This was the debut single for the very first band to be "unearthed" by Triple J, the band in question would go on to see several ups and downs in their career mainly due to the antics of their frontman Daniel Johns, however they do remain one of the more fondly remembered Australian bands to emerge from the decade for a good reason.
This was originally a hit for the Mindbenders back in the mid 60's, however it was covered by Wet wet wet for the Hugh Grant flick Four weddings and a funeral where it became a massive success for the Scottish band largely due to how successful the film was worldwide.
Given the overwhelming success of Boyz II men this decade, I guess it's only fitting that there would be a slew of other boy bands of colour to cash in off their success. Enter these guys, who managed to achieve a hit bigger than anything Nathan Morris and company would achieve worldwide with this cover of an obscure country track from around the same time.
Although the Irish band did achieve sound success with their debut album throughout the year in Australia (mainly due to "Linger" becoming a surprise hit for them in America) this was the song that made them a household name here thanks to its politically charged lyrics delivered by Dolores O'Reidon's powerful vocals.
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.
I'm usually the type of person to get annoyed whenever someone cries sellout to an artist's biggest hit in their catalogue, however in this case I'm on board with those who consider this to be a sellout from Bon Jovi despite it not being that far off musically from their earlier efforts such as "Wanted dead or alive" or "Bed of roses." I think the issue here for me is how painfully earnest they are even compared to their earlier work, but that's just me.
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.
As far as I can tell, this wasn't the theme to a theatrical film, meaning that these guys were instantly trying to recreate the success they had with their breakthrough single "End of the road" from two years prior. I guess this paid off for them as the lead single to their second album II was a huge success worldwide for the RNB boy band, and indeed the replaced themselves at number one on Billboard with their next single.
This was a surprise hit for the Offspring in Australia, mainly because this flopped in their native America as did most of their catalogue unfortunately. I guess you can thank Triple J for heavily promoting this and the album it came from which resulted in both becoming some of the biggest hits of the decade down under, that and the track itself is catchy as hell set to lyrics that resonated with audiences.
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.
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.
Sometimes I just don't get people, yes, this song is a bit overwritten in the verses, however it's obvious that Sheryl is telling this story to uplift people from their mundane lives so that they don't end up like the person in the story. Audiences appeared to appreciate this back in the day as this became a huge hit for her and finally got her album off the shelves after sitting on them ignored for about a year.
Although Celine Dion had moderate success earlier in the decade with her theme to Disney's Beauty and the beast, it wasn't until she released her rendition of the Jennifer Rush track from 1985 that she managed to have a huge hit outside of America and her native Canada. Jennifer's version of this track is fine, however in my opinion, Celine blows her out of the water on this rendition.
Even though she scored a massive hit at the start of the decade with "I need your body," Tina Arena was sadly in danger of being dismissed as an Australian knockoff of Paula Abdul when she released her debut album to commercial failure. She took this criticism to heart with her second album which saw her move away from the dance pop of her earlier work and more towards RNB which proved to be a success for her.
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.
You wouldn't have thought that Crystal Waters would have one of the biggest hits of the decade in Australia considering how we Aussies weren't that into RNB back in the day, yet here she is with a massive hit that became as such months before it caught on in her native America. Crystal was another American artist to see massive success internationally before she ever made an impact on the Billboard charts.
This was the biggest hit for Ace of base over in America, it seems fitting seeing as this song wasn't on the original album Happy nation and that the American version was named after this track when it was shipped over there. For the rest of the world, their earlier entry on this list was their biggest hit, however this tale about self-empowerment was the big hit on Billboard and for good reason.
This was one of several hits that Jam and Spoon were able to achieve here in Australia, although I should point out that their later material would have them change their name to Tokyo Ghetto Pussy likely to cash in on the anime craze that was beginning to become a thing this decade. Here they recruit American vocalist Plavka who gives a performance that's very similar to that of what Madonna was doing at the time.
It may surprise you to learn that Rednex weren't the first group to combine country with EDM as that honour (at least as far as I know) goes to this British group who scored a massive hit worldwide with this track complete with the nonsensical music video depicting anthropomorphic CGI TV sets. Obviously, this wasn't meant to be taken that seriously, and yet it was critically acclaimed at the time.
This was the first UK chart topper Mariah Carey had, I'm guessing because the Brits still had fond memories of the Harry Nilsson original who just so happened to pass away shortly before this song was released. In fact, there's a theory that this was not meant to be released as a single given how it was bundled with "Never forget you" but was in order to cash in on his recent passing.
There's this trend when it comes to Canadian artists crossing over to the mainstream where they only seem to do so with a song that wasn't a huge hit in their homeland, this was the case for this one and only international hit from Crash test dummies which was far from their biggest hit in their homeland and yet was inescapable throughout the rest of the world for them.
While the original version of this track from KC and the Sunshine Band still remains a classic to this day, it should be worth noting that this Danish duo managed to achieve more success in Australia with their cover likely due to a combination of nostalgia and them swapping out the disco elements for more (then) modern EDM. It even comes complete with a rap verse to give it that extra 90's flavour.
It's strange to think how inescapable these guys were in Australia and yet the true winner of the first round of the boy band wars of this decade Take that only managed to break through this year barely with a song that had to be rereleased in order to find any success here. I'm guessing we Aussies preferred these guys overall due to them easily fitting in with the EDM crowd over their main rivals.
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.
One of the more critically divided films of the decade was Disney's adaptation of the Three musketeers, mainly due to it watering down the novel it's based on for a more mainstream audience while still being messed up enough to make you wonder why Disney made the film. Even its theme song divides audiences as though it was a huge success back in the day like the film, it features three rock legends who were admittedly past their prime inserting themselves as the titular musketeers on the track.
This is one of the stranger collaborations to come out of the decade, mainly because I don't think anyone was expecting Neneh Cherry to do a duet with a west African musician considering she was best known for being a rapper whilst Youssou N'Dor is more in line with new age and traditional Arabic music. The collaboration was a huge success for the pair likely due to it fitting in with the new age trend of the decade.
It seemed like it was open season when it came to EDM taking over the mainstream in Australia this year, as such we have this track from Dutch duo Twenty 4 Seven scoring a massive hit at the start of the year with this track that largely went ignored in the UK, NZ and America back in the day. Many other EDM artists throughout Europe would follow suit and find varying degrees of success here.
Well, this was certainly a change in direction that Kylie made following her departure from working with Stock Aiken and Waterman, I know she had to move away from bubble-gum pop eventually, but I don't think anyone was expecting her to gravitate towards indie this soon after her first phase of her career. This paid off massively for her as she not only won respect from the music snobs but even scored a massive hit with this track.
Given how UB40 managed to score a huge hit the previous year with a reggae cover of an Elvis Presley track, I suppose it makes sense that these guys would score a hit with their reggae cover of a Peter Frampton track a mere five years after Will to power made a soft rock cover of the song in question. This was commissioned for the film Reality bites which is one of the more critically divided films of the decade.
So, this is the song which introduced the world to Prince as an unpronounceable symbol, this was such a conundrum when it came to printing this songs placement on the charts worldwide that the UK charts hilariously referred to him as the Artist formerly known as Prince. The song itself is a step down from his earlier work, mainly because it's your typical RNB ballad that would fit in with Boyz II men's catalogue.
This was originally released the previous year to deafening silence for the Irish band, I'm not even sure why it failed because it's such a fun and upbeat number that it feels like it would've been a shoe in for instant success upon its initial release. It was given a remix this year which allowed the track to gain a second wind here and in their native UK, this allowing their album to be a huge success as well.
Much like the original from Diana Ross and Lionel Richie, this duet between Luther Vandross and Mariah Carey was a huge success this year even though I'm not sure why as it's not like it was attached to anything like the original was. Perhaps it was through the artistic momentum that Mariah had given how she could release anything this year and it would be a huge success for her worldwide.
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.
This might seem odd to my UK readers as the big hit from the Swedish rapper was "It's my life" from two years prior, indeed I'm not sure how this managed to become a hit for Dr Alban down under two years later but it did. I guess this was a massive success throughout Europe the previous year and that we Aussies had only just realised how incessantly catchy the song was.
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 was initially a flop for the RNB girl group, likely because we Aussies weren't interested in RNB even if it was a huge success throughout Europe like this was. We eventually changed our minds on this track when it became a surprise hit over on Billboard which made us realise how catchy and vocally impressive this track was from the trio, although this was their only hit they had here as a quartet.
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.
I guess hip hop was able to find success here in Australia so long as there was a catchy EDM track to go with it, here we have Swedish rapper Melodie MC with one of the defining beats from the EDM scene of the 90's complete with a chorus that while annoying at first, becomes easy to appreciate after repeated listens. Sadly, this was the only success that Melodie MC managed to have anywhere in the world.
I hope you're used to seeing RNB ballads become a success much later in Australia than the rest of the world because that was a trend here this decade. One of the earlier examples was this ballad from Toni Braxton where despite it being a huge success in NZ and her native America, didn't crossover here until it became a huge hit for her in the UK. I'm not sure why she needed this circuitous route to find success here, but she did.
This was the second hit in a row for Salt n Pepa as well as the first for En vogue in Australia, likely due to their catchy chorus they provide to connect the verses of how awesome the men each rapper is with is for her. The real victory here comes from the person these women of colour sampled from, that being Linda Lindell who was originally blacklisted from the music industry for sounding like a woman of colour despite being Caucasian began performing again after spending 25 years in hiding.
OK look, I appreciate a guy with a huge dick as much as the next person, however I don't think that body shaming a guy with a tiny dong is the type of message that anyone should be sending out at any point in time. I get that this is meant to be a joke, however I don't blame anyone who finds this Gillette woman to be beyond irritating on this track as she not only doesn't give a good performance but also has a very toxic attitude about her.
So, this was the biggest hit that Gloria Estefan achieved in her career, scratch that it's just about the only hit she managed to achieve here as she didn't even find much success during her time with the Miami sound machine let alone her solo career. I think this was a hit due to it being the theme to the Sylvester Stallone flick the Specialist, even though it was originally a song by Vicki Sue Robinson of "To sir with love" fame.
This is a song that's since been claimed by the Dreamworks franchise Madagascar as people are likely more familiar with Sacha Baron Cohen's cover of this dance track than the original. Indeed, this wasn't a huge hit for the trio in their native America as this only became a worldwide smash due to it becoming a surprise hit in the UK, although there was little doubt that this would be a huge success in Australia.
This was the final hit single that Michael Bolton was able to score anywhere in the world, although he did chart the following year with "Can I touch you there" proving that not everyone had given up on his music by the midpoint of the decade. This song is a bit of a bait and switch as you'd expect this to be about how he's bitter over a relationship he wishes he had no investment in, instead it's him saying that what he had with this person is more than love.
This was the other big hit to come from Reality bites, although this one has a more interesting story to it as Lisa Loeb and Nine stories weren't even signed to a label when this became a Billboard chart topper for them. This more than anything makes the song more famous than the film it was commissioned for as it helped them break a record by being the first act to top the American charts without having a label.
For some reason (most likely a joke) this track about Denis Leary being a nuisance in the Hollywood scene managed to be voted as the best song of 1993 on the first annual Triple J list. This allowed the song to become a genuine hit for the Hollywood actor and even sparked interest in his music career due to how big it was down under, although thankfully this was the only hit he had anywhere in the world.
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.
Given how Culture beat had completed the album cycle for Serenity, it only seemed fitting that Corona would step in and take over the Euro dance scene with their EDM track named after a Debarge hit from almost a decade prior. It turns out there was some minor controversy in regard to who actually sung this track, in fact lead singer Olga De Souza didn't sing a note on their album despite her performing each of these songs live, I guess at least she didn't lip synch to someone else's music on stage.
Does anyone else feel like this is an unofficial sequel to "I'm on fire?" Granted this was written for the film Philadelphia which helped Bruce win an academy award due to how well received that movie was, however, the melody feels like it was recycled from his earlier hit single to me. In any case, this provided him with his first hit single since that ballad as well as a renewed interest in his music this decade.
This was the first of three hits that JX managed to achieve in Australia, although he wouldn't find any success in his native UK until his third hit two years after he made it big down under with this jam. If you need any proof that we Aussies had made EDM our music genre of choice this decade, look no further than the countless artists who made it big exclusively down under with their dance tracks.
If Princess Diana had of lived till the end of the decade, this would've been Elton John's final hit single anywhere in the world as it serves as the emotional ballad that plays during the end credits of the Lion King. This became the third Disney ballad to win an academy award for best original song despite people feeling that it doesn't rank among Elton's best work, the lyrics are admittedly not his strongest.
Technically this wasn't the only hit that Motiv8 had in Australia as he also scored a hit under the alias of Mozaic the following year with "Nothing in the world" as well as being the brainchild behind Gina G's Eurovision classic "Ooh aah just a little bit." Before he scored a hit with either of those dance tracks, he made it big with this EDM track thanks to the vocals of Angie Brown who you may recognise for her performance on Mark Morrison's "Return of the Mack."
Well, I guess it was only a matter of time before someone decided to make an EDM remix of the Charleston this decade, enter this novelty act who would go on to score a massive hit the following year with a remix of that famous Jack Nicholson quote from the Shining. At least this was a massive success in the UK which more than explains how both of these songs found an audience here in Australia.
Madonna was always known for experimenting with her sound, so here she is trying her hand at RNB which proved to be a huge success for her as this and the album it was pulled from became a hit worldwide. The album was produced by Babyface who was the driving force for Boyz II Men, meaning that the album in retrospect has been criticised for Madonna chasing a trend rather than setting one.
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.
This was the song from Soundgarden's breakthrough album Superunknown to make them a huge household name in Australia and most parts of the world, likely due to its nightmare inducing video which depicts a suburban neighbourhood from the 50's filtered with the sense of irony that permeated this decade. It was a massive success for the band down under, although it would be their only hit.
This was the only hit from American boy band E.Y.C, even then it was only a minor success in the UK due to them wanting to compete in the first round of the boy band wars and only crossed over here due to how incessantly catchy the song is. This is one of the first hit singles to incorporate Panjabi influences in the production, no doubt leading to the genre exploding once the teen pop craze came to an end in the 00's.
This was a hit singles twice in Australia for Alicia Bridges, the first time was upon its initial release where it rode the disco bandwagon along with many other RNB tracks of its day and the second was with this remix which was used for the film Priscilla queen of the desert. It's usually this remix people think of whenever they think of any version of this song or indeed, a queer anthem in general.
This was the theme to the film With honours, a film where Brendan Fraser takes pity on Joe Pesci who seems to be down on his luck and.... OK I haven't seen the film and nor do I ever have any intentions of watching it as I've heard nothing but terrible things about it. One positive thing I can say about it is that it has a really good theme courtesy of Madonna who gives a truly compelling performance on this track.
This was the only hit that Tevin Campbell was able to achieve here in Australia, although he was very popular throughout the decade in America given how he scored multiple hit singles on Billboard throughout the 90's. I'm guessing this was a hit here due to it being bouncy enough to compete with all of the other dance tracks from this year, although it firmly placed him in the one hit wonder bin down under.
Well, this was a comeback that came out of nowhere this year, the last anyone had heard from the Pretenders was their 1986 album where Chrissie Hynde scored two hits with "Don't get me wrong" and "Hymn to her" which made the album her most successful in her career. Here she is seven years later with a ballad that sounds like it would fit on that album that gave her one final hit for her career.
This was the second single from Kylie Minogue's self-titled album, it's a song that has a video which pays homage to the Jane Fonda classic Barbarella which I'm sure helped it win over audiences back in the day. It's also catchy as hell, which is unusual for a downtempo ballad, I guess Kylie managed to find a way to make this formula work as she would release a whole album of this material later in the decade.
Well, this was a massive surprise, the last time Tom Jones has bothered the charts anywhere in the world was with his soft rock track "Say you'll stay with me till dawn" which was way back in 1977. Through a combination of a bizarre music video and endorsement from Triple J, he was able to score a massive comeback during the midpoint of the 90's which led to him releasing a highly successful covers album in 1999.
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 was the only hit single that Nine-inch nails were able to score here in Australia, even then it was pulled from shelves after a few months likely due to it being one of the more controversial songs of the decade due to its lyrics and music video. I guess you can make the argument that it was to promote the album, however between the animal torture in the video (which was fake by I digress) and the lyrics "I want to f**k you like an animal," it was a very disturbing song in the mainstream.
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.
I bet audience were surprised to see this RNB jam become a hit in Australia back in the day, mostly because these two while big in their native America, weren't exactly chart toppers on Billboard like so many of their contemporaries that failed to crossover here. That said, boy does it make sense that this was a hit down under due to how groove the production is, it's like the two women went back to the 70's and picked out the grooviest melody they could find for this number.
I wouldn't have pegged the Pet shop boys to be a fan of Absolutely fabulous, a show that's basically the British version of Kath and Kim as it has two female comedians navigating the day-to-day life of the modern world (or rather, the world of the 90's) with hijinks ensuing. The duo managed to cherry pick the best moments of the shows earliest seasons and place them in a mix that managed to become a huge success for them.
This was the lead single of East 17's second album Steam, an album that didn't do so well despite spawning this and their Christmas song "Stay another day" which became their sole UK chart topper. I guess these guys won the first round of the 90's boy band wars purely through the strength of their debut album as that spawned four giant hits here as well as the album being big in of itself.
This was the debut single from the grunge band Collective soul, a band who only had one hit here in Australia but did very well in their native America throughout the remainder of the decade with their subsequent follow ups. I'm guessing this was a hit here due to this being the height of the grunge era, although it makes the failure of the rest of their catalogue all the more confusing if that's the case.
This was a two for one deal from Frente, although it wasn't originally as "Lonely" was released on its own as the band's American debut single and flopped due to it being a departure from their sweet and innocent image from their debut album. They attached their cover of a New order track which also came on an E.P named after their other song which helped them score one final hit this year down under.
Given how Martha Walsh was no longer part of the group, it looked like C+C Music factory would struggle to find an audience with their second album which they did save for this lead single which was a huge hit for them. I guess Martha did help them stand out from all the other dance rap groups of the day, however they still brought enough to the table to help them find a respectable audience.
Their big hit here might have been their cover of "Let's groove" from the following year, however CDB managed to score a big hit prior to that with this song that was originally meant for the Rockmelons while Deni Hines was still a part of the group. They eventually donated this to the RNB group when Deni left the band to go on a solo career which did spawn a huge hit for her next year.
Kulcha was a NZ band based in Australia who of course managed to score a hit with their debut single both here and in their homeland this year, I guess its success was inevitable even though it's from the new jack swing genre which didn't do well in Australia throughout the 90's. I guess the quartet did resist the urge to "boom shaka laka" even though the song was clearly inspired by the phrase.
This was the third single to come from Culture beat's one and only album, although it was released around the time Serenity hit shelves, so it likely boosted the success of the album for the band this year. They would metaphorically pass the baton to Corona who would also score three hits from their one and only album (albeit without any rapping) before they passed the baton to La Bouche the following year.
Following the demise of Shakespear's sister, Marcella Detroit managed to score a solo hit here in Australia with this ballad proving that had they kept things together, we would've supported the duo going forward this decade. Apparently, they couldn't agree upon whether they should be wacky like Siobahn's previous band Bananarama or go in a more serious direction like Marcella wanted to.
Following the success of their cover of a Carly Simon classic, Chocolate starfish released their second single "All over me" which was a flop for them, potentially rendering them a one hit wonder. Fortunately, this third single from their album was a huge success and saw a more mature side of the band, thus allowing the album to become a huge success for them this year.
You know Metallica was the hottest new band of the day when this live recording of their signature tune becomes a huge success this year, I'm guessing we Aussies hopped on board with this track when we realised we ignored their back catalogue from the 80's and wanted to have this be a success in some shape or form.
This was the second hit to come from D:ream this year, it was also released the previous year to deafening silence likely due to the Irish band needing that extra promotion to ensure their bright and happy dance tracks would find an audience for them. Indeed, they did as the band were able to find massive success with these songs and their album they came from, although their popularity faded soon after.
This was the big breakthrough his for one of the more divisive British RNB singers of the decade, mainly for her other big hit "Life" which has gone down as one of the worst songs of all time for its shoddy lyrics. This was chosen as the theme song to the Next karate kid which allowed it to become an even bigger success in America, although it was big enough worldwide without that film's affiliation.
Jaki Graham first had a hit in her native UK a decade prior with "Could it be I'm falling in love," it wasn't a hit here in Australia, but this cover of the Chaka Khan classic was likely due to us Aussies realising how little success Chaka had back in the day and rewarding her with given success to her covers whenever we could. This flopped in Jaki's native UK, possibly due to her being part her prime at this point.
It will forever be known as the song which tops the Christmas charts for the rest of time, however this holiday classic from Mariah Carey was originally released this year where it was a massive success for the final few months of the year before it dropped off the charts completely in the new year. This is arguably the first song to become a success despite having such a limited chart run because of record label's pulling the single from the shelves.
This was the other big hit that Urban Cookie collective managed to achieve this year, although I feel that vocalist Diane Charlemagne doesn't give in as good a performance as she does on their earlier track which is perhaps why this wasn't as big as "The key the secret." Even so, it was a massive success for the British band, although it didn't do their album any favours as that was a huge flop this year.
It appears there were two different versions of the Jennifer Rush track to become a hit this year in Australia, although this version from Italian singer Beverly Skeete was an EDM rendition as opposed to Celine Dion's take from earlier on this list so it's not like there was any mistaking the two versions of the track.
This was the fourth and final hit that Mariah Carey released from her third album Music box, it was a continuation of the theme of having a music box played to you from the CD as here she uses that melody to reassure the listener that she'll be there whenever they feel like they need a friend. What really sells this track is the Motown choir which compliments her vocals and lyrics really nicely.
Well, this was a massive surprise given how unconventional Beck has always been in the music industry, although this was a hit in his native America as well so perhaps this was us Aussies getting in on the hype of this guy for his one and only hit worldwide. Although he's technically a one hit wonder worldwide, he continues to release albums that while not a commercial success, are critically acclaimed.
There's this movie known as Above the rim which stars Tupac Shakur as a basketball player, from what I can gather the film was poorly received for being nothing more than a string of cliches carried by the rappers admittedly compelling performance (maybe he should've played Michael Jordan in Space jam.) The film spawned a massive hit with this duet between Warren G and Nate Dogg, the former being one of the few rappers to have massive success here in Australia.
This was a Hispanic hip hop duo who scored their one and only hit in Australia this year with this bop of a track, although in NZ their big hit was "On a Sunday afternoon" which topped their charts two years prior. If the production on this track sounds familiar to you, that's because Mariah Carey would sample it on her big hit "Honey" later in the decade. This wasn't a hit in America so it's anyone's guess how she came across this track.
Well, you know a song is bumping when it's able to crossover to Australia despite it being a hip hop track and having some casual misogyny in the third verse, although when it comes to sexism this is quite tame for Snoop Dogg considering how much worse his later material would be towards women. Indeed, we Aussies wouldn't give him another hit until "Beautiful" nine years later which is the antithesis of his 90's tracks.
Well, we haven't had a song like this feature on this site for a while, this is the only hit from pub rock band the Poor who managed to breakthrough this year with a song that would've been one of the biggest hits of its year had it been released in the 80's. This is the best proof I have for the times shifting against Australian music as there were plenty of songs from the underground this year that sounded just like this.
U2 where on a roll with their album Zooropa as this managed to become a hit for them worldwide likely due to Bono returning as the main vocalist on this track compared to their previous two singles which had the Edge on vocals.
Now I know that any cover of the Beatles is going to have harsh criticisms to it, this also had the uphill battle of being a reggae cover of a Beatles track which further put it at a disadvantage. With that said, the Jamaican duo did a decent job with this cover as the song feels like a celebration much like the original which no doubt helped them escape the one hit wonder bin here as well as give them a third hit in the UK.
This was the only hit to come from jazz musician Lucas, a Danish musician who made a song which I think is meant to be a theme song to a show he was planning on making given what the lyrics are on here. I guess people wanted something to offset all of the EDM that was getting big this decade, and this appealed to them before the likes of RNB and hip hop in Australia.
Well, this was an attempt for a previously successful group to rebrand themselves for the "hip" and "radical" crowd of the day, in this case we have a song from Girlfriend which they had branded themselves as GF4 that was a hit for them but didn't lead to anything other than them breaking up two years later. I guess this was meant for a third album, but that album never came to be.
He managed to have one of the bigger albums of the decade with She, so it only makes sense that Harry Connick Jr would have a massive hit in Australia with the albums lead single which admittedly was very different to all of the other songs on this list due to it being a jazz single. This helped him balance out his popularity in both the music industry and in Hollywood as he kept getting high profile acting gigs.
There didn't seem to be any signs of Peter Andre slowing down here in Australia despite his debut album being a massive flop for him here, he was always more of a singles artist anyway as were most teen idols and reggae artists now that I think about it. He would eventually conquer the international market with his second album due to how much of a runaway hit its lead single would be.
While this wasn't their debut single or even from their debut album, this was the song which got Smashing pumpkins (what is with that name?) off the ground in most parts of the world due to how melodic it sounds compared to how bombastic everything else is on this list. Indeed, these guys feel like the antidote to all of the loud EDM and grunge that was coming out this decade given how downtempo they were.
This was the debut single for the Counting crows, a band who would become more well known in the 00's for not one but two movie themes but originally began their career as an alternative rock band a decade prior to those hits. This was the first song to become popular in their native America despite not having a physical release over there, meaning that its popularity on Billboard can only be traced on their airplay charts.
Pauline Henry was the lead singer of the short-lived Scottish band the Chimes from the start of the decade, they were decently successful worldwide but went their separate ways due to it not being among the biggest albums of its time. Here she branches out on her own with a cover of a Bad company track that proved to be a hit here in Australia despite the original flopping nearly two decades prior.
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