Well, I thought I should make one of these lists for the biggest hits in the 00's in Australia, although I should point out that the charts were VERY unreliable when it comes to determining what was popular throughout this decade. To compromise, I'm using a list (which you can find here) to determine what were the biggest hits of the decade mainly through sales rather than chart runs. As such, you can consider the order of this list where each song would appear on the ARIA charts even though I'll still point out where they appear on my homegrown lists on this site. Also, I do apologise if some entries from 1999 and 2009 are much lower than they should be as I want to keep the integrity of the original list (OK I didn't know how to improvise where these songs would be had the decade extended longer than it did.)
We already looked at the EDM version of this track in my 1995 list, so now let's look at the most popular version of this Alphaville track in the southern hemisphere from the Australian band Youth group which took the music scene by storm thanks largely due to its music video which pays homage to the home videos people used to make throughout the twentieth century.
#4 for 2006 (#5 for ARIA)
This was the first of three big hits that Mika was able to achieve from his debut album worldwide, not bad for an artist who was widely criticised at the time for being a childish caricature of a teen idol by those who didn't realise that was the appeal of his music (not that I blame his naysayers if I'm being honest.) This was a song about how showbusiness tends to screw up celebrities no matter how well adored they are.
#14 for 2007 (#14 for ARIA)
You better believe that Jack Black had a music career as a side gig to his acting career, although aside from this one hit he had here in Australia, said music career didn't yield much success for him and his partner in crime Kyle Gass who together make up Tenacious D. This is a throwback to those old cowboy tracks about how the narrator encounters the devil and hijinks ensuing from that premise.
#16 for 2002 (#9 for ARIA)
Although this can easily be seen as a typical breakup song (which is highly unusual coming from a boy band) this was actually a diss track towards the group's former manager who had screwed them over with their royalties during the early phase of their career. Although they had a big hit here in Australia the previous year with "I want you back," this was the song that finally put them in the league of the boy band wars here.
#24 for 2000 (#21 for ARIA)
This is another song on this site that I'm going to have a hard time being nice to, mainly because it repeats the word suicidal a disturbing number of times (fifteen to be exact) despite it not being a song about that subject matter and instead about how in love Sean Kingston is with the girl he's singing to. I guess there's also the Ben E King sample from JR Rottem, however that's not really why people dislike this song.
#23 for 2007 (#26 for ARIA)
This was a bit of a mini comeback for Lady gaga from her debut album as it was the first song of hers to have an accompanying music video which went on to overshadow the song itself, in this case it was due to her going over the top with the visuals as she went out of her way to depict the paparazzi as both glamourous and villainous as she could possibly get away with which connected with audiences.
#34 for 2009 (#39 for ARIA)
This is the one and only hit from the RNB duo Gnarls Barkley, a duo best known for its member Cee Lo Green who had a huge solo hit with "F U" in 2010 and for appearing as the Mummy in the Hotel Transylvania franchise (and a bunch of social media posts I won't get into here.) This feels like a throwback to the 70's which how rich the soul sound is even compared to the songs that inspired it.
#11 for 2006 (#17 for ARIA)
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.
#20 for 2008 (#19 for ARIA)
This was the last hit single that Christina Aguilera achieved as a lead artist, even then it was a massive flop in the UK and her native America likely due to the Brits and her fellow Americans not taking to her third album as much as we Aussies and kiwis did back in the day. I guess this does achieve the goal of sounding like it was made for the troops coming home from WWII from the 40's.
#5 for 2007 (#6 for ARIA)
This victory single came from by far the most controversial winner of Australian idol as Damien Leith wasn't even an Australian citizen when he won the fourth season of the series, not helped is that his victory came at the expense of Jessica Mauboy who would've been the only aboriginal contestant to win the show.
#43 for 2006 (#52 for ARIA)
#48 for 2007 (#58 for ARIA)
Following the demise of No doubt, Gwen Stefani decided to embark on a solo career which began with this track which is about taking chances in life. I'm guessing this was chosen as her solo debut as a plea towards the fans of her band to give her solo direction a chance which they obviously headed as her solo album proved to be a huge success for her largely due to the success of this lead single.
#18 for 2004 (#19 for ARIA)
#16 for 2005 (#16 for ARIA)
This was the one and only hit from the Plain white T's, an American band who originally released this track the previous year to deafening silence only for it to pick up momentum this year for whatever reason. I guess it was popular due to the indie sphere becoming more mainstream now that the digital storefront was supporting music that wasn't centred around reality TV.
#20 for 2007 (#23 for ARIA)
This gospel track from the sister duo Mary Mary was a massive flop in their native America, I'm not sure why as it was a massive hit for them everywhere else in the world including here in Australia where gospel music usually doesn't do so well as evidence by the absence of Mary J Blige on this site. For what it's worth, we Aussies were much more receptive to musicians of colour going forward in the 00's.
#21 for 2000 (#15 for ARIA)
This was a massive flop in Nitty's native America, I'm guessing because his fellow Americans didn't appreciate the interpolation of the Archies "Sugar sugar" on the chorus. It appears we Aussies did as this was a number one hit over here, although it's often considered one of the least memorable chart toppers in recent memory down under due to most people (me included) often forgetting that it even exists.
#28 for 2005 (#26 for ARIA)
This was the second single from Good charlotte's third album Good morning revival, it also remains as their biggest hit in Australia likely due to it being released at the height of emo rock as well as benefitting from strong digital sales which is something that could've boosted the success of their material from earlier in the decade. The band would release one more album in 2010 before going on hiatus while Joel Madden became a judge on the Voice Australia.
#18 for 2007 (#19 for ARIA)
This wasn't released as a single here in Australia until a full year after its initial release worldwide, I'm guessing we Aussies didn't want to hear Robbie Williams sing about his complicated feelings towards God but changed our minds around the time he released his swing album. This would be the first of many songs from him to explore his complicated relationship with religion.
#14 for 2001 (#11 for ARIA)
#14 for 2002 (#11 for ARIA)
Now I know I should hate this song for sampling "Tainted love" from Soft Cell, however that song is so good with its instrumentation that I don't mind that it was used so egregiously by JR Rottem even if it did lead to a career of sampling other oldies for (then) modern songs to diminishing returns. I think this works mostly for Rihanna who has a lot of presence on here to make the sample work in her favour.
#21 for 2006 (#18 for ARIA)
Although these guys did have minor success earlier in the decade with their debut album, it was this lead single to their second album which made them an international household name likely due to the endorsement of De la soul who provide a guest verse on certain versions of this track (that admittedly I'm unfamiliar with to this day.) It even allowed the band to crossover to America due to how funky it is.
#6 for 2005 (#6 for ARIA)
This is a song I want to like but don't because of Akon's chanting throughout the track, I'm obviously in the minority here as this remains Gwen's biggest solo hit and arguably her biggest hit overall given that its popularity rivals that of "Don't speak" from a decade prior down under. She would have one more hit after this before fading into obscurity as a solo artist, although she did reform No doubt in 2012.
#13 for 2007 (#18 for ARIA)
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.
#21 for 2008 (#22 for ARIA)
The original version of this track won the Oscar for best original song due to it being extensively used in the film Slumdog millionaire, however that song is largely in Indian and as such, wasn't going to connect with an English-speaking audience. A.R Rahman went to the Pussycat dolls of all people to commission an English-speaking remix of the track which allowed them to have a massive worldwide hit.
#22 for 2009 (#21 for ARIA)
I'm guessing this was meant to be the Oscar winning ballad from the Hannah Montana film, it was a massive hit for Miley Cyrus after all and was used in the film as her way of stepping away from the Hannah Montana persona and being herself. Unfortunately, the film was very poorly received for its cliched story line and worse than usual acting from its cast, particularly Cyrus who clearly didn't want to be in it.
#19 for 2009 (#26 for ARIA)
This was the theme song to the show of the same name, technically it's existed since 1998 when the show premiered, however it was only released as a single in 2000 when the show became one of the most popular children's programs of (then) recent memory. I'm guessing the show didn't become as popular here in Australia until this year (I was too busy watching Cartoon network to notice) which explains its popularity this year down under.
#18 for 2001 (#15 for ARIA)
It's easy to think that the duo's earlier entry on this list was the lead single to their second album, it turns out this title track was as well as it being their highest charting single as it debuted at number one here which is something none of their other tracks were able to do throughout the 00's. This was passed up as the lead single internationally as "Untouched" was their lead single overseas instead.
#43 for 2007 (#29 for ARIA)
This is the only other entry that Kanye West will be making as a lead artist on the Australian side of my site, although he'll certainly have more of a presence on the NZ side and he did admittedly rack up a bunch of hits here as a featured artist on other people's songs. Here he scores his biggest hit down under likely due to the song sampling Daft punk's "Harder better faster stronger" for his empowerment anthem.
#32 for 2007 (#30 for ARIA)
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.
#8 for 2007 (#14 for ARIA)
#11 for 2008 (#9 for ARIA)
Much like their debut single from earlier on this list, this was another female empowerment anthem from Madison Avenue as Cheryl sings about how she feels like she's been mistreated by the person she's singing to and how they won't be treating her as such for much longer once she's done with them. It was another instant hit for the duo and a song that promised them so much success moving forward in the decade.
#35 for 2000 (#35 for ARIA)
I guess this was meant to be Fergie's attempt at creating a power fantasy for the working-class population for what it's like to have the lifestyle of the rich and famous, it paid off given how this was a massive hit for her and would've been her biggest solo hit were it not for her earlier entry on this list stealing that title from this track. The song is perhaps best known for Fatman scoop's infamous line "if you ain't got no money take your broke ass home."
#25 for 2007 (#27 for ARIA)
This was one of only two hits that Atomic Kitten had here in Australia, I'm guessing because we Aussies weren't that interested in the UK pop scene as you've likely noticed a lack of British artists on these lists so far compared to our local scene and American artists. Still, they were quite big in NZ and their native UK given how they managed to score multiple hits in those countries with this type of ballad.
#8 for 2001 (#8 for ARIA)
This was originally a track from Vitamin C's debut album from the end of the 90's, it was also included on her second album where it was decided to be released as its lead single where it became a hit for the American pop star due to it being the perfect theme to a graduation ceremony. It would've been an even bigger hit here in Australia were it not pulled from shelves in order to promote her second single "The itch."
#27 for 2000 (#32 for ARIA)
#29 for 2001 (#33 for ARIA)
This is one of those EDM tracks that managed to become a success thanks to its video blowing up on YouTube, this was a popular phenomenon during the website's early years as we've already seen many tracks on these lists to make it big this way that never would've touched the charts had they been released prior to its launch.
#21 for 2009 (#19 for ARIA)
This is the last hit that Jessica Simpson had in her career, mainly because this cover of the Nancy Sinatra classic serves as the theme song to the theatrical adaptation of the Dukes of hazard which was a critical failure due to its outdated depictions of the redneck culture. She happens to star in the film as Daisy Duke which earned her a Razzie for worst actress due to how bad her performance was.
#3 for 2005 (#2 for ARIA)
#12 for 2006 (#9 for ARIA)
This was the lead single from Delta's third album, it was equally as successful as the songs from her first two albums even though the public had really begun to turn on her as a person due to her relationship with Brian McFadden who was considered a massive public nuisance while he was with her. They eventually came around for her once they broke off their engagement.
#27 for 2007 (#35 for ARIA)
Here we have another song from Taylor Swift that seems inoffensive enough, sure you can say the lyrics are problematic, however there's been plenty of songs with this premise over the years and I've found that people have taken everything in media way too seriously as of late. It was a massive hit for her likely due to the video which depicts the situation she describes in the lyrics.
#33 for 2009 (#24 for ARIA)
It feels weird that Kelly Rowland was the first member of Destiny's child to release a solo album given how she's long since faded into obscurity since the demise of the girl group, here she is with her first solo single which is an ode to her fallen friends she lost during her teenage years that she felt she should've been there for. It remains a highly poignant track from her to this day and was a guaranteed hit for her back then.
#19 for 2003 (#21 for ARIA)
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.
#28 for 2008 (#21 for ARIA)
This is one of the last RNB songs to have its released delayed here in Australia compared to the rest of the world, although the wait for its release was certainly worth it as it became much bigger here than it did even in her native America. I'm guessing this was due to it being about her showing concern towards her partners feelings for their ex and detailing why their relationship with them bothers her.
#11 for 2001 (#13 for ARIA)
It really does pain me to admit that the original version of this track from Donna Summer was a complete flop here in Australia as it remains one of her best songs in her catalogue, I guess this cover from four of the more popular female contestants from Australian idol becoming one of the biggest hits of the decade was meant to be a consolation for that song being a flop.
#6 for 2006 (#12 for ARIA)
It looked like that Fall out boy finally managed to take the international charts by storm this year given how this and their earlier entry were both massive hits for the band despite them failing to dent the charts outside of their native America with their earlier material from the decade. To this day, I have no idea why they decided to name this song with all of the vowels taken out of the title.
#29 for 2007 (#17 for ARIA)
It seems strange that the first international hit that Fall out boy has would be a song about them being unhappy with being seen as an emo band, although many people (me included) dislike this song more for it being the type of emo rock that would appeal to the Emos of the day which makes this song all the more ironic given how that was likely the crowd that made this a massive success for the band.
#26 for 2007 (#24 for ARIA)
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.
#18 for 2008 (#25 for ARIA)
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.
#36 for 2008 (#33 for ARIA)
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.
#35 for 2007 (#25 for ARIA)
#35 for 2008 (#27 for ARIA)
This came from an album that was released two years prior from Crazy town, it's the black sheep of the album given how it was more of a rap rock track similar to what RHCP were doing (it even has a riff from one of their songs) as opposed to the rest of the album which was in the nu metal category. It was a surprise hit for the band likely due to the novelty of it being a love ballad from such a rough looking band.
#10 for 2001 (#9 for ARIA)
Although she's appeared in many Disney products over the years, it turns out Mandy Moore was never a product of Disney herself and was instead a child star who scored massive success starting out with her debut single that she's long since distanced herself from due to it sounding like something that would come out of the Disney machine at the time. Indeed, it turns out that much like Hanson, her later music would become more respectable as she got older.
#18 for 2000 (#16 for ARIA)
This is a song that reminds me of "Antmusic" from over two decades prior, mainly because it was a song boasting about how awesome the act in question was and how they were going to shape the culture of the music industry only to turn out to be a flash in the pan in the long run. In this case it's the British RNB group Big brovaz who did indeed make a huge splash with this track and two other songs much like Adam and the Ants did in the 80's.
#24 for 2003 (#18 for ARIA)
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.
#54 for 2008 (#51 for ARIA)
In case you were wondering, this is indeed a remix of a track from R Kelly's album Chocolate factory that he released due to the song having some of the stranger lyrics in his catalogue. Somehow, the troubled RNB singer (I won't go into why that is on this site) is a two-hit wonder here in Australia with this remix and one other song on this list as none of his other songs managed to become a hit like they did internationally.
#25 for 2003 (#26 for ARIA)
This was the lead single to BEP's (that's Black Eyed Peas for short) second album with Fergie, and it seems that she had more creative control over this project as we have her providing a chorus to how each of the original members would treat her which is further emphasised with the music video of them being in a reality show where she was the prize the members was trying to win.
#19 for 2005 (#17 for ARIA)
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.
#31 for 2008 (#28 for ARIA)
It looked like the album cycle for J-Lo's debut album was finished when "Feeling so good" underperformed on the charts from the start of the year, however it looks like she had other ideas as she released this fourth single from the album which became a massive success here in Australia likely due to the Latin craze still being strong in our music scene. I'm not sure what took her so long to release this track as this felt like a natural single from the start.
#33 for 2000 (#23 for ARIA)
This took its sweet time in finding success here in Australia, this is because it wasn't promoted on our digital stores until the start of this year despite coming from an album that was released in 2005 (much like the previous entry.) In any case, we have this second single from the Fray which is about the narrator coming to grips with him losing a friend to depression and how he could've prevented that from happening.
#37 for 2007 (#32 for ARIA)
Surprised to see this meme fest so low on this list? The reason why isn't because it wasn't popular here in Australia, but rather because it was one of the many victims of Sony tampering with their release schedule and audiences rushing to buy the song upon its initial release and not allowing it to stick around to accurately reflect its popularity here. At least the response track this inspired was also a huge hit here.
#48 for 2004 (#60 for ARIA)
This is one of two collaborations that J-Lo made with LL Cool J throughout the decade, the other was with "Control myself" three years later which was a hit in most parts of the world but not here in Australia. Here the duo is in a relationship that's falling apart and how she feels like that her pride is all she has left, although in the chorus, he points out that she no longer has that either.
#14 for 2003 (#19 for ARIA)
While this was a decently big hit for Jamelia in her native UK the previous year, it was a massive success here in Australia likely due to us Aussies finding more love for this empowerment anthem that she made likely for her significant other. It allowed her to have a second hit down under (which we'll get to in a bit) before she sadly faded into obscurity here and the rest of the world.
#7 for 2004 (#7 for ARIA)
This will be the only entry that will have new commentary from me given how both versions of this song are appearing together, I don't know which version is ultimately more popular than the other but I'm assuming that the original version was what entered the charts here and the remix is what boosted its popularity in early 2002.
#22 for 2001 (#19 for ARIA)
#21 for 2002 (#23 for ARIA)
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.
#7 for 2007 (#15 for ARIA)
#9 for 2008 (#12 for ARIA)
There were several songs that were delayed this year in order to allow the contestants of Australian idol to reign supreme on our charts, this third single from Evanescence's debut album was one of them and the song that suffered the least from this trend as it managed to be as successful as it would've been were it not for its delay. It's a good thing as it's a haunting ballad from the band showcasing Amy Lee's pain from a breakup.
#11 for 2004 (#9 for ARIA)
I guess it was only a matter of time before we had a new version of the Fugees make it big in the music industry, enter City high who scored a massive worldwide hit with this track five years after the original trio made it big worldwide. As this was a hip hop track, it was delayed here in Australia by several months before finally being released, and like most songs on this list, it was more popular here than anywhere in the world.
#15 for 2001 (#18 for ARIA)
#15 for 2002 (#21 for ARIA)
This wasn't a big hit in Amanda Perez's native America, it did OK, but it wasn't a giant hit like it was for her in the southern hemisphere on Billboard. I can understand how this was so big in NZ given how it's a contemporary Christian RNB number, however I can only assume this was a big hit here in Australia due to there being a sudden rise in popularity with songs about questioning one's faith in religion.
#12 for 2003 (#10 for ARIA)
In keeping with tradition of having a theme song to the FIFA world cup, French producer Bob Sinclar released this track which was sung in the persona of the mascot of the games Goleo IV (even though the cartoon lion is nowhere to be found in the video.) It was a massive worldwide success for him and led to his earlier entry on this list being an even bigger success here in Australia.
#14 for 2006 (#16 for ARIA)
The last time Crystal Waters had any success in the music scene was back in 1994 where "100% pure love" became a massive hit for her here in Australia and eventually her native America, fast forward thirteen years and she manages to score another hit here with this track largely thanks to the music video which really hammers home the trumpet production throughout the track.
#21 for 2007 (#20 for ARIA)
It looks like 2pac was still able to find success in the mainstream nine years after his death as Eminem decided to take one of his previously unreleased songs and pair it with "Indian sunset" by Elton John which helped it become the rappers biggest hit here in Australia as well as getting him out of the one hit wonder bin that "California love" had trapped him in months prior to his untimely demise.
#22 for 2005 (#19 for ARIA)
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.
#37 for 2008 (#36 for ARIA)
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.
#55 for 2008 (#53 for ARIA)
This was the last hit that Ricky Martin was able to achieve in most parts of the world, I'm guessing because his Latin lover shtick had grown stale by this point as other Latin crooners such as Enrique Iglesias and Marc Anthony had released less bombastic tracks from the genre to massive success. I know it would've been a bold move at the time, but I kind of wished he made these songs for men given his sexuality.
#39 for 2000 (#50 for ARIA)
It may surprise you to learn that "Everytime we touch" wasn't a hit for Cascada here in Australia, heck it was a hit in America which should tell you how popular that track was and still remains to this day. Fortunately, the German band were able to score a massive hit here three years later with this track due to it being among the earlier songs to cash in on the club boom that would explode around this time.
#31 for 2009 (#33 for ARIA)
These guys already had massive success in their native America throughout the decade, however it was this lead single to their third album which finally allowed them to have a hit internationally largely due to this type of emo rock still being very popular in the mainstream when it was initially released. It did take a while for this to become a hit here in Australia, however once it did it was a massive success.
#30 for 2009 (#28 for ARIA)
I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that I used to like this song from Limp Bizkit, admittedly I wasn't aware of the original version from the Who until much later in life which should be a testament to how well written the song is when even Fred Durst manages to find some meaning in it thirty years after the original was released. I'm guessing that's how this managed to be such a huge hit for the band back in the day.
#15 for 2003 (#13 for ARIA)
#13 for 2004 (#8 for ARIA)
This was originally a solo track from the Pussycat dolls on their album, I'm guessing because they felt this track was sexy enough on their own and felt they didn't need a rapper of colour to validate their attractiveness. Their label obviously disagreed as they pulled in Snoop Dogg to put in a feature for them which is perhaps why this managed to be a slightly bigger hit than the second and third singles on the album.
#25 for 2006 (#22 for ARIA)
Well, I guess this wasn't a huge departure from her earlier work as the production does make it fit with the likes of "I'm like a bird" even if the subject matter is about her moving on from a toxic relationship rather than finding her spirituality. Depending on where in the world you're from, this was either the third single from her album or the fourth and final single as the album cycle was different in each country.
#19 for 2007 (#21 for ARIA)
So, we all remember "Bitch" from Meredith Brooks, right? Well Australian comedian Chris Franklin decided to release a version of that song from the perspective of an Australian bloke which became such a success for him that it even out charted the original on our charts. Naturally this was a song that only we Aussies would find any appeal from, which means it was never released internationally.
#23 for 2000 (#26 for ARIA)
This was the second single to come from Mika's debut album, it was also a massive hit here in Australia even though it didn't have a particularly interesting subject matter like his earlier entry on this list. I should point out that he was a member of the LGBT community which is perhaps why his debut album appealed to the queer community when it first came out, although his popularity didn't extend to his second album.
#39 for 2007 (#41 for ARIA)
This was the sixth consecutive chart topper that Delta Goodrem had here in Australia, I'm guessing the backlash she received at the time was what Mariah Carey went through in her native America in the early 90's given how it seemed like everything she released went straight to number one on Billboard at the time. In this case, it makes sense as it was the lead single to her second album Mistaken identity.
#25 for 2004 (#26 for ARIA)
Well, this is certainly a surprise, mainly because this was the first single that Westlife released without the presence of Brian McFadden and yet it remains their biggest hit here in Australia. Considering that Brian would go on to have more success on his own than what the band ever achieved, I would've thought his absence would sink the group.
#16 for 2006 (#12 for ARIA)
It seems weird that these guys had struggled for mainstream success earlier in the decade given how often I still hear songs from their debut album to this day, I guess if we had of tracked the digital downloads of those songs then we could have a better representation of how well they did back then. Oh well, we at least have this lead single to the band's second album to represent their music on this list.
#34 for 2007 (#34 for ARIA)
This was meant to be the middle ground between P!nk's earlier material and her second album given how it's a hybrid of a pop rock jam and an RNB joint to bridge her early fans with the music she wanted to make. It paid off for her as the rest of her career saw her moving in a rock direction to the point where her first album feels like a complete black sheep from the rest of her catalogue.
#28 for 2001 (#28 for ARIA)
#32 for 2002 (#35 for ARIA)
Although he already had success here in Australia as a member of Take that, this was the first big hit that Robbie Williams had as a solo artist despite him having huge success over in NZ and his native UK as the 90's was coming to an end. I have to assume this was due to the video which shows him literally peeling off layers of himself until only a skeleton remains, why else would this be the song that made him big here?
#34 for 2000 (#12 for ARIA)
This is the victory single for the second winner of Australian idol, there's not much I can say about these songs other than them making many of these winners one hit wonders here in Australia.
#67 for 2004 (#67 for ARIA)
#60 for 2005 (#62 for ARIA)
"Goodies" wasn't that big of a success here in Australia due to its obvious absence on my previous list, however that didn't mean that Ciara was a no show in our music scene as her second single managed to be a huge success for her here. Admittedly this might be due to the presence of Missy Elliott as the two would collaborate twice this year, the second time being on "Lose control" which is still to come on this list.
#15 for 2005 (#9 for ARIA)
This was a fantastic year for Lily Allen here in Australia as she not only managed to score two big hits from her second album, but the album itself was a massive success proving how much we Aussies loved her coming out of the 00's. Here she is with the third single from that album which is a song about how she feels her partner is being too mean to her which audiences related to worldwide.
#32 for 2009 (#30 for ARIA)
If you think stoner culture is anything new, then you should probably know that this comedy track from Afroman was a huge worldwide chart topper despite being little more than a song about how him being a stoner had ruined his life (I personally don't find it funny but evidently a lot of people did.) This was his one and only hit despite being a legitimate rapper who's released several albums in his career.
#41 for 2001 (#40 for ARIA)
I guess there was a tradition for the runner up of a season of Australian idol to have the bigger hit than the winner, although in this case Lee Harding cheated as he released a two for one deal as he has an original song he wrote for the competition as well as cover on here. Don't feel too bad for the winner Kate as she had more success than him both solo and as a member of the Young divas.
#35 for 2006 (#28 for ARIA)
This is the last hit that Shaggy was able to achieve anywhere in the world, mainly because there's two versions of the song floating around which helped it become a hit here albeit slowly as the remix was released much later than the original version. Both versions have Brian and Tony Gold handling the chorus while Shaggy himself raps about how the woman in question turns him on.
#20 for 2002 (#20 for ARIA)
#18 for 2003 (#20 for ARIA)
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.
#30 for 2008 (#32 for ARIA)
Much like "How you remind me" two years prior, this song was also a hit here in Australia much sooner than it was over in America given how it managed to be one of the biggest hits of the year down under before it even touched the upper echelons of the Billboard charts. I maintain that these guys were very over hated throughout the decade as while their songs did sound similar to each other, there were far worse songs floating around.
#7 for 2003 (#6 for ARIA)
#3 for 2004 (#1 for ARIA)
This was the sequel to "My humps" that apparently everyone was asking for back in the day as it once again has Fergie brag about how hot she is and Will I am validating her ego with his own verse, I guess she at least has more of a presence on here which justifies this being a solo single from her.
#19 for 2006 (#23 for ARIA)
#22 for 2007 (#31 for ARIA)
There won't be a lot of British artists moving forward on this site (at least on the Australian side of this site) so I guess it's a bit of a surprise to me that this British girl group managed to score such a massive hit here despite it flopping in their native UK. It's another song where the girls are reassuring their partners that they're going to get over the breakup, another theme that was common throughout the decade.
#30 for 2000 (#38 for ARIA)
This is another song that's relatively low on this list due to shenanigans with the ARIA charts of the 00's, however I've gone on long enough about how dodgy they were on this site already, so I won't dwell on it here. This was the theme to the Baz Lurhman flick Moulin rouge which was a jukebox musical that revived the musical genre in the mainstream after many years of it being restricted to Disney flicks and their knockoffs.
#39 for 2001 (#46 for ARIA)
This was the final hit that S club 7 managed to score outside their native UK, it was hailed as their "coolest yet" thanks to it having a rap verse during a time where a rap verse from a non-rapper was still considered a selling point. The song is also known as the band's one and only foray into disco as they were clearly cashing in on 70's nostalgia on this track the same way their other hits were cashing in on 50's nostalgia.
#24 for 2001 (#20 for ARIA)
This was always meant to be the lead single to Destiny's child's third album Survivor, however it came out as such an empowering feminist anthem that it was selected as the theme to the theatrical adaptation of Charlie's angels which has received a mix reception over the years due to some praising it for its female empowerment while others feel that it's a campy remake of a property made at the height of misogyny in pop culture.
#17 for 2000 (#25 for ARIA)
#20 for 2001 (#24 for ARIA)
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.
#25 for 2008 (#24 for ARIA)
It does amuse me that this guy is a one hit wonder in America given how inescapably popular he was for the remainder of the 00's internationally, this was his second hit from his debut album which proved to be as successful as hit one and only Billboard hit here in Australia. People have made jokes about how much of a wimp he is on record, however it's worth noting that he's a former Captain in the British army.
#13 for 2006 (#11 for ARIA)
This is another song that was way bigger here in Australia than its placement on this list otherwise suggests, this time it's the victory single from the second and final band to win Popstars Australia before the series switched to having solo contestants on the show rather than groups like its first two seasons.
#52 for 2001 (#57 for ARIA)
For a while, this was the final hit that Backstreet boys were able to achieve in most parts of the world given how it's often regarded as the final entry from the boy band wars before they officially came to an end, it's low placement on this list is mainly due to us Aussies wanting to move on from the phenomenon even though I do remember it being everywhere on the radio back then.
#87 for 2000 (#87 for ARIA)
This was the first hit that Outkast managed to achieve outside of their native America, I'm guessing because people took an interest in the song's subject matter about how the narrator is apologising to the mother of his girlfriend and how he impregnated her during the relationship. Both rappers take a different approach to the song with Andre being more sympathetic whilst Big Boi isn't as such.
#30 for 2001 (#29 for ARIA)
"Let's get married" was originally released the previous year to deafening silence here in Australia, however it was a moderate success in Jagged Edge's native America due to it being an RNB ballad in the vein of a Boyz II men track from the 90's. It was remixed and rereleased with "Promise" this year where it became an even bigger hit down under than it was in their homeland.
#25 for 2001 (#17 for ARIA)
It may surprise you to learn that Beyonce had quite a few love ballads in her career prior to becoming the feminist icon that she's been since her third solo album I am Sasha fierce, this was one of them and arguably her biggest hit where she's not putting down a member of the male population as she teams up with Sean Paul of all people on this ballad about how much they're in love with each other.
#9 for 2003 (#11 for ARIA)
#4 for 2004 (#5 for ARIA)
If you're wondering why there was a huge gap between this and "What a girl wants" (which we'll get to in a bit) that's because there was a song released between these two Billboard chart toppers called "I turn to you" which was a massive flop worldwide for the (then) Disney star. I'm guessing this was chosen as the fourth single from her debut album to showcase what a powerhouse of a vocalist she is.
#51 for 2000 (#43 for ARIA)
This was the second hit from JT's second solo album Futuresex/Lovesounds, an album that seemed to want to make JT into a sex symbol which it arguably succeeded in doing given how successful it and the singles were in addition to him being considered one of the sexiest men of the decade. This was also the song which made T.I a household name here in Australia due to his guest verse being memorable.
#23 for 2006 (#19 for ARIA)
#24 for 2007 (#28 for ARIA)
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