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.
Even though Londonbeat were an American band, they were based in the UK when they released their first album which is why it took them a while to find success with this track in their native America this year. A big part of that was due to this becoming a huge hit in Australia, likely due to how they blended RNB with pop rock in a way that I'm surprised hasn't been replicated that often over the years.
#14 for 1991
Well, this was certainly a song that stirred up drama back in the day due to its title, true the word bitch has been stigmatised over the years as a derogatory term for a woman who's perceived to be a horrible person, however over the years women have claimed the word as their own in order to destigmatise it. That's clearly what Meredith is going for on this track whilst sounding like she's the mother of Alanis Morissette, that's me dunking on her age as she was pushing forty when this came out.
#22 for 1997
This was the debut single for a woman who had already conquered Hollywood with her stunning performance in Selena as the titular Latin performer, given how she was well received for her vocal abilities in the film, it only makes sense that she would launch a singing career which began with this track. J-lo has proven herself to be a capable singer over the years, even though she hasn't always given the best vocal performance in her songs.
#25 for 1999
Many people find this to be Billy's most annoying song due to how the melody is structured, I don't agree but can see where they're coming from as it does seem like it was metered this way to accommodate for the lyrical structure which is just him shouting out a bunch of pop culture references that took place during his lifetime. This gimmick paid off for Billy commercially as this remains his biggest hit worldwide despite the backlash it's received.
#18 for 1990
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#13 for 1991
So, this turned out to be Julian Lennon's biggest hit outside of America, granted "Too late for goodbyes" wasn't that big of a deal in Australia as even "Now you're in heaven" managed to be a bigger hit for him here. That said, this was also decently successful for him in his native UK, in fact it was able to match the success of his debut single over there seven years after that came out.
#15 for 1992
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#15 for 1992
This was the lead single to Backstreet boy's third album Millennium, an album that was meant to signify the beginning of a new era given how they felt confident that they had won the boy band wars before they were even over (to be fair they absolutely did win the wars overall.) The lyrics are a bit strange on this track, however I don't think many people care about that anymore and I doubt many people did to begin with.
#26 for 1999
If you can believe it, Carole King's version of this classic was never released as a single as it was only ever the B-side to her biggest hit "It's too late" from almost two decades prior to when Martika made it her own with this cover. I guess her fellow Americans didn't appreciate this cover from her as this flopped hard on Billboard despite her previous single being a chart topper on there.
#19 for 1990
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#16 for 1990
This was the magnum opus for Heart's discography as far as their singles are concerned, admittedly it's one that received controversy over the years due to the story having a few problematic elements to it. If you're like me, it's best if you avoid reading too much into the lyrics and instead enjoy the track for its catchy instrumentation and some of Heart's best vocal performances.
#20 for 1990
"Jesus to a child" might've sparked initial curiosity towards George's comeback album Older this year, however it was this track which confirmed it to be worth checking out given how it was a huge success for him and seemingly rewound his career back to 1992 when he was originally working on this album before he delayed it to briefly become the new lead singer for Queen following Freddie Mercury's death.
#17 for 1996
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#21 for 1996
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#18 for 1994
This was the debut single from Savage Garden and one that has a different music video depending on where in the world you're from. The original is a low budget clip which is basically Darren Hayes poorly green screened onto a car driving around the country whilst the international version is more visually striking as it has Darren singing in front of a camera and then has the footage play on a girl's TV.
#18 for 1996
Even though this was only a moderate success in Donna's native UK, it proved to be a massive hit over on Billboard likely due to her combining new age with RNB on this track which makes it one of the most unique songs to ever become a hit. It's a bit of a shame she's a one hit wonder with this track as I feel her voice is unique and could easily chart along the likes of Jewel and Sheryl Crow.
#19 for 1996
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#25 for 1999
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#16 for 1992
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#29 for 1997
This was the song that encouraged us Aussies to check out Black box's one and only album Dreamland this year, I'm guessing due to it being a cover of an Earth wind and fire track we unfairly ignored back in the day and Martha Walsh doing an admirable job in updating the 70's RNB jam on this track. This would be the last song the Italian group had a hit in Australia, although they would score two hits in America this year.
#15 for 1991
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#31 for 1998
#26 for 1999
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#23 for 1995
This was initially a flop in Australia, presumably because with rare exceptions, non-English tracks tend to be failures in our music scene. That changed however when this became bundled with "Cup of life" which was the theme to the FIFA world cup for this year which in turn put Ricky Martin on the map and set him up as the leader of the Latin craze that happened.
#27 for 1998
Stars on 54 were a supergroup comprised of Ultra Nate, Amber and Jocelyn Enriquez, only one of which managed to find success in Australia prior to this collaboration and yet it was a huge success here. I'm guessing it was due to it being attached to the film 54 which I haven't seen but I've heard isn't very good, that or it could also be due to it being a cover of a Gordon Lightfoot track.
#28 for 1998
#27 for 1999
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#27 for 1999
This was the final hit single that Taylor Dayne managed to achieve in her career, hey if you're time was going to be up regardless of what you did, why not go out with a bang that is a cover of a Barry White track? This proved to be a huge success for her here in Australia, likely as penance for us ignoring the original back in the day but also likely due to us wanting to give her one final hit before she inevitably faded into obscurity.
#24 for 1993
This was one of several hits that Jam and Spoon were able to achieve here in Australia, although I should point out that their later material would have them change their name to Tokyo Ghetto Pussy likely to cash in on the anime craze that was beginning to become a thing this decade. Here they recruit American vocalist Plavka who gives a performance that's very similar to that of what Madonna was doing at the time.
#19 for 1994
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#24 for 1995
Much like the rest of their catalogue that wasn't their two Billboard chart toppers, this second single from Savage Garden has production I would firmly describe as well, savage. The lyrical content is also poignant as it depicts the observations Darren Hayes has made over a young woman who seems to have shut herself off from the world for various reasons.
#20 for 1996
#23 for 1997
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#17 for 1992
#24 for 1993
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#19 for 1994
This was the debut single for a band who would go on to have massive respect in the indie crowd but not when they initially broke through, mainly because two of the three brothers hadn't gone through puberty yet and as such people felt they were a bunch of teenage girls singing about their love rather than teenage boys. It's a stupid criticism I know because either way, they were a family act who played their own instrument singing about their love for their significant other.
#24 for 1997
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#28 for 1999
It may surprise you to learn that Rednex weren't the first group to combine country with EDM as that honour (at least as far as I know) goes to this British group who scored a massive hit worldwide with this track complete with the nonsensical music video depicting anthropomorphic CGI TV sets. Obviously, this wasn't meant to be taken that seriously, and yet it was critically acclaimed at the time.
#20 for 1994
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#22 for 1996
This was the other big hit that Az yet managed to achieve worldwide, although this time we have them covering a Chicago track with the blessing of the band's lead singer Peter Cetera as he shows up on here to rerecord his chorus from the original while the RNB group cover the verses. It was a huge hit for them, although it likely spelled the end of their career due to them relying on nostalgia baiting.
#25 for 1997
We've seen plenty of success stories to emerge from Neighbours in the music industry over the years, however after Kylie Minogue and possibly Delta Goodrem, Natalie Imbruglia wins the award for having the most international success from the cast given how inescapable this ballad was over in America. She accomplished this by going the Alanis Morissette route on her album by channelling her inner angst for a wider audience.
#29 for 1998
Following the failure of his previous project Milli vanilli, Frank Farian created a new group in the form of this Hispanic trio from the American east coast who thankfully did sing every note on their music which means there wasn't any backlash towards the group that I'm aware of. This was among the earlier hits to emerge from the Latin craze that took the world by storm during the last stretch of the decade.
#21 for 1996
#26 for 1997
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#30 for 1997
#32 for 1998
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#25 for 1993
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#33 for 1998
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#20 for 1994
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#23 for 1996
#31 for 1997
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#34 for 1998
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#21 for 1994
So, did anyone know who this guy was before he released his magnum opus saying he would come back bigger than ever? Yes, I know that this song is actually about him bouncing back from a bad relationship he had from his girlfriend, however between this and the Backstreet boys, this was a surprisingly good time for upstarts to declare themselves back to an audience who wasn't previously familiar with them.
#22 for 1996
Well so much for these guys being a one hit wonder with "Barbie girl," this proved to be an even bigger hit in most parts of the world due to it not being pulled from shelves in order to promote their album Aquarium. As for the content, we have Lene imagining herself as a love interest for Indiana Jones which I'm sure was a major part of the songs appeal.
#27 for 1997
#30 for 1998
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#17 for 1990
#14 for 1991
This was the first UK chart topper Mariah Carey had, I'm guessing because the Brits still had fond memories of the Harry Nilsson original who just so happened to pass away shortly before this song was released. In fact, there's a theory that this was not meant to be released as a single given how it was bundled with "Never forget you" but was in order to cash in on his recent passing.
#21 for 1994
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#18 for 1990
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#24 for 1996
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#26 for 1993
#22 for 1994
This was the first of three singles that Culture beat would score in Australia before fading into obscurity here, a trend that would be passed over to Corona and La bouche after them as those two European EDM bands went through a similar fate to these guys. It was the same formula, find an attractive woman of colour with an amazing voice, have her sing these songs that will forever be played on dance floors and reap in the rewards.
#25 for 1993
There's this trend when it comes to Canadian artists crossing over to the mainstream where they only seem to do so with a song that wasn't a huge hit in their homeland, this was the case for this one and only international hit from Crash test dummies which was far from their biggest hit in their homeland and yet was inescapable throughout the rest of the world for them.
#22 for 1994
Another hit single that Bryan Adams managed to achieve this decade that was the theme to a popular Hollywood film, this time we have his contributions to the Mirror has two faces which happens to be a duet with the film's director and star Barbra Streisand to boot. The success of this duet led to her collaborating with Celine Dion on "Tell him" that served as the lead singer to Celine's next album.
#28 for 1997
This is a song whose popularity came right the heck out of nowhere, I'm guessing because it was the first time many people heard of a song from a female perspective sung by a man. The novelty of this allowed the song to be a massive worldwide success for White town, although it also sadly had novelty written all over it as they failed to find any success with their other singles and faded into obscurity.
#29 for 1997
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#32 for 1997
I'm sure we're all familiar with "The girl is mine" from MJ and Paul McCartney, so here's the female equivalent which sees 90's child stars Brandy and Monica fight over this guy they both believe to be hers respectively in a way many feel Paul and MJ should've done sixteen years prior. It proved to be a massive success for the both of them as well as both of their first Billboard chart toppers.
#31 for 1998
This song is slightly different from album to single given how the production is more pronounced on the single version, however that's about the only main difference which was regardless enough for this to be the boy bands biggest hit in most parts of the world. I'm glad the music community has since come around on boy bands from this decade as even if they had a specific target demographic, their music was still enjoyable in its own right.
#30 for 1997
#32 for 1998
The decade had barely even begun and there was already a huge demand for 70's nostalgia, enter Dee lite who obliged and gave us what's known as a house track which is a type of EDM where there's emphasis on the groove rather than the lyrics or vocals. This was a huge hit for the American trio internationally months before they finally found success at home, a trend that was all too common for American EDM artists.
#21 for 1990
From what I can gather, Triple X was a pseudonym for one Massimo Persona who was an Italian DJ who scored a massive hit with this remix of the X files theme that was made popular this year by the Mark Snow theme becoming a hit throughout Europe. I'm not sure why this remix outdid the original here in Australia, but it did which is why this is here and that isn't.
#23 for 1996
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#25 for 1995
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#25 for 1996
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#35 for 1998
It looked like that Bryan Adam's time in the spotlight had come to an end when he released his third album this decade, mainly because he really did take his sweet time in releasing new music this decade despite him easily being one of the biggest artists of the 90's. This managed to take off for him more due to the presence of Sporty Spice who was all of the news around this time due to the drama going on with her band the Spice girls.
#33 for 1998
#28 for 1999
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#15 for 1991
I'm not sure why the album cycle for the Spice girls was delayed here in Australia, whatever the case the third single was able to be a massive success here likely due to it being one of their sweeter ballads despite the lyrics being more suggestive than you might otherwise think. It was a Christmas number one in the UK months prior to it being released here, and as such is widely regarded as a Christmas track.
#31 for 1997
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#36 for 1998
#29 for 1999
Mermaids is perhaps the most underrated film in Cher's filmography, mainly because it doesn't live up to the standards of her other Hollywood blockbusters Silkwood, Mask and especially Moonstruck and the Witches of Eastwick. Despite that, it's a charming coming of age story about how her daughter played by Winona Ryder comes to terms with the family she's a part of. The film has Cher's cover of the Merry Clayton track as its theme song due to it bizarrely being set in 1963.
#16 for 1991
This feels like it should've been released a few years prior, doesn't it? I guess the grunge scene didn't completely kill the 80's when Nirvana released Nevermind after all as these guys managed to get in a huge hit with an acoustic ballad that would've been a dime a dozen in the late 80's. The band even achieved moderate success with their follow ups back in America, although not so much internationally.
#16 for 1992
Following the success of their Clunk E.P, Frente released their debut single which was another cutesy track that they had become known for during the first phase of their career. I bring this up because they did change with the times on their next album which resulted in them being more hardcore, an image that many people (me included) felt didn't suit them very well.
#17 for 1992
#26 for 1993
Well, I guess the second round of the boy band wars officially begun this year given how these guys were able to compete with the Backstreet boys for the affection of the teenage girls of the late 90's. Here they incorporate hip hop elements to their sound as opposed to their American counterparts who settled with RNB elements, I guess this did create a contrast between the two discographies.
#34 for 1998
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#16 for 1991
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#30 for 1999
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#17 for 1991
While the original version of this track from KC and the Sunshine Band still remains a classic to this day, it should be worth noting that this Danish duo managed to achieve more success in Australia with their cover likely due to a combination of nostalgia and them swapping out the disco elements for more (then) modern EDM. It even comes complete with a rap verse to give it that extra 90's flavour.
#23 for 1994
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#33 for 1997
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#34 for 1997
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#31 for 1999
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#23 for 1994
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#26 for 1996
This is another song I don't particularly care for, mainly for the vocals as Ann Lee seems to be completely devoid of any joy or happiness on this track which would be fine if it wasn't for the fact that this is meant to be a dance track presumably meant for the dance floors. Obviously, I'm in the minority here as this remains a classic to this day even if it's Ann's only hit single anywhere in the world.
#29 for 1999
Well, we saw massive success here with the Gipsy kings the previous year, so why not have this track from French group Kaoma find success with their Spanish influenced pop music? I guess you can say that the Latin craze began much earlier than you otherwise thought given how many Latin influenced tracks there were to make it big, however it saw a large dry spell this decade before regaining its popularity.
#22 for 1990
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#18 for 1992
This was the only notable success to come from Robert Miles, a Swiss DJ who managed to take the world by storm with this instrumental track that has become popular for soundtracking special moments in one's life. Indeed, this was a modest success over in America, proving that even they could appreciate the beauty of this track during the height of its popularity.
#24 for 1996
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#35 for 1997
This was the second hit that Steps managed to achieve this year in Australia, given how inescapable their debut single was due to every primary school teacher enforcing the choreography of that video onto their pupils, the band had little issues with finding success with their album here. At least none of their other videos had bizarre choreography to shove down the kids throats during P.E.
#35 for 1998
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#19 for 1990
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#27 for 1993
#24 for 1994
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#25 for 1994
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#27 for 1996
#36 for 1997
Although "Who will save your soul" was the song that finally got Jewel some much needed attention after over a year living poverty (I'm not even exaggerating when I say that) it was this second single that brought her mainstream success here in Australia likely due to it being her least pretentious song from the album. Unlike the other tracks which are meant to be critiques of the world around her, here she's trying to get with someone who feels is her soulmate which I guess is cute.
#32 for 1997
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#18 for 1991
It's strange to think how inescapable these guys were in Australia and yet the true winner of the first round of the boy band wars of this decade Take that only managed to break through this year barely with a song that had to be rereleased in order to find any success here. I'm guessing we Aussies preferred these guys overall due to them easily fitting in with the EDM crowd over their main rivals.
#24 for 1994
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#37 for 1997
#37 for 1998
There weren't any signs of these guys slowing down in round two of the boy band wars, heck they even had some support in America as they were able to achieve success on Billboard during a time that was becoming increasingly hostile towards British artists. Here they double down on their hip hop influences with the lead single of their second album which also remains their most successful in their career.
#30 for 1999
I will say that as iconic as this song remains to this day, it does feel weird that it originally came from the Dick Tracy soundtrack given how out of place it feels on that album (save for all of the shout outs to Hollywood legends she has on this song.) This was sadly Madonna's final chart topper in Australia for exactly a decade, although that didn't stop her from having some of the bigger hits of the decade here.
#23 for 1990
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#28 for 1993
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#32 for 1999
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#20 for 1990
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