This is part VII of my list of the biggest hits of the 2010's in Australia, this is in lieu of making individual lists for each year as it's been a real challenge for me to talk about some of these songs with the dignity and respect they deserve as is.
One of the more positive role models to come from the indie sphere this decade was Alessia Cara, mainly because two of her three entries on this list were songs tackling serious subject matter in a way that was (at least for her part) respectful to the mases ("Stay" being the odd one out of her three hits this decade.) This song sees her tackling the issues of outer beauty and how plastic surgery isn't the way to go in conforming to beauty standards.
This was another song that was a hit twice due to it being a hit upon its initial release as well as when the album it came from was released, in this case it was the lead single to the Aussie hip hop trio's (to date) latest album which was such a success that it even spawned a second minor hit with "Exit sign" (which won't be appearing on this list.) This is essentially a stoner's anthem given how much they brag about weed on here.
This was the second hit that Martin Garrix had here in Australia, although in this case it was likely due to the presence of Dua Lipa who was a rising start in her native UK as well as in Australia with her music. It was her second hit down under following the success of "Be the one" from earlier on this list, and it likely led to the success of her first American hit "New rules" months after its success.
This is the only hit that the Lonely Island had here in Australia, they were among the first bands to find success thanks to their popularity on YouTube which led to them having collaborations with big name artists such as Akon on this track. Rather coincidentally, this was Akon's final hit as a featured artist anywhere in the world, suggesting that this was meant to be a passing the torch moment that didn't happen.
This is the final hit that Mariah Carey was able to achieve in her career, mainly because she included a # in the title as a way of having it trend on social media which was a tactic several artists were using throughout the decade to varying degrees of success. She also recruits RNB singer Miguel on the track who was all set to have a successful decade until he got himself cancelled for crushing people during a crowd surf at one of his concerts.
Unlike most modern activists from the entertainment industry, it appears that Donald Glover AKA Childish Gambino had a genuine approach to his topic of racial injustice on his song this is America which brought the world to a standstill when he unveiled its music video in 2018 due to the harsh imagery it displays to go along with how he feels about the American political climate. It was an instant hit for him, although its appeal comes from the video which is why it didn't last long on the charts.
The original version of this track was a massive failure for Alicia Keys, mainly because Alicia's time in the spotlight came to an end with her earlier entry with Jay-Z on this list. It was given the remix treatment from Nicki Minaj who contributed a guest verse to the song that has nothing to do with it, such was the popularity of the female rapper during the first half of the decade.
This is another entry form P!nk that should be much higher due to it failing to compete with the Spotify charts despite having strong sales upon its initial release, it has the same theme as "What about us" in that she's speaking up for the disenfranchised on this track which seems to have become her theme in recent years. Although she struggles to retain her popularity going into the 2020's, she has scored a hit here and there.
The hits kept on coming for BEP going into the new decade as this fourth single from the E.N.D (Energy never dies for the uninitiated) was a massive worldwide hit for the quartet. Evidently this was stitched together with "Imma be" in their native America due to its video serving as a continuation to that video, it would explain why that track was the third Billboard chart topper for them on the album.
This was another easy hit for Flo Rida during the first stretch of the decade, even the presence of Akon wasn't enough to damage its popularity given how the RNB singer's time in the spotlight was well and truly up by the time it was released as a single.
This was the second single from Timomatic's career, it was a modest hit for the Australian dancer turned singer due to the hype that "Set it off" had for him, however even back in the day, it didn't receive much buzz in the music industry and was only a success due to his name recognition.
It looked like these guys were going to be a one hit wonder here in Australia given how their second single "Not giving in" underperformed on our charts, however their third single with underage singer Ella Eyre managed to become a massive hit for them here likely due to the strong vocalist that she gives on the track. It's a shame this was her one and only hit as none of her solo material managed to crossover.
Before he dominated the charts worldwide due to his presence on Spotify playlists (something that's led to many people, me included, to believe that he's been engaging in payola from the site) Drake only had the occasional hit to his name outside of America and his native Canada with this RNB ballad being one of the few hits he had prior to 2015. The featured artist on the chorus was the Canadian RNB duo Majid Jordan who had little success outside of this collaboration.
Given how "Shot me down" was a remix of the Cher classic from 1966, you'd be forgiven into thinking this was a remix of the MJ song of the same name even though it isn't. David Guetta recruit's singer Vassy who gives a performance many have described as beyond irritating (I'm certainly not a fan of her voice) which is perhaps why this song didn't do as well as his earlier entries.
This was the word's introduction to Billie Eilish who was a rising star in the indie sphere prior to collaborating with Khalid for this second single from the 13 reasons why soundtrack, that's right, the controversial Netflix series is why Billie would go on to become a massive success going into the new decade with her debut album.
This was the only solo hit that Nicole Scherzinger managed to achieve as a lead artist here in Australia, although at least she had one solo hit to her name here as opposed to her native America where she didn't have any hits since the turn of the decade. Here she recruits 50 cent to give her a guest verse around the time he was scoring his final hit in America with "Down on me" with Jeremih.
This was a medley from One direction that they created for the Red nose day charity, although given how the medley consists of Blondie's "One way or another" and the Undertones "Teenage kicks," two of what many consider to be the greatest punk songs of all time, the internet wasn't very happy with this medley which resulted in it being chastised by many music snobs of the day.
While she was plenty successful throughout her career up until 2017, it wasn't until this track that Selena Gomez became a critical darling as it was considered one of the best songs of the year by many publications. I guess that's due to it finally ditching her need to either pander to the Disney crowd or be needlessly titillating like she was on her earlier hits in the decade.
This was another easy hit that Flo Rida had here in Australia, it's fitting that it was given how this was still the height of the club boom and that anything affiliated with the sub-genre seemed guaranteed to have success.
Well, isn't this just lovely? We have Meghan Trainor scoring a hit with a song that I'm guessing was meant for Daryl Sabara who would become her future husband even after listening to this song which many people (me included) find to be completely toxic without any sense of irony to excuse it as such. This was apparently meant to be the second single from her debut album; however, it was pushed back as its third single in favour of "Lips are moving."
This was the only hit from American DJ Deorro, mainly because it had Chris Brown as the featured vocalist which seemed to serve as a back door entrance for him finding success with his own material outside his native America given how he was showing up on several other tracks on this list without having a hit as a lead artist. His redemption ark would come by the end of the decade when "No guidance" became a hit.
This was the other big hit to come from the Black panther soundtrack, it was a collaboration between two of the biggest musicians of colour throughout the decade for a film with a predominantly black cast so of course it was going to be a success even if it wasn't as big as you'd otherwise think.
This was the only hit that Dr Dre was able to achieve as a lead artist here in Australia, in fact were it not for his guest verse on "California love" with 2pac, this would've been the only hit he ever had here in Australia which is a disappointment considering it's often regarded as his worth song due to the subject matter basically all but confirming that he'll only make music when he's good and ready despite it disappointing fans.
Even though both Illy and Anne Marie scored a massive hit here in Australia in 2016, it's still surprising to see the both of them on a track together given how he's an Australian rapper from a tiny indie label whilst she was a rising star in her native UK looking to make it big with the likes of Little mix and Jessie J. Even so, the two somehow new each other (we'll she somehow knew him) and got together on this track.
"Boyfriend" failed to appear on this list due to being too much of a sleeper hit for JB here in Australia to qualify, however the second single from his sophomore album Believe was able to make an appearance due to being in the upper echelons of the charts long enough to do so. Here he recruits Big Sean to provide him a verse which goes with the theme of being the perfect boyfriend so long as the target audience is in love with them.
This was the other big hit that Nathaniel Willemse managed to achieve in his career, it's a song that was created specifically to be shown in commercials as it was shoved in every commercial you could think of upon its initial release which likely resulted in is success for him.
This was another hit that Jason Derulo had here in Australia from his sophomore album, this is the best proof I have that Jason Derulo was considered the prince of RNB here in Australia over Chris Brown given how many entries he's had on this list compared to the other troubled RNB star.
This is the final appearance from Robin Schulz on this list as well as the first of two from British singer Jasmine Thompson as the rising UK singer managed to score a second hit after this with Felix Jaehn that we'll get to in a bit. There's not much to say about this as it was a success due to it being from the tropical house genre which was omnipresent throughout the world during the midpoint of the decade.
This was the final hit that either artist involved had anywhere in the world, I'm guessing they would've had more success going forward if their subsequent material wasn't pushed aside from all of the Spotify charts, get used to me saying that by the way as many of these entries from the last stretch of the decade had this happen to them but were still able to be a success here in Australia regardless.
This is a song that seemed to exist to test fate as we have this duet between a real-life couple that even upon its initial release, people were making predictions of when they would no longer be as such. I guess it was a hit more for prosperity as it is a convenient way of reminding both parties that they did in fact date given how both of them like to forget that they ever knew each other.
This was the only hit to come from Melbourne EDM artist Will Sparks, it was briefly popular upon its initial release due to the likes of Joel Fletcher and Timmy Trumpet from earlier on this list briefly putting Australian EDM on the map.
Although her appearance with Will I am on "Scream and shout" was the final hit that Britney Spears had throughout the world, this was her most recent hit here in Australia as a lead artist as it cashed in off of two trends that were prevalent during the first half of the decade. The first was obviously the club boom whilst the second was the fear that the world was going to end in 2012, trust me people were scared over that phenomenon.
This took quite a while to take off here in Australia for John Newman, I guess we Aussies forgot that he was the vocalist from Rudimental's debut single from earlier on this list when it first came out here. It eventually reached the upper echelons of our charts likely due to it being a track about wanting forgiveness after he screwed up in a relationship with the person he's singing to.
This is to date Katy Perry's final hit in her career, I guess Witness didn't completely kill her popularity given how this track managed to become a success for her even after she alienated most of the general population with that album. It's possible that there's a comeback later in her career given how unpredictable the music industry has become, however she would have to disown Witness for that to happen.
If Justin Bieber was the artist to kill people's careers by collaborating with him, then I suppose Drake is the artist to go to if you're career is in trouble as he's been able to save a bunch of careers over the years including Rick Ross who was cancelled back in 2013 for lyrics from "U.O.E.N.O" that I won't bring up here. There have been other artists to benefit from collaborating with the Canadian rapper over the years such as Chris Brown from earlier on this list.
This was the only hit from both parties involved with this track, we have French DJ Margin Solveig and the Canadian indie band Dragonette making a song for the club boom that became only a moderate success here in Australia likely due to both acts not being well known in the music scene when it first came out.
This is the final hit that Delta Goodrem has been able to achieve anywhere in the world, it's also the song that finally redeemed her in the Australian queer community as I vividly remember this being played at LGBT events following its release which I guess means that she's no longer vilified in our queer community like she was for most of her career. This is good because from what I can gather, she was never homophobic herself.
It had been six years since Chris Brown had a hit as a lead artist outside his native America, although he managed to score another hit just as the decade was coming to an end thanks to the help of his frenemy Drake providing a guest verse for him on this track. It appears that this has given him a third wind as he's had a few more hits in the 2020's as of this writing internationally.
Here we have the fourth single from Imagine dragons, although it was their third single in their native America likely due to it trying to showcase a more edge side of the band given the subject matter of the track. Not many people bought into this subject matter as they felt Dan Reynolds didn't have any personal demons to speak of, although it's far from the biggest complaint people have of the band nowadays.
This is the final hit that Ne-Yo was able to achieve here in Australia, he did have some other hits after this in his native America, however that was inevitable as there are several hits he had prior to this over there that failed to become as such over here. This was co-written by Sia which was the first time she wrote a song that she didn't perform on to become a hit, although it certainly wouldn't be the last.
This was the first of only two hits that Fifth harmony had here in Australia, we've looked at their other big hit from much earlier on this list even though many people will tell you this is their signature track from their catalogue. Many people have criticised them for being called Fifth harmony without ever once harmonising on their songs (at least not on their singles) that and they think that Camila Cabello is a terrible vocalist.
This was all set to becoming a flop for Amy Shark much like everything she had released up until this point (much of it under her old stage name Amy Cushway) its fortunes changed when it ranked high on the Triple J year end list for 2016 which helped it catapult up the charts during the early months of 2017 and thus put the Australian singer on the map.
Even though this was considered to be the first part of BEP's previous entry on this list, it was released as the fifth single from their album the E.N.D likely because we Aussies didn't particularly care for the storyline of their singles like their fellow Americans did. As a result, it was far less successful here than in their native America, although it could also be due to most of us finding the song irritating with its stuttering vocals.
It's strange even in retrospect that the Kesha phenomenon would end so soon after it began given how many hits she had from her first album and E.P, of course we all know why that is but you'd think that her management would trust her instincts regardless. Here we have the second single from said E.P which continued the party she had started with her debut single from the start of the decade.
This was the second collaboration that David Guetta made with Sia, although this time it comes from the deluxe edition of his album Nothing but the beat which he released following the massive success of the standard edition from the year prior. He would release a new album two years after this became a hit, although his songs didn't see as much success there likely due to them being gimmickier than before.
This was the debut single from Rita Ora, it was a massive hit worldwide for the English singer likely due to it fitting in the club boom just as that scene was beginning to die down in favour of the indie scene that would take over most of the decade. Rita would have a second hit from her debut album "R.I.P" throughout Europe, although it was too minor of a hit here in Australia to appear on this list.
This was the only hit to come from teen sensation Becky G who started out her career posting covers of other people's music online which led to her getting discovered by her eventual management. It was impressive that she found a huge hit with this teen pop track when she did considering the mainstream was all about wacky memes and the EDM scene when it came out.
This will be Gabrielle Aplin's only appearance on this list, although she did score a minor follow up with "Please don't say you love me" here in Australia once her cover of the Frankie goes to Hollywood classic crossed over here. Much like Birdy before her, it also took a while for the English singer to find success down under which she did due to her music being popular choices for reality show contestants to audition with.
This was another hit that Avicii had from his second and final album, it wasn't as memorable as "The days" or "The nights" and yet it was a success regardless proving how popular he was during his lifetime.
This was the third and final hit that MKTO managed to achieve anywhere in the world, although it's worth noting that this was a hit here in Australia around the same time that "Classic" finally took off in their native America as well as when the duo dropped their one and only album.
If you wanted to hear Coldplay try their hand at EDM, then this second single from Ghost stories is for you as they did just that which resulted in the album spawning a second huge hit for them throughout the world following the success of their previous entry on this list. They would continue to experiment with EDM with their next album and even collaborated with the Chainsmokers later in the decade.
This is to date the only hit to come from British DJ Jax Jones, a song that's perhaps more famous for the lyrics video where a cereal box mascot occasionally dabs during its runtime whilst otherwise marching on the spot. It was a massive worldwide hit likely for the lyric video as well as the lyrics themselves being about how the featured artist Raye didn't want anything to do with a stranger chatting her up.
This was another easy hit that Pitbull had during the height of the club boom, this time he recruits Marc Anthony for what would be his one and only hit here in Australia given how none of his songs were that successful back in the day down under.
This was the first hit that Drake had as a leading artist here in Australia as well as most parts of the world, although it's worth noting that his first hit overall internationally was also with Rihanna as it came from their collaboration on "What's my name" from the start of the decade (it won't be appearing on this list I'm afraid.) This was meant to be them moving on from a relationship while still being friends with each other.
After two songs that caused the internet to further turn against her, Taylor Swift finally managed to redeem herself at least in the eyes of her fans with this title track to her final album of the decade. It was a return to her country roots (well at least it was with the writing) which many people appreciated from her as most of her songs from the second half of the decade have been described as petty and vindictive.
I told you we'd be getting to this track eventually, so here we are with a song that despite being controversial in its very nature, Nicki tried to defend its existence by claiming it was a female empowerment anthem meant to "take back" the sample from Sir Mix a Lot's "Baby got back." No one knows what she was talking about when she said that as the song is more gratuitous than that track could ever hope to be.
This was the only hit that Lady Gaga managed to achieve between her second album Born this way and her big comeback from the A star is born soundtrack, it's a song that she had little faith in when she released Joanne as it wasn't included on that album largely to the albums detriment as it was a massive flop for her worldwide.
Well, I guess it's fitting that the first song to top the Billboard charts thanks to their incorporation of YouTube data would appear so low on this list of mine, indeed the rest of the world wasn't nearly as impressed with this song that required Filthy Frank of all people to propel up the charts a year after its initial release. I wish I could say something about the song itself but it's really not worth talking about on its own merit.
This will be Troye Sivan's only appearance on this list, I bring this up because the Australian LGBT singer received quite a lot of buzz throughout the decade from the queer scene and yet this was his only mainstream success anywhere in the world. Lauv on the other hand managed to escape the one hit wonder bin that "I like me better" threatened to trap him in two years prior to this collaboration.
This is the last time John Newman had any success in his catalogue both solo and as a featured artist, I guess because lyrically it rubbed people the wrong way as he was essentially blaming his lifestyle for what happens throughout the song which people accused of glorifying not taking responsibility for one's actions. I don't think that was the point of the song as it was a cheating anthem that happened to be played on the dance floors more than anything.
As controversial as "You need to calm down" was, at least people tried to defend it by it being her way of allying herself with the queer community (even though many queer people were previously fans of her before that song came out and have since distanced themselves from her.) This on the other hand is her recruiting Brendan Urie of Panic at the disco (that's how he now presents himself) for a song about how awesome it is to be her which really rubbed people the wrong way.
Even though this was a hit for Bastille, I get the feeling it was only as such due to it combining two of the biggest EDM songs of the 90's into one release, those being "Rhythm is a dancer" from Snap and "Rhythm of the night" from Corona. It technically got them out of the one hit wonder bin here in Australia and their native UK, however I stand by that officially it was "Happier" that did so.
Even though Disturbed had massive success with their albums during their first run together, it wasn't until they reunited in 2015 and released this cover of the Simon and Garfunkel classic that they finally managed to score a huge hit on the charts worldwide. The cover has divided people as while most can appreciate them bringing attention to the Simon and Garfunkel classic for modern audiences, others found it to be a dismal cover from the band.
There were no signs of Selena Gomez slowing down in the music scene now that she was no longer affiliated with Disney, here she scored her second hit after leaving the company with a song that caused minor controversy for the line "can't keep my hands to myself, I mean I could by why would I want to," which led to it being unfavourably compared to "Blurred lines" but from a female perspective.
This was the final hit that Sean Kingston was able to achieve anywhere in the world, although this feels more like a Justin Bieber track given how he overshadows the older singer on this track. The song is infamous for two reasons, the first is that it's the first time that Bieber raps on a song (and certainly won't be the last) and the second is that it's built around the playground chant of the same name lyrically.
Although this wasn't Little mix's debut single (that honour goes to "Cannonball" following their win on X factor UK) this was the first song they achieved massive international success with which led to them being declared the girl group equivalent of One direction even though they won on their season of the X factor whereas the boys only came in third place on their season.
This was all set to become a flop for Jessica Mauboy upon its initial release, it was a sign that perhaps her time in the spotlight was coming to an end as she was struggling to retain her popularity from the first half of the decade when it was released. It was given a sudden boost in popularity when someone used it as their audition for a reality series which enabled fans to check out the song and make it a hit.
This was originally cut from Ed Sheeran's debut album likely due to it being one too many folk ballads from said album about the love of his life, he decided to give it to One direction when they were making their second album which they decided to use as their second single from said album. I guess the popularity of Ed worldwide allowed this to be a hit for the group over most of their other material.
This was the theme song to a film known as the Fault in our stars, it's an adaptation of a book that was a critical and commercial success due to its sentimental storytelling (I haven't seen it, but I hear it's really good.) It was the first of only two solo hits that Charli XCX had here in Australia, although I think outside of her fanbase, she's only known for the multiple collaborations that have appeared on this list.
It's a bit sad to think that we've looked at two versions of the Chaka Khan classic and yet the original wasn't one of the versions to make it big here in Australia, instead we're looking at a remix of a cover from Jasmine Thompson from earlier on this list which became a massive worldwide hit due to people fondly remembering the original which had recently celebrated its thirtieth anniversary.
This is a remix of a track that French singer Imany released earlier in the decade, its success is proof that age is nothing but a number in this day and age as the vocalist was in her mid-thirties when she scored a massive worldwide hit with this remix and didn't even have success in her native France prior to when it came out.
This was the second of two hits that Chiddy Bang had here in Australia, it was also the song that introduced us Aussies to Icona pop who released their earlier entry on this list around the time this was a hit here. Funnily enough, it wasn't until after this dropped off the charts here that "I love it" finally reached the upper echelons of our charts, almost as if we didn't allow both songs to be a success at the same time.
This is the last entry from Justice Crew that I'll be including on this list, suffice to say that they were a group that filled a niche during their time together and had their popularity dwindle once that niche was no longer needed in the mainstream.
Well, I mentioned this track much earlier on this list when we looked at G.R.L's one and only hit as a lead artist, here they play second fiddle to Pitbull who managed to score one more hit here in Australia before his novelty officially ran out with us Aussies. Perhaps if streaming had been a thing, he would've been even bigger here due to him being a popular choice for Zumba workouts (OK fine I did Zumba at one stage.)
This was the only hit to come from American singer Maggie Lindemann, it's a song about how she's so much more than a pretty girl which she demonstrates by bringing up all of the borderline illegal stuff she does (which is worrying given that she was underage at the time) which connected with audiences upon its initial release. Hopefully this was an example of her being an edge lord and that she doesn't do anything she brings up in the song.
This was the other solo hit that Charli XCX had here in Australia, I'm guessing it was as such due to it reminding us Aussies of the punk movement from the late 90's given how she clearly took inspiration from the punk scene of that decade with this track (and possibly the 70's as well.) It remains her final hit to date both solo and as a featured artist as none of her subsequent material has been able to make it big.
Martin Garrix already had minor success from earlier in the decade with his breakthrough single "Animals," however his first major hit was with this collaboration with Bebe Rexha which is named after the U2 track from 1984 that likely connected with audiences upon its initial release. It's since been criticised for the strange drop at the end of each chorus, specifically how many people (me included) find it annoying.
This is the final hit that B.O.B was able to achieve anywhere in the world, likely for the inclusion of Taylor Swift who was at the height of her popularity when this collaboration came out and thus was guaranteed to make the song a success for him. It's probably for the best that the mainstream at large didn't hear anything more from this guy because the less said about his later material the better.
This was another sleeper hit from 2012 in Australia that likely would've been more of a mainstream hit had the Voice Australia not taken over the music landscape that year, hey at least nothing had its success tampered with that year unlike when Australian idol took over our music scene. This was T-Pain's final hit here as well as everywhere else in the world due to his novelty finally wearing off that year.
This was another successful single to come from Guy Sebastian during the first half of the decade, there didn't seem to be any signs of his popularity slowing down until "Like a drum" fell off the charts the year after this came out.
If you're surprised to see this second single from Sam Smith so low on this list, that's because this was too much of a sleeper hit here in Australia to appear any higher on here back in the day. It was a massive hit for them back in the day, however it appears we Aussies were conflicted in having them escape the one hit wonder bin with this track and eventually capitulated into doing so.
This is the second single from Shawn Mende's sophomore album, it wasn't as widely mocked as the lead single from earlier on this list, however it was still panned by everyone not in his fanbase for similar reasons that his other early songs were heavily disliked by critics and audiences alike.
It turns out that Iggy Azalea was able to score a third hit throughout the world ("Black widow" was a minor hit here but won't be appearing on this list) here she recruits Jennifer Hudson (with her first appearance on this site) to give her a chorus about how she's nothing but trouble and that's why people love her. Had this been a bigger hit over in America, you can rest assured that people would've made fun of it on the internet.
This was the other big hit that Chiddy bang managed to achieve here in Australia, it was also their big international hit likely due to it sampling MGMT's "Kids" which many fans of the indie band were upset with given how that song was only a sleeper hit at best throughout the world in 2008. The video was also criticised due to it having creepy versions of the duo's heads that people found off-putting.
I honestly didn't think this was a hit here in Australia as the only reason why I was aware of its existence was how much of a meme it was upon its initial release due to its strange lyrics. It's also a weird posse cut as we have two DJ Tiesto and Dzeko as well as two performers Preme and Post Malone, only the latter of which would explain why this song was a genuine hit worldwide.
This was the lead single to Eminem's sequel album to the Marshal Mathers, it was a bit of a commercial disappointment given how it was meant to be the album's "Real slim shady" as it was a more lighthearted track compared to what was otherwise a dark album much like its predecessor.
It looked like that James Morrison was going to be a one hit wonder with "You give me something" back in 2006, however someone decided to use this in their audition for X factor Australia a year after its initial release which allowed it to become a huge sleeper hit for him in 2012 down under.
While this did take its sweet time in becoming a hit for the American band Neon trees here in Australia, it eventually reached the upper echelons of our charts due to how inescapable it was in their native America at the time of its release. This was their second and final hit on Billboard following the success of "Animal" from the start of the decade in their native America.
Cash Cash were an EDM group who scored their one and only hit with this collaboration with Bebe Rexha, in fact the only reason why this song has any relevancy in this day and age is because it was the first song to have the pop star on the charts given how she would show up on many other tracks throughout the decade.
It turns out that Omi was able to score a second hit following the success of his entry from much earlier on this list, here he has a song that didn't require the assistance of a remix given how it was written around the time that "Cheerleader" finally took off worldwide for the Jamaican singer.
This was the only hit from the British hip hop trio Wstrn (clever name guys) it was a hit here in Australia for reasons I can't seem to fathom as British hip hop hasn't been appealing to us Aussies until only very recently.
This was one of the first songs to suffer in this ranking due to being pushed aside by the Spotify charts given how streaming had been incorporated to the Australian charts by the time it was released as a single, in this case it was an EDM track from Swedish producer Mike Perry (no relation to Katy) who was able to ride the tropical house trends of the moment for an instant smash hit.
This is the last hit that Peking Duk has been able to achieve in their career, well I call it a hit when really, it's an E.P from them that charted on the singles chart likely due to the success of its single "Fire" which would realistically be the song that should appear on this list for the duo.
This was the one and only hit from Dutch singer Natalie La Rose, mainly because it samples Whitney Houston's "I wanna dance with somebody" which was enjoying a healthy run in the nostalgia circuit at the time given how it was a mere three years after her tragic death. It also features a guest verse from Jeremih who was also enjoying some massive success as a featured artist at the time.
This was meant to be the big hit from Billie Eilish once she dropped her debut album, however "Bad guy" wound up being as such likely because people accused this of being homophobic due to her wishing a guy she was interested in was gay to justify why he wasn't interested in her. It's not homophobic in the slightest and even if it was, there are more blatantly offensive material against the queer community to worry about.
(this song is "Wish you were gay" if you couldn't tell from my commentary)
This was originally a mere modest hit for Christina Perri given how it was the second single to come from the first Breaking dawn film from the Twilight saga, indeed this songs appearance on this list only covers its initial release as its popularity throughout the decade came from it being a popular choice for reality show contestants to cover for their auditions.
This was the fourth single to come from P!nk's the Truth about love, I'm guessing it was chosen as a single due to it featuring Lily Allen even though I keep forgetting that's meant to be her in the third verse (or second if we're going by the single version.) Naturally it was a hit here in Australia due to how much we Aussies loved P!nk this decade, although there would be no more hits from the album here.
This is one of many successful dance tracks to become popular this decade here in Australia, this one coming from Dutch DJ Armin Van Buuren who had been active throughout Europe for over a decade by this point which makes his inability to crossover to the southern hemisphere all the more puzzling the more I think about it. I guess he needed to find the right vocalist which came when he collaborated with Trevor Guthrie.
This was the second single from the Script's fourth album given how the lead single was a massive flop here in Australia, in fact this was all set to becoming a flop here as well until it saw a spike in popularity when someone used it to audition for the X factor Australia shortly after its release.
Even though this was a single from Travie McCoy, I get the feeling it was only a hit here in Australia due to Sia's chorus given how this was released during the height of her popularity worldwide. I guess we Aussies allowed the Gym class heroes rapper to have one more hit on his own before he forever faded into obscurity.
This is a remix of a track from 2012 from the British EDM duo AlunaGeorge, the strange name comes from the two members which is likely why they didn't have much success even in their native UK with this track. It was given a second chance three years later when DJ Snake discovered the original and decided to remix it where it became a massive success for the three of them worldwide.
If you want proof that Triple J still had influence over our mainstream even by the end of the decade, consider the fact that this debut single from Australian singer/songwriter Kian would've flopped on our charts were it not for the fact that it managed to appear quite high on their yearend list for 2018 among the likes of Dean Lewis and Amy Shark.
Technically this was the only hit to come from ASAP Rocky here in Australia as this is another example of an artist being the featuring artist for the producer of the track, in this case it's British producer Mura Masa who only managed to score success in the southern hemisphere with this track due to his fellow Brits not being familiar with who the American rapper is as opposed to us Aussies and kiwis who recognised him on Selena Gomez's "Good for you."
To date this is the only hit from Canadian RNB singer Ali Gatie throughout the world as he was among the several notable new faces to rise in the genre along the likes of Khalid and Juice wrld before the genre was tossed aside going into the new decade. Its low placement on this list is perhaps a sign that streaming had not fully taken over our mainstream as it was a complete flop on our digital charts.
This was the debut single from Dean Lewis, it took its sweet time in finding success here in Australia as even though it was placed high on the 2016 yearend list for Triple J, it wasn't enough for it to crossover for the Australian singer initially and only did so when it started appearing in commercials the following year. Naturally this sleeper success led to him having a lot of hype for his debut album which came two years later.
This was the final hit that Vanessa Amorosi was able to achieve in her career (at least for now, I wouldn't rule out a comeback just yet) although in case you were wondering, no this wasn't the track I was thinking of from her album Hazardous even though this does feature Seany B who had a massive hit with TV rock on "Flaunt it" (the track is "Gossip" for the record.)
This was an E.P from Noah Kahan that initially flopped upon its release in 2017 due to no one knowing who he was, it was given a second chance the following year when Julia Michaels convinced him to turn the title track into a duet where it became a surprise hit for the two of them worldwide and thus made the E.P a success for the rising folk singer.
I would say this was the song that killed Train's career given how universally panned it was by critics for its bizarre songwriting, however the band scored one more hit much later in the decade with "Play that song" suggesting there is a fanbase from them specifically for how bizarre their songs can get. Much like their other entry on this list, this was also mocked on the internet upon its initial release.
This was the fourth single from Ed Sheeran's debut album, it wasn't as inescapable as the two lead singles but it did keep the album a success for him well over a year after its initial release due to it being as heartfelt as the other singles from the album.
This was the original second single from Jason Derulo's third album, it was pushed back as the third single here in Australia and NZ due to "Talk dirty" being the second single in both countries which would explain why this ballad wasn't as successful for the RNB singer here.
Given the success she had with two of Major Lazer's entries on this list, it only makes sense that Danish pop star MØ would have a hit of her own even if said hit was more of a sleeper success here in Australia and in certain parts of the world. It really is a shame that she had to play second fiddle to the American trio and Snakehips throughout the decade given how talented of a vocalist she is.
This was the one and only hit to come from Zoe Badwi, an Australian pop star who was looking to cash in off the success of Kesha which she briefly got with this song at the start of the decade due to it sounding like something her American counterpart would make at the time.
This song came out a year and a half after the album it appeared on, this means that it was heavily outdated by the time it was released as a single as this song recorded in 2012 somehow managed to become a hit in 2014 with its dubstep and too obvious sample. I guess it's admirable that it was able to succeed here in Australia with all of these disadvantages, perhaps due to our nostalgia of Ginuwine's "Pony."
This is a song that likely would've appeared much higher on this list had it not been pushed aside with some of the earliest hits to become a such thanks to streaming here in Australia, after all it was a collaboration between two of the biggest names in music this decade even though on the surface, Little mix and Jason Derulo seem to have nothing in common with each other. Audiences obviously found the connection on this track which explains its success.
This was the second advanced single that Rita Ora released from her second album, or at least it was the second song as such to be included on the album given how many songs she released over the decade that had long been abandoned by her and her management by the time it finally saw the light of day.
This was the final hit that Will I am had in his career, yes, I did mention it was a much bigger hit for him over in the UK due to his stint as a judge on the Voice over there, however it was successful enough here in Australia to barely make the cut on this list.
Well, this is a song that made it on here through the skin of its teeth, we have the one and only solo hit from Louis Tomlinson which also tried to distance the pop star from his band One Direction much like what his former bandmates were doing in 2017. This is also yet another song to have Bebe Rexha as a featured artist, possibly the most successful artist in this vein throughout the entire decade.
This was the lead single to Jessica Mauboy's third album, an album that didn't see much success initially as it appeared that her popularity was starting to fade away despite her coming off the critically acclaimed film the Sapphires. It eventually became a success due to her earlier entry on this list becoming a surprise hit several months after this was released.
Given how inescapable 21 was for Adele, it looked like there wasn't any chance of the album spawning a third hit for her, however it did due to there being a very popular live rendition of the song which helped it climb up the charts worldwide and even become her third Billboard chart topper in a row. It's low placement on this list is due to the live version only allowing it to be a sleeper hit here in Australia.
This is our final entry for this list, it comes to us from the British trio Years and years who were a massive deal in their homeland and yet only had the one hit internationally. It's further proof that the British music scene isn't as successful worldwide during the 21st century as it was throughout the twentieth century.
