Much like with the 80's, I've also decided to do a list of the biggest hits of the 90's in Australia which includes entries based on both their AMR and ARIA stats. Just like before, I'll only make a mention for which entries are the ARIA entries as I feel their placement on this list will speak for themselves rather than me delivering redundant commentary that will highlight how well/poorly they did compared to the AMR charts.
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#17 for 1999
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.
#13 for 1994
#15 for 1995
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#8 for 1990
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#14 for 1996
This was the only noticeable hit for Sixpence none the richer throughout their career, primarily due to it being used in Dawson's creek as well as She's all that which were two of the bigger pop culture artifacts to come from this year. The song was originally released the previous year to deafening silence, likely due to the band being strong Christian and audiences being done with contemporary Christian music by this point.
#17 for 1999
The last time we saw Linda Ronstadt in the mainstream was over a decade prior when she scores a massive hit with her album Living in the U.S.A, although it's worth noting that Linda is known for experimenting with her sound and as such often reinvents it to varying degrees of success. Here she decides to release a song about how growing old kind of sucks but at least she's with the person of her dreams, that apparently being Aaron Neville who is the person she's duetting with here.
#11 for 1990
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#13 for 1994
#15 for 1995
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#15 for 1996
#20 for 1997
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#21 for 1997
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#9 for 1991
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#20 for 1993
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#16 for 1995
#16 for 1996
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#17 for 1996
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#10 for 1991
I love "Islands in the streams," it's one of the rare country ballads I can listen to countless times without growing tired of. That should give you an idea of how much I dislike this track given how it blatantly samples the original in order give Pras Michel a solo hit following the demise of the Fugees. This was also the theme to the film Bulworth, hence why Warren Beatty appears on the cover with the three artists on this song.
#24 for 1998
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#18 for 1999
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#9 for 1990
This cover of the Harry Chapin classic from eighteen years prior seems like a 180 for Ugly kid joe, mainly because their previous two singles "Everything about you" and especially "Neighbour" feel like they came from a band who seems to juvenile to pull of this track about the inner introspection a father goes through by watching his son grow up too quickly. That's not to say the song is awful like many of the band's detractors like to say, it's just a weird move for them.
#18 for 1993
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#17 for 1995
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#18 for 1996
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#23 for 1998
This is the song where many people had turned on Bryan Adams for a few reasons, first off it was number one in the UK for sixteen weeks, making it one of the best charting songs of all time over there. Secondly it was tied to the Kevin Costner version of the famous Robin Hood fable which to this day divides audiences due to his admittedly terrible performance as the titular character.
#9 for 1991
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#11 for 1991
I bet you're wondering why the heck Warren G decided to collaborate with Adina Howard (who my American readers know for her hit single "Freak like me" on Billboard) for this hip hop remix of Tina Turner's signature track. Well, it turns out this was commissioned for the Jackie Chan flick Supercop which was enough of a success worldwide for this to be a huge hit despite it flopping in America for some reason. This also served as the lead single to Warren's second album.
#13 for 1996
#16 for 1997
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#22 for 1997
If you're wondering what took these guys so long in finding an audience here in Australia, I think it's because we Aussies were sceptical of their musical talent initially given how they had sung with perfect American accents on record and yet could barely speak English in interviews. We gave them the benefit of the doubt this year by allowing this to become one of the biggest hits of the year, however our scepticism was proven right by the end of the year.
#12 for 1990
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#12 for 1992
So UB40 were still a thing this far into the 90's, granted this is due to their cover of the Elvis Presley classic being chosen to close out the critically panned film Sliver starring Sharon Stone and William Baldwin, but it goes to show this was the most popular aspect of the film upon its initial release. This would be the last most people would hear from Ali Campbell and company in Australia.
#19 for 1993
Well, I guess these guys were able to make it big with at least one of their ballads outside their native UK after all, although it still blows my mind how much bigger East 17 were here in Australia and how much bigger these guys were in their homeland. The success of this ballad led to them crossing over in America mere months prior to them going their separate ways to pursue solo ventures.
#16 for 1995
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#21 for 1993
#14 for 1994
I'm guessing this was an instant success in Australia despite it failing to be released as a single in the trio's native America due to us Aussies having fond memories of the song this track sampled from 1973 of the same name. Of course, the three rappers take the song in a different direction which is more than I can say for many future hip hop tracks which relied on nostalgia for their success.
#14 for 1996
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#23 for 1997
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#24 for 1998
#19 for 1999
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#15 for 1994
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.
#14 for 1994
This was the song which made Celine Dion into a household name worldwide, oh sure her previous hit "Power of love" was a huge success for her, but people dismissed it as an updated rendition of the Jennifer Rush track from the mid 80's and nothing more. This ballad on the other hand became a huge surprise hit in the UK which encouraged her to go on a world tour which was highly successful.
#17 for 1995
Although "Creep" was a minor success for these girls in Australia when it came out, it was this third single from their sophomore album which finally broke them through into the mainstream down under albeit months after it was already an international success for them. This is a self-empowerment anthem from the trio, one they themselves should've headed from given what was in store for them next.
#18 for 1995
#15 for 1996
Oh, Bloodhound gang, you were a bunch of very naughty boys indeed as you made this track which came complete with a music video that was clearly meant to shock and horrify audiences from back in the day. Of course, this was going to be a huge success for the band given how this was back in the day where people were rewarded with being provocative in the mainstream rather than shunned.
#18 for 1999
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#18 for 1995
#19 for 1996
Well, if nothing else, this is equal opportunity when it comes to calling out both sides of the gender spectrum who mooch of their significant others minimum wage while that person works hard to provide for them. It's easy to see how this struck a chord with audiences given how the name of the song is what we often shout at to people who seem to just mooch off of those around them for a living.
#19 for 1999
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.
#15 for 1994
#19 for 1995
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#19 for 1995
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#20 for 1995
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#25 for 1998
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#20 for 1999
This was the second single from Mariah Carey's album Daydream, and for the longest time it was the most successful song in America due to it lasting a record breaking sixteen weeks at number one on Billboard as well as it being a major seller over there as well. This is due to the winning formula it created of dedicating a ballad to the friends that have sadly no longer with us that many artists copied from here.
#20 for 1995
#16 for 1996
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#10 for 1990
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#11 for 1990
#12 for 1991
It looked like that Daryl's previous album's success was a fluke and that he would again fade into obscurity, however he then released this cover of the Ricki Lee Jones track (best known for its usage throughout Jerry Maguire later in the decade) which became a huge success for him likely due to backing vocals from Margaret Urlich who was fresh off the success of her solo album Safety in numbers.
#10 for 1991
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#12 for 1990
If this song feels like it was ripped from the 70's then there's a logical explanation for why, this and the album it came from was clearly meant to be released following the success of Meat loaf's first Bat out of hell album but wasn't due to him falling out with Jim Steinman who was the driving force of both of these albums. The two men patched things up earlier in the decade which resulted in this sequel coming out.
#20 for 1993
This was the first song Ronan Keating released when Boyzone announced they were going their separate ways, it was written for the film Notting hill starring Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts and is one of the better romantic comedies of the decade to boot. This was also included as the advanced single from Ronan's solo album and strangely enough, also as a bonus track on Boyzone's greatest hits package.
#20 for 1999
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#13 for 1990
It looked like their album Blood sugar sex magik was all set to flop following the failure of its lead single "Give it away" worldwide, however the band released this as the albums second single which details Anthony Kiedis's complicated relationship with California which tugged at the heartstrings of many listeners back in the day. It remains their biggest hit to date thanks to how emotional he comes across on the track.
#12 for 1992
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#22 for 1993
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#21 for 1999
Well, the original version of this track was the rare ballad from KC and the Sunshine Band, so it only makes sense that this British EDM group would transform it into a dance track and that it would see massive success in a decade that was filled with EDM tracks. This resulted in the band finding other older songs to remix into club tracks, none of which managed to become a hit for them anywhere in the world.
#13 for 1992
This song was written by R Kelly, I guess there's a lot of problematic elements to this song knowing what both men have been accused of, however I'm not going to get into that here as this is meant to be a fun site and not one about conspiracy theories. Instead, we have the perfect balance between both men's talents which made this a huge success for them back in the day.
#21 for 1995
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#22 for 1999
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#24 for 1997
The last time we mentioned Maria McKee on this site was when she wrote Feargal Sharkey's biggest hit "A good heart" from five years prior, here she is now with a song of her own that she wrote for the Tom Cruise flick Days of thunder which sees the heartthrob play a race car driver hotshot. The film is noticeable for being the first of three he made with his future wife Nicole Kidman.
#13 for 1990
#11 for 1991
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#13 for 1992
This was a song written exclusively for the film Pret a porter, a film that's about celebrity culture hence why there are several reverences to hotshot celebrities (without naming names of course) which likely was what made it such an international success for the reggae artist Ini Kamoze. This unfortunately didn't translate to any success with the rest of his catalogue.
#22 for 1995
It took a while for these guys to find an audience with their debut album Yourself or someone like you, however once they did, they managed to achieve one of the biggest albums of the decade with how much radio latched onto their songs. This was the only song from the album to have that airplay translate to sales here in Australia, although admittedly even in their native America they didn't sell any copies of their singles because they weren't released as singles there.
#17 for 1997
#25 for 1998
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.
#21 for 1993
#16 for 1994
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#14 for 1990
This is one of many songs to never be released as a single in America and thus, wasn't able to chart on Billboard back in the day. I'm guessing this was to promote the album Tragic kingdom which I feel was unnecessary as the song was a huge chart topper everywhere else in the world as well as the album itself still being one of the most successful of the decade. Admittedly the song is more sombre than everything else on the album.
#18 for 1997
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#25 for 1997
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#26 for 1997
#26 for 1998
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#23 for 1999
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.
#17 for 1994
This was the debut single for one of the more popular artists to emerge from Disney's new Mickey mouse club which ran throughout the decade, and I think it's safe to say that compared to her main rival Britney Spears, Christina had the more prominent vocal presence in her music even if she wouldn't fully demonstrate it until her second album. In the meantime, we have a cute introduction to her discography.
#21 for 1999
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#21 for 1995
This is another song that should be much higher on this list due to its sales alone but isn't because it was pulled from shelves to promote the album (or in this case soundtrack) it came from. I honestly think it was for the best as I doubt many people would've even checked out the Men in black soundtrack if this theme song from the film's star Will Smith were able to remain on shelves indefinitely.
#19 for 1997
One of the sillier films to be released this decade is Con air, so much so that the Razzies hilariously gave it a special award for worst reckless disregard for human life and public property, to give you an idea of how insane the action and plot get in the film. Another aspect they didn't like was the theme song, even though it was also nominated for an academy award for Trisha Yearwood despite it originally being a song from Leann rimes.
#20 for 1997
#26 for 1998
This was the biggest hit to come from Chrissie Amphlett and company, mainly because it was a clear display of Chrissie's sexual appeal which naturally turned many listeners on whenever it came on the radio. The success of this track here in Australia led to it being released internationally where it became a huge hit for the band a decade after they first broke through with the likes of "Boys in town" and "Science fiction."
#14 for 1990
#12 for 1991
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#27 for 1998
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#14 for 1992
#23 for 1993
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#27 for 1997
#28 for 1998
It looked like Paula Abdul wasn't going to be able to find an audience in Australia given how "Straight up" was a huge flop here the previous year. Fortunately, this duet with the Wild pair was a success for her, presumably due to the duo being depicted in the video as a cartoon cat by the name of MC Skat Kat. This cat would go on to release a hip hop album the following year which many consider to be one of the worst of all time.
#15 for 1990
This was originally released as a Christmas track three years prior following the success of the duo's debut album in their native Sweden, there the song had a parenthesis that read "Christmas for the broken hearted" meaning that the song was originally meant for those who knew the horrors of being alone on Christmas day. As Pretty woman wasn't a Christmas flick, the song was slightly reworked into a typical breakup ballad that was played during the emotional low point of the film.
#16 for 1990
Many people feel this to be a lazy retread of "Wanted dead or alive" since both songs not only sound similar to each other, but also have the same theme of a loner cowboy who doesn't abide by the laws of the wild wild west. Naturally this theme fits in perfectly with the film this song was commissioned for, and to be fair there are enough differences between both songs for this to justify its existence.
#17 for 1990
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#22 for 1995
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#29 for 1998
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#30 for 1998
This was the theme song to the second Terminator film as well as the lead single to the Use your illusions era which produced two very long albums from Axel Rose and company that would dominate the music landscape for about eighteen months with its singles. It was certainly an ambitious project for them to take on and one that arguably does live up to their early promise they had on their debut album.
#13 for 1991
This was only a modest success for the duo in their native America, likely due to how sincere the pair come off on this track which admittedly makes it a really cheesy number to listen to. The Brits certainly appreciated this cheesiness as this became a huge success over in the UK which allowed it to crossover internationally for the duo. They found further success with the rest of their album in NZ of all places.
#14 for 1992
#22 for 1993
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#28 for 1997
This was the debut single for Joanne, an Australian singer who discovered an obscure track from Bluezone who is nowadays best known as the band that launched Lisa Stansfield into the spotlight. In order to honour the original (given how there was another version by someone known as Redzone around this time) Joanne credited herself as a featured artist with Bluezone as the main artist.
#22 for 1999
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#24 for 1999
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#16 for 1994
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.
#18 for 1994
It looked like there were no signs of Britney Spears's career slowing down as this second single from her debut album proved to be a huge hit for her, that is except for her native America as funnily enough, she didn't have a huge hit on Billboard again until "Gimme more" almost a decade later. At least the rest of the world was here for her every step of the way, through both the good times and the bad.
#23 for 1999
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#15 for 1990
This is one of the more divisive songs to emerge from the decade, mainly because people are split with the opinion whether or not Linda Perry is a good vocalist (personally I don't think she is.) As a result, this song has often been described as very shrill and earnest from its detractors, although it also did lead Linda into becoming an in-demand songwriter for many of the biggest stars of the 21st century.
#23 for 1993
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#17 for 1994
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#20 for 1996
This is an interesting entry for Dutch singer Whigfield, namely because she achieved massive success earlier in the decade in the UK with songs such as "Saturday night" and yet this didn't even touch the UK charts despite it being a huge hit in Australia. I guess the Brits had moved on from her style of Europop and EDM in favour of other European artists who failed to find success here in Australia.
#21 for 1997
This is a song that's slightly different depending on which version you're referring to, if we're looking at the version from the album then it's a pop country track whereas the single version is more of a straightforward pop track with additional lyrics to help it boost the sales of the album it spawned from. It paid off as said album was by far the most successful of the decade because of this.
#24 for 1999
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