It's easy to forget that this was the theme song to Step up 2, a dance flick that I'm sure many have forgotten about since the series was never a critical darling and seemed to serve as little more than a platform for Channing Tatum to become a Hollywood star. It appears we Aussies were a bit slow in making this a phenomenon like it was worldwide given how it wasn't even released until this year despite it already being a success the previous year internationally.
For the longest time, this was Lady Gaga's biggest hit given how it remains her most iconic work to this day. Of course, her biggest hit is now "Shallow" from a decade later, but that was more due to it rebounding on the charts due to it winning an Oscar for the pop star. There's an urban legend that the chorus actually goes "fu fu f**k her face" as opposed to "po po poker face" which perhaps is why this remains her most iconic work to this day.
To date, this is P!nk's biggest hit largely thanks to how bombastic it remains in her catalogue which many fans (me included) feel is where she's at her best. It was the lead single to her breakup album Funhouse which she made while she was separated with her husband, although the two managed to patch things up during its production which I guess makes it the opposite to an album like Rumours from Fleetwood mac.
Leona Lewis was the winner of the 2005 season of X factor UK, although her debut album failed to make any waves outside of the UK likely due to international audiences finding it too dull to have any merit to it (that's how I feel about her entire discography I'm afraid, but I digress.) She won a massive international audience with the lead single to her second album, heck it even became a Billboard chart topper for her.
This is one of only two hits that the Kings of Leon had in the mainstream, in Australia at least this was because of heavy promotion of their album Only by the night on Triple J which became the stations album of the year in 2008. This was a massive flop in their native America for some reason, it's even more curious it bombed on Billboard considering the second single from the album was a huge hit over there.
It seems odd that Jack Johnson never had a hit outside his native America (although he was plenty successful with his albums) considering this guy managed to score a massive hit worldwide with this track that feels ripped straight from the folk singer's discography. Evidently this guy had incorporated hip hop in his earlier work which perhaps explains why his only international hit was as stripped back as this.
I'm not sure if this song would've been as big as it was were it not "presented" by Timbaland for OneRepublic, however it did become a massive worldwide hit for the band regardless as it was not only produced by him but was also included on his solo album for some reason. The band would have several spikes in popularity over the years given how slow their recording output has been.
This was the only hit to come from Gabriella Cilmi, I'm guessing for a number of reasons given how much of an overnight sensation the Australian teenage singer was with this song worldwide. The first reason was that this is a song that seemed destined to come from a one hit wonder even though her album was a huge hit for her, the second was her being drunk at the 2008 ARIA awards despite being underage.
For whatever reason, Alicia Key's second album was a complete dud outside of her native America, I'm guessing this was due to the existence of the bootleg remix of "Karma" known as "Karmastition" which I vividly remember playing on the radio in lieu of anything from the album back in the day. Fortunately, her third album was able to spawn a massive hit with its lead single which restored her popularity worldwide.
Now if I were going by the ARIA charts, this song would be much lower on this list as this lead single to Beyonce's first (and to date only) album as her alter ego Sasha Fierce wasn't nearly as successful here in Australia according to those charts, however I'm using the AMR charts for these rankings where this was bundle with "Single ladies" which allowed both songs to be a massive success here as a result.
It looks like Santana was able to get in one more big hit in the new millennium before they were once again relegated to a legacy act, here they recruit Chad Kroeger of all people who managed to give them their second biggest hit in their career (behind "Smooth" with Rob Thomas of course) proving how much the general public loved him and Nickelback before the internet told them not to love them anymore.
This was one of only three hits that Jordin Sparks had here in Australia, although here she required the assistance of Chris Brown of all people to have a huge hit despite her already being successful with her victory single from American idol here (which is still to come on this list.) She was one of the rare contestants on American idol to find international success among the likes of Kelly Clarkson and Adam Lambert.
This is where it all began for Lady Gaga, given how she would explode in the music scene with how quirky and some would say bizarre her music and especially videos would get, this debut of hers seems rather tame and ordinary compared to what was to come. This took its sweet time in finding success in her native America as her earlier entry had already topped the charts worldwide before this made it on Billboard.
This was the first of only two hit singles that Timbaland achieved as a lead artist here in Australia, the other was with Katy Perry at the start of the new decade which seems to be the opposite of this track with Keri Hilson as that song is about a post breakup while this was about two people hooking up with each other. This was Keri's only hit here, although she had much more success over in NZ and her native America.
This was the other big hit that Kings of Leon had from their album Only by the night, it was also their one and only hit in their native America albeit months after it was a success internationally for the alternative band. I'm not sure why they weren't able to retain their popularity going into the new decade even in places like Australia where rock music still has its place in the mainstream.
This was technically a hit twice in Australia, the first time was upon its initial release which was inevitable as this was during the height of Katy Perry's worldwide popularity. The second time was when the reality show MasterChef premiered early in 2009 which chose this as its theme song and thus kept it on the charts longer than it otherwise would've been.
Right around the time Miley Cyrus was making it big in the music industry through her connections with Disney, her older brother Trace was the lead singer of this short-lived pop rock band who scored their one and only hit with this number. I'm guessing this was as big as it was due to the connection he had with Miley and their father and how this was considered edgy compared to the music his family was making.
This was the final hit that Madonna has had in her career, maybe she can make a comeback given how stranger things have happened in the music industry since this song came out, but I very much doubt it given how she's been pandering to meme culture in recent years. Indeed, I get the feeling this is more of a JT track who foolishly took a one-off payment from the song in exchange for Madonna keeping all of its royalties.
Although it wasn't their highest charting single in Australia (that honour goes to "Hook me up") this was indeed the biggest hit that the Veronicas had here which allowed it to become a massive international hit for the duo worldwide by the end of the decade. They remain a one hit wonder in the northern hemisphere with this track, I'm guessing due to audiences not getting the gimmick of them singing in unison on their songs.
This is a song that had a bit of minor controversy upon its initial release as it sampled "Wanna be starting something" from MJ, the problem is that song originally sampled "Soul Makossa" meaning that Rihanna had no legal right to sample the Thriller track for this song even though MJ gave her his blessing to do so. I'm guessing it was due to this legal dispute that this song was a massive hit for her here in Australia and indeed throughout the rest of the world.
I don't think I can say anything positive about this lead single to the Pussycat dolls second and final album, I guess it was a massive hit for the girl group but one I'm sure many people regret due to its lyrics promoting unrealistic expectations for girls to achieve. At least the rest of their catalogue wasn't particularly harmful towards their target audience even if many people (me included) aren't a fan of it.
Although this came bundled with her earlier entry on this list here in Australia, ARIA was kind enough to count this as a separate entry on their charts which allows me to include both of these songs on this list. I get why this song was a hit for Beyonce even though I personally find it irritating to listen to, it's about how being single isn't a bad thing and that one shouldn't feel pressured into settling down when they're not ready.
This is one of those songs whose sole purpose is to shock an offend audiences, personally I don't find this song offensive as it's little more than Katy admitting to experimenting with her sexuality (although I'll admit that it's one of the more annoying songs of the decade.) This became the first of many of her hits worldwide likely due to audiences being shocked and offended by this track.
You may be surprised to learn that Kid rock is a one hit wonder outside of his native America with this track, I'm guessing it was only a hit for him internationally due to audiences feeling nostalgia for both "Sweet home Alabama" and "Werewolves of London" which this track samples both of throughout its runtime. Even though I and many others only know him for this one track (and also his personal antics due to constantly being on the news) he was much more popular on the Billboard charts.
You thought I forgot about this track, didn't you? It turns out we Aussies were slow in making this a success for DeAndre Way AKA Soulja boy likely due to it being arguably the song that started the trend of allowing a meme to become a massive worldwide hit on the music charts that wasn't made by a music exec (that is, a viral hit not from the likes of Crazy frog and its countless knockoffs) only to allow this phenomenon to happen this year on our charts.
It had been a while since Vanessa Amorosi had a hit here in Australia, in fact it was at the very start of the decade when she scored her final hit "The power" before she faded into obscurity for reasons I can't seem to ascertain. She was able to gain buzz the previous year with "Take your mama" which became a minor hit down under, however it was this ballad that helped her regain the dizzying success she had from her debut album.
This is a song that I don't have much to say about, or at least I don't have much to say that wouldn't be offensive to my readers as I'm pretty sure this was only a hit through name recognition as well as how it addresses her recent controversies in the media.
I feel like Newton Faulkner was the world's warm up to Ed Sheeran given how this was similar to what his ginger haired counterpart would release from his debut album going into the new decade, it explains why the likes of "The a team" and "Lego house" was a success worldwide given how this would fit right in with those songs were they all to appear on an album together.
This was the first of two new entries to come from the deluxe edition of Good girl gone bad, an album that was already successful by this point but continued to be as such due to these two songs. Here we have Rihanna sing about how she was the fool in the relationship she was in and that her partner should "take a bow" at how they treated her, somehow, I get the feeling this song resonated more with her the following year.
This was the first official single from Jessica Mauboy given that the only songs she released prior to this were the ones she sung on the fourth season of Australian idol, here she somehow manages to recruit Flo Rida to give her a guest verse which no doubt helped this song to become a massive hit here in Australia upon its initial release. I'm guessing it was meant for an international market who sadly didn't take to this.
File this in an ever-growing list of songs that became a success for the band in question right before they decided to call it quits, these guys were an American group who scored their one and only hit months prior to throwing in the towel after thirteen years of failure making this a bittersweet success for the band in question. I know in Australia this became a success due to its presence in ads and movie trailers.
This was the fifth hit in a row that Fergie achieved from the Dutchess, I think this is about how she feels like she's clumsy given how I've heard this song hundreds of times back in the day and could never made out what she was saying. I think the song was a hit for the music video which seems to depict her as part of a popup book which audiences found amusing back in the day.
This was the second of only three hits that Ne-yo managed to achieve here in Australia, likely because of how catchy the song is compared to most of his other tracks which were RNB ballads. He of course had much more success over in NZ and especially his native America, and to be fair he did have other hits here as a featured artist for the likes of Pitbull and Rihanna.
It seemed like Kelly Rowland would be yesterday's news following the demise of Destiny's child three years prior, although it turns out she was simply biding her time as she knew that releasing her second solo album before or while Beyonce's own album was out would've meant it would be overshadowed by her former band mate. Here she is with the second single from said album which was a massive hit for her.
Oh, wow do I remember hearing this nonstop in every commercial at the time of its release, I'm guessing this is how it managed to become such a huge hit for the Potbelleez as the Australian indie band didn't have much support from Triple J at the time which is odd because you'd think the station would promote their music. This was big enough to gain minor success over in NZ shortly after it stormed our charts.
This was the first of two singles to be released from the deluxe edition of Chris Brown's second album Exclusive, an album that already did quite well here in Australia (a rarity for an RNB album here) but received a boost in popularity with this edition. It was also one of the last hits he had before he would have his public persona drastically altered due to an incident involving his then girlfriend Rihanna.
This was the other big hit that Rihanna had from the deluxe edition of Good girl gone bad, it has a horror element to it likely to compliment the music video which seems to have been inspired by the industrial rock of the 90's. This would be the last hit that she would have before she would have a major falling out with Chris Brown over something that I won't get into on this list.
I think this is the first song to become a hit by sampling an internet meme, in this case we have T.I sample "Dragostea din teï" from O-zone while also bringing Rihanna along to make sure the song doesn't sound too ridiculous to mainstream audiences of the day. It was a massive hit for the rapper likely due to the lyrics being about staying true to who you are which is an increasingly common theme in music.
The only American idol contestant to see success with their victory single outside of America apart from Jordin Sparks was Fantasia from four years prior, although I get the feeling this victory single was a success here in Australia mainly due to the buzz she received with her collaboration with Chris Brown from earlier on the list which would explain why that song was heavily delayed in order for this to become a hit.
If the vocals on this track seem familiar to you, that's likely due to the fact that this was the one and only hit from the voice actress of Garnet from Steven Universe years prior to being cast in the LGBT Cartoon network series. Here the English vocalist recruits Kanye West to provide her a guest verse for little reason other than to have him be the American boy in question she's singing about.
It took her nearly a decade, but Britney Spears was finally able to have a second Billboard chart topper with this lead single to her album Circus likely due to her embracing the sexual nature of herself which she does tenfold in the music video. At the risk of coming off as mean towards this track, I have to say that this is one of the most repetitive songs to ever become a success as the title is repeated over forty times throughout its runtime.
This was one of the rare RNB ballads that Chris Brown has in his catalogue, even back then, it feels like a black sheep compared to the rest of his catalogue which is more upbeat and showcases a tougher side of his image. This song's released was heavily delayed here as was his earlier collaboration with Jordin Sparks due to how long it took for "Kiss kiss" to become a hit here (which is still to come on this list.)
This was originally a massive hit for Colbie Caillat worldwide the previous year, although for whatever reason, we Aussies weren't interested in this ballad about how much in love she was upon its initial release. We gave it a second chance this year where it became a massive success, much like Soulja boy from earlier on this list, it appears we were simply slow in allowing internet songs to make it big here.
This was the first hit that Miley Cyrus had in her career, mainly because it was the first song she released as herself rather than her Disney alter ego Hannah Montanna in a way to distinguish herself for when she inevitably left the company in the new decade. It was originally released as a bonus track from her alter ego's second album, however it was a hit by it being the lead single to her first album as Miley.
This was the second single from P!nk's album Funhouse, it has a double meaning to it as on the one hand it can be taken literally to be about her sobering up from a bad night out and coming to terms with her drug addiction. On the other hand, and what the song is really about is that it's her sobering up with how toxic her relationship is with her husband (even if it turns out it wasn't that toxic) and how she needs to get away from him.
Wes Carr was the winner of the sixth season of Australian idol, he was considered the country star of the series which is perhaps why his victory single isn't among the more widely revered songs in this category despite its initial success.
Britney was certainly on a roll when she released the title track to her album Circus, an album that remains the last one to have any success despite her scoring a couple of hits in the 2010's with the likes of "Hold it against me" and "Till the world ends." Much like "Piece of me," this is also a song addressing her media frenzy which she refers to as a circus, however it's handled much better on this track.
Flo Rida was on a roll when he released his second big hit of the year, although given that it had a guest verse from Timabaland, I'm sure it would've been a success even if he didn't have the biggest hit of the year with his entry from the start of this list. His fortunes would change for the worse when he released his third single with Will I am, although that's mainly because "In the ayer" was poorly received by the internet.
While on the surface this is a song about how Sara Bareilles isn't going to write a love song about the relationship she's in, it's actually her standing up to her label who wanted her to write a generic love song even though she didn't have any experience with love while making her debut album from earlier in the decade. It turns out they were happy for this to be the lead single for her second album.
This had a bit of a delay to its release here in Australia, although once it came out it was a modest success for Rihanna and Ne-yo who sing with each other about how they don't like the fact they have feelings for each other. It would be largely overshadowed by "Please don't stop the music" due to how long it took for this to take off here in Australia.
This was the third hit to come from Mika's debut album, he had a fourth hit with "Big girl" but that's too much of a sleeper hit to be making an appearance on this site of mine. Once that track fell off the charts, his popularity seemed to come to an end as his second album was a huge failure for him by the end of the decade.
It seems strange that this was the only genuine hit that MGMT managed to achieve here in Australia, mainly because I do remember hearing both "Time to pretend" and especially "Kids" a lot on the radio back in the day given how they were both used in commercials like this was. At least the album this came from was a massive success, and hey, they were well loved on Triple J as well.
This is another song that arrived a little late to the party here in Australia, I'm guessing because T-Pain wasn't a big deal here in Australia until this year where this and Flo Rida's track from the start of the list made him an overnight sensation despite both tracks having him without autotune. As for this song in particular, this was the lead single to Chris Brown's second album which also remains his most popular in his career.
We haven't looked at a Coldplay song on this site since "Yellow" on my 2001 list, this is because they didn't have much success with their singles here in Australia during the first half of the decade likely due to them being the victims of digital piracy throughout the decade. Fortunately, that was a thing of the past by the time they released their fourth album this year which allowed this Billboard chart topper to be a success down under.
Although Sam Sparro is an Australian artist, he initially found success in the UK with this EDM track before it crossed over down under for him likely due to him being stationed over there during this phase of his career. It's a song whose popularity came from its quirky music video, meaning that it hasn't had much of a legacy as even back then, it was a rather tame video compared to its competition.
Even though it was a moderate success, the second album from the Rogue traders didn't pull in the numbers of their first album with Natalie Bassingthwaighte from earlier in the decade. As such, she decided to leave to the group to embark on a solo career which began with this lead single to her solo album which proved to be a massive success for her.
This was the victory single for by far the least popular winner of Australian idol, it was a hit as expected, however I doubt anyone even remembers who Natalie Gauci is considering she didn't even release a studio album following her win on the show.
Given how his former band Westlife managed to score a massive hit two years prior with "You raise me up," it only seems fitting that Brian McFadden finally scored a hit of his own with this lead single to his second album here in Australia and virtually nowhere else in the world. By this point, he had migrated here due to his ongoing relationship with Delta Goodrem, however he moved back to Ireland once their engagement was called off.
This was the second single from Delta Goodrem's third album, here she incorporates new age into her sound which helps elevate the message of regaining one's personal believes in something after it's been destroyed. While it was a hit for her, it wasn't as big as a lot of her other entries on this site so far, suggesting that people didn't find it as inspiring as she had hoped.
Technically this was the first hit that Miley Cyrus had as Miley given how her earlier entry on this list was originally released on her Hannah Montana album before it was later repackaged as her debut single from the real world. This is a song written about her ex-boyfriend Nick Jonas (of the Jonas brothers) which was reportedly inspired by 10 things I hate about you which in turn is a modern adaptation of Shakespeare's Taming of the shrew.
This was a tie in song to the short-lived Aussie comedy series Summer heights high, it's a show that resonated with audiences back in the day due to it being a parody of School life in Australia (specifically that of Sydney) which no doubt boosted the popularity of this song from one of the characters of the show. The show is certainly a product of its time, however it's worth a watch if you're into politically incorrect humour.
From what I can gather, this second single from Leona Lewis's sophomore album was chosen for a charity known as Sports relief in her native UK, this meant that the ballad was a hit worldwide likely due to charity which allowed her to escape the one hit wonder bin her earlier entry on this list threatened to trap her in. She wouldn't have another hit in most parts of the world after this.
This seems like it was made for the club boom about twelve months prior to when it officially launched by the end of the decade, as such it wasn't as big a hit for Usher here in Australia as it was internationally where this became almost as big as his earlier entries from the decade.
This is the last hit that the Rogue traders achieved in their career, mainly because Natalie Bassingthwaighte would leave the group after the third single to their second album failed to become a hit for the group, suggesting she only joined them to further her singing career which in turn led to backlash against her when she released her solo album the following year.
Well at least these girls were back on track with this second single from their sophomore (and to date final) album, I guess this was meant to be the opposite of "Stickwitu" as this was a breakup ballad as opposed to that being about how in love with their partner they were. I would say that this was also referring to them hating the part they were irrelevant except they had two more hits the following year before that happened.
This arrived a little late to the party here in Australia given how it was already a huge hit for Sean Kingston months prior in NZ and his native America, however it did eventually find success here likely due to the popularity of his debut single "Beautiful girls." He would have one more hit down under with Justin Bieber on "Eeenie meenie" before fading into obscurity worldwide.
The original version of this track flopped upon its initial release in 1983, I guess MJ felt that this was something that needed to be rectified as he heavily marketed this remix which featured additional vocals from Akon as the lead single to his 25th anniversary reissue of his Thriller album which allowed for it to become a massive success for both men. It would unfortunately be the last hit he had before his untimely death the following year.
Many people feel this is the last good song to come from Maroon 5 as it was the third single from their second album, it's a sentiment I share even if their overwhelming success throughout the 2010's suggests that they do indeed have an adorning fanbase to this day. Their desires to be more mainstreams started sooner than you think as their next single would be a collaboration with Rihanna.
There were no signs of the Veronicas slowing down on their second album cycle given how the third single from said album was a massive hit for them, this is similar to the third single from their debut album as it shares its lyrical themes with "When it all falls apart" only that song was much more successful two years prior for them.
I guess "When you're gone" was meant to be a calm before the storm for Avril's older fans as she released this third single from her album which confirmed that she was making music for the type of audience she was originally rallying against on her first two albums. I get that she wanted to change things up with her third album which worked out for her commercially, however fans cried betrayal at this change in direction.
The best way I can describe these guys is if Good Charlotte were from Canada, actually that's not fair as these guys were more in line with nu metal with their earlier material and only shifted towards emo rock with the album this serves as the lead single for. It was their first hit outside of their native Canada likely due to the similarities they had with Good Charlotte at the time much to the chagrin of their longtime fans.
This is a song that I'm going to have a hard time being nice to, mainly because there have been so many jokes about it over the years that I've found amusing that perfectly sum up my and other people's problems with it (the only one I'll repeat is "someone please tell this woman what her name is so that she'll go away.") It was a huge international success for the British duo likely through ironic enjoyment.
If you want to know why this song wasn't as successful here in Australia as it was internationally, that's likely because it was released roughly around the same time as T.I's earlier entry on this list which quickly overshadowed this lead single to his album Paper trails down under. It could also be a very late entry into the "thugs need love too" troupe (minus the chorus from a female vocalist) given how it's him rapping about being the perfect gentleman.
This was originally released two years prior from the Swedish pop star September (real name Petra Marklund) it wasn't a big hit anywhere in the world for some reason which led to it fading into obscurity. It was given a second chance this year when a British DJ remixed it where it became a massive success for her everywhere in the world including America which was unusual for a European artist by this point in time.
This was the final hit that the Veronicas had not just from their second album but for the decade here in Australia, it's a song where they're really cutting loose as it's meant to be something you play on the dance floors without it necessarily being a dance track. The next time they would have a hit wouldn't come for another six years as that's how long it would take for them to release their third album.
This is the last hit that Nickelback had here in Australia, although their popularity would extend to their 2011 album which was a huge success here despite it failing to spawn a hit single for them down under. The rest of the world had moved on from the band likely due to the internet making it impossible to defend their music.
So Simple Plan were still a thing during their third album, it may surprise you to learn that though it was a commercial disappointment for them, they would bounce back with their fourth album in the 2010's which spawned two big hits for them down under, proving that yes, we Aussies did love these guys for a while.
This section will cover songs that would've flopped on our charts were it not for how well they sold on the digital charts in Australia, it goes to show how necessary it was to allow these charts to integrate to the mainstream given how these next few entries were very popular here back in the day.
This was the second single from OneRepublic as well as the first they released that didn't require their producer to "present" them like their earlier entry on this list (I never understood what the point of that was.) It was a massive sleeper hit for the band this year likely due to it having a dreamy atmosphere to it that some have felt has categorised everything Ryan Tedder is involved with both as a performer and writer.
I told you Maroon 5's ambitions of doing whatever it took to make it big in the mainstream began much sooner than people thought, here we have a song featuring Rihanna that didn't have the famous pop star on the album that became a worldwide hit for the band. It's a bit of a coincidence that this was released ten years prior to when they would repeat this feat with "Girls like you" only with Cardi B instead of Rihanna (and with a video appeasing the feminists.)
Given how this ranked very high on the Triple J year end list for 2007, it was able to find massive success this year for the band Faker even if most of that success came from the lower half of the charts this year. There's not much more I can say about this track as it was one of those songs that likely would've flopped during the first half of the decade due to it being illegally downloaded.
These guys were pretty huge on the airwaves throughout the decade here in Australia, so much so that it's less of a surprise that this is on here and more that none of their other tracks from the 00's are as they were very likely flops due to having their success eaten up by illegal downloads which wasn't the case for this track.
There have been plenty of artists to make it big over the years due to their ventures in other medium, however I think Axle Whitehead is the first artist to have a hit single following a gig of being a host on a music show since the early 70's here in Australia. In this case, he was the host of Video hits which was a show that featured music videos of usually the latest hit singles but occasionally showed older videos as well.
This was the only other hit from Sneaky sound system that managed to appear on this site given how both "Pictures" and "I love it" both were too much of sleeper hits to qualify for these lists. Here we have the lead single to the band's second album which I'm sure would've been bigger just the year prior given how the digital landscape had finally become mainstream and thus pushed these sorts of songs aside.
This is another song whose success was largely due to the digital charts, although Linkin Park weren't that negatively affected by piracy throughout the decade here in Australia as their multiple appearances on this site can attest to. In any case, we have this third single from their third album which continued their trajectory towards more mainstream rock compared to their nu metal roots from their earlier work.
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