthem to the end of the Cold war which happened this year.
This was the third single to come from John Farnham's album Chain reaction, it's a song that's a lot more subdue than most of his other catalogue which is perhaps why it was able to find an audience from around this time. Although he would see massive success as the decade went on with his albums, he would only have one more solo hit and two more hits with as duets with Jimmy Barnes and Human nature.
From what I've researched, this has gone down as one of the greatest TV themes of all time which makes its success here in Australia has gone down as one our biggest victories as far as the online music community is concerned. It's definitely a song that's more suited to the indie sphere of the music industry, and indeed it wasn't always intended for the show as it first appeared on Julee Cruise's 1989 album.
The legends are true people, Mark Wahlberg did indeed have a career as a rapper before he took Hollywood by storm as one of the better actors to emerge this decade. Here he recruits soul singer Loleatta Holloway to provide a chorus for him while he flexes how awesome he is in the hip hop game; it went about as well as when his older brother flexed how tough he was on "Hanging tough."
This was one of two new tracks to be found on Madonna's Immaculate collection, and it's a song that came with a highly provocative video meant specifically to shock audiences back in the day. Because of this, the song has been criticised for being little more than a cheap porno track meant to shock bible bashers, although it also has its defenders (including me) who claim there's more to the track than its video.
Well at least MC Hammer wasn't a one hit wonder here in Australia, after all he found a way to sample Prince's "When doves cry" into the third single from his breakthrough album Please Hammer don't hurt em. Naturally this proved to be equally as catchy as the lead single from the album which propelled it up the charts, and indeed it even allowed the album to become a major success here.
This was the only hit that Heavy D and the Boyz managed to score worldwide, likely due to it being a cover of the O'jays who were seeing a rise in popularity this year thanks to some endorsements from Kylie Minogue and Dee lite. I guess the song adds some hip-hop verses to help differentiate it from the original track, something that would become very common throughout the 90's with hip hop.
Much like their earlier entry on this list, this was also a live recording of a song that the KLF recorded earlier in their career that only became a success due to their redemption arc they made after angering fans of Doctor who with their novelty track "Doctering the tardis." This is my favourite song from the duo as it feels the most like a finished song to me, that and the train metaphor speaks to me.
This was the debut single for Seal, an RNB singer who began his career as an EDM vocalist with this song about how it was good to take chances in a relationship or as he puts it "being a little crazy." This would be a far cry from his later material which would have him become a more contemporary RNB singer which would lead to his biggest success not just in his native UK but throughout the whole world.
This was the only hit that Austrian band Bingoboys were able to achieve worldwide, likely due to the presence of American rapper Princessa giving out (admittedly awful) dance instructions to help people bust a groove on the dance floors of the 90's. The song is notable for its sample of an old dance routine from the 40's, perhaps as a way of juxtaposing the old dance routines with the (then) modern routines.
This was the only noticeable success that De la soul managed to achieve in Australia, although given how hilarious this track is (in my opinion of course) it's little wonder it managed to be a hit down under thanks to its sense of humour as well as how ridiculously catchy the melody is. As it turns out, it samples a track from Curiosity killed the cat which is perhaps why the melody is so irresistible.
Even though this was a huge Billboard chart topper for Stevie B, it wasn't until it became a surprise hit in the UK that it was able to crossover to Australia this year. From what I can gather, this guy got his start in the Latin freestyle genre of the 80's, although that genre saw little to no success even in America which perhaps explains why he felt the need to switch over to adult contemporary with this ballad.
This was the only other success that Iggy Pop was able to acquire anywhere in the world, although here he required the assistance of Katie Pierson from the B52's fresh off the success she had with their album Cosmic thing. Neither artist on this track would see any further success with their subsequent material.
If the melody sounds familiar to you on this track, that's because it was originally the melody from Spandau Ballet's "True" from eight years prior that PM Dawn took for themselves for their breakthrough single this year. This has the distinction of being the first Billboard chart topper when they started using Neil scan to determine their charts, meaning that they relied on computers to calculate what was popular rather than audience engagement.
While this wasn't Yothu Yindi's debut single in Australia, it was the song which made them a household name due to how incessantly catchy it is despite the lyrics being about how the band wants the Australian government to sign a treaty with the aboriginal community (something that's still yet to happen as of this writing.) International readers will recognise this as the song that plays when Brendan Frasier flips over to MTV in Encino man, which gives you an idea of how American audiences received this.
You know if you can ignore the fact that both of Melissa's biggest hits this year were from a sixteen-year-old, you'll find that both of them are really fun dance pop tracks that showcases the confidence of a young woman who isn't afraid to explore her sexual nature to an audience. I guess audiences back in the day were able to walk this line as both of these songs were a massive hit for her and criticisms only came years later.
These guys were all set to give up when they released this song as a single, it's a shame they did give up soon after its release because it became a huge worldwide success for them likely due to how heartfelt the lyrics are and how catchy the melody is. Who knows what these guys would've released if they had of believed in themselves after this became a success.
This was the lead single to U2's first album of the decade Achtung baby, although I get the feeling they went with the most normal track on the album as the lead single in order to hook fans in with their change in sound which happened throughout the album. Indeed, their next single "Mysterious ways" was the obvious choice for the lead single given how well remembered it remains in their catalogue.
It seems odd that this would be Living Colour's only hit single in Australia when they're better known for their 1989 hit "Cult of living personality" which was a massive success in NZ two years prior. Indeed, their second album Time's up managed to become a success this year down under purely thanks to how well this ballad did for them, not bad for a song about how love is such a tricky bastard.
This was the first solo hit that Diesel had here in Australia, it wasn't his first solo single as that honour goes to "Love junk" which was a huge flop for him, but this was what made him huge without the Injectors. Somehow this managed to be twice as successful over in NZ, I'm guessing he was more popular over there as his third solo single was also a huge success over there as well as his solo debut album.
It looked like that Two fires would finish its album cycle earlier in the year for Jimmy Barnes, that changed when he released the fourth single from the album which became a surprise hit for him likely due to the children's choir towards the end of the song. This helped boost the sales of the album which was already a huge success but became one of the biggest of the decade with this song's success.
Even though "Always and ever" was a modest success for the band, it was this third single which confirmed them to be the real deal as it became a huge success for them and allowed their debut album to be a huge success this year. They were pipped for greatness for the 90's as were a lot of Australian acts on this list, unfortunately the 90's became hostile towards local artists in 1993 for some reason.
This was the only hit that Soup Dragons managed to have worldwide, I'm guessing because they were often mislabelled as a reggae band when they were really more in the Madchester scene that was becoming more popular in their native UK around this time. I guess this made it big here because we couldn't tell this apart from the likes of UB40 and Maxi Priest who were huge at the time.
Although their output this decade would be seen as a far cry from the quality of their 80's material, at least Metallica were able to ease their older fans into their new sound with the lead single of their black album which at least retains to complex musicianship of their older material. Lyrically it's about how James Hetfield suffers from nightmares and how he internalises getting through each night.
This was the first big hit that R.E.M were able to score in Australia, although they did have minor success in NZ during the late 80's with the likes of "The one I love" and "Orange crush" which have both become staples on oldies stations down under. I'm guessing this made it big due to the sudden rise in popularity of people questioning their faith in religion, that and the jangle instrumentation being catchy as hell.
Apparently, EMF stands for Epson Mad Funkers and not Ecstasy Mother F**ker's like I and many others had assumed, I thought I'd bring that up as the band came from the Madchester scene the previous year before scoring a massive Billboard chart topper with this track. Indeed, this has gone down as one of the most quintessential dance tracks to play in a scene that involves strip dancers or a seedy night club.
This was a surprise hit for Sheena Easton given how the last time she troubled the charts in Australia was six years prior with her hit single "Strut," indeed this is another entry into her catalogue of seductive tracks where she titillates her audience with her sexual appeal. Here she tries her hand at rapping which is perhaps how this managed to become a success over the sea of Paula Abdul rip-offs here.
Noiseworks were another band that were able to successfully transition from the 80's to the 90's in Australia, however they did so by releasing their goofiest song likely in response to Warrant's earlier entry on this list. Despite the success they had with their third album, it was also their final album as the band would break up the following year so that Jon Stevens could pursue a career in theatre.
This was the lead single to Jimmy Barne's Soul deep project, an album filled with covers of Motown classics that was a massive success here and in NZ for the otherwise pub rocker. It has its fans given how many sequels it's received as well as it being his bestselling album in his catalogue.
I don't know how this hip hop track managed to become a hit in Australia, even if it was a hit in their native America (which it wasn't) hip hop didn't do well here in Australia until 2000 when Eminem broke down the barriers with his album the Marshall Mathers L.P. In any case, we have this track from the hip hop posse becoming a surprise success here which was a rarity for anyone from the east coast of hip hop.
Well, here's what I and many others consider to be the true first single that U2 released this decade as it signifies a change in their sound that was radically different to what they had released up until this point. While their previous single was the big hit off of Achtung baby on a technical level, it was this song which helped the album thrive while many albums from their contemporaries crashed and burned.
This was another band who scored a big hit this year that was completely misleading to what their usual sound was, in this case we have Roxus scoring their only hit with this ballad which seems like the opposite of their other songs from their one and only album Nightstreet which was more in line with what Rose tattoo or AC/DC was offering from the mid 80's, they're basically the Australian equivalent of Extreme in that regard.
This was the first of the Unforgiven trilogy, a group of songs that Metallica released over the next fifteen years which seem to have a theme of them being unable to forgive someone in their lives. This wasn't even the biggest hit of the three songs as volume two from Reload wound up being a huge hit for them later in the decade.
This was the lead single to Prince's first album with the New power generation, a band he formed following the demise of his previous band the Revolution due to the critical and commercial failure of his third film Graffiti bridge. This was a bit of a novelty hit for him giving how there doesn't seem to be many lyrics in the song, although it was popular enough for his next single to be a worldwide smash.
This was the last hit that Roxette had over in America, although the rest of the world would keep them around a little while longer given how well they had aged into the 90's from their 80's material on their album Joyride. Here we have Marie trying to cope with a breakup she went through and how that person makes her have conflicting emotions about how it ended, it was a surefire hit for the duo thanks to the complicated feelings she provides in the lyrics.
This was the last hit that Belinda Carlisle had for five years in Australia, although she did come back later in the decade when "In too deep" became a surprise hit for her in 1996 exclusively down under. I'm guessing we Aussies needed more from her than her amazing vocals to make her a household name this far into the 90's, to be fair she did do better than what you'd otherwise expect given this never saw the light of day in America.
Following the commercial disappointment of "What do I have to do" (which sadly won't be appearing on this list) Kylie decided to have the fourth and final single from Rhythm of love have a guest rap verse that didn't appear on the album on the single which paid off as it was able to become a success for her here and in the UK. Said rap verse has largely been lost to the sands of time due to it not adding much to the track.
I guess Rick Astley wasn't done with the music industry after the failure of his second album, so he cut ties with Stock Aiken and Waterman to release a third album which did slightly better this year likely due to him going in a more down to earth direction with his music. This change in direction only worked for this one song as it was more in line with the adult contemporary of this year than his earlier work.
This was the second single to be released from the Use your illusions era, although technically it was the first as their earlier entry on this list was originally meant for the Terminator 2 soundtrack before being included on the second edition. I'm not sure if was meant to be two albums or one excruciatingly long double album conceptually, either way both volumes became a massive worldwide success for them.
"Black cat" might have been the song which encouraged us Aussies to give Rhythm nation 1814 a second chance, however it was this track that solidified the album as a classic as the album finally made it to number one here when this became a hit for Janet. I guess the ingredients that Janet needed were rock music and a love track as these were the two biggest hits from the album for her down under.
This was the only other solo success that Jon Bon Jovi was able to achieve in his career, once again we have the second Young guns film to thank for this as this was also taken from the soundtrack which may as well serve as his solo debut album. He would release his first official solo album later in the decade when he received backlash for his band's album These days due to it abandoning their glam rock roots.
This is the only hit to come from singer/songwriter Marc Cohn, it's a song about the rich legacy of Memphis Tennessee and how music has evolved over the years in the city. It was a modest success here in Australia for him due to how well singer/songwriters were doing at the time (even if they were mainly women in this category) although his success would only be for this one and only song.
One of the sillier tracks to become a hit here, we have this metal band scoring a hit with a track about how they don't like to be called dude. If there's a more dated song to become a hit from the start of the decade, then I'm unaware of it as this couldn't be more dated if it had the TMNT rapping over this with Vanilla ice for one of their films.
Mariah was on a roll this year given how this became her fifth Billboard chart topper in a row since all four of her singles from her debut album went to number one in America, indeed this is the best song in her career so far as it's both bouncy and displays a personality she had lacked up until this point in her career. She would appear on MTV unplugged the following year to silence any rumours she wasn't the real deal.
This was the second single to come from Bryan Adams's comeback album Waking up the neighbours, technically this is the reason why his earlier entry on this list didn't last forever at number one as it was pulled from shelves to encourage sales of both this single and the album this year. This was also reassurance that Bryan hadn't completely sold out yet as it was a return to his arena rock from the 80's.
This was originally released two years prior to deafening silence in Cathy's native UK, I'm guessing her fellow Brits didn't find much love for this dance pop number amongst all of the Kylie Minogue rip-offs that dominated their charts during the final weeks of the 80's. It was given a second chance this year when she began sparking interest over in America with "Touch me" as that eventually became a huge hit on Billboard for her.
This was the second single from Lenny Kravitz's sophomore album Mama said, a song that's quite different from the rest of the album as it feels more like a Prince track rather than him attempting to be the (then) new Jimi Hendrix. It became a huge hit for him likely due to the goodwill he had from writing "Justify my love" for Madonna and this being a horny sex jam like that track.
While this isn't a Stock Aitken and Waterman track like all of Kylie's previous efforts, two out of the three men did produce this track, meaning that it was in the same ballpark as her earlier catalogue even if the trio were officially no more by this point in time. The song and album it came from has largely been forgotten over the years due to how much of a commercial failure said album was back in the day.
This was the second single from Mariah Carey's debut album, a song that confirmed her to be the real deal as many divas have tried to make it big over the years with a good voice and little else to offer in their catalogue. Again, Mariah's true potential would come later in the decade when she added flavour to her music that only she could provide, although there's still merit to her earlier work nowadays.
Well, I didn't say that this song was a flop for the band even if it was their earlier entry on this list which made them a household name, indeed this second single from the Southern sons was a huge success for them likely due to audiences being charmed by their love of John Farnham in their music.
If you ever wanted to know why George Michael added the date he released this song to its official release, that's because he already had a song with this title during his time with Wham six years prior that was a huge worldwide hit for him. Indeed, this is a different approach he takes with the theme of freedom as here he declares his freedom to the pop machine that made him a household name in the 80's.
This was a protest song about ending the war in Croatia which had begun this year due to them wanting to be independent from Russia, they earned their independence in 1995 once the USSR disbanded later in the decade due to them being affiliated with the cold war which had ended this year. It was a bittersweet hit for Tomislav Ivčić as he would pass away two years later before the war had ended.
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