Have you ever wondered what the Australian charts would look like if you were to combine the AMR charts with the ARIA charts? Between 1993 to 2007, a group of music historians did just that on their website known as Oz net music charts which sadly went defunct in 2008 due to ARIA completely taking over the music charts (although this was nine years after David Kent stopped releasing his charts publicly.) You can access the site through here to see what our music landscape would look like had ARIA not parted ways with David Kent throughout most of the 90's and 00's.
In honour of this site's achievements, I've decided to rank the biggest hits of this time period according to their charts (although I won't include songs from 2006 and 2007 as they would dominate the upper regions of this list and have also seen representation on my digital lists for the 00's.) As usual, I won't be making any new commentary here as there's nothing more, I can add to each of these entries I didn't cover when looking at them previously on this site. Also, this will differ from the site's official recap as A: they didn't update it after mid-2002 and B: it only covered songs popularity while they were in the top ten.
I love "Islands in the streams," it's one of the rare country ballads I can listen to countless times without growing tired of. That should give you an idea of how much I dislike this track given how it blatantly samples the original in order give Pras Michel a solo hit following the demise of the Fugees. This was also the theme to the film Bulworth, hence why Warren Beatty appears on the cover with the three artists on this song.
#12 for 1998 website
MJ might have been reduced to a media frenzy by the 21st century (unfairly in my opinion) however that didn't mean that there wasn't any love left for his back catalogue as Alien ant farm managed to score their one and only hit in most parts of the world with their rendition of this track from his album Bad. If you can believe it, they scored a second hit in NZ later in the decade with "Glow."
#5 for 2001 website
If this song feels like it was ripped from the 70's then there's a logical explanation for why, this and the album it came from was clearly meant to be released following the success of Meat loaf's first Bat out of hell album but wasn't due to him falling out with Jim Steinman who was the driving force of both of these albums. The two men patched things up earlier in the decade which resulted in this sequel coming out.
#5 for 1993 website
This was the only other hit that Atomic Kitten managed to achieve in Australia, I'm guessing because they interpolate the Blondie classic of the same name in the chorus while they provide their own verses which makes the song their own. Like many British groups of the late 90's and early 00's, they were much more popular in NZ likely due to the kiwis following the British charts as opposed to the American charts like we were.
#31 for 2002 website
Well, this is certainly a surprise entry from Spiderbait for a number of reasons, first off, we have their take on a track made popular in the 70's by the one hit wonder band Ram Jam which goes to show that 70's nostalgia was still very much a thing in Australia this far into the new millennium. The other big surprise was that it features vocals from the drummer Kram (Mark spelt backwards) as opposed to Janet English.
#2 for 2004 website
This was the one and only hit that the Otara millionaire's club (OMC for short) managed to achieve outside their native NZ, although it's a bit of a shame as despite him not being the best rapper of his time, the production on here more than makes up for his weak rapping and the chorus is catchy as hell to boot. He did see slightly more success in his homeland, although nothing to really write home about.
#4 for 1996 website
Now that the world seemed to have been reunited with what it considered to be the in trends of the moment, we have one of many tracks that became a success in Australia this year that likely wouldn't have had it been released earlier in the decade. Indeed, this was a minor hit in NZ several months prior to it becoming a huge success here to give you an idea of how the times were changing.
#16 for 1997 website
This was easily Janet Jackson's biggest hit in Australia largely due to her hopping on the new age bandwagon with her album the Velvet rope (sort of at least) resulting in her connecting with a wide range of audiences at the time of the album's release. It may surprise you to learn that this was a difficult process in making the album considering its themes of spirituality and self-empowerment.
#13 for 1998 website
Well so much for these guys being a one hit wonder with "Barbie girl," this proved to be an even bigger hit in most parts of the world due to it not being pulled from shelves in order to promote their album Aquarium. As for the content, we have Lene imagining herself as a love interest for Indiana Jones which I'm sure was a major part of the songs appeal.
#40 for 1997 website
#24 for 1998 website
This was originally released simply as "Mascara" where it managed to climb the charts following the success of the band's debut single "Weir," then their label decided to bundle it with "Leave me alone" which allowed both songs to top the Australian charts early on in the 00's and just in time for their debut album Reflector to be released.
#4 for 2000 website
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.
#4 for 2003 website
To think this was the only success En vogue had in Australia as a lead artist, thankfully they did have a massive hit earlier in the decade as the featured artist on Salt n Pepa's "Whatta man" because they would've been one hit wonders with this theme to the film Set it off otherwise. I guess they owe their success here to the hip hop trio and the Hollywood flick now that I think about it.
#18 for 1997 website
OK we have to talk about a song where even as a kid I never got the appeal of, I know that people tend to mistake these guys for Aqua but at least Aqua played their own instruments and thus had artistic integrity. These guys on the other hand copied their formula superficially and made music that was meant to be part of a lore where it's played exclusively on their bus which they've declared the fun nest place on earth.
#9 for 1999 website
This cover of the Harry Chapin classic from eighteen years prior seems like a 180 for Ugly kid joe, mainly because their previous two singles "Everything about you" and especially "Neighbour" feel like they came from a band who seems to juvenile to pull of this track about the inner introspection a father goes through by watching his son grow up too quickly. That's not to say the song is awful like many of the band's detractors like to say, it's just a weird move for them.
#4 for 1993 website
Calling this a cover of the Hot chocolate classic is stretching it as much like many songs which incorporated 70's nostalgia to score a hit this decade, this song only uses the chorus of the original to connect the verses together. I'm guessing this was a success due to the original being used in the Full Monty which in turn allowed it to rechart in the band's native UK, I guess we Aussies wanted a new spin on the classic instead.
#18 for 1998 website
This was the only noticeable hit for Sixpence none the richer throughout their career, primarily due to it being used in Dawson's creek as well as She's all that which were two of the bigger pop culture artifacts to come from this year. The song was originally released the previous year to deafening silence, likely due to the band being strong Christian and audiences being done with contemporary Christian music by this point.
#7 for 1999 website
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.
#13 for 2003 website
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.
#6 for 2003 website
This was originally released as a single from Elvis Presley in the late 60's to deafening silence, likely because it was during that period where he was more focused on his acting career rather than his singing career and the original version not being among the more memorable songs in his catalogue. This remix came to be due to the song being used in the film Ocean's eleven which allowed it to become a surprise hit worldwide.
#8 for 2002 website
Like many people over the years, I always found Macy Grey to be a rather odd vocalist as her dry vocals never sat very well with me. Of course, that puts me and her critics in the minority as this debut single of hers managed to be a huge success worldwide because of these vocals connecting with her fanbase. This was her only hit here in Australia, although the album it came from was a huge success.
#6 for 2000 website
This is one of those songs I personally find to be irritating, namely because there's only so many times I can hear the phrase shut up before I personally go insane. With that said, this was a massive follow up to "Where is the love" worldwide for the Black-eyed peas as it depicts Fergie telling the other three members to shut up in the chorus as they spit bars about how they treat her and her not putting up with it.
#16 for 2004 website
This is an interesting entry for Dutch singer Whigfield, namely because she achieved massive success earlier in the decade in the UK with songs such as "Saturday night" and yet this didn't even touch the UK charts despite it being a huge hit in Australia. I guess the Brits had moved on from her style of Europop and EDM in favour of other European artists who failed to find success here in Australia.
#33 for 1997 website
Well, we've certainly come a long way from when this type of RNB was shunned by the Australian public haven't we? Here we have the one and only hit that Mario had outside of his native America as we have this tender ballad he made to the love of his life which touched the hearts of many a listener upon its initial release. Unfortunately for him, none of his other Billboard hits managed to connect with an international audience.
#3 for 2005 website
This is a cover that only exists to cash in off the success of a beloved classic, Nicki French is a singer whose popularity began and ended with this cover which is little more than a dance remix of the Bonnie Tyler version from 1983 sung by her. I guess enough people had nostalgia of the original for this to be a huge success, and admittedly this dance track was a huge success throughout the world and not just in the EDM loving Australia.
#11 for 1995 website
Although Celine Dion had moderate success earlier in the decade with her theme to Disney's Beauty and the beast, it wasn't until she released her rendition of the Jennifer Rush track from 1985 that she managed to have a huge hit outside of America and her native Canada. Jennifer's version of this track is fine, however in my opinion, Celine blows her out of the water on this rendition.
#4 for 1994 website
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.
#10 for 2002 website
"Jesus to a child" might've sparked initial curiosity towards George's comeback album Older this year, however it was this track which confirmed it to be worth checking out given how it was a huge success for him and seemingly rewound his career back to 1992 when he was originally working on this album before he delayed it to briefly become the new lead singer for Queen following Freddie Mercury's death.
#9 for 1996 website
This is a song that's slightly different depending on which version you're referring to, if we're looking at the version from the album then it's a pop country track whereas the single version is more of a straightforward pop track with additional lyrics to help it boost the sales of the album it spawned from. It paid off as said album was by far the most successful of the decade because of this.
#10 for 1999 website
If you're wondering why there was such a gap between when this advanced single from Affirmation came out and the album itself, that's due to this being the theme to a romantic comedy known as the Other sister. Needless to say, that this track has done better to stand the test of time than the film itself given how obscure that film is nowadays. As with all of their other songs that weren't Billboard chart toppers, the production on here is savage and lives up to their name.
#8 for 1999 website
This was released back in the day where Maroon 5 was a well-respected pop rock band and not a highly contentious project for the lead singer Adam Levine like they've become throughout the 2010's (yeah, I'm not a fan of their later work.) Here we have their third single from their debut album which became their biggest hit of the decade here in Australia likely due to it being a love ballad towards a girl with low self-esteem.
#3 for 2004 website
This was the debut single from one of the more promising RNB stars to emerge from the UK this decade, heck this even managed to crossover to America, that's how much crossover appeal Gabrielle had with this number. While I can see her voice annoying people with how raspy it is, I have to say that I'm in love with it on this track as it works wonders with the production and especially the lyrics.
#22 for 1993 website
Sometimes I just don't get people, yes, this song is a bit overwritten in the verses, however it's obvious that Sheryl is telling this story to uplift people from their mundane lives so that they don't end up like the person in the story. Audiences appeared to appreciate this back in the day as this became a huge hit for her and finally got her album off the shelves after sitting on them ignored for about a year.
#27 for 1994 website
#40 for 1995 website
I bet you're wondering why the heck Warren G decided to collaborate with Adina Howard (who my American readers know for her hit single "Freak like me" on Billboard) for this hip hop remix of Tina Turner's signature track. Well, it turns out this was commissioned for the Jackie Chan flick Supercop which was enough of a success worldwide for this to be a huge hit despite it flopping in America for some reason. This also served as the lead single to Warren's second album.
#18 for 1996 website
The last time anyone had heard from Matthew Wilder was with his version of this track from thirteen years prior, now all the sudden he was a well-respected producer for the likes of P Diddy and No doubt which would explain the popularity of this cover from Danish group Unique II. I have to say that the woman singing on this track is a far better vocalist than Wilder, yes, his lyrics are poignant, but he always sounded weird to me.
#15 for 1997 website
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.
#20 for 2001 website
Well, I guess these guys were able to make it big with at least one of their ballads outside their native UK after all, although it still blows my mind how much bigger East 17 were here in Australia and how much bigger these guys were in their homeland. The success of this ballad led to them crossing over in America mere months prior to them going their separate ways to pursue solo ventures.
#9 for 1995 website
Much like the rest of their catalogue that wasn't their two Billboard chart toppers, this second single from Savage Garden has production I would firmly describe as well, savage. The lyrical content is also poignant as it depicts the observations Darren Hayes has made over a young woman who seems to have shut herself off from the world for various reasons.
#29 for 1997 website
It took them three albums but Salt n Pepa were finally able to find success in their native America with the lead single to Very necessary, I feel like we need to give them and female hip hop in general a round of applause for finally breaking down barriers in the hip hop community over there. It's easy to see how this made it big internationally, the rhymes are arguably at their best on here as is the production.
#50 for 1993 website
#21 for 1994 website
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.
#25 for 2001 website
This was the lead single to Silverchair's second album Freak show, admittedly this album is a bit more mature than their last mainly due to the boys being closer to adults during its production.
#21 for 1997 website
This was one of two hits that the Finnish group Bomfunk MC's had here in Australia, we'll get to their other hit in a bit, but for now we have their song which was able to have the F-bomb played on the radio due to listeners missing the "Who the f**k is Alice" reference in the lyrics. I'm guessing this means that the song was a hit mainly for the sound as this was a bit before songs became a hit due to being a meme for its lyrics.
#2 for 2000 website
Following the success she had with "Breathe again" from two years prior, Toni Braxton no longer had any issues with scoring a hit in Australia with her subsequent releases which means she was able to find massive success with this sex jam that continues to titillate audiences to this day. This feels like a bit of an outlier in her discography as she's mostly known for her power ballads rather than her sexual nature.
#7 for 1996 website
Although Barricades and brickwalls was already a solid success for Kasey Chambers upon its initial release the previous year, it was this ballad from the country star that made that album a household name due to it being an inescapable hit for her this year here in Australia. It even managed to crossover to NZ which goes to show how it managed to strike a chord with audiences from the southern hemisphere.
#4 for 2002 website
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.
#14 for 2004 website
It's strange to think how inescapable these guys were in Australia and yet the true winner of the first round of the boy band wars of this decade Take that only managed to break through this year barely with a song that had to be rereleased in order to find any success here. I'm guessing we Aussies preferred these guys overall due to them easily fitting in with the EDM crowd over their main rivals.
#7 for 1994 website
It seems weird that this would be the bigger hit for 50 cent here in Australia than his second Billboard chart topper "21 questions" mainly because this was a song about how as he puts it is a motherf**king pimp which is why you shouldn't mess with him. I guess we Aussies preferred him being confrontational rather than him being a romantic.
#14 for 2003 website
This was the only song to ever be released under this pseudonym, I'm not even exaggerating here, the French trio Stardust only ever released this one song before going their separate ways onto other projects. As EDM was the genre of choice in Australia, this was of course a massive success here regardless of who was responsible for its existence.
#30 for 1998 website
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.
#41 for 2000 website
Although his earlier song outranked this when it comes to their respective chart runs, this second single from Hot shot was actually the biggest hit of Shaggy's career in Australia likely due to it sampling both "Angel of the morning" (specifically Juice Newton's cover from 1981) and "The joker" from Steve Miller. It's also the second hit that he had with Rayvon who previously collaborated with him on his cover of "In the summertime."
#4 for 2001 website
There are multiple reasons why this cover of the Bruce Channel classic was a hit in Australia this year, firstly it was due to it being selected as the theme for this year's FIFA world cup which kept up the tradition that Ricky Martin began four years prior with "The cup of life." The second reason was that it had multiple music videos including a cartoon video with the Austrian DJ performing the song live, the final was that this was a good year for remixes of older songs on our charts.
#7 for 2002 website
There's this trend when it comes to Canadian artists crossing over to the mainstream where they only seem to do so with a song that wasn't a huge hit in their homeland, this was the case for this one and only international hit from Crash test dummies which was far from their biggest hit in their homeland and yet was inescapable throughout the rest of the world for them.
#9 for 1994 website
So, did anyone know who this guy was before he released his magnum opus saying he would come back bigger than ever? Yes, I know that this song is actually about him bouncing back from a bad relationship he had from his girlfriend, however between this and the Backstreet boys, this was a surprisingly good time for upstarts to declare themselves back to an audience who wasn't previously familiar with them.
#6 for 1996 website
Well, if nothing else, this is equal opportunity when it comes to calling out both sides of the gender spectrum who mooch of their significant others minimum wage while that person works hard to provide for them. It's easy to see how this struck a chord with audiences given how the name of the song is what we often shout at to people who seem to just mooch off of those around them for a living.
#19 for 1999 website
This was a hit single twice throughout most parts of the world, although this time we're going to be looking at the remix to one of the more popular tracks to come out of the 70's seventeen years after its initial release. Given that this decade was filled with remixes of older songs, it makes sense that this was among the more successful tracks here in Australia given it was good for nostalgia and the dance floors.
#15 for 1993 website
This was the debut single for a woman who had already conquered Hollywood with her stunning performance in Selena as the titular Latin performer, given how she was well received for her vocal abilities in the film, it only makes sense that she would launch a singing career which began with this track. J-lo has proven herself to be a capable singer over the years, even though she hasn't always given the best vocal performance in her songs.
#7 for 1999 website
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.
#7 for 2001 website
This was the song which made Celine Dion into a household name worldwide, oh sure her previous hit "Power of love" was a huge success for her, but people dismissed it as an updated rendition of the Jennifer Rush track from the mid 80's and nothing more. This ballad on the other hand became a huge surprise hit in the UK which encouraged her to go on a world tour which was highly successful.
#13 for 1995 website
This was incredibly hard to come up with commentary, mainly because it's hard for me to talk about this family group without coming off as snarky and mean given how much I don't like their music. I guess if I had to say something positive about them, it's that their music is ultimately harmless as though their Celtic influences are egregious in their music, it's not like it makes their songs unlistenable.
#26 for 1998 website
This was a song written exclusively for the film Pret a porter, a film that's about celebrity culture hence why there are several reverences to hotshot celebrities (without naming names of course) which likely was what made it such an international success for the reggae artist Ini Kamoze. This unfortunately didn't translate to any success with the rest of his catalogue.
#10 for 1995 website
Well, I think this is the first song to become a success where a pony is used as a metaphor for one's family jewels, no wonder this managed to be a huge worldwide success for Ginuwine as I'm sure older audiences were trying to figure out what he meant by riding his pony throughout the lyrics. Like most RNB tracks this decade, this had a slight delay with its release in Australia due to our slow acceptance of the genre.
#20 for 1997 website
This song is slightly different from album to single given how the production is more pronounced on the single version, however that's about the only main difference which was regardless enough for this to be the boy bands biggest hit in most parts of the world. I'm glad the music community has since come around on boy bands from this decade as even if they had a specific target demographic, their music was still enjoyable in its own right.
#21 for 1998 website
Although "Creep" was a minor success for these girls in Australia when it came out, it was this third single from their sophomore album which finally broke them through into the mainstream down under albeit months after it was already an international success for them. This is a self-empowerment anthem from the trio, one they themselves should've headed from given what was in store for them next.
#22 for 1995 website
It appears we Aussies had finally embraced RNB of all types into our mainstream as this track from the British girl group Honeyz wasn't even the most successful track of theirs in their native UK. I'm guessing we gravitated towards these guys following the demise of Eternal around this time, although we quickly discarded them once TLC rolled out their third album.
#41 for 1998 website
This was the second single from Mariah Carey's album Daydream, and for the longest time it was the most successful song in America due to it lasting a record breaking sixteen weeks at number one on Billboard as well as it being a major seller over there as well. This is due to the winning formula it created of dedicating a ballad to the friends that have sadly no longer with us that many artists copied from here.
#42 for 1995 website
#36 for 1996 website
This was the other big hit that Az yet managed to achieve worldwide, although this time we have them covering a Chicago track with the blessing of the band's lead singer Peter Cetera as he shows up on here to rerecord his chorus from the original while the RNB group cover the verses. It was a huge hit for them, although it likely spelled the end of their career due to them relying on nostalgia baiting.
#31 for 1997 website
Another hit single that Bryan Adams managed to achieve this decade that was the theme to a popular Hollywood film, this time we have his contributions to the Mirror has two faces which happens to be a duet with the film's director and star Barbra Streisand to boot. The success of this duet led to her collaborating with Celine Dion on "Tell him" that served as the lead singer to Celine's next album.
#14 for 1997 website
While the Spice girls were still a unit by this point in time, it seems like the girls wanted to be done with it as Sporty Spice released her solo album much like Scary and Ginger did before they released their third and final album later in the year. Given how the was the most vocally gifted of the girls, her solo debut proved to be the biggest his out of all of their solo material, although it could also be due to the presence of Left eye Lopez.
#12 for 2000 website
This is one of those ironic songs where the melody is upbeat and happy, but the lyrics are actually about a relationship being on its last legs as Andre 3000 sings about the woes of his love life. It was the lead single to the duo's double album which actually comprises of two solo albums where the duo eased fans into the fact that they were thinking of splitting up which is what happened later in the decade.
#20 for 2004 website
Although Nelly had already demonstrated his desires to be a country artist from the start of the decade with songs such as "Ride wit me" and "Country grammar," it was this collaboration with Tim McGraw that finally won him over with the country scene in his native America given how immensely popular this was on the Billboard country charts. It was also a massive international hit for the otherwise inner-city rapper.
#11 for 2005 website
This was the biggest hit for Ace of base over in America, it seems fitting seeing as this song wasn't on the original album Happy nation and that the American version was named after this track when it was shipped over there. For the rest of the world, their earlier entry on this list was their biggest hit, however this tale about self-empowerment was the big hit on Billboard and for good reason.
#5 for 1994 website
Even though she scored a massive hit at the start of the decade with "I need your body," Tina Arena was sadly in danger of being dismissed as an Australian knockoff of Paula Abdul when she released her debut album to commercial failure. She took this criticism to heart with her second album which saw her move away from the dance pop of her earlier work and more towards RNB which proved to be a success for her.
#22 for 1994 website
This is often considered to be Toni Braxton's signature tune, mainly due to how long it lasted at number one on Billboard as it stayed there for an impressive eleven weeks back in the day. I personally prefer her other ballads over this as I find that she's over singing too much on this track, "Breathe again" is a much better example of her powerful vocals put to good use.
#45 for 1996 website
This was the debut single for one of the more popular artists to emerge from Disney's new Mickey mouse club which ran throughout the decade, and I think it's safe to say that compared to her main rival Britney Spears, Christina had the more prominent vocal presence in her music even if she wouldn't fully demonstrate it until her second album. In the meantime, we have a cute introduction to her discography.
#12 for 1999 website
Following the massive success she had from the start of the decade with Italian DJ Spiller, Sophie Ellis Bextor released her debut album which was off to a slow start given how she chose her cover of Cher's "Take me home" as its lead single which unfortunately flopped for her everywhere except her native UK. This was the second single from the album which did much better due to its hilarious video to bring these lyrics to life.
#6 for 2002 website
This was only a modest success for the duo in their native America, likely due to how sincere the pair come off on this track which admittedly makes it a really cheesy number to listen to. The Brits certainly appreciated this cheesiness as this became a huge success over in the UK which allowed it to crossover internationally for the duo. They found further success with the rest of their album in NZ of all places.
(part of this song's success predates the OZ music charts, as such, I had to improvise with its placement on this list)
#30 for 1993 website
Want to hear a Boyz II Men cover of a popular Japanese track from the 60's? Well, you'll sort of get that here as 4PM (short for four positive music) covered the Kyu Sakamoto track "Ue o Muite ArukÅ" which roughly translates to "I walk with my head high." This became a huge success for the RNB group likely due to people confusing them for Boyz II Men during the height of their popularity, although audiences weren't fooled for long.
#29 for 1995 website
This was the first song Ronan Keating released when Boyzone announced they were going their separate ways, it was written for the film Notting hill starring Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts and is one of the better romantic comedies of the decade to boot. This was also included as the advanced single from Ronan's solo album and strangely enough, also as a bonus track on Boyzone's greatest hits package.
#13 for 1999 website
This is one of the more divisive songs to emerge from the decade, mainly because people are split with the opinion whether or not Linda Perry is a good vocalist (personally I don't think she is.) As a result, this song has often been described as very shrill and earnest from its detractors, although it also did lead Linda into becoming an in-demand songwriter for many of the biggest stars of the 21st century.
#10 for 1993 website
This song was written by R Kelly, I guess there's a lot of problematic elements to this song knowing what both men have been accused of, however I'm not going to get into that here as this is meant to be a fun site and not one about conspiracy theories. Instead, we have the perfect balance between both men's talents which made this a huge success for them back in the day.
#25 for 1995 website
Following the failure of his previous project Milli vanilli, Frank Farian created a new group in the form of this Hispanic trio from the American east coast who thankfully did sing every note on their music which means there wasn't any backlash towards the group that I'm aware of. This was among the earlier hits to emerge from the Latin craze that took the world by storm during the last stretch of the decade.
#30 for 1996 website
#36 for 1997 website
Following the success that he had with Dru hill in his native America, Sisqo left the group to pursue a solo career which was off to a good start with this track about how he fell in love with a woman based on her thongs (a bikini bottom for my non-American readers.) Some have accused this song of being sexist as it glorifies the objectification of women based on a piece of clothing, usually by people who do the same thing to men.
#8 for 2000 website
It looks like Alannah Myles wasn't the only Canadian songstress to see success in Australia before taking America by storm. Indeed, months after this became a huge hit for her in her homeland, we Aussies made it an even bigger hit here likely due to her unique vocals connecting with us before it finally became a moderate success on Billboard the following year.
#15 for 1995 website
If you felt that her earlier entry on this list was too much of a victory single from a reality show, then fear not as the rest of Delta's catalogue (well at least most of it) is a lot more personal such as this second single from her debut album which details her trying to live without her partner at the time. It was the second of six consecutive chart toppers here in Australia for her which predictably led to her backlash.
#8 for 2003 website
It's worth noting that Missy Higgins released most of her singles as E.P's even though songs were generally released with three or four other tracks as singles by this point in time, even so her first big hit was the lead single to her debut album which she called an E.P to no doubt drive up sales for it. This paid off for her, although I feel she didn't need to do this given how popular it's remained since its release.
#10 for 2004 website
It looked like Madonna's career was done for when she released her ill-fated concept album American life in 2003, however she was able to brush over that disaster with her next album which was a throwback album to the disco era starting with this lead single that samples "Gimme gimme gimme" by Abba. It was a massive hit everywhere in the world except her native America where it was only a modest success.
#39 for 2005 website
This was the first of three singles that Culture beat would score in Australia before fading into obscurity here, a trend that would be passed over to Corona and La bouche after them as those two European EDM bands went through a similar fate to these guys. It was the same formula, find an attractive woman of colour with an amazing voice, have her sing these songs that will forever be played on dance floors and reap in the rewards.
#11 for 1993 website
This was the only hit that Heather Smalls and company were able to achieve in Australia, although they did make up for their lack of singles success by having two successful albums back in the day. I never understood why people took issue with Heather's voice, the best I could come up with was that she's been unfavourably compared to Sade Adu who also combined genres in her heyday. She combined rock with jazz whereas these guys combined rock with RNB.
#40 for 1994 website
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.
#37 for 2004 website
#44 for 2005 website
The legends are true people, there was a remix of the Beverly Hills cop theme that was a massive hit during the midpoint of the 00's from a CGI frog (although it looks more like an alien to me) complete with a video that even acknowledges how annoying this song is by having it be chased down by robots looking to destroy him. I guess if you're into memes from early YouTube videos then this is the song and video for you.
#9 for 2005 website
Although "Who will save your soul" was the song that finally got Jewel some much needed attention after over a year living poverty (I'm not even exaggerating when I say that) it was this second single that brought her mainstream success here in Australia likely due to it being her least pretentious song from the album. Unlike the other tracks which are meant to be critiques of the world around her, here she's trying to get with someone who feels is her soulmate which I guess is cute.
#19 for 1997 website
This was technically the first song that the Spice girls released following the departure of Ginger Spice earlier in the year, admittedly the plan was to always have this as the fourth and final single from Spiceworld, however I get the feeling this wouldn't have been as big as it was if it wasn't for the drama going down with the girls prior to its release.
#16 for 1998 website
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.
#11 for 2003 website
You wouldn't have thought that Crystal Waters would have one of the biggest hits of the decade in Australia considering how we Aussies weren't that into RNB back in the day, yet here she is with a massive hit that became as such months before it caught on in her native America. Crystal was another American artist to see massive success internationally before she ever made an impact on the Billboard charts.
#11 for 1994 website
This was a bit of a sleeper hit in the band's native UK, probably because the Brits already had too many teen pop groups and felt that Steps didn't bring much new to the table. If you want to know how this became so huge in Australia, well we have the video to thank as the strange dance moves from the group inspired P.E teachers back in the day to include it in their dance routines which made this a surprise hit here.
#15 for 1998 website
Nelly Furtado is the latest entry into a Canadian artist who saw massive worldwide success without necessarily being the biggest artist in their homeland that I've featured on this site, oh sure she did fine with her debut album, however it didn't exactly promise the levels of success she would go on to achieve later in the decade. I'm guessing her fellow Canadians weren't as into her spiritual vibes as the rest of the world was.
#8 for 2001 website
This was the first of two collaborations that Baby Bash made with the RNB singer Frankie J, the other would be on "Obsession" where the two roles would be reversed as Frankie would be the lead artist whilst the rapper was the featured artist. This is another song that was heavily delayed a release in Australia as it was meant to come out last year like it did internationally, thankfully it didn't affect its success here.
#6 for 2004 website
From what I can tell, Duets is a film that exists. It's about Huey Lewis teaching Gwyneth Paltrow how to be a singer which led to this cover of the Smokey Robinson track that I personally don't have much issue with, although how it became a huge success in the southern hemisphere and nowhere else in the world is beyond me.
#49 for 2000 website
#17 for 2001 website
While the original version of this track from KC and the Sunshine Band still remains a classic to this day, it should be worth noting that this Danish duo managed to achieve more success in Australia with their cover likely due to a combination of nostalgia and them swapping out the disco elements for more (then) modern EDM. It even comes complete with a rap verse to give it that extra 90's flavour.
#13 for 1994 website
I'm not sure what took so long for this song to be released in Australia, it was a massive international success for Shaggy and an instant success for him once he finally released it this year here. I'm guessing it was due to how his previous song "In the summertime" was looking to become a success here given how it was included in the soundtrack for the Paul Hogan film Flipper which likely caused us to delay this songs release.
#8 for 1996 website
I guess the first Bad boys film spawned not one but two big hits that took the world by storm in 1995 (those being "Shy guy" and "I've got a little something for you") so it makes sense that the sequel would also have a massive hit with this posse cut from Nelly, his protegee Murphy Lee and P Diddy of all people. It was a massive hit worldwide despite criticisms involving the chanting on the track and the police siren in the production.
#5 for 2003 website
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