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)
#63 for 1990
This was the only other success that Iggy Pop was able to acquire anywhere in the world, although here he required the assistance of Katie Pierson from the B52's fresh off the success she had with their album Cosmic thing. Neither artist on this track would see any further success with their subsequent material.
#69 for 1990
#60 for 1991
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#57 for 1991
If the melody sounds familiar to you on this track, that's because it was originally the melody from Spandau Ballet's "True" from eight years prior that PM Dawn took for themselves for their breakthrough single this year. This has the distinction of being the first Billboard chart topper when they started using Neil scan to determine their charts, meaning that they relied on computers to calculate what was popular rather than audience engagement.
#61 for 1991
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#57 for 1992
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#58 for 1992
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#59 for 1992
This was the only notable hit that Blind Melon had in their career, mainly because of the video which depicted a cute little girl in a bee costume that fans and haters alike have dubbed as "bee girl." People who dislike this song (me included) complain that Shannon Hoon's vocals are very irritating on this track, although that is a vocal minority as this remains well loved to this day for the band.
#60 for 1993
#56 for 1994
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#56 for 1995
I never understood how this song was credited, mainly because it's Kenny Dope presenting, himself as the Bucketheads is just an alias he used on this one and only hit he had worldwide. The song was a massive success for the American DJ everywhere except of course his native America, this was a huge hit in the UK which is why we Aussies and most of Europe knew about it.
#56 for 1995
Well, here's the other hit that Jam and Spoon, oh sorry, Tokyo ghetto pussy managed to score here in Australia with their anime inspired EDM. I guess they gave up on the anime aesthetics moving forward due to these two songs underperforming throughout Europe, as such they reverted back to being Jam and Spoon.
#57 for 1995
#60 for 1996
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#57 for 1997
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#58 for 1997
There are two versions of this title track from Whitney's third album, the first was the one that topped the Billboard charts which is something akin to what Janet Jackson would release from around this time. The second version is the one that was released here and in Europe which is a more upbeat dance track that saved Whitney's album from flopping here in Australia as it wasn't received very well.
#70 for 1990
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#58 for 1991
#60 for 1992
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#59 for 1993
This was a triumphant return to the mainstream from the Brothers Gibb as it had been ten years since they last troubled the charts here with "You win again," although it's worth noting that they came back with the type of adult contemporary they were competing against in their prime two decades prior. This was their last hit single before the tragic death of Maurice in 2003.
#62 for 1997
This was the second hit that Michael Bolton scored off his breakthrough album, it's a more upbeat track about him telling his partner that they can't hook up unless they're friends, making this a pseudo-Spice girls track as that was effectively the message of their biggest hit "Wannabe" later in the decade. I think because of these two factors, this ranks as one of his better hits in his catalogue.
#71 for 1990
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#59 for 1991
Well, this might be one of the most controversial songs of the decade, mainly because of the line "e's are good" in the chorus which is basically an endorsement for ecstasy. This was a huge UK chart topper, and it was blatantly promoting drug use, although considering it was part of the rave culture which is known for its violent participants, I think it's safe to say that the fact this song was a success at all was impressive.
#56 for 1992
#61 for 1993
This was the song from Soundgarden's breakthrough album Superunknown to make them a huge household name in Australia and most parts of the world, likely due to its nightmare inducing video which depicts a suburban neighbourhood from the 50's filtered with the sense of irony that permeated this decade. It was a massive success for the band down under, although it would be their only hit.
#57 for 1994
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#57 for 1995
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#59 for 1998
Here we have the title track from Madonna's magnum opus Ray of light, an album that sees her returning to her indie roots by having stripped back production after over a decade of releasing albums with bombast and glossy production. Here we have proof that a song can be as catchy as hell with minimal production, in fact I and many others would've had this be the lead single rather than her earlier entry.
#58 for 1998
This was the lead single to Kylie's third album which was the first in her catalogue that never saw a release in America due to the failure of her second album on Billboard. This is also one of the last hits that Stock Aiken and Waterman had before they broke apart from each other, although by this point, I think people had affiliated this sound strictly with Kylie due to how much she owns these tracks.
#72 for 1990
While this wasn't Yothu Yindi's debut single in Australia, it was the song which made them a household name due to how incessantly catchy it is despite the lyrics being about how the band wants the Australian government to sign a treaty with the aboriginal community (something that's still yet to happen as of this writing.) International readers will recognise this as the song that plays when Brendan Frasier flips over to MTV in Encino man, which gives you an idea of how American audiences received this.
#62 for 1991
You know if you can ignore the fact that both of Melissa's biggest hits this year were from a sixteen-year-old, you'll find that both of them are really fun dance pop tracks that showcases the confidence of a young woman who isn't afraid to explore her sexual nature to an audience. I guess audiences back in the day were able to walk this line as both of these songs were a massive hit for her and criticisms only came years later.
#63 for 1991
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#64 for 1990
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#60 for 1991
This was a massive hit in Tom's native Canada towards the end of the previous year, even so there was no guarantee that this song would crossover given how he had been active in his homeland for almost two decades at this point without seeing any international success. His patience was rewarded when this became a huge international success likely due to heartland rock still being one of the most popular genres of the moment.
#57 for 1992
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#61 for 1992
Now that these guys had one of the biggest hits of the decade, they had little issues with finding success in Australia and the rest of the world which allowed this A Capella rendition of a 50's staple to become a hit for them this year. Indeed, their next album would be an even bigger success given how it spawned two back-to-back Billboard chart toppers for them that would also be huge hits worldwide.
#62 for 1993
This was the only hit from American boy band E.Y.C, even then it was only a minor success in the UK due to them wanting to compete in the first round of the boy band wars and only crossed over here due to how incessantly catchy the song is. This is one of the first hit singles to incorporate Panjabi influences in the production, no doubt leading to the genre exploding once the teen pop craze came to an end in the 00's.
#58 for 1994
This was a hit singles twice in Australia for Alicia Bridges, the first time was upon its initial release where it rode the disco bandwagon along with many other RNB tracks of its day and the second was with this remix which was used for the film Priscilla queen of the desert. It's usually this remix people think of whenever they think of any version of this song or indeed, a queer anthem in general.
#59 for 1994
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#58 for 1995
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#59 for 1995
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#61 for 1991
It looked like their second album was going to be a complete flop when it was released towards the end of last year, however these guys managed to score a surprise hit with this ballad which gave them success outside of their debut album from the start of the decade. This didn't do anything to turn the album's reception around, but it at least helped them find success in a year their contemporaries were struggling in.
#63 for 1993
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#60 for 1993
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#57 for 1994
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#58 for 1994
This was the big hit off of Chris Isaak's biggest album in Australia, as you can tell it's very different from the songs he's generally known for as he's ditched his Roy Orbison impersonation in favour of something more tender for the 90's folk scene. The second single from the album was "Baby did a bad bad thing," a song that would become a hit much later in the decade due to its inclusion in Eyes wide shut.
#58 for 1995
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#60 for 1996
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#59 for 1997
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#62 for 1992
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#61 for 1993
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#62 for 1993
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#63 for 1993
This was the theme to the film With honours, a film where Brendan Fraser takes pity on Joe Pesci who seems to be down on his luck and.... OK I haven't seen the film and nor do I ever have any intentions of watching it as I've heard nothing but terrible things about it. One positive thing I can say about it is that it has a really good theme courtesy of Madonna who gives a truly compelling performance on this track.
#60 for 1994
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#61 for 1996
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#62 for 1996
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#60 for 1997
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#61 for 1997
This was the debut single for one of the big four in the grunge scene, in fact this year in general was a good year for bands that would go on to dominate the mainstream given how Nirvana and Red hot chili peppers got their big break with their earlier entries on this list. This would be the band's only hit in Australia for most of the decade until they finally scored a second hit with "Last kiss" just as the 90's was coming to an end.
#58 for 1992
This was the only hit that Tevin Campbell was able to achieve here in Australia, although he was very popular throughout the decade in America given how he scored multiple hit singles on Billboard throughout the 90's. I'm guessing this was a hit here due to it being bouncy enough to compete with all of the other dance tracks from this year, although it firmly placed him in the one hit wonder bin down under.
#61 for 1994
This was the lead single to Bon Jovi's sellout album These days, I call it a sellout because they abandoned their glam rock roots and even their country roots for this album in favour of more mainstream adult contemporary. The album was a success for the band; however, fans weren't happy with the direction they took which resulted in them going on hiatus for the remainder of the decade.
#59 for 1995
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#63 for 1996
We have another double entry on this list, this time it's from Tori Amos who managed to score a UK chart topper with both of these songs which allowed her to finally score a massive hit in Australia with both of these songs. Naturally both of these songs could've charted individually and likely would've still appeared on this list due to how popular they were for her.
#63 for 1997
This was the fourth single that Savage Garden released from their self-titled debut album, as such it was an instant success here thanks to the production once again living up to their namesake and being savage compared to everything else that was popular around the time of its release. They would release one more single from the album with "Universe" before going back to make their second album.
#64 for 1997
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#60 for 1998
P.M Dawn were all set to be one hit wonders in Australia given how none of their other tracks managed to crossover down under, however they were able to score a second hit seven years after "Set adrift on memory bliss" became a huge hit for them thanks to Prince Be from the duo crediting his solo hit to the project. As you can tell from the title, this is a song about how things are only getting better for him.
#59 for 1998
You'd be forgiven into thinking this was a late 90's cover of the Carl Douglas classic from 1974, heck Carl himself is back to rerecord the chorus of that track for the British hip hop group Bus stop. Alas the chorus is just here to connect their verses which technically makes this an original track that simply relies of nostalgia baiting its audience to make it a success.
#60 for 1998
These guys were certainly on a roll going into the new millennium given how they were able to finally score a number one hit in their native UK with this second single from their sophomore album Invincible. It seemed like they would be moving away from their hip hop roots going into the new millennium, however their third single traded in these roots in favour of a dated cover of a Queen classic.
#59 for 1999
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#62 for 1991
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#63 for 1991
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#63 for 1992
Riff were a short-lived hip hop group who failed to score any success in their native America with their songs, they had better luck in the southern hemisphere where they scored two hits in NZ and one hit in Australia with this theme to the Wesley Snipes flick White men can't jump. I'm guessing this made it in the southern hemisphere due to our love of the film which sees Woody Harrelson learning to play basketball from Wesley.
#59 for 1992
Unlike her E street co-star Melissa Tkautz, Toni Pearen waited until she was an adult before she began recording songs which it turns out were far less sexually charged given how she went for a more adult contemporary direction with her music. This means that while her songs are admittedly less memorable, they're also less embarrassing which is why Toni was able to successfully become a TV host once the hits dried up.
#60 for 1992
#64 for 1993
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#64 for 1993
#59 for 1994
This was the first hit that Eternal had since the departure of their one white member Louise, I'm not sure why she decided to leave these three behind for a solo career nor do I plan to speculate the reason. It appears that we Aussies preferred the group as a trio as they managed to see huge success down under during the second half of the decade with their powerful voices.
#61 for 1996
This was the only hit for British DJ Blue boy, an EDM track that was a shoe in to become a success in Australia due to EDM still being at the height of its popularity during the late 90's. There's not much I could find out about the person behind this track, apparently their birth name is Alexis Blackmore, and they identify as a man, apparently that can be a male name even though I always thought it was a female one.
#65 for 1997
I hope you appreciate all of the Australian entries on this list because they're about to become scarcer as we move forward in the decade, Rick Price was another Australian artist pipped for good things this decade as this was the first of two hits he was able to score from his debut album this year. Sure, it's another rip-off of John Farnham, however John was well loved at the time and these songs do hold up to this day.
#61 for 1992
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#65 for 1993
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#66 for 1993
Well, this was a comeback that came out of nowhere this year, the last anyone had heard from the Pretenders was their 1986 album where Chrissie Hynde scored two hits with "Don't get me wrong" and "Hymn to her" which made the album her most successful in her career. Here she is seven years later with a ballad that sounds like it would fit on that album that gave her one final hit for her career.
#62 for 1994
This was originally a hit for Candi Station two decades prior where it remains a disco classic to this day. Rather than use the original for the party scene where the two leads meet in Baz Lurhman's adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, he instead got unknown American singer Kym Mazelle to cover the original which allowed her to finally score a hit single after almost a decade of no success in the music industry.
#66 for 1997
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#61 for 1998
We have one final double entry on this list, this time it's the third and fourth single from All Saints which were bundled together as they were both covers of popular tracks from yesteryear. I guess "Lady marmalade" fits in with the rising trend of vaudeville tracks becoming hits around this time, however their take on "Under the bridge" sparked outrage from Red hot chili peppers fans for ruining the original for them.
#61 for 1998
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#62 for 1999
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#64 for 1991
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#65 for 1991
While this is still harder than what they would release later in the decade, many people point to this ballad as the turning point for their transition towards a more mainstream audience as this was a more watered-down version of their sound compared to what had come previously from them. It was a best of both worlds situation as fans weren't quite off the bandwagon while it also being a huge commercial success.
#62 for 1992
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#64 for 1996
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#62 for 1997
This was the theme to the first film that many feel was a dud in Will Smith's filmography, that being the theatrical adaptation of the TV series Wild wild west which race swaps the main character to justify his casting. The film was a box office success likely due to nostalgia of the 60's western, however it was torn apart by critics and even had the theme song be the only one to be nominated for worst song at the Razzies for 1999.
#60 for 1999
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#65 for 1990
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#66 for 1991
Given that they were able to sort out the drama I mentioned with their earlier entry on this list, Euphoria released this second single from their debut album which saw no issues with becoming a huge hit for the trio and even sparked international interest in them due to how incessantly catchy their tracks were. There's still one more entry for them to come on this list before they faded into obscurity.
#63 for 1992
This was the only hit to come from Lisa Edwards, even then this was a cover of a Godley and Creme track that was made famous here with Dragon's rendition from the mid 80's. Lisa gives the best vocal performance of the three versions as she was a really good singer, however her popularity evaporated after this became a hit for her this year for reasons I can't seem to ascertain.
#64 for 1992
This had a bit of a delay to its release here in Australia, possibly because we didn't like the possibility of having a booty anthem being a huge success here without realising that "Baby got back" had opened the possibilities of booty anthems being acceptable in the mainstream. It was released here and sure enough, it became a massive hit partially due to it being a booty anthem but mostly due to its catchiness.
#65 for 1993
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#60 for 1994
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#61 for 1994
This was the last hit that MJ had in his lifetime, it feels odd that it would come from a remix album given how historians will tell you that he only released one studio album this decade. His popularity in the new millennium was non-existent due to the media frenzy he experienced throughout the 90's, between his failed marriage with Lisa Marie Presley and his bizarre sleepover parties he had with young boys.
#67 for 1997
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#63 for 1999
This was the lead single from a covers album that Tom Jones released just as the decade was coming to an end, it's notable for A: helping the Cardigans escape from the one hit wonder bin and B: helping the Talking heads original finally find an audience here in Australia after almost two decades of complete obscurity. This was the only hit from the album Reload, although I would've thought "Sex bomb" would be a big hit as well.
#61 for 1999
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#66 for 1990
#67 for 1991
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#64 for 1992
#67 for 1993
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#60 for 1995
#65 for 1996
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#63 for 1997
I'm not even sure what to make of this track, I guess it's cool that the video heavily promotes queer culture even if it stereotypes the LGBT community as sexually driven who will do it whenever wherever. It was a massive success for Wayne G and helped him become an in-demand producer over the years.
#62 for 1998
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