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.
There weren't any signs of the Offspring slowing down in the mainstream here in Australia as this second single from Smash managed to be a huge success here due to being ranked very high on the second annual Triple J list. Indeed, this helped the album become one of the most successful of the decade down under and solidified them as rock stars despite them not having any success in their native America.
#35 for 1995 website
This had a bit of a climb to its success here in Australia, mainly because we Aussies didn't seem to have much love for British artists this decade, although at least we had more love for them than America where they had close to no success on Billboard. Liberty X were the runners up on the first season of Popstars UK, meaning they were more popular here than the winners Hear'say who never charted here.
#30 for 2002 website
I guess Duets was a box office hit here in Australia, either that or we Aussies really wanted to allow Gwyneth Paltrow to have a singing career as her cover of the Jackie DeShannon classic (which was used to showcase how weak of a vocalist she was in the film) became a huge hit this year here and nowhere else in the world. This was the only other hit she had as none of her other singles charted down under.
#36 for 2001 website
This was Jay-Z's first big hit here in Australia, even as a featured artist, he didn't have any success prior to this collaboration with his future wife Beyonce about how they were the (then) modern equivalent of Bonnie and Clyde. This song samples "Me and my girlfriend" by 2pac when he was known as Makaveli, I thought I'd bring that up given how this east coast rapper sampled a west coast rapper.
#22 for 2003 website
He may not have come in first place on the show, however that didn't prevent Shannon Noll from finding massive success with his cover of the Moving pictures classic from 1982 which invertedly recontextualises the song to be about how he didn't win the series which I'm guessing tugged at the heartstrings of audiences this year to make it a huge success.
#21 for 2004 website
I guess hip hop was able to find success here in Australia so long as there was a catchy EDM track to go with it, here we have Swedish rapper Melodie MC with one of the defining beats from the EDM scene of the 90's complete with a chorus that while annoying at first, becomes easy to appreciate after repeated listens. Sadly, this was the only success that Melodie MC managed to have anywhere in the world.
#35 for 1994 website
Unlike Guy Sebastian who rushed out a second album to cash in off the success he had from winning the first season of Australian idol, Shannon Noll took his time with a follow-up album which resulted in him retaining his popularity he had from the show for its release as evidence by how successful its lead single was. This popularity sadly wouldn't translate to his third album he released two years later.
#42 for 2005 website
I think this was the first sign of JT maturing into the sex symbol he would become on his second album Futuresex/Lovesounds the following year, although here he's playing second fiddle to Snoop Dogg who would score one of his last hits as a lead artist with this track even though he remained quite popular as a featured artist for many years after this came out.
#24 for 2005 website
This was the second hit in a row for Salt n Pepa as well as the first for En vogue in Australia, likely due to their catchy chorus they provide to connect the verses of how awesome the men each rapper is with is for her. The real victory here comes from the person these women of colour sampled from, that being Linda Lindell who was originally blacklisted from the music industry for sounding like a woman of colour despite being Caucasian began performing again after spending 25 years in hiding.
#29 for 1994 website
This was the second hit that Merril Bainbridge managed to score in Australia this year, although it wasn't an eventual sleeper hit in America like her earlier entry despite having a new music video shot exclusively for an international market. Despite being a sweet ballad on the surface, the song is actually about how Merril's previous partner had drowned and how it made her an emotional wreck.
#27 for 1995 website
Well, if you thought that Kool and the gang's only hit in Australia was their version of this ballad, wait until you get a hold of this version from Dutch RNB singer Pappa Bear who managed to outdo the funk band with his rendition of the track. This became a success here in Australia due to it being one of the biggest hits of the decade over in NZ, proving how fondly remembered the original version was.
#44 for 1998 website
If you can believe it, there was a time where this had nothing to do with the Shrek franchise as this was originally written for the film Mystery men, hence why there's a version of this music video with clips of that film inserted randomly throughout its runtime. Even since this was included in the opening scenes of the Dreamworks flick, it's unfortunately become a meme for the band which harmed their career.
#33 for 1999 website
This was the lead single to Billie Piper's second and to date final album, it was a massive hit here in Australia given how she finally found success the previous year with the fourth single from her debut album. It remains the final hit in her career to date as she would abandon her singing career in favour of acting which led to her being cast as one of the more beloved characters in the Doctor who franchise.
Most people believe that "All-star" was the theme song to Shrek, though it does appear in the film (the first scene as a matter of fact) the honour of the theme song actually goes to Smash Mouth's cover of the Monkees signature track which played in the final scene of the film before Eddie Murphy puts his spin on it (yeah, I'm a big Shrek fan, don't @ me.) It remains the final hit single from the band to date.
This is a song I don't really remember from back in the day, likely because I remember "Over and over" being played on the radio while this song was charting which should give you an idea of where the radios priorities were back in the day. Still, this was a massive hit and one that finally convinced Christina Aguilera to realise her dream of making a double album of throwback hits from the forties.
This was the debut single from Radiohead, although the band wishes they never recorded it as they feel it makes them a rip-off of Nirvana during the height of their popularity (no arguments here.) They would evolve their sound throughout the decade and even into the new millennium as they didn't want to be pigeonholed into a specific genre.
#43 for 1993 website
OK look, I appreciate a guy with a huge dick as much as the next person, however I don't think that body shaming a guy with a tiny dong is the type of message that anyone should be sending out at any point in time. I get that this is meant to be a joke, however I don't blame anyone who finds this Gillette woman to be beyond irritating on this track as she not only doesn't give a good performance but also has a very toxic attitude about her.
#37 for 1995 website
This was the second single from Backstreet boy's third album Millennium, and it's a song that's notable for two reasons. The first is the guitar solo which was a more common troupe in teen pop from around this time (likely to spark outrage from rock snobs) and the second is for its music video which was one of the most expensive to ever be created, the price tag certainly shows with its high budget CGI.
#36 for 1999 website
Sash were a German EDM group who holds the record for the most songs to hit number two on the UK charts without ever having a number one hit over there, this was one of those near chart toppers they had which was also their only hit here in Australia proving that we Aussies were beginning to fall out of love with EDM around the turn of the millennium.
#30 for 2000 website
This is a song that's since been claimed by the Dreamworks franchise Madagascar as people are likely more familiar with Sacha Baron Cohen's cover of this dance track than the original. Indeed, this wasn't a huge hit for the trio in their native America as this only became a worldwide smash due to it becoming a surprise hit in the UK, although there was little doubt that this would be a huge success in Australia.
#36 for 1994 website
Can you believe that Alanis Morissette began her career making teen pop in her native Canada? Going from that to an album that won album of the year at the Grammys must have been a bit of a shock for her at the time, however that's what happened when she signed onto Madonna's Maverick label and became an international superstar with her album Jagged little pill. This was the song to kick off that album cycle which showcases a raw and emotional side of her.
#38 for 1995 website
This was the first of two hit singles that this Danish duo managed to achieve worldwide, it's a song that fits into the teen pop demographic right down to the two performers being teenagers on the track. Naturally this was a huge hit throughout Europe as well as in the southern hemisphere given how kid friendly tracks such as this was all the rage as the decade was coming to an end.
#35 for 1998 website
This was a surprisingly good year for music to appeal to lesbians, wasn't it? Although I should point out that this Russian duo isn't a gay couple or even gay themselves and were only showing their support for the queer community (a bold stance for them considering Russia's stance on said community) with this song and music video which has the clever spin of having the homophobes be prisoners instead of them.
#28 for 2003 website
This was the third single from Celine's magnum opus Falling into you, one that apparently was written for the Bat out of hell albums given how it was written by Jim Steinman and has the same bombast as the other tracks he's written for Meat loaf and others over the years. Another factor towards this song's success was the video which has gone down as one of the most expensive to ever be made.
#37 for 1996 website
This was the lead single to Madonna's most critically acclaimed album Ray of light, an album which was a return to her indie roots after experimenting with her sound many times throughout the last fifteen years of her career. This would lead the album to be nominated for album of the year at the Grammys, although it lost to Lauryn Hill's only album due to hip hop being at the height of its popularity.
#37 for 1998 website
There won't be a lot of appearances from Coldplay on this site, at least not on my 00's lists as their popularity would largely be confided to their albums in the southern hemisphere due to illegal downloads eating up the success of their singles. The exception to this was their debut single which was a massive hit here in Australia like it was in their native UK.
#30 for 2001 website
This was supposed to be the song which confirmed J-Lo as someone who was down to earth and not a spoilt rich diva, I guess it's safe to say that she's long given up on this endeavour as there is countless evidence to support the fact that she is a toxic celebrity who only ever thinks of herself in recent years. None of this stopped the song from being a huge success for her back in the day, likely due to how bouncy it is.
Given how inescapable Boyz II Men had become around this time, it only makes sense that this a Capella group would follow in their footsteps and also find massive worldwide success with this ballad. Although this was their only hit outside of their native America, they scored a bunch of other hits on Billboard this year proving that they were indeed in the same league as Boyz II Men over there.
#34 for 1993 website
One of the most popular TV shows of the decade was Friends (stylised as F.R.I.E.N.D.S) a show about a group of twenty something year olds navigating their day-to-day life in New York while dealing with a variety of interesting storylines in their respective lives (so basically a 90's version of How I met your mother.) This show was well received back in the day and even spawned a hugely popular theme song that became a massive hit.
#27 for 1996 website
This is the first of three Billboard chart toppers to compare sex to candy this decade, the other two being "Laffy taffy" from a group called D4L and "Lollipop" from Lil Wayne, neither of these other songs were hits in Australia which makes this the biggest hit down under with this premise by default. It's also the only one out of the three to get a female perspective as we have Olivia handling the chorus on this track.
#26 for 2005 website
This was the one and only hit for the protegee of Pras Michel, this was a surprisingly good year for artists discovered by former members of the Fugees between this guy and City High from earlier on this list. Pras himself provides a guest verse on this RNB track which apparently wasn't meant to be the case originally as this was meant to be a standalone singer for the rising RNB singer.
#47 for 2001 website
Well, you don't make an album as successful as the Party album and instantly go away from the mainstream, so here's the lead single to the Vengaboy's second album which was a massive hit worldwide likely due to the video which has it presented as if they're in a German beer house. It would be their final hit here in Australia as the novelty of their music quickly grew stale down under.
#39 for 2000 website
This is the second and final hit to come from Geri Halliwell, it serves as the lead single to both her second album and the Bridget Jones' diary soundtrack given how it's a cover of the Weather girls classic that recaptures the camp nature of the original. This was the last hit to come from any member of the Spice girls as none of their other material would touch the charts once this fell off.
#40 for 2001 website
This was somewhat a return to form for Jimmy Barnes following the massive success of his first Soul deep project, although this wouldn't feel too out of line on that album so it's obvious he wasn't going to fully default back to his pub rock roots anytime soon. This would cost him another huge hit for him throughout the decade even though he continued to achieve moderate success with his singles.
#33 for 1993 website
I guess now that he was an established Hollywood star, Will Smith have little issues with finding an audience around the world with his pop friendly rap tracks. Here he samples a Sister Sledge track to score a hit with a song that remains iconic to this day in his discography due to how incessantly catchy it is as well as how much fun he's clearly having both on the song and in the music video.
#31 for 1998 website
We almost went through the entire decade without there being a "Girls just want to have fun" equivalent, so here's Shania Twain filling in that void with this track which became her fourth hit from Come on over during the height of its popularity worldwide. It comes complete with a video that is the reverse of Robert Palmer's "Addicted to love" as we have her as the lead vocalist with guys as her backing band.
#32 for 1999 website
It appears that EDM was still here to stay as this track from the American duo IIO was a massive hit in most parts of the world except of course for their native America given how EDM rarely does well on Billboard at the best of times, it was a massive hit here in Australia likely due to how lovestruck the track is as well as it being catchy enough to be played on the dance floors.
This was another hit to come from a Jamaican artist this decade here in Australia but not over in NZ, I guess the kiwis had finally grown tired of reggae music after three decades of embracing it throughout the twentieth century. In any case, we have this one and only hit from Kevin Lyttle which can be taken the wrong way as a song about forcing a romance due to the lyrics but has rarely been taken as such due to how catchy it is.
#25 for website
This was the theme to a German kids cartoon of the same name, originally, I heard it in a German class I was taking at school and dismissed it as something my teacher wanted to share with the class, she was heavily pregnant at the time after all. As it turns out, she was actually trying to be hip and with it as this was a surprise hit this year throughout the world much like the Bob the builder theme from earlier in the decade.
#37 for 2005 website
Here's the second single to come from Culture beat, and while it was neither as dramatic nor catchy as their first big hit, it did retain their popularity in most parts of the world which set them up to have a successful debut album. The album was indeed a success thanks to how catchy these songs were, however much like Corona and La bouche after them, they would be a one album wonder.
This was the third hit in a row from Vanessa Amorosi, it was an instant success likely due to it being about making the most of what you have as life is fleeting and can end at any moment. This was a hit around the time that her earlier entry saw an international release, although that song was only a success in NZ likely due to rumours that she would perform it at the 2000 Olympics (which she did at the closing ceremony.)
#47 for 2000 website
This is where it all began for Kelly Clarkson outside her native America as this second single from her debut album managed to crossover here in Australia due to its lyrics of a woman (presumably Kelly herself) regretting shutting herself off from affection out of fear of being mistreated. It remains a poignant track to this day and was a hint of what was to come on her subsequent albums.
#32 for 2003 website
This was the final hit to come from No doubt before they went their separate ways to allow Gwen Stefani to embark on a solo career, although the real accomplishment this song achieved was it that it allowed people to discover the original from Talk talk as it wasn't a hit anywhere in the world back in the 80's. I don't think the original even appeared on oldies stations until this version became a massive worldwide hit.
This was Christina Milian's only hit here in Australia, although it's worth noting that it wasn't even released as a single in her native America as her debut single "AM to PM" was a massive flop on Billboard for some reason. Both of these songs were much bigger in the UK which allowed this to be a massive success down under and the other track to be a sleeper hit thanks to her rich vocals on both tracks.
#29 for 2002 website
This was originally an album track on N sync's third and final album Celebrity, as such there wasn't chance of the original becoming a hit for the boy band which wasn't good because the album had failed to produce a hit for them due to it being the end of the boy band wars in America. They decided to get Nelly to contribute a guest verse for the remix which allowed it to become a massive hit for them.
#24 for 2002 website
This is one of the more memorable songs as the decade was coming to an end, likely due to the dreamy atmosphere the song creates with the heavily reverbed vocals as well as trance production meant to simulate how sweet this person is that the duo finds. The uncredited vocalist on here is Sharon Woolf who does a fantastic job at bringing this gem to life which resulted in the British duo's success.
#37 for 1999 website
I get the feeling that Madonna wanted to play Felicity Shagwell in the second Austin Powers flick, that would explain why she was chosen to make a theme song to the film as they likely went with this as compensation for her being denied the acting gig. It proved to be a fantastic theme for the film despite it only playing in one scene where Austin is trying to figure himself out now that he was back in the 60's.
#35 for 1999 website
It appears that rave tracks were still a thing going into the new millennium, so much so that this was able to crossover to Australia during a time where EDM was quickly losing its popularity in our music scene. There's not much to say about the group in question, Public domain was a British EDM group who had their success before fading into obscurity in their native UK.
#50 for 2001 website
Following the success she had with Josh Abrahams the previous year throughout Europe as the Puretones on their rebranded collaboration of "Addicted to bass," Amiel Daemion finally released a solo single which was a massive hit here in Australia due to it being about how she wrote as she puts it a "stupid love song" following the end of her relationship with someone that clearly connected with us Aussies.
#29 for 2003 website
It's worth noting that "4ever" was pulled from shelves in order to encourage the success of the duo's second single as well as their album here in Australia, otherwise that would've easily been an even bigger success than it already was back in the day. Here we have said second single which was also a massive success for them back in the day and confirmed them as one of the hot new acts in the pop rock genre.
This was the only notable success that Leonardo's bride was able to score here in Australia, heck it suffered a similar fate to what Merril Bainbridge went through earlier in the decade as this was originally released the previous year to deafening silence only for it to be given a second wind this year. Sadly, this didn't lead to the band having international success like Merril did around this time.
#35 for 1997 website
This was the final hit to come from Toni Braxton anywhere in the world, likely due to it being a song where she chastised the wife of one of her exes about how he wasn't good enough for her. Needless to say, this left a bad taste in people's mouths given how she was previously known for sweet ballads such as "Breathe again" and "Unbreak my heart," although it is a bop provided you ignore the lyrics.
#36 for 2000 website
Although the Backstreet boys had been crowned the winner of the boy bands late 90's edition by this point, Human nature still managed to make a case that they should've taken the crown (at least here in Australia) with this lead single to their third album which was a massive success for them going into the 21st century. Nowadays it's lost its popularity due to it being seen as a "nice guy" anthem even though it avoids many of that type of songs pitfalls.
#37 for 2000 website
Although "Breakaway" was the first song from Kelly Clarkson to showcase a more personal side of her, that was also the theme to the second Princess diaries flick which obviously didn't convince anyone that she was anything more than the winner of a reality series. Those preconceptions were shattered when she released the second single from the album of the same name which has become an anthem for breakups.
#38 for 2005 website
This was originally released in 1999 to deafening silence worldwide, I'm guessing because it has one of the most messed up videos of all time that was likely inspired by the cartoon series Angela Anaconda (anyone remember that show?) as well as it being little than Fatman Scoop shouting throughout the track. It was given a second chance towards the end of last year where it became a worldwide smash.
#43 for 2004 website
This feels like a song from Janet's next album the Velvet rope, I'm guessing she released this as a single from her greatest hits album to test the waters to see if her audience would be interested in her going in this direction. It turns out that they were interested as this became one of her biggest hits worldwide, although it could be due to the music video which sees her dancing on several famous landmarks.
This was a huge hit for Boyzone largely due to it being a cover of a Cat Stevens number from 25 years prior, although it's worth noting that the boys were songwriters themselves and yet most of their hits were covers of older classics. This was their only hit in Australia for two years before they scored a massive comeback later in the decade with "No matter what" being a huge success.
#38 for 1996 website
This was the only hit that 112 managed to achieve here in Australia, it's curious that this was their big hit down under given how this flopped in their native America for whatever reason. Also is it just me, or does this song sound like it was sampled from an alternative rock track? It heavily reminds me of the Doom II soundtrack which was well known for having compositions based on classic metal songs.
#27 for 2002 website
This was originally released the previous year to deafening silence for the Irish band, I'm not even sure why it failed because it's such a fun and upbeat number that it feels like it would've been a shoe in for instant success upon its initial release. It was given a remix this year which allowed the track to gain a second wind here and in their native UK, this allowing their album to be a huge success as well.
#49 for 1994 website
If you're a bit concerned that this song is a bit too low for this list, I'd hate to see your reaction when we finally get to "Yeah" and its placement (don't worry, it's still to come.) Anyways, we have the second single from Usher's Confessions album which was about how failed relationship with Chilli from TLC and how he admits to screwing up the relationship shortly prior to making the album.
#19 for 2004 website
Following his dismissal as the manager of the Spice girls, Simon Fueller formed a new group in the form of this teen pop band that came complete with a TV series to help them stand out from the increasing number of teen pop groups making it big around this time. I will say that this is incessantly catchy even if it's clearly made for the youth of the day and nobody else (which I was admittedly a part of back then.)
#39 for 1999 website
This is an English cover of In grid's debut single from two years prior, it was a huge hit here in Australia likely due to the opulence of the production which allows it to still be used in ads for fancy jewellery and holiday destinations to this day. In grid was an Italian pop diva who saw much more success throughout Europe than she did in English speaking parts of the world due to the language barrier of her music.
#36 for 2003 website
Here's a song that causes minor controversy in rock circles, mainly due to how this relationship never had any legs to stand on due to the only thing that the narrator has in common with their partner is that they kind of liked the film Breakfast at Tiffany's. It's the ultimate song about a mediocre romance which is no doubt what led to it being a massive success during what was meant to be the height of irony in pop culture.
#34 for 1996 website
This was meant to be a farewell track to Ginger Spice following her departure from the band during their Spiceworld tour, although given the behind-the-scenes drama, I doubt the girls had much love for her when they originally recorded this track even though they do sound heartfelt on this track. This is often considered to be the final song in their catalogue that displays any sort of personality from any of them.
#41 for 1999 website
For some reason (most likely a joke) this track about Denis Leary being a nuisance in the Hollywood scene managed to be voted as the best song of 1993 on the first annual Triple J list. This allowed the song to become a genuine hit for the Hollywood actor and even sparked interest in his music career due to how big it was down under, although thankfully this was the only hit he had anywhere in the world.
#20 for 1994 website
There won't be a lot of British artists moving forward on this site (at least on the Australian side of this site) so I guess it's a bit of a surprise to me that this British girl group managed to score such a massive hit here despite it flopping in their native UK. It's another song where the girls are reassuring their partners that they're going to get over the breakup, another theme that was common throughout the decade.
This was the second single to come from Nelly Furtado's debut album, it was a big hit everywhere in the world except her native Canada where it wasn't even released as a single. I'm guessing because they weren't interested in her paying homage to her Portuguese heritage like the rest of the world was, in fact this was her big hit off her debut album in NZ and on Billboard because of this appeal.
This was billed as a Christmas single from East 17, meaning it was always meant to be a UK chart topper for them during the Christmas of 94 even though it remains their only chart topper in their homeland. As we Aussies were already well familiar with these guys from their previous album, they had very little issue with finding success here albeit well into the new year as it wasn't a Christmas track here.
#23 for 1995 website
I read an old news column once that stated that the three nephews of MJ would embark on a music career once the first generation of the Jackson music dynasty aged out of the music scene. Obviously, this column was joking, however it appears that Tito was serious about pushing his sons into the music scene as they managed to score quite a number of hits in the UK of all places with their RNB ballads.
#35 for 1996 website
Apparently, this was the theme to the film Nothing to lose, a buddy comedy about Tim Roth and Martin Lawrence robbing a bank that Tim works at due to shenanigans happening at his workplace. Honestly this feels out of place on that soundtrack as the lyrics are clearly meant to be about a fallen friend of Coolio much like "One sweet day" was for Boyz II Men and Mariah Carey two years prior.
#44 for 1997 website
This was the penultimate hit that Five had before their demise later in the decade, I'm guessing because fans of the iconic band they were covering on this track (who not only gave them approval to cover it but also provided updated instrumentation for them to sing over) were none too thrilled at the boy bands take of one of their more iconic songs in their catalogue.
#29 for 2000 website
This might seem odd to my UK readers as the big hit from the Swedish rapper was "It's my life" from two years prior, indeed I'm not sure how this managed to become a hit for Dr Alban down under two years later but it did. I guess this was a massive success throughout Europe the previous year and that we Aussies had only just realised how incessantly catchy the song was.
#45 for 1994 website
This was one of only two hits that 3 Doors down managed to achieve in Australia, the other was "Here without you" three years later which was a much more serious ballad compared to this pop rock classic which is all about the camp factor as evidence by the stupidly amazing video. It had a bit of a delay to its success here as it was already a moderate success in NZ the previous year for the band.
This was the only hit that Wyclef Jean had as a lead artist in Australia, although I get the feeling this was only a hit because it seemed like it was meant to be a reunion duet with Lauryn Hill that was instead a duet with the female member of City High once he realised he wasn't going to make up with his Fugees co member. He would have another hit with Shakira later in the decade whilst she would fade into obscurity.
#23 for 2002 website
Before Hannah Montanna, there was Lizzie McGuire which was a Disney show about a teenage girl dealing with her day-to-day struggles. It starred Hilary Duff in the title role who would go on to have a singing career once the movie premiered in theatres this year, this being the biggest hit in her career likely due to the success of the show and the film she starred in.
#48 for 2003 website
It blows my mind when people say that teen pop was dead once the turn of the millennium happened at the start of the decade, it's true that the boy band wars had died off (for the most part) however teen pop still had its place in the mainstream as evidence by the two entries that Stacie Orrico has on this list alone. This was the bigger of the two hits due to how she was in a complicated relationship with her partner.
#27 for 2003 website
The last time Snoop Dogg had a hit here in Australia was almost a decade prior with his breakthrough single "What's my name," so to see him return with a song that seems to be respectful towards women as opposed to his other hit which had casual sexism in it (it's not as offensive as you would think) is a bit of a surprise but inevitable given its catchy chorus and production provided by Pharrell Williams.
#24 for 2003 website
This will be the only appearance from Natasha Bedingfield on these lists as it was her only hit here in Australia despite having huge international success even in America, I guess we Aussies wanted to hear her song about how writing a song is difficult even when it's only meant to be a simple love song and not anything else from her. At least it was bigger than either of her older brothers hits down under.
#28 for 2004 website
This is often cited as the song where fans of No doubt officially gave up on Gwen Stefani, I'm guessing because it remains her biggest hit in her native America even though there are plenty of other contenders for that honour throughout the rest of the world. It may also be because this is a diss track towards Coutney Love of all people who called her a cheerleader, I guess her revenge was to act like one on this track and video.
#29 for 2005 website
If you're wondering where the heck this EDM track came from, you'll probably be shocked to discover that this came from Jam and Spoon of "Right in the night" fame as they rebranded themselves to be anime fans as evidence by the Astro boy bootleg that appears in their promotion and the video for this track. They would score another hit later in the year with this formula which we'll get to in a bit.
#45 for 1995 website
This may seem a bit low to my readers, however rest assured that Alicia Keys wasn't as inescapable here in Australia as she was internationally given that her debut single was only a moderate success here compared to how well it did internationally. Admittedly it was still a huge hit here considering that it was an RNB piano ballad which still didn't have much appeal in our music scene even going into the new millennium.
#49 for 2001 website
Aah comedy rap, when you're funny, you can find an endearing audience that will revisit your track time after time. When you're not (or at least only appeal to a niche audience) you may be popular for a little while like this lead single from D12's second and final album, however you'll eventually fade into obscurity as the general public no longer finds any humour in your track.
#23 for 2004 website
It appears that Jenny B was only called upon to provide the vocals for "Rhythm of the night" as the rest of Corona's one and only album had Sandra Chambers as the vocalist for some reason. I'm not sure why they didn't allow Olga to sing as she was a decent vocalist, then again at least she did sing on these tracks live which is more than I can say for other attractive women of colour from EDM groups this decade.
Well, here's that second hit that Sonia dada were able to achieve in Australia this year, it's about the same as their earlier entry on this list which explains why it was a huge success for them here and nowhere else in the world. Once the album cycle ended from the group, they were never heard from again.
#31 for 1993 website
This was the biggest hit of Peter Andre's career outside of Australia, surprisingly this wasn't among the bigger hits of the decade here despite it being the biggest hit over the decade over in NZ for reasons I couldn't seem to ascertain. The song features a guest verse from Bubbler Ranx which was a fairly uncommon troupe in the 90's, in fact this is arguably one of the songs to popularise it in the new millennium.
This is where it all began for Craig David, it's interesting to think that Usher would only have one hit by this point in his career in Australia and yet this guy would spawn three hits down under before his American counterpart would escape the one hit wonder bin here. That's honestly the best way I can describe Craig as he really was doing the same thing that Usher was during this phase of his career.
#43 for 2000 website
This was the title track from Britney's second album, a title that seemed to be her trolling her haters which she had plenty of even this early in her career due to their criticisms of her destroying the music industry with her teen pop (they should wait until the 2010's with how bad things would get in that regard.) The song itself is fun and innocent and was clearly meant for a younger audience who made it a success.
#26 for 2000 website
Christina Aguilera was another victim of having her songs pulled from the shelves in order to promote her album, again it worked as Stripped was a massive success for her and to be fair, the singles still did fairly well such as this lead single from the album. Here she decided to go straight for the shock factor by releasing something that Disney would've never allowed on her debut album now that she was no longer with them.
#33 for 2002 website
Surprised to see this meme fest so low on this list? The reason why isn't because it wasn't popular here in Australia, but rather because it was one of the many victims of Sony tampering with their release schedule and audiences rushing to buy the song upon its initial release and not allowing it to stick around to accurately reflect its popularity here. At least the response track this inspired was also a huge hit here.
#29 for 2004 website
There was a theme on Gwen Stefani's album where she was playing with pop cliches of wanting to be rich and famous only to then denounce those desires as she already had everything she wanted in her life at the time, it was very clever for its time and perhaps the real reason why it was a massive success back in the day. This second single from the album is the finest example of that as well as it being her reunion with Eve from earlier in the decade.
#35 for 2005 website
This was the lead single to Taxiride's second album Garage Mahal, an album that was only a moderate success for the band purely through how big this song was at the time of its release. It remains their biggest hit in their catalogue as their two songs from their first album weren't that big here all things considered despite this easily being able to fit in with their debut album from three years prior.
#42 for 2002 website
This was the first big hit that Usher was able to achieve anywhere in the world, although apparently it was with a remix as this sat on shelves for a while even in his native America before it unexpectedly took off over there. As with most RNB ballads of the decade, this was heavily delayed here in Australia, however that didn't prevent it from being a massive success here as evidence by its placement on this list.
#43 for 1998 website
Although this was always intended to be the second single from J-Lo's debut album, the fact that it was marketed as the theme song to the new millennium (despite needing to come out the following year for that to happen) likely helped it become a huge hit for her despite the mediocre reception of her album. Indeed, it looked like her popularity would come to an end after this dropped off the charts, however as we all know, it didn't.
This is another song that was way bigger here in Australia than its placement on this list otherwise suggests, this time it's the victory single from the second and final band to win Popstars Australia before the series switched to having solo contestants on the show rather than groups like its first two seasons.
#22 for 2001 website
Well, I suppose that this song's popularity wasn't that surprising considering how Good Charlotte were able to make it big with their brand of emo earlier in the decade, although I never minded those guys unlike Simple plan who I've never liked even back in the day. In any case, we have this song from their first album which took a while to take off here but was a massive success once it did.
#35 for 2004 website
It seemed like these guys weren't destined to have a successful career in Australia given how they released two songs from their debut album before it dropped to deafening silence, their fortunes changed when this third single became a hit once the album dropped and allowed said album to become a massive success for them. Even though they never saw international success, Human nature was a contender for the boy band wars in Australia as they competed with Backstreet boys and Five for the title.
#47 for 1997 website
This is my personal favourite track from the Spice girls, mainly because of how happy they are on here as well as them promoting a positive message about not getting too worked up over stuff that ultimately doesn't matter in the long run. Despite this being a huge success for them, tensions from the girls grew to the point where Ginger Spice could no longer handle the pressure and as such called it quits from the group.
#36 for 1998 website
It looked like that Madonna was here to stay for the third decade in a row as this third single from her album Music was a massive success for the queen of pop worldwide, although her popularity would quickly fade away when she released her next album later in the decade where she attempted to tackle politics to dismal results. The decade would turn out to be a rocky one for her, although at least she had some success throughout.
I feel I have the same opinion of this song as what many people do, namely that while I love J-Lo's performance on this track, it's sadly cancelled out by that trumpet playing throughout the track which seems to be off key for some reason. It's because of this clash in sounds that the song was a success but not as much as her previous efforts from earlier in the decade, although it's still more coherent than the rest of the album.
#30 for 2005 website
This wasn't nearly as successful internationally as it was on Billboard where it became 50 cent's second consecutive chart topper, and in case you were wondering, yes there are exactly 21 questions asked in this song (even if some of them were asked more than once.) I think the real appeal of this track was having Nate Dogg on the chorus who just like on "Regulate" nine years prior, delivers a killer chorus.
#33 for 2003 website
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