How ironic that one of the last songs to become a success in the decade would also be the most successful, at one point this was the most successful song of all time in Australia and if we're going by chart runs, it still is to this day given how it last 26 WEEKS AT NUMBER ONE purely due to "Old town road" lasting nineteen weeks at number one on Billboard at the end of the decade.
Well, this was the biggest hit of all time for a little while given how it was the theme song to Spiderman into the spider verse, OK it was the favourite song of the lead character Miles Morales which in turn made it the new favourite song of audiences who enjoyed the film. Not bad for two rappers who by this point were divisive at best in the hip hop game.
It seems strange that the biggest hit of Billie Eilish's career (at least as of this writing) would be a song that was released the day that her debut album dropped, I guess audiences wanted to listen to her try and seduce an older person over anything else she had to offer at this point. It saw a minor comeback in the new decade after she swept the Grammys as well as it being crowned the best song of 2019 by many publications.
This is the most recent song I'll be featuring on this site, mainly because I tried talking about the 2020's on my older sites and trust me, there's no way I can do so without things getting ugly. That aside, this was a good way to send off the 2010's as it's a sequel to Dua Lipa's previous biggest hit "New rules" as she practices self-assertiveness by not allowing the person she's singing to boss her around.
It looked like Five seconds of summer were yesterday's news given how they hadn't troubled the charts anywhere in the world since their second album back in 2015, however their popularity was restored when they released the lead single to their third album which became an inescapable success everywhere in the world. Were it not for Tones and I's earlier entry, this would be the biggest hit from an Australian artist of all time.
While it didn't last almost half a year at number one outside of America, this meme track from Lil Nas X was a massive success regardless thanks to the controversy that came when it was (rather foolishly) denied being able to chart on the Billboard country charts which sparked accusations of racism due to how many songs that have been able to appear on those charts despite not being country songs.
This is a song whose popularity I personally don't understand, it obviously leaves me in the minority that I don't like this track considering A: how inescapably popular it was going into the new decade and B: the critical acclaim it continues to receive to this day for Post Malone.
Although this was plenty successful as a single, the bulk of this song's success comes from the music video which is a montage of Benny Blanco's life up until this point which tugged at the heartstrings of viewers around the world. The song recruits both Khalid and Halsey to narrate his life experience which also contributed to the song's overall popularity.
This is another song that's become infamous for the internet's opinion of it, it's easy to see why people detest this song as it seems to check all of the boxes for what it hates about music from the vocals to the melody to the lyrics. It's worth noting that even in this day and age, non-American artists usually have to wait until they've conquered the world before they so much as touch the Billboard charts like this did.
I guess it's good to know that it's only been recently that Australians have been struggling to make it big even in our local charts, this was such a massive hit for Dean Lewis that it even managed to be a huge international success for the indie folk singer at a time where it was becoming increasingly hard for indie artists to make it big in an increasingly coporatised market.
The last time George Ezra had any success on the charts was four years prior to when this became a huge runaway success for him with his debut album, although admittedly he did take his sweet time in following up that album as he didn't release any new music in those four years. This is a song whose popularity was a result of it being featured in every commercial you can think of.
It had been a while since Lady Gaga last had a genuine hit single anywhere in the world, so to see her back at the top of the charts with this track from the A star is born soundtrack was a bit of a surprise to say the least. The song's popularity came in two waves, the first was upon its initial release to promote the film and the second was when it won best original song at the Academy awards.
We looked at the biggest hit from Halsey's career earlier on this list, now let's look at her biggest hit to date which has her as the lead artist (as of this writing of course.) It's a song about how she felt she was responsible for G-Eazy's fame (despite him finding success much earlier than she did, let alone when they met) and how he was going to have a hard time living without her now that they were through as a couple.
This is a song I don't want to talk about, OK I guess I can because it's the video that makes me angry whenever this comes up in conversation (look it up to see where I'm coming from.) I guess this was able to get Bastille out of the one hit wonder bin that "Pompeii" threatened to trap them in earlier in the decade (stay tuned for that further down this list) however that's about the only positive I have for this track.
This was the song that Shawn Mendes released with Camila Cabello to confirm rumours that the pair were in fact dating, this was likely due to persistent rumours that Shawn was gay due to him being more effeminate than the usual pop star even in this day and age (don't get me started on this stereotype.) It remains Shawn's final hit to date, although Camilla is still sticking around the mainstream.
He often calls himself a rapper, however this might be the only hip hop track that I've heard from him as he does indeed rap on here compared to the rest of his catalogue where he doesn't. I feel this is the only interesting fact about this song I can share.
It may be too early to say given how it hasn't even been five years since this dropped off the charts (as of this writing of course) however this might be the last we'll ever hear from Maroon 5 given how none of their subsequent singles have been able to take off anywhere in the world outside their native America.
Well, this is a song that I feel the title speaks for itself, although I will say that Ed Sheeran was one of the lucky few to not have his career ruined by collaborating with Justin Bieber which is a lot more than I can say for just about everyone else on this list who made the mistake of doing so.
There were a ton of DJ's to make it big as the decade was coming to an end that were from places that you likely didn't even realise had a music scene, here we have a hit from Regard who hails from Kosovo who came across the Jay Sean track from 2008 and made it his own by remixing it for a modern audience. It was a massive hit going into the new decade and one that promised great things for the man in question.
This was a hit twice for Travis Scott (a man I won't be talking about outside of his music on this site for what I hope are obvious reasons) the first time was upon its initial release as the song has received a lot of praise over the years for the many different directions it takes and the second was when Drake got on board the track with a guest verse which boosted its popularity even further.
Ed Sheeran's collaboration album was met with divisive reviews, while most of the tracks were panned for being meaningless collaborations with pop stars (such as his earlier entry with Justin Bieber) others were praised such as this collaboration with Khalid which was meant to be a song about how being conventionally unattractive wasn't a reason to feel left out of society.
This was meant to be Ariana Grande's way of addressing the criticism she received for her questionable behaviour throughout the decade, it was a compelling enough song that people have long since forgotten her many controversies (although I get the feeling that Manchester concert also helped out with this.) The song is also known for its video which is stuffed with references to popular teen movies.
This was the third hit to come from the debut E.P from Tones and I, much like her earlier entry, this is a song about her struggles living in poverty which naturally connected with an audience albeit to a much smaller scale as it wasn't turned into a meme like "Dance monkey" was. You'd think with all of this success she would still be one of the most popular artists of the moment, alas she no longer is.
This seems like one of those songs that was created specifically to draw out comments from people that will offend their readers, as such I won't say anything about this track other than it being the one and only hit from American singer Ava Max likely because of the reason I just described.
You may be surprised to learn that this will be the Jonas Brothers only appearance on this site as they never had much success during their time on Disney like their female counterparts, in fact I get the feeling this was only a hit for the trio due to it sounding a lot like "Feel it still" from Portugal the man which was one of the bigger hits of the decade worldwide (stay tuned for it.)
This was one of many EDM tracks to make it big during the final stretch of the decade, it comes to us from the Italian group Meduza who has this amazing gimmick of their music coming out of a statue that resembles the Greek god they're named after and even having the hair animated in the official audio on YouTube. Who knows what the future holds for the group given how unique their image is.
Well, if you wanted to hear an American's take on Craig David's "7 days" then you've come to the right place as Dominic Fike managed to make a song about his own sexual escapades that became a massive hit nearly twenty years after that song. This remains his only hit to date, however I wouldn't place him in the one hit wonder bin just yet.
This was one of the more pop friendly tracks from Khalid's catalogue, I guess this is why it remains his biggest hit as a lead artist and is only slightly less successful than his earlier entry with Marshmello on this list. It also allowed him to have a massive hit in his native America given how everything he released up until this point was only a moderate hit on Billboard at best.
There haven't been many Canadian artists in recent years, sure Justin Bieber is going to stick around for the rest of time and we shouldn't be surprised if Shawn Mendes suddenly reappears on the charts, however, there haven't been many other artists to make it big from the far north. One of the more recent success stories comes from this duo who scored a massive hit with this EDM track worldwide.
This is one of the first songs to make it big in the music scene purely thanks to its promotion on Tik Tok, as such it was inevitable that the artist in question would be a one hit wonder as well as the song being a mere footnote in music history even this recently.
This was a massive hit for both Marshmello and Kane Brown in Australia and their native America, likely because country music seems to be the genre of choice in both countries following the "Old town road" controversy as the decade was coming to an end. In Australia, it could also be because Marshmello was inescapable here as he had plenty of other hits that we'll look at on this list.
This remains Khalid's biggest hit in his native America, although it isn't as such here in Australia as evidence by it appearing lower than some of his other entries on this list so far. I guess this is because it was a more pop friendly track in his catalogue compared to the more experimental RNB like his other entries.
This is a song whose existence is based around a more popular song; in this case it was "Old town road" which was quickly becoming one of the biggest hits of all time when Blanco Brown decided to cash in on its success by releasing this track which worked wonders for the country singer of colour.
I really don't want to talk about this song, the only reason why it was a hit was strictly due to its controversy as everything about it seemed to be tailor made to anger the internet and let's just say it succeeded with flying colours.
This was originally released in 2016 to deafening silence from Lizzo, likely because it was the theme song to a film known as Barber shop that I guarantee few if anyone reading this would've heard of. It was given a second chance three years later when "Truth hurts" became a surprise hit as the decade was coming to an end in her native America, although that unfortunately was too much of a sleeper hit to appear on this list.
This was one of the song's Billie Eilish released as a single before she released her debut album (she could've done a better job with the album art for these tracks) it was an instant success for the singer likely due to the good will she had with the likes of "When the party's over" and her collaboration with Khalid for the 13 reasons why soundtrack.
(this song is "Bury a friend" if you couldn't tell from my commentary)
This was the song that Sam Smith released to coincide with them coming out as non-binary, although I always found it weird that they chose to reveal who they truly were on this track as it's a collaboration with Normani from Fifth harmony and appears to be a song about how they were cheating on each other as if they were dating. To date, it remains the final hit single from Normani as she's yet to have a hit as a lead artist.
This was another easy hit for Post Malone from his third album Hollywood's bleeding, this time it's a collaboration with Young thug who's only other hit here in Australia was with Camila Cabello on her earlier entry on this list.
This ties with Dua Lipa's entry from towards the start of the list as the most recent entry to appear on here as Billie released this on the deluxe edition of her debut album in response to how much of an overnight sensation she was exiting the 2010's. Needless to say, she's another example of someone who isn't handling their fame very well, although thankfully she has plenty of love and support around her to help her cope.
This was the first advanced single from Billie Eilish's debut album, it's a song that while I certainly respect, I find it difficult to listen to after repeated listens due to me becoming too invested in Billie's plight to the point where it makes me uncomfortable. I guess most audiences don't have this issue as it was a hit not only upon its initial release but also when the album dropped several months after its release.
Although this is credited to Mark Ronson much like his other hit with Bruno Mars from earlier on this list, this is really a Miley Cyrus track where she discovers her inner Stevie Nicks for this track that's meant to be a throwback to the 70's disco but feels more like one of the Fleetwood Mac singer's solo material from the 80's. It was a massive success for them worldwide except of course in Miley's native America.
Up until very recently, this was the final hit from Sam Smith as they didn't have any other hits from their third album once it dropped a year after this second single from the album became a hit for them. They've since scored a hit with "Unholy" which has sparked a bunch of controversies that I won't get into on this list.
We have another entry from Ed Sheeran's collaboration album, this time it's his work with rappers PNB Rock and Chance the rapper which suggests this was meant to be the hip hop collaboration from the album.
From what I can gather, Dan and Shay were a country duo who were big on the country scene in their native America who were looking for a pop crossover which they got by collaborating with Justin Bieber just as the decade was coming to an end. This is the latest obituary I've written for this list as the pair have yet to have another hit following this collaboration with the Canadian superstar.
This was the last hit that Shawn Mendes had to be written by Teddy Geiger, mainly because this was around the time Teddy came out as trans and thus wanted to reshape her image away from the white guy with acoustic guitar stereotype she had been typecast as prior to her coming out. People have said this song reminds them of "There's nothing holding me back" from earlier on this list and for good reason.
This is one of many hits in recent years to become as such posthumously for the artist in question as Avicii tragically took his own life the year prior to when his label released this track that had Aloe Blacc on vocals. I guess this was to have his career come full circle as Aloe was on the first big hit of his from earlier in the decade and on this list.
This was another single from Ed Sheeran's collaboration album, this time it was a triune between him, Cardi B and Camela Cabello which people are divided on as on the one hand it showcases Ed's willingness to experiment whilst on the other hand it opens up the question as to why he would want to collaborate with either of these women.
This is to date Rita Ora's final hit anywhere in the world, although you'd think that her being a judge on the Voice Australia would at least open her up to having more hits exclusively in Australia since she migrated here in 2020, but then again, she did break a few laws just to come here as well as in her native UK that I won't get into on this list. As for why she was more popular here than anywhere else, I can't answer that either.
Again, I don't want to talk about this song as it's obvious that its mere existence was to create drama and controversy, if you want an idea of how toxic this site used to be, consider the fact that I allowed songs like this to get the best of me while writing this site and the fact that I justified this bitterness with snarky jokes.
It looked like that Guy Sebastian's popularity came to an end with "Like a drum" from earlier on this list, heck not even his appearance at the 2015 Eurovision as Australia's first entry did his career any favours as that track failed to become a hit for him even here that year. Fast forward four years and he managed to score a massive comeback with this track even with all of the Spotify streaming it had to compete with.
This is supposed to be a response to Megan Thee Stallion's "Hot girl summer" which wasn't even much of a hit outside of America which should tell you the type of audience that was the most prevalent in the music industry exiting the 2010's. Blackbear himself had a huge hit in his native America earlier in the decade with "Do-re-mi" which had a similar subject matter to his international breakthrough.
Honestly the less I say about Travis Scott on this site the better as him being a part of the Kardashian/Jenner dynasty is the least of his controversies over the years, instead I'll focus on his music career which was on a roll as he managed to come out of the decade with a second hit worldwide with this track. He would have a few more hits to his name before the Travisworld disaster of 2021.
Fans of the Scottish group Chvrches were wanting them to have more mainstream appeal throughout the decade, they quickly changed their minds though when that success came with this collaboration with Marshmello as they felt that the American DJ sucked all the personality out of Lauren Mayberry's voice as well as make the fact that it was a collaboration with the band and not just her a lie to them.
Contrary to popular belief, this was the debut single from Tones and I and not "Dance monkey" from the start of this list, although it's easy to see why that song was her debut given how even in Australia it was a massive sleeper hit that failed to spend too long in the upper echelons of the charts until her second single dominated the charts worldwide for her.
This is to date Dean Lewis's final hit anywhere in the world, likely due to the Aussie folk singer failing to compete with all of the streaming juggernauts in the new decade with his later material. Indeed, this was a hit twice here in Australia as it was released as the second advanced single from his debut album and rebounded once the album was released soon after.
This is another early success story to come from Tik Tok, in fact this is one of those songs many people (me included) will tell you never would've made it to the mainstream were it not for its popularity on the website as the song is barely two minutes long and has its appeal largely stem from its music video.
This was one of the last hits to come out of the decade, it's a ballad from Selena Gomez about how she needed to lose the love of her life in order to find love for herself that naturally connected with audiences upon its initial release. This song is obviously directed at Justin Bieber as the two dated earlier in the decade, suggesting that this was her way of acknowledging that she dodged a bullet by breaking up with him.
I don't even want to talk about this track, I'm from the queer community after all, so you can imagine my frustration I have that Taylor would compare her problems to what I and the people in my community go through on a day-to-day basis. I guess she got the approval of several high-profile queer activists, meaning that people felt this was her way of showing support to our community.
This was another song that was a hit twice due to it being a hit upon its initial release as well as when the album it came from was released, in this case it was the lead single to the Aussie hip hop trio's (to date) latest album which was such a success that it even spawned a second minor hit with "Exit sign" (which won't be appearing on this list.) This is essentially a stoner's anthem given how much they brag about weed on here.
This is another entry form P!nk that should be much higher due to it failing to compete with the Spotify charts despite having strong sales upon its initial release, it has the same theme as "What about us" in that she's speaking up for the disenfranchised on this track which seems to have become her theme in recent years. Although she struggles to retain her popularity going into the 2020's, she has scored a hit here and there.
This is to date Katy Perry's final hit in her career, I guess Witness didn't completely kill her popularity given how this track managed to become a success for her even after she alienated most of the general population with that album. It's possible that there's a comeback later in her career given how unpredictable the music industry has become, however she would have to disown Witness for that to happen.
If Justin Bieber was the artist to kill people's careers by collaborating with him, then I suppose Drake is the artist to go to if you're career is in trouble as he's been able to save a bunch of careers over the years including Rick Ross who was cancelled back in 2013 for lyrics from "U.O.E.N.O" that I won't bring up here. There have been other artists to benefit from collaborating with the Canadian rapper over the years such as Chris Brown from earlier on this list.
It had been six years since Chris Brown had a hit as a lead artist outside his native America, although he managed to score another hit just as the decade was coming to an end thanks to the help of his frenemy Drake providing a guest verse for him on this track. It appears that this has given him a third wind as he's had a few more hits in the 2020's as of this writing internationally.
After two songs that caused the internet to further turn against her, Taylor Swift finally managed to redeem herself at least in the eyes of her fans with this title track to her final album of the decade. It was a return to her country roots (well at least it was with the writing) which many people appreciated from her as most of her songs from the second half of the decade have been described as petty and vindictive.
This will be Troye Sivan's only appearance on this list, I bring this up because the Australian LGBT singer received quite a lot of buzz throughout the decade from the queer scene and yet this was his only mainstream success anywhere in the world. Lauv on the other hand managed to escape the one hit wonder bin that "I like me better" threatened to trap him in two years prior to this collaboration.
As controversial as "You need to calm down" was, at least people tried to defend it by it being her way of allying herself with the queer community (even though many queer people were previously fans of her before that song came out and have since distanced themselves from her.) This on the other hand is her recruiting Brendan Urie of Panic at the disco (that's how he now presents himself) for a song about how awesome it is to be her which really rubbed people the wrong way.
This was meant to be the big hit from Billie Eilish once she dropped her debut album, however "Bad guy" wound up being as such likely because people accused this of being homophobic due to her wishing a guy she was interested in was gay to justify why he wasn't interested in her. It's not homophobic in the slightest and even if it was, there are more blatantly offensive material against the queer community to worry about.
(this song is "Wish you were gay" if you couldn't tell from my commentary)
If you want proof that Triple J still had influence over our mainstream even by the end of the decade, consider the fact that this debut single from Australian singer/songwriter Kian would've flopped on our charts were it not for the fact that it managed to appear quite high on their yearend list for 2018 among the likes of Dean Lewis and Amy Shark.
To date this is the only hit from Canadian RNB singer Ali Gatie throughout the world as he was among the several notable new faces to rise in the genre along the likes of Khalid and Juice wrld before the genre was tossed aside going into the new decade. Its low placement on this list is perhaps a sign that streaming had not fully taken over our mainstream as it was a complete flop on our digital charts.
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