Australian hits of 1993

This was the year where the 90's became its own in the music industry, although for whatever reason reggae was quite popular this year as well as all the other trends affiliated with the decade.

The Use your illusion era of Guns n roses career was already a huge success by the time they unveiled the video to this song, which fun fact was released months prior to deafening silence likely due to it being one of the more long-winded songs on both albums. The video was such as success that it quickly became not just their biggest hit but also one of the biggest hits of the twentieth century.

So, it's come to this, what's often considered to be one of the worst songs of the decade which was indeed also one of the biggest worldwide. I unfortunately agree with the consensus which is that this is an annoying song with lyrics some of the corniest lyrics known to man, however it does have its merit as it did spear head the line dancing craze that would persist throughout the decade in America.

Personally, I've always preferred the Dolly Parton version of this ballad, however there's no denying that Whitney Houston made it her own when she starred in the poorly reviewed romantic thriller the Bodyguard opposite Kevin Costner and had this rendition of her track play over the emotional climax of the film.

So, Sonia dada, a band from America most of my American readers will be unfamiliar with due to them failing to score any success on Billboard managed to score one of the biggest hits of the decade in Australia with this track. I guess this does fit into the theme that this year was going for, however it's little surprise that it doesn't have the same fanfare that many other entries do on this list.

Although these guys achieved massive success in NZ and their native America with "It's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday," this track which was originally released as the theme song to the Eddie Murphy flick Boomerang (which isn't among his better films sadly) was what broke the RNB boy band into a wider market thanks to their vocal harmonies and Nathan's spoken word verse.

They were often described as the Abba of the 90's, although I can only see that connection superficially as last I checked, Abba never once resorted to incorporating reggae music into their sound which they easily could've done in their heyday. I feel this is how Ace of base were able to craft an identity of their own which led them to being even more successful in America than their predecessors ever were.

This was the signature track from Wendy Matthews given hot it easily remains her biggest hit in her career, admittedly it does showcase her vocal talents quite nicely even though I'm a much bigger fan of her more upbeat tracks such as "Let's kiss" and "Token angels." This song did lead her to having a widely successful album which goes to show how much love it had from Australian audiences.

Well, this was certainly a different side of Will Smith we weren't used to seeing prior to this songs release, apparently this was recorded in an attempt for him to adapt into the gangster rap which was quickly taking over the mainstream around this time to mixed results. Somehow this became his biggest hit with his partner in crime DJ Jazzy Jeff in Australia and NZ, likely due to the hilarity factor back then.

Here's a bit of a fun fact for you, this was Bryan Adams biggest hit in Australia that wasn't a tie in for a film, in this case it was a success due to it being the hit single from his highly successful greatest hits album So far so good which serves as a perfect gateway for getting into his work from the 80's and early 90's.

Well, this is a song that has novelty written all over it, admittedly the reggae craze of this year was a bit of a silly one that was meant to be uplifting to the increasingly troubled times the world was facing this decade, however I don't think many people have ever been able to take this track seriously due to its silly lyrics and campy tone. If you can believe it, these guys were among the most successful artists of the decade in NZ.

OK I have a question for my readers, has anyone ever been able to understand a single word while listening to this song besides "likey boom boom down?" I guess it's lucky for Darrin O'Brien AKA Snow that A: he has a really good flow on this track B: the production is catchy as hell and C: that he had a rough upbringing that brought credibility to the rap game. Sadly, this was all cancelled out by unfair comparisons made between him and Vanilla ice at the time.

This was originally a hit for Brenton Wood in 1967, so it makes sense that Peter Andre would make this his debut single given how he clearly wanted to make a name for himself in the music industry following his loss in a dance competition to Wade Robson and thus him missing out on the chance to meet MJ. I guess Peter got the last laugh as he managed to achieve quite a number of hits worldwide.

Given that Janet Jackson was now a household name in Australia following her duet with Luther Vandross from the previous year, it makes sense that this lead single from her biggest album Janet would have no issue in finding an audience here like it did internationally. A bit of a fun fact is that the video features the first on screen appearance of Jennifer Lopez in pop culture.

This was the debut single from one of the more promising RNB stars to emerge from the UK this decade, heck this even managed to crossover to America, that's how much crossover appeal Gabrielle had with this number. While I can see her voice annoying people with how raspy it is, I have to say that I'm in love with it on this track as it works wonders with the production and especially the lyrics.

This was a hit single twice throughout most parts of the world, although this time we're going to be looking at the remix to one of the more popular tracks to come out of the 70's seventeen years after its initial release. Given that this decade was filled with remixes of older songs, it makes sense that this was among the more successful tracks here in Australia given it was good for nostalgia and the dance floors.

It took them three albums but Salt n Pepa were finally able to find success in their native America with the lead single to Very necessary, I feel like we need to give them and female hip hop in general a round of applause for finally breaking down barriers in the hip hop community over there. It's easy to see how this made it big internationally, the rhymes are arguably at their best on here as is the production.

This is one of many hit singles this decade that saw massive success despite it never charting on Billboard, it goes to show you how out of touch the American charts were this decade when this signature track from Lenny Kravitz fails to dent their charts. In any case, we have one of the more iconic songs on this list primarily due to that guitar lick that is instantly memorable the second you hear it.

This cover of the Harry Chapin classic from eighteen years prior seems like a 180 for Ugly kid joe, mainly because their previous two singles "Everything about you" and especially "Neighbour" feel like they came from a band who seems to juvenile to pull of this track about the inner introspection a father goes through by watching his son grow up too quickly. That's not to say the song is awful like many of the band's detractors like to say, it's just a weird move for them.

So UB40 were still a thing this far into the 90's, granted this is due to their cover of the Elvis Presley classic being chosen to close out the critically panned film Sliver starring Sharon Stone and William Baldwin, but it goes to show this was the most popular aspect of the film upon its initial release. This would be the last most people would hear from Ali Campbell and company in Australia.

If this song feels like it was ripped from the 70's then there's a logical explanation for why, this and the album it came from was clearly meant to be released following the success of Meat loaf's first Bat out of hell album but wasn't due to him falling out with Jim Steinman who was the driving force of both of these albums. The two men patched things up earlier in the decade which resulted in this sequel coming out.

This was the only hit that Heather Smalls and company were able to achieve in Australia, although they did make up for their lack of singles success by having two successful albums back in the day. I never understood why people took issue with Heather's voice, the best I could come up with was that she's been unfavourably compared to Sade Adu who also combined genres in her heyday. She combined rock with jazz whereas these guys combined rock with RNB.

This was only a modest success for the duo in their native America, likely due to how sincere the pair come off on this track which admittedly makes it a really cheesy number to listen to. The Brits certainly appreciated this cheesiness as this became a huge success over in the UK which allowed it to crossover internationally for the duo. They found further success with the rest of their album in NZ of all places.

This is one of the more divisive songs to emerge from the decade, mainly because people are split with the opinion whether or not Linda Perry is a good vocalist (personally I don't think she is.) As a result, this song has often been described as very shrill and earnest from its detractors, although it also did lead Linda into becoming an in-demand songwriter for many of the biggest stars of the 21st century.

This was the final hit single that Taylor Dayne managed to achieve in her career, hey if you're time was going to be up regardless of what you did, why not go out with a bang that is a cover of a Barry White track? This proved to be a huge success for her here in Australia, likely as penance for us ignoring the original back in the day but also likely due to us wanting to give her one final hit before she inevitably faded into obscurity.

This was the first of three singles that Culture beat would score in Australia before fading into obscurity here, a trend that would be passed over to Corona and La bouche after them as those two European EDM bands went through a similar fate to these guys. It was the same formula, find an attractive woman of colour with an amazing voice, have her sing these songs that will forever be played on dance floors and reap in the rewards.

Following the success of their Clunk E.P, Frente released their debut single which was another cutesy track that they had become known for during the first phase of their career. I bring this up because they did change with the times on their next album which resulted in them being more hardcore, an image that many people (me included) felt didn't suit them very well.

There were many popular EDM acts to make it big in Australia throughout the decade, one of the more popular being Urban Cookie Collective who achieved massive success both here and their native UK thanks to the dulcet vocals of Diane Charlemagne set to some pretty timeless production that connected with audiences back in the day. They would have one more hit after this before fading into obscurity.

Even though their album Angel dust was already a huge success here in Australia, it was this cover of the Commodores classic that made Faith no more a household name for the second album in a row due to how well it did on our charts. In all honestly, I could never tell these two songs apart despite knowing that this has a more rock sound to it as opposed to the original which was more RNB leaning.

There were a lot of songs about jumping around during the early 90's weren't there? Here we have a hit from the Movement which was an American EDM group who scored a surprise hit here in Australia with this track given how EDM generally doesn't do well on the Billboard charts. The lack of success they had back home caused them to give up on music soon after this became a hit here.

Well, this was the decade of obvious sampling, so it makes sense that this short-lived Hispanic hip hop group would score a massive worldwide success with this track given how it samples the Champs classic from 1958. I will say that hip hop was able to find success down under back in the day provided it had a gimmick to go along with the rhymes, this happened to use nostalgia baiting.

This was the only hit single to come from RNB group Silk, I'm guessing this was so big here in Australia due to how sexually charged the lyrics are which made this the perfect soundtrack for baby making if you catch my drift. It was written and produced by Keith Sweat who would go on to have massive success later in the decade as a solo artist with equally sexually charged tracks.

I'm just going to say it, Jeremy Jordan is an actor that really should stay away from music because the vocal performance he gives on this track is the type you'd expect from a reality show contestant who fails to make it past the first round of said competition. Apparently, this was taken from the Beverly Hills 90210 soundtrack which would explain its success given how that show was one of the most popular to air on TV this decade.

The last time Kim Wilde had any impact on the Australian charts was with her cover of the Supremes "You keep me hanging on," so to see her return to the mainstream with a cover of the Yvonne Elliman classic from the Saturday night fever soundtrack was a welcome surprise for her fans. This was released in conjunction with her greatest hits package which was also a decently huge success for her here.

Often considered to be one of the best songs from Mariah's catalogue, this second single from Music box tugged at the heartstrings of listeners back in the day due to its message of empowerment against the odds during a time where uncertainty was all around the world. It no doubt helped out a lot of people get through a rough patch in their respective lives which is why it was such a huge success.

So, there was a phase one for the boy band wars of the decade, I don't blame my American readers for not knowing that as it largely took place in the UK between these guys and Take that. Even though Take that won the first round of the boy band wars in their homeland, these guys took home the prize in Australia likely due to the majority of their discography being more upbeat than their rivals.

Here's the second single to come from Culture beat, and while it was neither as dramatic nor catchy as their first big hit, it did retain their popularity in most parts of the world which set them up to have a successful debut album. The album was indeed a success thanks to how catchy these songs were, however much like Corona and La bouche after them, they would be a one album wonder.

This is the final hit single that Billy Joel has been able to achieve in his career, although that might be due to him failing to release another album after the album this is named after despite said album being a huge success for him back in the day. I guess he wanted to end his non touring career on a high note as he's been touring extensively since he released this.

This was the debut single from Radiohead, although the band wishes they never recorded it as they feel it makes them a rip-off of Nirvana during the height of their popularity (no arguments here.) They would evolve their sound throughout the decade and even into the new millennium as they didn't want to be pigeonholed into a specific genre.

This was originally released two years prior to deafening silence, as was the rest of their catalogue from Pocket full of kryptonite as like many albums released this decade, the album was initially poorly marketed by their label and only became a success through sheer determination from the band. I don't know how audiences took so long to gravitate towards this due to how incessantly catchy and memorably it is.

Following the tragic death of his infant son, Eric Clapton agreed to appear on MTV unplugged where he performed an acoustic version of "Layla" on the twentieth anniversary of that track being released. The performance was so raw and emotional that it was issued as a single which allowed the song to finally be a success in Australia where it wasn't all those years ago.

It looked like the album cycle for Dangerous had concluded when both "Heal the world" and "Who is it" failed to catch on here in Australia, however MJ had other plans as he wanted people to know that Slash provided the guitar solo for the one rock track on the album which seemed to be enough of an incentive for it to be a huge success from the album despite said album being over a year old at this point.

I don't think anyone was expecting these guys to see as much success here in Australia as they ended up getting, true they made it big here with the second single thanks to it sampling a Sly and the family stone track, however it's not like the original was that big down under either. In any case, we have this fun track with its political lyrics making it big which resulted in the album also being a success.

Given how inescapable Boyz II Men had become around this time, it only makes sense that this a Capella group would follow in their footsteps and also find massive worldwide success with this ballad. Although this was their only hit outside of their native America, they scored a bunch of other hits on Billboard this year proving that they were indeed in the same league as Boyz II Men over there.

This was the debut single from one of the most politically charged bands to come out of the decade, yes Rage against the machine managed to score at least one hit in their career before being confided to the alternative scene where they saw tons of critical acclaim by not much commercial success. I guess this made it through thanks to the grunts that Zac De La Roche makes throughout the track.

This was somewhat a return to form for Jimmy Barnes following the massive success of his first Soul deep project, although this wouldn't feel too out of line on that album so it's obvious he wasn't going to fully default back to his pub rock roots anytime soon. This would cost him another huge hit for him throughout the decade even though he continued to achieve moderate success with his singles.

It's a bit of a shame that the members of New Edition never saw much success here in Australia, indeed after Bobby Brown, Johnny Gill was the member with the best charting song down under with a song that didn't even crack the Billboard charts. I'm not even sure how this managed to become a hit here when it was such a failure in his native America.

Well, here's that second hit that Sonia dada were able to achieve in Australia this year, it's about the same as their earlier entry on this list which explains why it was a huge success for them here and nowhere else in the world. Once the album cycle ended from the group, they were never heard from again.

This was the big hit off of Bon Jovi's album Keep the faith, mainly due to people not really understanding what this song is about as despite the lyrics "lay me down on a bed of roses," this is actually a breakup song about him wishing that the relationship was still going when it's clearly over. It's certainly different from the other tracks they had up until this point which were to the point.

This sounds like it came from 2 Unlimited which would make sense considering how successful the Dutch duo was this year, however it was actually a song from AB Logic who scored a hit with this here in Australia again likely due to us Aussies confusing this for a 2 unlimited track released under a pseudonym. Apparently, this did chart on Billboard the previous year, although it flopped due to being an EDM track.

This was the second single to be released from East 17, and it managed to be a huge hit for them both here and in their native UK which cemented them as a worthy rival of Take that in their homeland and the clear winner of the first round of the boy band wars here in Australia. They would score two more hits from their debut album Walthamstow down under proving how inescapable they were.

Given that he served in the American military earlier in the decade, it's a bit surprising that Shaggy's debut single was a flop on Billboard and needed to find success in the UK and throughout Europe to kick start his music career. I'm guessing Americans weren't too thrilled with this reggae cover of an early 60's hit, either that or they didn't realise that this man would go on to rule over both hip hop and reggae throughout the 90's.

Given that I'm well familiar with Night at the Roxbury (more than I care to admit) it took me by surprise that this song wasn't originally written for the film and was instead a huge hit earlier in the decade for this singer of colour. It turns out he had a bunch of other hits throughout Europe that also fitted in the EDM trends, meaning he was one of the few dance artists to be underrepresented in Australia.

This is primarily known for its "no no no" phrase throughout the track, as such it's become a popular choice for commercials which promise a lack of negative downsides from a product of service as well as a popular club banger over the years. This was the Dutch group's biggest success in the UK likely for similar reasons, and indeed they would continue to have success throughout Europe as the decade went on.

This was the first of three big hits that Chaka Demus and Pliers had in the UK, proving that it was the Brits which led the reggae trend that would permeate throughout the decade. Here in Australia, this was their only massive success, although they did score a second hit the following year with their cover of "Twist and shout" likely to score points from Beatles fans who were also into reggae.

Err.... how did this novelty track about the famous nursey rhyme connect with so many people this year? Oh, that's right, the video which features Claymation of the nursery rhyme which strangely compliments the song's campy tone which no doubt amused people back in the day. Evidentially this was a side project of Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan before his band saw mainstream success with their album Aenima.

This was the last hit that 2 Unlimited had in Australia, although as I said earlier, they would continue to have massive success throughout Europe as the decade went on. These two hits ensured that their second album would be a modest success here which no doubt led to the success of a bunch of other EDM albums throughout the 90's here as our love of the genre grew.

This was the only hit single that Soul asylum managed to achieve worldwide, mainly due to the video which serves more as one of those missing persons posters you find at a police station as the band tries to help locate these people who have gone missing throughout America. If you couldn't tell from that, this is a song about how running away from your problems does nothing but hurt those around you.

With all of the popular teen dramas coming out of the 90's, you'd think that the one that spawned a Billboard chart topper would be the most popular. You'd be wrong as the Heights was a musical drama that was heavily panned by critics for being a poor man's Fame as it centred around a group of kids looking to make it big with a band they were in, basically it was the 90's equivalent of glee except for teen rock rather than teen gossip.

This was the first hit single that Mariah Carey had that had her craft a distinctive personality for her worldwide audience, sure her previous songs were impactful, but they could've been sung by anybody unlike this track which is distinctly her own. It also sees her incorporating RNB into her sound which she would continue to do for many of her songs throughout the rest of the decade.

This was the only notable hit that Blind Melon had in their career, mainly because of the video which depicted a cute little girl in a bee costume that fans and haters alike have dubbed as "bee girl." People who dislike this song (me included) complain that Shannon Hoon's vocals are very irritating on this track, although that is a vocal minority as this remains well loved to this day for the band.

Well, this might be one of the most controversial songs of the decade, mainly because of the line "e's are good" in the chorus which is basically an endorsement for ecstasy. This was a huge UK chart topper, and it was blatantly promoting drug use, although considering it was part of the rave culture which is known for its violent participants, I think it's safe to say that the fact this song was a success at all was impressive.

Now that these guys had one of the biggest hits of the decade, they had little issues with finding success in Australia and the rest of the world which allowed this A Capella rendition of a 50's staple to become a hit for them this year. Indeed, their next album would be an even bigger success given how it spawned two back-to-back Billboard chart toppers for them that would also be huge hits worldwide.

It looked like their second album was going to be a complete flop when it was released towards the end of last year, however these guys managed to score a surprise hit with this ballad which gave them success outside of their debut album from the start of the decade. This didn't do anything to turn the album's reception around, but it at least helped them find success in a year their contemporaries were struggling in.

Unlike her E street co-star Melissa Tkautz, Toni Pearen waited until she was an adult before she began recording songs which it turns out were far less sexually charged given how she went for a more adult contemporary direction with her music. This means that while her songs are admittedly less memorable, they're also less embarrassing which is why Toni was able to successfully become a TV host once the hits dried up.

This had a bit of a delay to its release here in Australia, possibly because we didn't like the possibility of having a booty anthem being a huge success here without realising that "Baby got back" had opened the possibilities of booty anthems being acceptable in the mainstream. It was released here and sure enough, it became a massive hit partially due to it being a booty anthem but mostly due to its catchiness.

This was another two for one deal to come out of this decade, in this case we have both "Mr. Wendal" and "Revolution" being a massive success as the third and fourth singles from Arrested development's debut album. The former is about the wisdom of the titular Mr. Wendal while the latter is about starting a revolution to demand American politicians make do on their (to this day) empty promises to the American black community.

This was the second hit that Lenny was able to achieve from his third album internationally, he does so with a self-empowerment anthem about how the listener should believe in themselves which no doubt was why this was able to connect with audiences back in the day. This would be his last hit until much later in the decade when he scored a surprise hit with "Fly away" from his fifth album.

These guys were on a roll here in Australia given how their third single was a cover of the Pet shop boys debut single, it was proof that they were the real winners of the first round of the boy band wars of the 90's here in Australia. I'm guessing the success of this cover was what led to the success of the EDM duo having a hit here with a cover of their own, that being of a Village people track which we'll get to.

This was the second cover that Whitney Houston recorded for her feature film debut; this time she's covering Chaka Khan for reasons I can't seem to fathom as I don't remember this cover being in the film itself. It's a noteworthy cover as it managed to be a bigger hit for her than for Chaka back in the late 70's, no doubt helping people rediscover the RNB singer around the time this became a hit for her.

Given this was on an album filled with sexually charged dance tracks meant to titillate her audience, it feels a little odd that Madonna would choose this rare ballad of hers as a single. It paid off as it became the big hit from the album in most parts of the world, proving that her audience ultimately wants to hear good music from her before being titillated by her antics.

This is one of those songs that definitely needed to rely on the nostalgia of an older track in order to be a success, in this case it's the 1984 horror classic "Somebody's watching me" which takes the chorus of that track and makes a dance remix out of it complete with new vocals from Emel Aykanat to replace the king of pop's vocals. All of this to say that the song was a huge success here and throughout Europe for DJ Bobo.

This feels more like an introduction to the Badloves than the lead single for Jimmy's second album of the year Flesh and wood, indeed the success of this collaboration helped the band find massive success with their album Get on board which allowed them to find success with audiences outside of listeners of Triple J.

This was a huge success for Things of stone and wood (again with a silly band name on this site) mainly because it was an E.P named after their signature tune which helped them find an audience during a time where it was beginning to become difficult for Aussies to make it big in the mainstream. Indeed, they wouldn't find any success with any of their singles despite having a decently successful album.

Even though the album Automatic for the people was already a huge success here in Australia by the time R.E.M released this ballad, this song regardless became a huge success here and boosted the sales of the album and made it even bigger than it already was. This remains their biggest hit in Australia likely due to the pain that Michael Stipe displays on the track which made audiences sympathise with him.

Following the success of the title track from Erotica, Madonna decided that she was done trying to shock audiences with her sexual appeal and instead go for a more conventional dance track as the second single from the album. It proved to be a bigger hit for her mainly due to it being a song you can play on the dance floor but also due to the video and its visuals of balloons floating away signifying going deeper into the relationship.

This is Dannii Minogue's biggest hit in the UK, although in Australia that honour goes to "Love and kisses" from the start of the decade likely due to the goofy lyrics about eating at McDonalds on that track. If this sounds like a disco track, that's because it originally was as this is a cover of an obscure track from the 70's written by Van McCoy of "The hustle" fame, how Dannii discovered the original is a mystery.

This was originally released as the B-side to "Give it away now" which was a massive flop for the band worldwide, it was given a second chance when it was released as a lead single given that it found its way onto the Coneheads soundtrack likely due to having a music video which has imagery similar to what is found in the SNL movie. I guess we Aussies loved the flick as this became a huge success for them here.

Well, these guys chose a strange song to launch the album cycle of Zooropa didn't they? Fortunately, once "Numb" had left the charts, they released this song which had Bono back on vocals while the Edge provides backing vocals to justify why they had him on lead vocals from their earlier single. People remain divided on this album to this day due to how they feel about the band heading in an industrial direction.

This was the only hit for everyone involved with the song, it was a massive success in their native UK as well as here in Australia due to it being a catchy EDM track during a time where EDM was about to take over the mainstream in the latter country. This was yet another act who made it big with one hit this decade only to forever fade into obscurity once their said hit had fallen off the charts.

This was a bit of a surprise hit for the Pet shop boys considering they hadn't had a huge hit here in Australia since their cover of "Always on my mind" on the tenth anniversary of Elvis Presley's death. Then again, the lead single to their album Very was a modest hit earlier in the year, so perhaps they were due for a comeback this year even if it came with this cover of the Village people classic.

It looked like the album cycle for Achtung baby had come to an end when this single was released, however that wasn't the case as the song became a surprise hit here in Australia during the summer of 1992/1993 which kept the album going for over a year after its initial release. It was the final single from the album as they went back to the studio to record Zooropa after this.

I guess it was inevitable that these Disney ballads would find mainstream success given how they were all sweeping the academy awards throughout the Disney renaissance. Here we have the second ballad to win best original song which was this duet between Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle covering the love ballad from the magic carpet scene from the movie Aladdin. It was a number one hit on Billboard and a huge success throughout the rest of the world.

A word of advice, don't look up the term Chocolate starfish online unless it's in reference to this Australian band or the Limp bizkit album as both take this term from something that's very NSFW (assuming you don't already know what it is.) This was the debut single for the band which is a cover of the Carly Simon classic made over twenty years after the original in order to celebrate its legacy.


This was only the second hit that Peter Andre was able to achieve in his career, although most of my non-Australian readers likely didn't even realise he had any success prior to "Mysterious girl" from two years later given how his earlier work as since faded into obscurity due to its failure outside of Australia.

It looked like Terence Trent D'arby would be a one album wonder as his second album was a complete failure for him at the start of the decade, fortunately his third album spawned this hit for him in Australia and NZ which helped him escape that fate in both countries. This is a departure from his earlier material as he went in a more rock direction from here on out in his career.

This was the only other hit that Toni Pearen was able to score in her singing career, although like I said earlier, her acting career did lead to her becoming a popular TV host once the hits dried up later in the decade. Again, she never released anything as embarrassing as her E-Street co-star Melissa Tkautz, which means she hasn't been relegated to a reality star over the years and is still respected in the industry.

This was originally an album track from Vagabond heart that wasn't released as a single anywhere in the world, however it finally saw the light of day as a single two years after the album's release due to Rod performing it on MTV unplugged which compelled audiences to check out the cover of the Van Morrison track this year and make it a huge success.

This was the only hit that Tony Toni Tone was able to achieve here in Australia, although like other groups of colour, they found more success over in NZ throughout the 90's which should tell you which country was more open to music of colour back then. Here they score their only hit with a new jack swing staple that proved too irresistible for us Aussies to resist back in the day like their other material.

This was the only hit that Bell Biv and Deveo were able to achieve here in Australia, I'm guessing this was due to the success Bobby Brown had around this time which likely explains the success of Johnny Gill from earlier on this list. They had better luck over in NZ where all of their recognisable songs were massive hits for them.

This was the final hit that Bon Jovi scored from their album Keep the faith, again it's a more downbeat ballad from what they had released prior to this point which no doubt led to them going full sellout material on their next album two years later. Although they saw massive success this decade, many regard them more as an 80's band in retrospect due to how little material from the 90's has stood the test of time.

Although he was quickly losing his popularity as the decade went on (as were most Australian artists admittedly) Diesel was nonetheless able to score a hit with this lead single to his second solo album due to it retaining his blues influence that he had on his previous effort both solo and with his band the Injectors. This would sadly be his final hit here due to Australian artists really struggling to compete with international acts from this point forward.

This was the only hit that French duo Deep Forest were able to achieve here in Australia, although I'm guessing this was due to two reasons. The first was because Enigma had already opened the doors for combining new age music with EDM earlier in the decade and the second being that their album was a huge success this year which prevented them from scoring another hit down under.

I don't know what took this track so long to find success here in Australia, after all it was a massive success for House of pain the previous year in their native America and it's since become a sporting anthem as well as an unofficial anthem for Irish immigrants worldwide. Rapper Everlast would go on to have solo success later in the decade with his hit single "What it's like."

Although she's best known for being a fitness instructor in her native UK, Efua Baker briefly had a singing career in the mid 90's which began and ended with this novelty track about how she fell in love with a guy that turned out to be married. The tale struck a chord with Australian listeners enough for it to be a modest success here, although it also stuck her in the one hit wonder bin.

This was the final hit that John Farnham scored from one of his albums in Australia, although it wasn't his final hit overall as he did score another huge hit with Human nature later in the decade and his albums were still selling big numbers throughout the 90's. I like to interpret this song as him explaining his early teen pop success, yes, the song is actually about a relationship gone wrong, but it can also apply to his earlier work.