Although this song has the producer credited as the lead artist, it's really a Bruno Mars track given how it has all of the ingredients to his catalogue throughout the decade. It's a throwback to soul music from the twentieth century delivered by him in a way that makes him wish he was a part of the times.
This ballad from Ed Sheeran was the first hit of hits to bring him into the big leagues given how everything he released prior wasn't as big as his more recent material. It's also one of the last songs of his to be a soulful acoustic ballad as his subsequent releases would see him adapting to the trends of the moment rather than him staying true to his roots.
Now I should point out that Taylor Swift is among my least favourite artists of all time, however I'm probably one of the few non Swifties to actually enjoy this anthem against the hater simply for how catchy it is (if only she took her own advice on this track.) I'm guessing this is why it was a huge hit for her given how it successfully transitioned her from a pop country chick to a pop diva still going strong to this day.
It may surprise you to learn that Justin Bieber had yet to have that huge inescapable hit in Australia prior to the success of this lead single from his fourth album Purpose, then again that might be due to him being the laughingstock of the music industry during the first half of the decade for various reasons I won't be getting into on this list.
Well, no one ever said that Macklemore wasn't a corny guy, here he is with the only hit he had with his second and final album with Ryan Lewis which is about him wanting to own a moped. Not a motorcycle mind you as that would've been at least cool, but a moped. Even though this was a massive hit for him due to the charm he brings to the track, he wouldn't have another hit until his first solo album later in the decade.
Well, this is just mature, isn't it? It seems weird this was written by Ed Sheeran considering the whole song hinges on a single joke (and a cringy one at that in my opinion) however he gave it to JB presumably because he felt he would do better justice to the song which at least on a commercial level was the case. Still, I'll take this over Halsey's cover who doesn't even hide how immature this song is.
This was a song that was a complete flop upon its initial release, likely because indie music really needs that marketing edge if it wants to have any chance of it crossing over to the mainstream. That came when this song started finding itself in movie trailers and TV commercials due to its theme of meeting the love of the narrator's life while on the dancefloor which still connects with audiences to this day.
Although the lyrics are explicably about JB's relationship with someone, this song was obviously meant to be his apology towards his actions during the first half of the decade given how much of a general nuisance he was throughout the world during his late teenage years. The world forgave him for those actions given how this was an immediate hit for the Canadian singer.
This was released in early 2014 to deafening silence for the Irish singer/songwriter Hozier, likely because of how overdramatic it is despite it being an attack on the religious community for all of its atrocities it committed over the years (particularly towards the LGBT community if the video is anything to go by.) It was given a second chance when it was nominated for several Grammies which allowed it to become a massive success during the awards season.
This was the lead single to Adele's third album 25, a song that seems to be a continuation of "Rolling in the deep" from her previous album as it once again showcases her feeling remorseful towards her ex that she trashed throughout 21. It was a huge hit for her as was the album it came from, although she certainly took her time in following this album up as it's only come out recently (as of this writing.)
Although he had huge international success with his theme to 50 shades of grey (which won't be appearing on this list) this was the song which made Abel Tesfay AKA the Weeknd a household name here in Australia likely due to it being a throwback track to the 80's era of MJ from its bombastic production to the visuals in the video. It was a solid introduction to a man who would shake up the music industry.
This was originally released in 2012 to deafening silence for the Jamaican singer Omi, likely because it was a little bit ahead of its time when it came to the tropical house EDM of the decade. It was given a new life when it was remixed by Felix Jaehn three years later where it became a massive hit for him, although I get the feeling the original mix would've been a huge hit that year given how the times changed in its favour.
This is another song from Taylor Swift I personally don't mind, I'm guessing because it's a rare example of her displaying self-awareness which I've come to appreciate compared to the rest of her catalogue. It appears the rest of the general public agrees with this sentiment as it remains one of her biggest hits to date despite it being the first single she released after (temporarily) pulling all of her catalogue from Spotify.
This remains as the biggest hit to come from the Hilltop hoods, I guess it became so big due to it being released around the same time that Bill Cosby got convicted of his multiple sexual harassment allegations and that this was meant to be an ironic take on the actor's legacy rather than a sincere one.
Before there was Tik Tok, there was Vine which was a similar music app where young creatives would release their music in the hopes of being discovered by a major label. By far its biggest success story was Shawn Mendes who was discovered by Teddy Geiger who gave the Canadian folk singer mainstream success which arguably peaked with this track about Shawn (or possibly Teddy) being badly wounded in a relationship.
This came out around the same time as "Where are u now" which was a hit that Diplo from Major Lazer had with Skrillex and Justin Bieber, although I think it's safe to say that this was the song that introduced the world to his work given how much bigger it was then that track. The video for this song caused minor controversy due to depicting the singer MØ in an Indian outfit which led people to accusing her of cultural appropriation.
This is the only hit that Wiz Khalifa was able to achieve as a lead artist outside of his native America, sure he had other hits with the likes of Snoop Dogg and Maroon 5; however, he was playing second fiddle to those acts. Here he recruits Charlie Puth who was previously known for his work with famous YouTubers before stepping into the big leagues thanks to the chorus he provides on this track.
Here we have a collaboration which by no accounts makes any sense, it comprises of Kanye West and Rihanna singing a duet with Paul McCartney providing the instrumentation for them to sing over. It was a surprise hit for the trio given how it was the first time that Paul touched the singles chart in over thirty years as his last hit was back in 1984 with "No more lonely nights."
To think that this remains Ellie Goulding's biggest hit in her career, I'm guessing this was due to it being one of the two themes from the 50 shades of grey film which appears to be from the perspective of its female lead Anastasia Steele. With that in mind, I'm guessing "Earned it" by the Weeknd was from the perspective of its male lead Christian Grey, which explains why that song wasn't as big as this was.
I guess this was meant to be the track where Meghan Trainor displays her down to earth side as she recruits John Legend of all people to collaborate with her on a track about how the two were in love with each other, it was a surprise hit for them here in Australia months prior to it crossing over in their native America.
This was a massive hit for the British DJ Duke Dumont during the midpoint of the decade, mainly because it was rather unique compared to everything else coming out at the time despite it fitting in comfortably in the EDM genre that was dominating the mainstream at the time. He's sadly a one hit wonder with this track here in Australia, although he had more success in his native UK.
You should know that I'm only featuring the songs that were big from Meghan Trainor on this list for prosperity as I really don't like talking about her or her music, here she is with her second single which showcases her calling out her partner for cheating based on the most circumstantial of evidence, I guess Beyonce had a hit or two in her career where she did just that, so why not Meghan with this track?
There we no signs of Calvin Harris slowing down as he released this song once the album cycle to Motion was complete, it was a carry over to his next album which would see him using tropical house production hence why this is more in line with what was popular in EDM during the midpoint of the decade.
This was the introduction to two artists that deserved so much better in the mainstream, the first was Zara Larsson who scored a second hit after this with "Lush life" as well as a hit with Clean bandit before fading into obscurity. The second was MNEK who remained a one hit wonder with this collaboration even in his native UK until he was featured on the Joel Corry track "Head and heart" five years after its release.
This is often considered to be one of the creepiest songs of the decade, mainly because Abel named this track after a particularly horrifying film from the 70's and him giving a performance that can make certain people's skin crawl at the best of times. Somehow, it found its way into commercials due to the creepy ambience of the track, although many people will tell you it's one of the worst songs of the decade.
While I stand by that the Dave Stewart and Barbra Gaskin cover of Lesley Gore's "It's my party" completely misses the point of the original, this cover of Lesley's other iconic hit from Grace Sewell manages to recapture the feminist spirit of the original which I and many others feel does the original justice for a modern audience. Apparently, there's a version of this track with G-Eazy on it, although I'm unfamiliar with this version.
It looked like Maroon 5's album V was going to be a flop outside of their native America given how none of the singles became a success for them anywhere outside of Billboard, the album was saved when this track from the deluxe edition became a huge hit for them likely due to the video where the band plays at a bunch of weddings as a surprise act.
This was the only hit from the Belgian DJ Lost frequencies, although at least it was a massive hit for him worldwide given how the EDM track managed to make a huge splash on the dance floors upon its initial release. There's not much more I can say about this track as it was a hit that people liked from a one hit wonder.
This is another artist I really don't like, mainly because I tend to get a headache whenever I listen to one of their songs which they had three that were very successful here in Australia throughout the decade which leaves me in the minority here. This was the biggest of the three hits likely due to it having the best vocals of the trio.
Behold the first giant hit that Drake had here in Australia, sure he had hits here earlier than this, but it was this meme fest of a track that managed to make him a household name here like he was in America. Admittedly the meme comes more from the video rather than the song as the song is just him being upset with how his ex-girlfriend has moved on from him, the video on the other hand is ridiculous beyond words.
This was a remix of a track from 1989 that Taylor Swift commissioned to have it be the anthem for her own female empowerment anthem, even though the song is actually about her beef with Katy Perry and how she feels she can no longer forgive her for ending their friendship the way they did (they made up later in the decade for the record.) The female empowerment angle was purely in the video as it introduced the world to her squad of female friends.
If you can believe it, this song was a genuine hit long before it was used in the 2016 campaign for Hilary Clinton becoming the first American female president, people have since joked that it was because of how unconvincing of a self-empowerment anthem this was that she lost the election (which is the most I'll be talking about that trainwreck on this site.)
This was one of only two hits to come from James Bay, an English folk singer who made it big during the midpoint of the decade due to the sudden rise in interest with folk singers given how Ed Sheeran was quickly becoming one of the biggest names in music. Even though this was his bigger hit internationally, his other big hit (which is still to come on this list) was his only hit over in America.
I think this is the first song to become a hit after its remix was released as a single, although it's worth noting that the original version of this track was the remix that was used for the second Hunger games in 2013 which was the worlds' introduction to the Weeknd and Diplo from Major Lazer. It appears we Aussies weren't interested in this remix but were interested in the song without these features.
This was the only hit from Jarryd James, an Australian indie singer who was already in his thirties by the time he released this from his debut album. It was discovered by Triple J due to him being on a tiny indie label who ballooned the song's success here to the point where it even crossed over to NZ shortly after its release.
With all of the songs to become a success through the internet (specifically YouTube) this decade, it's surprising that this was a flop on Billboard given how inescapably popular it was internationally for the pop rapper Lunchmoney Lewis. While this is a humourous track about how paying bills is a pain, it's surprisingly a good message about doing so given how the alternative tends to have dire consequences.
For five years, this was the final hit that Jason Derulo had here in Australia, this is because we Aussies weren't interested in his worldwide hit "Swalla" from 2017 and would only become interested in his music again in 2020. I guess it's fair to say that even we Aussies have grown fed up of Jason being the prince of RNB, although in this case we dealt with it by having no one take that crown,
This was the third and final hit that Robin Schulz achieved here in Australia, mainly because it samples the Baby bash track from 2003 of the same name and that song was among one of the bigger hits of the 00's down under. Here he recruits Canadian singer Francesco Yates to provide vocals on the track to replace the performances of Baby Bash and Frankie J.
R city are a rap duo who scored their one and only hit with this collaboration with Adam Levine, this is actually the second time this decade where Adam Levine was on the chorus to a hip hop track as he appeared on "Stereo hearts" in a similar fashion with Gym class heroes earlier in the decade (stay tuned for that track.) I think most people don't even realise that this isn't a Maroon 5 track with how he dominates it.
You know that you're a popular EDM group when you manage to get Ed Sheeran on your track during the height of his fame, here he is with this track from Rudimental who managed to score just one hit from their second album which was also a massive flop for them, I guess they needed to have six advanced singles from the album like their debut had for it to be a success.
Much like their earlier entry on this list, this was a hit mainly for it being released around the time where Triple J announced their best songs of the year where this and their earlier hit "High" (which is still to come on this list) placed high on their annual list for 2004.
To date this is the final hit to come from Jessie J, it was the theme to the second Pitch perfect film which was one of the most popular film franchises of the decade (that wasn't a comic book adaptation) which made its success inevitable.
This was the first hit that DJ Snake had as the sole DJ on the track, bearing in mind he did score a massive hit with Major Lazer prior to this with "Lean on" which no doubt led people to grow curious with what else he had to offer. Here he recruits British singer Bipolar sunshine (I don't know about that stage name) to sing on the track that's now best known for its strange drop.
I feel that I should put out there that this is my least favourite song I'll be featuring on this site, it's not because it's offensive or anything (offensively bad perhaps but not problematic) but because it embodies everything I personally hate about music. I guess these qualities were enjoyed ironically back in the day which would explain its success.
This was the final hit to come from 1989, it's among her better received songs even though the video did receive criticism for glorifying colonialism as it was filmed in Africa and set during the 50's and featured few if any African people in the video. I'm not going to talk about if this is cultural appropriation or not as this isn't the place for it, however it's clear that the video had little impact on the song's success.
This was a collaboration between two artists that were huge on Triple J during the midpoint of the decade, that being British singer Marcus Marr and Australian singer Chet Faker who managed to score a huge success here thanks to how much love Triple J gave it upon its initial release and sadly nowhere else in the world.
This was originally supposed to be Sam Smith's debut single from 2013, its released got cancelled due to them appearing on many EDM tracks at the time which went against the blue-eyed soul of this track and what would eventually be on their debut album the year after its planned release. It was eventually released as the third single from their album where it became a massive hit for them.
Given how Ed Sheeran was the most successful folk singer of the decade, it only makes sense that there would be a bunch of artists looking to cash in off the success of his work which leads us to an artist Sheeran himself found potential in as he signed Jamie Lawson to his new label who went on to achieve a huge worldwide hit with this ballad and nothing else in his catalogue.
Technically this was the song to get Silento out of the one hit wonder bin (we'll be getting to him in a bit) here he plays second fiddle to a singer known as Dawin (which is apparently his real name) who made it big this year mainly for the chipmunk vocals which was becoming an increasingly common trend in the American music scene.
This was a collaboration project between Skrillex and Diplo from Major Lazer that they called Jack Ü, although I'm willing to bet most people see this as a Justin Bieber track given how it was the song that revived his career following a string of bad decisions that led to him getting cancelled numerous times since his 2012 album Believe. This would be the projects only hit as JB would be the biggest benefactor of this song's success.
This was another big hit from David Guetta's album Listen, this is mainly due to the controversy it caused due to Nicki Minaj delivering a verse that portrays her as submissive in a relationship. Now I'm no fan of Nicki, however even I can tell that she was being sarcastic with this verse as she's among the last women I would expect to be submissive to anyone in a relationship.
Nelly is back on this list for a third and final time, this time he recruits Jeremih who gaining buzz in his native America with songs such as "Don't tell em" and "Somebody" with Natalie Rose (the latter is still to come on this list) which helped Nelly's popularity stretch just a little further in most parts of the world.
There were a lot of tracks to become popular from the deluxe editions of albums in recent years, here's another one which comes to us from Vance Joy who managed to achieve a massive hit with this ballad around the same time his earlier entry was making it big throughout the rest of the world. Had Spotify not taken over the second half of the decade in the music industry, he would've had two more hits from his second album.
This was all set in becoming a minor hit at best here in Australia given how Adam Lambert's moment had long since passed the mainstream following the failure of his second album from 2012, however it received a boost in popularity into its chart run which allowed it to become his third and final hit down under.
This is the only other hit that Nico and Vinz were able to achieve worldwide throughout their career, although in Australia at least, this might be due to the presence of Kid Ink and Bebe Rexha who were both finding themselves on multiple hits throughout the decade in order to push them into the big leagues.
This is often considered to be one of the worst songs of the decade and arguably of all time as it's a ballad by Charlie Puth and Meghan Trainor (often described as two of the whitest performers of our generation) attempting to make a tribute to Marvin Gaye with this track that's a hybrid of doo wop and trap of all things. I have nothing to add except that I agree with every criticism ever lobbied at this song.
This was the last hit that Ellie Goulding had in most parts of the world, mainly because it was a response track to Ed Sheeran's "Don't" where she admits that she messed up the relationship but didn't appreciate him airing out their dirty laundry the way he did on that track. Though it was a hit for her, it proved to be her last due to audiences siding with Ed which resulted in them turning their back on her.
This was the penultimate hit that One direction had worldwide, in fact it feels like they only made their fifth album out of contractual obligations as they didn't do much to promote it from what I remember back in the day. Admittedly I wasn't paying much attention as I had more important things to do with my life than track down the storyline of what caused them to go their separate ways.
Not only did Lunchmoney Lewis score a massive hit from earlier on this list worldwide, but he also managed to score a second hit here in Australia with another comedic track which showcases that he was a likable guy worthy of keeping around in the mainstream. I'm not sure why he only had two hits in Australia other than perhaps him failing to have one hit in his native America.
This was the final hit that One direction had before they went their separate ways, although they claimed that they were only on hiatus so perhaps there's a chance they'll reunite in the future (although I doubt that they will.) This is a response track to Taylor Swift's "Style" which seems appropriate given how even back then, Harry was the most popular member of the group because of his relationship with her.
This was the fourth single to come from Ed Sheeran's second album X, it was a bit of a return to form from his earlier work which is perhaps why it was a hit but not as much as the other singles from the album. He would occasionally have hits like this during the second half of the decade, however they've all been overshadowed by his pop tracks that have dominated the music scene.
This was the second big hit that Robin Schulz had here in Australia (third if you count his remix of "Prayer in C") this time he recruits professional songwriter Isley to provide vocals on this track in an attempt to have her transition from songwriter to professional singer, though this was a hit worldwide, the transition didn't go through for her.
Given he had appeared on a track with Kygo (which is still to come on this list) as well as his sister Grace finding massive success with her cover of "You don't own me" from earlier on this list, it makes sense that Conrad Sewell would achieve a massive hit of his own during the midpoint of the decade with this track here in Australia.
This is one of those songs that only exist to cause a negative reaction on the internet as I've yet to come across one person who likes this song unironically, it's no wonder this was the one and only hit from the RNB singer as aside from his collaboration with Dawin from earlier on this list, he never again troubled the charts anywhere in the world.
This was the only hit to come from Pia Mia, a Hispanic teenage pop star who's only hit features Chris Brown and Tyga as presumably the people she's singing about on the track. I'm guessing people were iffy with her having a sex jam with two men who were adults at the time she recorded this, however it's catchy enough that a lot of other people likely didn't notice and/or care.
Sandwiched between their two earlier entries on this list was this second single from Major Lazer, here they swap out Danish singer MØ in favour of Ellie Goulding who was fresh off the success of her theme to 50 shades of grey also from earlier on this list. We also have vocals from American singer Tarrus Riley which finally gave the longtime musician a hit single anywhere in the world.
Well, I've saved my least favourite song from Galantis for last given how it was their least successful hit here in Australia of the three I've talked about; it was also their first hit which would explain why their other two entries did better down under as we had gotten used to their brand of EDM when they came out.
This was the final hit that Avicii had in his lifetime, it was part of the tropical house trend during the midpoint of the decade as well as it being a sequel track to his previous single "The days" which sadly won't be making an appearance on this list.
Although they weren't as inescapable here in Australia as they were internationally, Little mix did achieve a number of hits down under making them one of the most popular contestants to come from X factor UK this decade. Here they had their second biggest hit of the decade with this track that was the lead single to their third album which was a moderate success for the girls down under.
This was the third single to come from Taylor Swift's 1989 album, this one is directed at her ex-boyfriend Harry Styles who she briefly dated back in 2012 and was the subject matter of "I knew you were trouble" from much earlier on this list. Suffice to say, people prefer this track to her other song if only because there isn't any dubstep to be found on this track and for also being much more mature.
This was the song that introduced the world to two artists, the first being Kygo who would go on to have massive success in the second half of the decade with the likes of Selena Gomez and Imagine dragons. The second was Conrad Sewell who was a local artist who scored two more hits later in the decade with "Start again" and "Healing hands," both of which we already looked at on this list.
This was the first hit that Selena Gomez had here in Australia, it's interesting that none of her work while she was with Disney was a success here given how Miley Cyrus managed to achieve a lot of hits with her work back in the day. Here we have Selena following in the footsteps of Miley by being as sexually provocative as possible on this track complete with a guest verse from ASAP Rocky.
This was the other hit that James Bay had worldwide, it was also the song that crossed over to America which is odd because his earlier entry on this list was the bigger hit worldwide and that never touched the Billboard charts like this did. There have been jokes made about this track given how it shares its name with the Oscar winning ballad from Disney's Frozen despite them having different subject matter.
Well, isn't this just lovely? We have Meghan Trainor scoring a hit with a song that I'm guessing was meant for Daryl Sabara who would become her future husband even after listening to this song which many people (me included) find to be completely toxic without any sense of irony to excuse it as such. This was apparently meant to be the second single from her debut album; however, it was pushed back as its third single in favour of "Lips are moving."
This was the only hit from American DJ Deorro, mainly because it had Chris Brown as the featured vocalist which seemed to serve as a back door entrance for him finding success with his own material outside his native America given how he was showing up on several other tracks on this list without having a hit as a lead artist. His redemption ark would come by the end of the decade when "No guidance" became a hit.
This is the final appearance from Robin Schulz on this list as well as the first of two from British singer Jasmine Thompson as the rising UK singer managed to score a second hit after this with Felix Jaehn that we'll get to in a bit. There's not much to say about this as it was a success due to it being from the tropical house genre which was omnipresent throughout the world during the midpoint of the decade.
This is the final hit that Delta Goodrem has been able to achieve anywhere in the world, it's also the song that finally redeemed her in the Australian queer community as I vividly remember this being played at LGBT events following its release which I guess means that she's no longer vilified in our queer community like she was for most of her career. This is good because from what I can gather, she was never homophobic herself.
This was the first of only two hits that Fifth harmony had here in Australia, we've looked at their other big hit from much earlier on this list even though many people will tell you this is their signature track from their catalogue. Many people have criticised them for being called Fifth harmony without ever once harmonising on their songs (at least not on their singles) that and they think that Camila Cabello is a terrible vocalist.
This was another hit that Avicii had from his second and final album, it wasn't as memorable as "The days" or "The nights" and yet it was a success regardless proving how popular he was during his lifetime.
It's a bit sad to think that we've looked at two versions of the Chaka Khan classic and yet the original wasn't one of the versions to make it big here in Australia, instead we're looking at a remix of a cover from Jasmine Thompson from earlier on this list which became a massive worldwide hit due to people fondly remembering the original which had recently celebrated its thirtieth anniversary.
It turns out that Iggy Azalea was able to score a third hit throughout the world ("Black widow" was a minor hit here but won't be appearing on this list) here she recruits Jennifer Hudson (with her first appearance on this site) to give her a chorus about how she's nothing but trouble and that's why people love her. Had this been a bigger hit over in America, you can rest assured that people would've made fun of it on the internet.
It turns out that Omi was able to score a second hit following the success of his entry from much earlier on this list, here he has a song that didn't require the assistance of a remix given how it was written around the time that "Cheerleader" finally took off worldwide for the Jamaican singer.
This was the only hit from the British hip hop trio Wstrn (clever name guys) it was a hit here in Australia for reasons I can't seem to fathom as British hip hop hasn't been appealing to us Aussies until only very recently.
This was the one and only hit from Dutch singer Natalie La Rose, mainly because it samples Whitney Houston's "I wanna dance with somebody" which was enjoying a healthy run in the nostalgia circuit at the time given how it was a mere three years after her tragic death. It also features a guest verse from Jeremih who was also enjoying some massive success as a featured artist at the time.
Even though this was a single from Travie McCoy, I get the feeling it was only a hit here in Australia due to Sia's chorus given how this was released during the height of her popularity worldwide. I guess we Aussies allowed the Gym class heroes rapper to have one more hit on his own before he forever faded into obscurity.
This is a remix of a track from 2012 from the British EDM duo AlunaGeorge, the strange name comes from the two members which is likely why they didn't have much success even in their native UK with this track. It was given a second chance three years later when DJ Snake discovered the original and decided to remix it where it became a massive success for the three of them worldwide.
This is our final entry for this list, it comes to us from the British trio Years and years who were a massive deal in their homeland and yet only had the one hit internationally. It's further proof that the British music scene isn't as successful worldwide during the 21st century as it was throughout the twentieth century.
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