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.)
This feels like a precursor to "Last Friday night" as both songs have a similar subject matter to each other, although here Katy seems to be more sincere with how her bad behaviour throughout the track seems to have dire consequences on her wellbeing as opposed to the other song being a celebration of it (to say nothing about "This is how we do" from Prism.) It wasn't as big a hit for Katy in Australia, although its success was noticeable.
#81 for 2009
Although it failed to appear on this list, "Lifestyles of the rich and famous" was a big sleeper hit here in Australia that found most of its success in the lower half of the charts from the previous year. Their second single from their sophomore album proved to be more of an immediate hit here which also helped the album become a commercial success and put the band on the map of the emo rock scene.
#90 for 2003 (#91 for ARIA)
There was a good chance that these guys would be the biggest British band of the decade and not Coldplay, they were certainly off to a good start with this Britpop track that became a huge hit here in Australia despite it flopping in their native UK for some reason. The Scottish band would release their third album the following year, however it would be largely overshadowed by Coldplay's debut album.
#78 for 2000 (#82 for ARIA)
This was the third big hit that Shannon Noll had in a row this year from his debut album, at least he was well liked by the general public outside of the Australian idol sphere which is perhaps how he managed to retain his popularity with his second album he released the following year.
#88 for 2004 (#90 for ARIA)
This was released the previous year in Gareth Gates native UK when he came second in the short-lived series Pop idol, basically it was a version of Popstars but for solo artists much like what that series would become throughout the decade. I'm not sure why this was released as a single here in Australia a year later, however it was which led to it becoming a surprise hit for the British contestant.
#76 for 2003 (#59 for ARIA)
You may recognise this woman as one of the members of Mis Teeq who had a massive hit six years prior with "Scandalous" here in Australia, here she is with a solo hit that became as such down under a full year after it was a hit in her native UK. If it wasn't obvious from the lack of British entries on these lists, this should be the best proof I have that we Aussies weren't that interested in the British music scene this decade.
#67 for 2009 (#70 for ARIA)
This was the one song from Eminem's Encore that received universal acclaim from even the most diehard of haters from the rapper, mainly because it was a song about how he feared that the youth of the day would eventually become conscripted into fighting for the American army given the questionable politics of the (then) American president George Bush. It also received praise for sampling "Toy soldiers" by Martika in a tactful manner.
#87 for 2005 (#86 for ARIA)
This is the final hit that Bon Jovi was able to achieve anywhere in the world, it was a bit of a surprise hit here in Australia given how they didn't have one since the start of the decade with "It's my life." I guess the general public wanted to give them one more hit before they became a legacy band as everything they've released ever since has only been a success due to nostalgia for their older work.
#75 for 2005 (#76 for ARIA)
One of the catchiest female empowerment anthems to ever be released, this debut single from Madison Avenue created plenty of international success, so much so that it managed to top both the NZ and UK charts despite it getting stuck behind Eiffel 65's entry from earlier on this list here in Australia. Sadly, the duo ruined their good will at the 2000 ARIA awards when Cheyne Coates appeared to be intoxicated while performing on stage.
#7 for 2000 (#3 for ARIA)
Flo Rida was on a roll when he released his second big hit of the year, although given that it had a guest verse from Timabaland, I'm sure it would've been a success even if he didn't have the biggest hit of the year with his entry from the start of this list. His fortunes would change for the worse when he released his third single with Will I am, although that's mainly because "In the ayer" was poorly received by the internet.
#48 for 2008 (#58 for ARIA)
Given that "Stronger" was a defining moment in Britney Spears career when it comes to female empowerment, I guess it's only fitting that Christina Aguilera would make a song of her own where she overcomes an abusive relationship only to thank her toxic partner for making her a stronger person in the process. It was as successful as her former rival's track from earlier in the decade even though it was far better received by critics.
#75 for 2003 (#76 for ARIA)
Given how the third single from Shannon Noll's second album was a bit of a commercial disappointment here in Australia (it won't be appearing on this list) this fourth single becoming a big hit was a bit of a surprise given how its placement on here was due to how well it did with its physical sales (as are all entries on this list.) I guess this goes to show that "Now I run" was more of a weak choice for a single than anything else.
#62 for 2006 (#78 for ARIA)
Given how this was coming from not one but two of the biggest albums of the decade, you'd think that this collaboration would've been more inescapable back in the day given how it was a song about protecting the children of the world from two former teen idols. I can't even say if this song's success came from Kylie's fans or Robbie's as neither fanbase seems to be that fond of the collaboration.
#75 for 2000
#73 for 2001
This was the final hit that Ronan Keating had in his career, mainly because it's a cover of the Bob Seger classic but using the Kenny Rogers and Sheena Easton format as that version was more popular back in the day. Here he recruits 60's legend Lulu who finally escapes the one hit wonder bin after over thirty years given how she never had another hit on her own in Australia apart from "To sir with love" in 1967.
#88 for 2003 (#86 for ARIA)
While this wasn't the debut single to come from Ricki Lee (we'll get to that in a bit) it was the song that confirmed the Australian idol contestant from season two that she was the real deal despite being eliminated early on that season. Indeed, she was a fan favourite for that season which makes her early elimination that much more shocking at the time and especially in retrospect.
#63 for 2005 (#74 for ARIA)
This was the second single from Delta Goodrem's third album, here she incorporates new age into her sound which helps elevate the message of regaining one's personal believes in something after it's been destroyed. While it was a hit for her, it wasn't as big as a lot of her other entries on this site so far, suggesting that people didn't find it as inspiring as she had hoped.
#69 for 2007 (#75 for ARIA)
#59 for 2008 (#71 for ARIA)
Apparently, this song was meant to be an endorsement for the hotel chain, however they were so unimpressed with this endorsement that they insisted on Chingy altering the name of the track so as to not have a direct affiliation with their brand. Here he recruits Snoop Dogg and Ludacris who are two rappers who are quite known for taking on any project for the pay check which likely led to the hotel's lack of flattery.
#93 for 2004 (#92 for ARIA)
Following the massive success she had with her sophomore album, Kasey Chambers decided to hold fans over between that and her third album by releasing this cover of the Cyndi Lauper classic from the 80's which proved to be a massive hit for the Australian country singer upon its immediate release.
#66 for 2003 (#79 for ARIA)
It appears we Aussies were a bit amused with this fourth and final single from JT's solo debut album, not amused enough to make it a massive hit like his earlier entry on this list but amused enough to make it a hit despite it flopping everywhere else in the world except for NZ. The reason why this wasn't that big is likely due to the outro where Justin does a call and response for guys and girls listening, specifically him impersonating his female audience in the outro.
#65 for 2003 (#63 for ARIA)
It took him five years, but Armand Van Helden was able to escape the one hit wonder bin here in Australia with this track that comes complete with a video that depicts a peeping tom ogling on women in bikinis. I'm not sure what the fascination was with EDM tracks objectifying women as there'll be plenty of other entries as we go further in the decade where this was the case.
#84 for 2004 (#85 for ARIA)
One of the more popular songs to come from the UK this year was this cover of an obscure reggae track from the early 70's, in fact I'm willing to bet more people are familiar with the Baha men version from the mid 90's than the original as that's seemed to have popped up in recent years for some reason. In any case we have this version from the British band Toploader crossing over here in Australia due to its funky beat.
#83 for 2001
This was the one and only hit that Norah Jones had in her career, although she was more of an album's artist anyway and her brand of jazz pop really didn't fit well with the likes of every other entry on this list so it being a hit was more of a surprise than anything. What wasn't a surprise was that she would see so much critical and commercial success given how she's the daughter of a well-established musician Ravi Shankar
#84 for 2003 (#88 for ARIA)
This will be Dido's only single appearance on the Australian side of my site, oh sure she scored a ton of success with her first two albums here and scored two additional hits over in NZ with "Thank you" and "Here with me," however this ballad from her second album was the best she could do here given how her fans knew that Sony would pull it from shelves soon after its initial release to promote said album.
#87 for 2003 (#84 for ARIA)
This is the last that Britney Spears had before her infamous meltdown from 2007, as this site is meant to be a safe space, I won't go into the details of what caused it to happen, however fans feel that it was when the quality of her music began to take a noticeable downward turn again for reasons I won't discuss here. One thing I will bring up is that this song does feel like a precursor to her next hit "Gimme more."
#81 for 2005 ARIA
You better believe that the Glee phenomenon was so inescapable when the show debuted that it was able to spawn a genuine hit for its cast in the music industry, indeed this cover of the Journey classic was one of the last hits of the decade worldwide due to it being so well received on the show that it single handedly made the original a cultural icon despite it being a massive flop back in the 80's.
#76 for 2009 (#75 for ARIA)
The original version of this track flopped upon its initial release in 1983, I guess MJ felt that this was something that needed to be rectified as he heavily marketed this remix which featured additional vocals from Akon as the lead single to his 25th anniversary reissue of his Thriller album which allowed for it to become a massive success for both men. It would unfortunately be the last hit he had before his untimely death the following year.
#67 for 2008 (#56 for ARIA)
I think this may be the shortest song I ever feature on this site, even if I were to go back to the 60's, this would still hold that record due to it not even being a minute and a half long. I suppose calling this a song is stretching it as it's more a quick comedy routine set to rock music that amused fans of MTV back in the day from comedian Liam Lynch.
#82 for 2003 (#69 for ARIA)
Over a decade prior to his presence on the song which single handedly introduced the world to 2010's reggaeton "Despacito," Daddy Yankee was a one hit wonder with his own reggaeton track which became a surprise worldwide success for the Latin artist likely due to how catchy it was compared to everything else on this list. You'd think that he would've thrived during the Zumba craze of the 2010's given how his music would fit into those playlists.
#65 for 2006 (#63 for ARIA)
I bet you were beginning to forget that Kelly Rowland had a solo career given how omnipresent Beyonce was even this soon after the demise of Destiny's child throughout the world. Here she is with her first single from her second album which comes complete with a guest verse from Eve who was also still scoring hits this far into the decade despite her also not having much success as a lead artist for several years by this point.
#67 for 2007 (#73 for ARIA)
Well, this is just bizarre, we have this diss track that Eminem made to Insult the comic dog that somehow managed to become a hit for the rapper despite the fact that he was going after a comic strip whose gimmick was that they were poking fun at people like they were the Muppets. I guess people found this funny back in the day, it's certainly hilariously ironic that Eminem of all people would attack the publication.
#77 for 2005 (#67 for ARIA)
You'd think that the album cycle to J-Lo's second album would've been more successful for her given how she was one of the most successful celebrities at the turn of the new millennium, although I think in this case, it was due to a part where she goes "play my motherf**king song" which of course had to be censored in the radio and also led to rumours that she was little more than an entitled diva.
#86 for 2001 (#83 for ARIA)
This is to date the final hit that Blink 182 has been able to achieve in their career, it came from what was originally meant to be their final album as the band would temporarily breakup after the album cycle was completed in order to pursue other projects away from each other. They would eventually reform by the end of the decade where they've since resumed releasing new material together.
#89 for 2004
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.
#10 for 2000 (#18 for ARIA)
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.
#71 for 2000 (#66 for ARIA)
I told you Maroon 5's ambitions of doing whatever it took to make it big in the mainstream began much sooner than people thought, here we have a song featuring Rihanna that didn't have the famous pop star on the album that became a worldwide hit for the band. It's a bit of a coincidence that this was released ten years prior to when they would repeat this feat with "Girls like you" only with Cardi B instead of Rihanna (and with a video appeasing the feminists.)
#80 for 2008 ARIA
If you thought that "How do I deal" was a fluke hit for Jennifer Love Hewitt due to it being the theme to a film she starred in, it turns out it wasn't as she was able to score two more hits here in Australia with songs that were akin to what Avril Lavigne and Michelle Branch were releasing at the time. This was the first of those two songs which was well received here in Australia and nowhere else in the world.
#68 for 2002 (#66 for ARIA)
Even though she was widely mocked online for her SNL performance from the previous year, that didn't seem to prevent Ashlee Simpson from finding further success with her second album at least here in Australia as it managed to spawn not one but two hits for her back in the day. This was the first of those two hits which is a plea to her sister to get over that she was dating someone she used to date (given that she was married and all.)
#86 for 2005 (#78 for ARIA)
It was a new decade and yet it appears that the EDM scene hadn't quite reached the end of its popularity in Australia as this trance single from Alice Deejay proved to be a massive success for them during the early months of the 00's. I'm guessing the reason why they didn't stick around for the rest of the decade was because they angered rock fans by titling their album who needs guitars anyway, that's a recipe for disaster.
#52 for 2000 (#69 for ARIA)
This was only a sleeper hit here in Australia for the Gorillaz, a British band that consists of an animated counterpart with art done by the same people who made the Tank girl comics in the 90's. Their debut single was a hip hop track named after the Hollywood actor (despite his name not appearing once in the lyrics) which was a surprise hit for the band considering how quirky and unconventional the song is.
#87 for 2001
I think this is the first hit to become as such thanks to the power of text to speech, and who says that AI generated content is a recent phenomenon when it was able to give Italian DJ Benny Benassi a hit in the early to mid 00's? Of course, the real success of this song comes from its two music videos, both of which are completely bizarre which of course makes it a shoe in for my inevitable weirdest videos list.
#57 for 2003 (#66 for ARIA)
This will be the final appearance from Mandy Moore on my site as the teen idol didn't have any hits as an adult later in the decade, it's a pity because her voice didn't deteriorate transitioning to adulthood and she shifted from teen pop to adult contemporary with her later material. Here she incorporates middle eastern production which was a surprisingly common troupe throughout the decade in western music.
#88 for 2001 (#82 for ARIA)
This was the final hit that the Offspring were able to achieve in their career worldwide, I'm guessing it was due to the video which showcased lead singer Dexter Holland in what appears to be an homage to the CGI series Reboot which likely sparked nostalgia for audiences at the time given how their debut album came out the same time that show premiered. I guess there are worse ways one's popularity can die in the music scene.
#90 for 2004 (#84 for ARIA)
This was the penultimate hit that Brandy had here in Australia, it's a cover of the Phil Collins classic (which was his penultimate here funnily enough) that she turned into a duet by recruiting RNB singer Ray J. If the name Ray J sounds familiar to you, that's because he was the reason why Kim Kardashian became famous later in the decade after the pair starred in a sex tape together.
#85 for 2001
There have been plenty of artists to make it big over the years due to their ventures in other medium, however I think Axle Whitehead is the first artist to have a hit single following a gig of being a host on a music show since the early 70's here in Australia. In this case, he was the host of Video hits which was a show that featured music videos of usually the latest hit singles but occasionally showed older videos as well.
#81 for 2008 ARIA
There was no escaping 50 cent during the midpoint of the decade as he managed to rack up hit after hit both as a lead artist as well as with his features, most notably with the Game who won't be appearing on this list despite scoring two hits worldwide with his hip hop numbers. I feel the production is why this song was a hit as it's by far the most recognisable of producer Scott Storch from his catalogue.
#73 for 2005 (#83 for ARIA)
This was the third Billboard chart topper in a row that Usher had in his native America, it's easy to see why as it continues the theme of him airing out his dirty laundry from his relationship with Chilli from TLC where he admits that he screwed up in the relationship. It was a bit of a surprise hit here in Australia given how it didn't even chart over in NZ where Usher was infinitely more popular.
#87 for 2004 (#82 for ARIA)
These guys had already achieved minor success earlier in the decade as Kaylan, however they decided to rebrand themselves as Disco Montego where they released the first of two songs that featured fellow Australian singer Katie Underwood with this being the only hit of the two songs. The duo did score a second minor hit with "U talking to me" which was another disco throwback from their album.
#74 for 2002 (#71 for ARIA)
I guess Kate Dearaugo managed to achieve what Guy Sebastian achieved and none of the other winners of Australian idol had by scoring a second hit soon after winning the show, although this is more of a track from the Veronicas as it was originally meant for their debut album but was cut from the album and donated to her instead. Even though she achieved huge success on her own, she still ended up joining Young divas later in the year.
#84 for 2006 (#68 for ARIA)
Just a heads up that I'm on team Digimon when it comes the Pokémon vs Digimon wars from around this time, it's just a better constructed franchise with better characters and a more complex card game that it's based on (even though Yu-gi-oh is my favourite card game but I digress.) That out of the way, this was the theme song to the English dub of the first Pokémon movie, a dub that's infamous for changing the storyline of the original film which was a common troupe for 4kids dubs back in the day.
#60 for 2000 (#65 for ARIA)
To date, this is the final hit that Darren Hayes has been able to achieve in his career, I'm guessing it was a hit because people felt it was enough like a Savage Garden track that they felt it was an unofficial reunion with him and Daniel Jones which it didn't wind up being. Still the fact that it was a hit was proof that we Aussies was willing to give his solo career a chance this far after the band was no more.
#86 for 2004 (#83 for ARIA)
This was the fifth single to come from Jessica's sophomore album, it goes to show how much Australian idol got it wrong by having her lose to Damien Leith in 2006 given how only three years later she would be one of the biggest names in music whilst he would be relegated to a tribute act at best.
#77 for 2009 (#76 for ARIA)
This would've been Guy Sebastian's final hit in his career given how his fourth album Memphis album failed to produce a hit single for him and that none of his albums were that successful (barring his debut of course.) He would score a massive comeback by the end of the decade which would extend his popularity well into the 2010's.
#77 for 2007 (#71 for ARIA)
This was one of two sentimental songs that can be found on Encore, here it's about Eminem rapping to his daughters Hailee and Lainnie about how he was doing his best to support them even though he was considered one of the most controversial people of the decade (despite his previous album successfully addressing these controversies.) It was his biggest hit from Encore on Billboard likely due to audiences finding the sentiment to be sweet.
#84 for 2005 (#82 for ARIA)
This is the last hit that the Rogue traders achieved in their career, mainly because Natalie Bassingthwaighte would leave the group after the third single to their second album failed to become a hit for the group, suggesting she only joined them to further her singing career which in turn led to backlash against her when she released her solo album the following year.
#64 for 2008 (#62 for ARIA)
This was the third and final hit that Counting crows had here in Australia, it was the theme song to Shrek 2 which was played during the opening scene of the movie where we find out that Shrek and Fiona are a happy couple before the plot kicks in. Much like the first film, I'm a massive fan of the sequel due to its quirky humour that lampoons the Disney formula without it ever coming off as too mean spirited.
#74 for 2004 (#80 for ARIA)
This is the final hit that the Pussycat dolls were able to achieve anywhere in the world, it was always intended on being the fourth single from their second album but was pushed back from its planned release due to the surprise success of their earlier entry with A.R Rahman on this list.
#74 for 2009 ARIA
Does anyone remember the "Wazza" meme from the early 00's? Nowadays it's best known for that scene in Scary movie which admittedly grinds the movie to a halt but is still hilarious to watch (I have a weird sense of humour) but it was originally concocted for the beer company Budwiesers which was so influential that it was turned into a dance remix by Shaft (credited as Da muttz) using the beat from Rick James' "Superfreak."
#80 for 2001 (#79 for ARIA)
Well, if nothing else, you can't accuse Robbie Williams of being one dimensional as this was his venture towards ska pop which I suppose wasn't too far removed from his venture towards swing from earlier in the decade. It was a big hit for him worldwide, although it would be one of his last hits as his next album would see him venture towards hip hop which fans didn't appreciate.
#79 for 2005 (#85 for ARIA)
It feels weird that this song underperformed in Australia back in the day, especially considering how inescapable she would go on to be later in the decade given how it was a much bigger hit for her internationally at the time. This was the moment where she began distancing herself from her debut album as this is her admitting that she had to compromise who she was in order to make that album.
#77 for 2002 (#75 for ARIA)
This is a hybrid of Whitney Houston's "How will I know" (the title coming from the first few lines of the song) as well as U2's "With or without you" which the British group LMC credited the latter for likely as a condition for sampling the track on here. The lyrics were performed by English vocalist Rachel McFarlane who does an admirable impression of Whitney throughout the track.
#92 for 2004 (#89 for ARIA)
Following the success she had with her debut album internationally, Kelly Clarkson was commissioned by Disney to write a theme song for Princess diaries 2 which would go on to serve as the lead single to the album of the same name that would become her biggest in her career. The film was poorly received even by fans of the original for being a cliched mess that wasn't even based on the books the original was an adaptation of.
#79 for 2004 (#81 for ARIA)
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