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.
This was the theme to the first film that many feel was a dud in Will Smith's filmography, that being the theatrical adaptation of the TV series Wild wild west which race swaps the main character to justify his casting. The film was a box office success likely due to nostalgia of the 60's western, however it was torn apart by critics and even had the theme song be the only one to be nominated for worst song at the Razzies for 1999.
#44 for 1999 website
Just a heads up that I'm on team Digimon when it comes the Pokémon vs Digimon wars from around this time, it's just a better constructed franchise with better characters and a more complex card game that it's based on (even though Yu-gi-oh is my favourite card game but I digress.) That out of the way, this was the theme song to the English dub of the first Pokémon movie, a dub that's infamous for changing the storyline of the original film which was a common troupe for 4kids dubs back in the day.
#50 for 2000 website
This was the one and only hit from the Australian trio Slinkee Minx, mainly because it's a cover of a Belinda Carlisle classic that while obscure everywhere else in the world, is fondly remembered down under due to it being a huge hit for her back in 1990. This is basically a dance remix of the original track as aside from adding a catchier beat than what the original had, there's hardly any difference between the two songs.
#49 for 2004 website
From what I can gather, there are two versions of this song as there's the original which was released in the duo's native America which flopped and then there's the dance remix which became a massive success here and throughout Europe for the duo. This led to them having even more success with their earlier entry throughout the world, although they didn't find any further success with their other songs.
#33 for 1995 website
This was the third single to come from the Real McCoy who now had removed the MC Sar from their name given how redundant that was making them look. I guess the third single is different depending on where in the world you're from as their cover of "Come and get your love" was the third single in America and NZ, that was their fourth single which had underperformed here when it was released.
This was the last hit that MJ had in his lifetime, it feels odd that it would come from a remix album given how historians will tell you that he only released one studio album this decade. His popularity in the new millennium was non-existent due to the media frenzy he experienced throughout the 90's, between his failed marriage with Lisa Marie Presley and his bizarre sleepover parties he had with young boys.
#38 for 1997 website
It had been five years since No Doubt released their breakthrough album Tragic kingdom, although that album did take its sweet time in finding success around the world due to the band being unknown prior to its release. In any case, we have the lead single to their follow up album Return of Saturn which proved to be their only hit from said album around the world, naturally this led to the band changing up their sound later in the decade.
Well, this was the complete opposite of what "Friends forever" is, OK maybe not, as that would imply this sex jam has anything to do with graduation from high school and being friends forever with the people you met along the way. Evidently that song was pulled from shelves in order for this to thrive in Australia, it paid off as the song was a massive hit at the expense of the album which flopped.
This was released around the premiere of the reality show the Osbourne's, a show that's basically the equivalent of Keeping up with the Kardashians but for the family of Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne that came out five years prior to that other show ever seeing the light of day. Here daughter Kelly decides to cash in off her newfound fame by releasing her debut album which contained this cover of Madonna's 1986 classic.
Uncle Kracker got his start as the turntablist for Kid Rock who was (at the time) a rap rock artist making songs such as "Bawitdaba" and "Daddy cool" from the Osmosis Jones soundtrack, so to see him with the first of only two hits he had as an adult contemporary artist is a bit of a surprise to say the least. I remember this receiving tons of airplay back in the day, so perhaps it was pulled from shelves to promote his album which sadly didn't work.
#33 for 2001 website
This was the third and final hit that La Bouche was able to score from their one and only album, thus completing the cycle for EDM acts scoring massive success with one album before forever fading into obscurity throughout the 90's. I guess you can technically say that Aqua continued this trend the following year, except they not only scored four hits from Aquarium but managed to release a second album.
#50 for 1996 website
It's hard to think that this woman began the decade as a member of Wilson Phillips, one of the most successful artists of the early 90's in their native America that only managed a single hit song internationally with their debut single "Hold on." Fast forward six years and we have the second of two hit singles she had in Australia and seemingly nowhere else in the world.
The original version of this track was a fun dance pop number about how a boy that Britney's into is driving her crazy due to having conflicting emotions about these feelings, naturally this wasn't a strong enough premise for this to be a huge hit, so it was given the remix treatment to help it achieve the success her earlier entries on this list had. Suffice to say I'm not a huge fan of this remix as it kills the groove for me.
#48 for 1999 website
Time to look at what I believe is the most over hated song of the decade, yes, this lead single from Nickelback's third album All the right reasons does have strange lyrics about reminiscing on the good times, however there are far worse songs on this list alone and even from Nickelback that I don't understand why this is often considered to be one of the worst songs of the decade by the internet.
This was the only notable hit that Blind Melon had in their career, mainly because of the video which depicted a cute little girl in a bee costume that fans and haters alike have dubbed as "bee girl." People who dislike this song (me included) complain that Shannon Hoon's vocals are very irritating on this track, although that is a vocal minority as this remains well loved to this day for the band.
This was the lead single to Bon Jovi's sellout album These days, I call it a sellout because they abandoned their glam rock roots and even their country roots for this album in favour of more mainstream adult contemporary. The album was a success for the band; however, fans weren't happy with the direction they took which resulted in them going on hiatus for the remainder of the decade.
#38 for 1995 website
This was the only notable hit that American RNB group Allure managed to have throughout their career, although like many RNB songs this decade, it took a while for this to become a success in Australia due to us slowly warming up to the genre compared to the rest of the world. This is a cover of a Lisa Lisa and the Cult jam track from the 80's, although I think it's safe to say that this is the more memorable hit.
Although it has a low placement on this list, this was the first chart topper that Kylie Minogue had here in Australia since "Confide in me" from six years prior. Again, we have a song that debuted high on this list due to strong first week sales and then quickly dropped off the charts once the initial hype had died down, although there was a lot of hype with this song as it was a return for Kylie to bubble-gum pop.
#45 for 2000 website
There have been plenty of ballads like this over the years to make it big, however I feel this was the first to make it big solely for why it exists which is that it's a victory single for the winner of the first season of Australian idol Guy Sebastian. This is someone I personally don't have much respect for reasons I won't get into on this site but suffice to say I'm not a fan of his music.
This was originally released as the B-side to "Give it away now" which was a massive flop for the band worldwide, it was given a second chance when it was released as a lead single given that it found its way onto the Coneheads soundtrack likely due to having a music video which has imagery similar to what is found in the SNL movie. I guess we Aussies loved the flick as this became a huge success for them here.
This was the debut single from one of the most politically charged bands to come out of the decade, yes Rage against the machine managed to score at least one hit in their career before being confided to the alternative scene where they saw tons of critical acclaim by not much commercial success. I guess this made it through thanks to the grunts that Zac De La Roche makes throughout the track.
#38 for 1993 website
This was the first of three hits that JX managed to achieve in Australia, although he wouldn't find any success in his native UK until his third hit two years after he made it big down under with this jam. If you need any proof that we Aussies had made EDM our music genre of choice this decade, look no further than the countless artists who made it big exclusively down under with their dance tracks.
#50 for 1994 website
Shakaya was one of the very few Australian groups to have its members be of indigenous descent to make it big in Australia, even then this was their only massive hit as it's about them being harassed by a stalker who they want nothing to do with and them telling this person to leave them alone. They did have buzz with their next two singles, however only "Cinderella" came close to recreating this song's success.
#43 for 2002 website
This will be the only appearance from Avril Lavigne on this list, suffice to say that "Don't tell me" was another victim of Sony tampering with the release schedule of a song in order to allow all of the entries from Australian idol contestants to run rampant on our charts this year. Fortunately, this second single from her sophomore album wasn't affected by this which allowed her to have a hit with this ballad about her angsty breakup with someone.
#41 for 2004 website
This was about as equally successful as "Right thurr" from the previous year regardless of where in the world you're from, this means that audiences wanted to hear Chingy rap about him being romantic to someone he's interested in as much as whatever his debut single was supposed to be about. He had to more hits in his catalogue (one of which is still to come) before people became bored of his music.
#46 for 2004 website
We have one final double entry on this list, this time it's the third and fourth single from All Saints which were bundled together as they were both covers of popular tracks from yesteryear. I guess "Lady marmalade" fits in with the rising trend of vaudeville tracks becoming hits around this time, however their take on "Under the bridge" sparked outrage from Red hot chili peppers fans for ruining the original for them.
#40 for 1998 website
Much like Daft punk, this was also a French duo who scored a massive hit at the start of the decade with an EDM number, although unlike Daft punk, they wouldn't last very long in the mainstream as they would disband later in the decade. Honestly there's not much more I can add to this track other than them being a less successful version of those guys.
The hits kept on coming for Ja Rule in Australia as he released the lead single to his album the Last temptation, I'm guessing it was due to the presence of Bobby Brown who hadn't had a hit here for a decade and was now providing a chorus for Ja about what it's like to have thug loving (basically a term he coined for the "thugs need love too" troupe.) This was a huge flop for him in his native America, although at least it was released over there.
#41 for 2003 website
Well, this is a song that showcases a more immature side of Outkast, or at least it does for Andre 3000 as while Big boi is on this track, it's still primarily his song given that it appears on his side of their album. As silly as the lyrics are on the radio edit, the album version is something else as it has an outro of him finding different ways to call his ex a bitch, it's absolutely hilarious and likely why this was a hit.
#45 for 2004 website
I guess Mariah's popularity was beginning to dwindle here in Australia given that she had come off not one but two of the biggest albums of the decade, even so she was able to score a massive hit with this lead single from Butterfly which is an album about emancipating oneself to fly away into who they want to be. Naturally this album has resonated with audiences since its initial release, especially those who feel like they're trapped by society's regime.
You may recall if you're a fan of Eminem that he was originally part of a posse group known as D12, well here they are with the first of three big hits they had this decade with a song that more or less glorifies drugs as that's what the title of the song means in drug culture. Naturally it wasn't played much on the radio, however that didn't prevent this from being a massive success here and in the UK.
#38 for 2001 website
At least Shannon Noll was able to have genuine success this year following his loss of the first season of Australian idol, this is because his second single was a hit that stuck around long enough to appear much higher than any of the other entries from Guy Sebastian which were hits but only because of his name recognition.
This was another song that was impacted by Sony tampering with the release schedule, trust me, this one and only hit from the Hoobastank was inescapable here in Australia as I'm sure it was throughout the rest of the world back in the day. I'm not sure why this was the song to catch on worldwide as the rest of their catalogue would've fitted in nicely with the rock scene equally as well as this did.
This was the only hit single that Nine-inch nails were able to score here in Australia, even then it was pulled from shelves after a few months likely due to it being one of the more controversial songs of the decade due to its lyrics and music video. I guess you can make the argument that it was to promote the album, however between the animal torture in the video (which was fake by I digress) and the lyrics "I want to f**k you like an animal," it was a very disturbing song in the mainstream.
#34 for 1994 website
This is primarily known for its "no no no" phrase throughout the track, as such it's become a popular choice for commercials which promise a lack of negative downsides from a product of service as well as a popular club banger over the years. This was the Dutch group's biggest success in the UK likely for similar reasons, and indeed they would continue to have success throughout Europe as the decade went on.
This is the only hit that Naughty by nature managed to achieve in Australia, it's curious that this was the song that made them big here considering that this was a massive flop in NZ and their native America back in the day. I guess we Aussies wanted them to have at least one hit here now that we were open to having our charts be dominated by RNB and hip hop like the rest of the world was throughout the 90's.
Err.... how did this novelty track about the famous nursey rhyme connect with so many people this year? Oh, that's right, the video which features Claymation of the nursery rhyme which strangely compliments the song's campy tone which no doubt amused people back in the day. Evidentially this was a side project of Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan before his band saw mainstream success with their album Aenima.
#40 for 1993 website
This was the only hit to come from Samantha Mumba worldwide, although she did score a second hit in her native UK with "Body II body" which is a song that sampled "Ashes to ashes" by David Bowie on its twentieth anniversary. Here she is with an RNB jam about how she was in love with someone and her confessing her love to that person, it's a topic universally relatable so much so that it was a hit in America as well.
This was the last hit that Bardot were able to achieve in their short time together, mainly because the main star of the group Sophie Monk wanted to embark on a solo career following the departure of one of their other members during the production of their second album. While Sophie did achieve moderate success on her own with her solo album, it didn't reach the success she had with her group.
This was the first of three collaborations that Ja Rule made with Ashanti throughout the decade, each of them were for a "thugs need love too" ballad where she would provide him a catchy chorus while he spits bars about how much of a player and gangster he is. It appeared to connect with audiences back in the day as the formula did spawn three big hits for the duo not just in Australia but throughout the world.
#44 for 2002 website
It appears we Aussies were a bit amused with this fourth and final single from JT's solo debut album, not amused enough to make it a massive hit like his earlier entry on this list but amused enough to make it a hit despite it flopping everywhere else in the world except for NZ. The reason why this wasn't that big is likely due to the outro where Justin does a call and response for guys and girls listening, specifically him impersonating his female audience in the outro.
#46 for 2003 website
This was the only hit that Ja Rule had from his album the Last temptation in his native America, I'm guessing it was mainly for the video which is an homage to the final song sequent from Grease only with Ja Rule as Danny and Ashanti as Sandy (this was a good year for musicians of colour taking on roles originally done by Caucasian actors.) It's also the second "thugs need love too" ballad from the pair in question.
#38 for 2003 website
This was the solo debut single for Justin Timberlake following the demise of his band N sync earlier in the year, it was meant to showcase him as a more mature pop star than his time as a boy band member which is perhaps why it was an instant success for him worldwide upon its initial release. Nowadays it's been overshadowed by the other three singles from the album due to them being more interesting.
#46 for 2002 website
This is another victim of Sony's insistence of pushing popular songs aside in Australia to make way for Australian idols chart dominance, in this case it was the second single from Britney Spears which I assure you was a massive success here in Australia back in the day despite its low placement on this list. At least this managed to have presence on our charts for the short amount of time that it was available.
#48 for 2004 website
While it's not exactly a cover of the Bob Marley classic, the fact that Warren G sampled the chorus of the original (more specifically the Eric Clapton version) does leave people to believe this is a cover when in fact it's like his earlier hit on this list where it's just nostalgia baiting to connect his rhymes together. It appears we Aussies became fed up with this trend of nostalgia baiting as there weren't many hits like this after this year.
There weren't a lot of successful British artists throughout the decade here in Australia, however Ronan Keating was a rare exception likely due to the good will he had during his time with Boyzone throughout the 90's. Here he scored a massive hit with the second single from his solo debut ("When you say nothing at all" was technically the lead single) which was a huge hit for the Irish performer down under.
Given how Culture beat had completed the album cycle for Serenity, it only seemed fitting that Corona would step in and take over the Euro dance scene with their EDM track named after a Debarge hit from almost a decade prior. It turns out there was some minor controversy in regard to who actually sung this track, in fact lead singer Olga De Souza didn't sing a note on their album despite her performing each of these songs live, I guess at least she didn't lip synch to someone else's music on stage.
If you can believe it, this wasn't initially created for the Chef aid episode of South Park and was instead a DJ battle between Mouse T and Hot n Juicy that became a huge success throughout Europe before Trey Parker and Matt Stone discovered the track and included it in the episode. I'm guessing this songs success was what inspired the duo to release the Chef Aid soundtrack which became a huge success for them.
This was originally a hit for Savage in his native NZ where it didn't have Akon providing a guest verse for him, that version wasn't released here in Australia as he was able to afford the international RNB singer by the time it was released down under almost a year after its initial release. He had a ton of other hits in his homeland; however, he remains a one hit wonder with this song (OK a two-hit wonder if you count the Joel Fletcher remix.)
Even though the album Automatic for the people was already a huge success here in Australia by the time R.E.M released this ballad, this song regardless became a huge success here and boosted the sales of the album and made it even bigger than it already was. This remains their biggest hit in Australia likely due to the pain that Michael Stipe displays on the track which made audiences sympathise with him.
#44 for 1993 website
This was the second single to be released from Don't ask following the success of the lead single "Chains," it was an immediate success for Tina proving that audiences wanted her more sedate material rather than her upbeat tracks from her first album from the start of the decade. Her next single would underperform, however the fourth single from the album was a success which we'll look at in a bit.
Well, here's the other hit that Jam and Spoon, oh sorry, Tokyo ghetto pussy managed to score here in Australia with their anime inspired EDM. I guess they gave up on the anime aesthetics moving forward due to these two songs underperforming throughout Europe, as such they reverted back to being Jam and Spoon.
This was one of the better received songs in Britney's career as it was an autobiographical account of her rise to fame (well biographical as it wasn't written by her) it was a massive hit worldwide due to people connecting with the tale of how she got everything she wanted but it all made her feel hollow inside. In a way, this was "Everything I wanted" almost two decades before Billie Eilish wrote that track.
#38 for 2000 website
It looked like there would only be one hit from Linkin Park's debut album as the second single "Crawling" failed to become a hit here like their debut from the previous year, however this third single from the album picked up the slack as it became their first hit in their native America likely due to it being an emo rock track rather than the nu metal that the rest of the album was.
#45 for 2002 website
While the title for the most sexually explicit song from Enrique Iglesias will always go to "Tonight I'm loving you," for a while there was a strong contender for this title track from Escape to take that prize as the lyrics have been criticised over the years for being very forward about Enrique's intentions towards the person he's singing to. It turns out this was the song that won over his longtime partner (who he's never married) Anna Kournikova.
These guys were on a roll here in Australia given how their third single was a cover of the Pet shop boys debut single, it was proof that they were the real winners of the first round of the boy band wars of the 90's here in Australia. I'm guessing the success of this cover was what led to the success of the EDM duo having a hit here with a cover of their own, that being of a Village people track which we'll get to.
#36 for 1993 website
This had a bit of a delay to its release here in Australia, possibly because we didn't like the possibility of having a booty anthem being a huge success here without realising that "Baby got back" had opened the possibilities of booty anthems being acceptable in the mainstream. It was released here and sure enough, it became a massive hit partially due to it being a booty anthem but mostly due to its catchiness.
It looked like that Lenny Kravitz would be yesterday's news following the commercial failure of his fourth album Circus, indeed his fifth album titled 5 (clever name mate) looked set to fail until he scored a surprise hit with this radio juggernaut. This no doubt led to him covering the 70's classic "American woman" which he submitted for the Austin Power Spy who shagged me soundtrack.
#46 for 1999 website
This is the victory single for the second winner of Australian idol, there's not much I can say about these songs other than them making many of these winners one hit wonders here in Australia.
We have another double entry for this list, this time it's the lead single from Lauryn Hill's solo debut as well as her cover of the Frankie Valli classic which were both needed to have her crossover to Australia despite her already having success earlier in the decade as the main rapper/vocalist from the Fugees. This no doubt helped her album become a huge success here as that too wasn't a hit upon its initial release down under.
#40 for 1999 website
Well, I guess it was only a matter of time before someone decided to make an EDM remix of the Charleston this decade, enter this novelty act who would go on to score a massive hit the following year with a remix of that famous Jack Nicholson quote from the Shining. At least this was a massive success in the UK which more than explains how both of these songs found an audience here in Australia.
#38 for 1994 website
This was the only hit from American boy band E.Y.C, even then it was only a minor success in the UK due to them wanting to compete in the first round of the boy band wars and only crossed over here due to how incessantly catchy the song is. This is one of the first hit singles to incorporate Panjabi influences in the production, no doubt leading to the genre exploding once the teen pop craze came to an end in the 00's.
This was the first hit that Eternal had since the departure of their one white member Louise, I'm not sure why she decided to leave these three behind for a solo career nor do I plan to speculate the reason. It appears that we Aussies preferred the group as a trio as they managed to see huge success down under during the second half of the decade with their powerful voices.
This was released three years prior throughout Europe to deafening silence, in fact I'm not even sure how this managed to become popular here in Australia other than it being an incessantly catchy EDM track from a talented vocalist that was never given her proper due back in the day. It nothing else, this being a massive hit here must have been some form of consolation for the singer in question.
This is the closest that Stevie Nick's "Edge of seventeen" managed to become a hit here in Australia, Stevie of course gave her blessing to Destiny's child and even appears in the music video to prove that the trio didn't steal the track from her without her consent. Here we have them inventing a new term for sexy, which of course has since been legitimised as a word in the Oxford dictionary.
#34 for 2001 website
This served as not only the lead single to J-Lo's second album, but also as the theme for her film the Wedding planner which co-stars Matthew McConaughey as her love interest. It was panned by critics mainly for the writing as not even the likes of Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman could make the story of the film work, indeed it's best that this song remains the lead single to an album and nothing more.
#43 for 2001 website
Well, this was a massive surprise, the last time Tom Jones has bothered the charts anywhere in the world was with his soft rock track "Say you'll stay with me till dawn" which was way back in 1977. Through a combination of a bizarre music video and endorsement from Triple J, he was able to score a massive comeback during the midpoint of the 90's which led to him releasing a highly successful covers album in 1999.
This was the debut single for a band who was promised so much success both critically and commercially and yet seemed to have gotten nowhere once they released their second album. Their first album was showered with praise and success (rightfully so in my opinion) thanks to Ella Hooper's powerful vocals as well as the catchy instrumentation of the band.
This was the third and final hit to come from Big Brovaz worldwide, likely due to the video which was clearly meant to be an homage to the TV show Friends (solving that shows issue of having an all-white cast in the process.) It was a much more sentimental track from the group who introduced themselves to the world as a tough RNB group who was all about being hard edge.
This was supposed to come out the previous year for the Spice girls here in Australia like it did in NZ and throughout Europe, I don't know why it was delayed as it ended up being a huge success once it was released here but that's what happened back in the day. This is one of the more recognisable tracks from their catalogue, again likely due to how catchy it is and how it expands on their theme of friendship.
This was the breakthrough single of Daft Punk, a French EDM duo who would go on to be one of the most influential EDM artists of the 21st century thanks in no small part to a huge hit they had in 2013 with "Get lucky." Sixteen years prior, they had a massive hit in Australia with this track which became as such due to EDM still being a massive success in the music scene here during the late 90's.
This was the final hit that TLC were able to achieve in most parts of the world, and if their earlier entry was this albums equivalent of "Creep" from their previous album, then this was the albums equivalent of "Waterfalls" as this was a self-empowerment anthem meant to uplift the spirits of those who were feeling down when listening to it. Sadly, this would be it for the girls as Left eye Lopez would die in a car accident in 2002.
#42 for 1999 website
If you're wondering why there was a huge gap between this and "What a girl wants" (which we'll get to in a bit) that's because there was a song released between these two Billboard chart toppers called "I turn to you" which was a massive flop worldwide for the (then) Disney star. I'm guessing this was chosen as the fourth single from her debut album to showcase what a powerhouse of a vocalist she is.
This feels more like an introduction to the Badloves than the lead single for Jimmy's second album of the year Flesh and wood, indeed the success of this collaboration helped the band find massive success with their album Get on board which allowed them to find success with audiences outside of listeners of Triple J.
A word of caution when going through the lyrics of this seemingly upbeat track from Third eye blind, this is a song about a crystal meth addiction and the band has made little to no effort to hide the serious subject matter of the song other than putting it in one of the catchiest pop rock tracks to come out of the decade. This left them a one hit wonder in Australia, although they saw massive success in their native America.
#50 for 1997 website
This is another song that was pulled from shelves due to Sony wanting to ensure that this year was all about Australian idol contestants, it was an EDM song from a British duo which had nothing to do with the program and yet they were fiddling with this song's success regardless. It was the duo's only noticeable hit here in Australia despite the pair being active for over a decade when they crossed over this year.
#44 for 2004 website
It looked like their second album was going to be a complete flop when it was released towards the end of last year, however these guys managed to score a surprise hit with this ballad which gave them success outside of their debut album from the start of the decade. This didn't do anything to turn the album's reception around, but it at least helped them find success in a year their contemporaries were struggling in.
#35 for 1993 website
This was the second single to come from the Cranberries sophomore album, although it wasn't politically charged and was more in line with their previous material which I'm sure was a disappointment for those who fell in love with their earlier entry on this list. The band would continue to find success with their third album the following year, although their popularity would end after that.
#34 for 1995 website
This was the song which helped Joshua Kadison's album take off here in Australia, true he saw success the previous year with "Jessie" however there was no indication that would lead to him having any success with anything else from his catalogue. Indeed, he remains a one album wonder which goes to show that audiences can sometimes be fickle with who they make a household name.
I'm not exactly sure if this song was pulled from shelves or if it just lost its popularity unusually quickly here in Australia, I guess it was the latter as it had a similar chart run over in NZ where it wasn't burdened by any tampering from the labels, but I wouldn't rule out the former either. This felt like a passing the torch moment given how Usher would explode in popularity this year whilst Diddy would fade.
#48 for 2002 website
I think this may be the shortest song I ever feature on this site, even if I were to go back to the 60's, this would still hold that record due to it not even being a minute and a half long. I suppose calling this a song is stretching it as it's more a quick comedy routine set to rock music that amused fans of MTV back in the day from comedian Liam Lynch.
This will be the final appearance of Holly Valance on my site, mainly because "State of mind" wasn't a big enough hit here to qualify for this list even though it might arguably be her best song (it's my personal favourite at least.) Instead, we have this third hit from her debut album which is about how she know she's a "naughty girl" (whatever that's supposed to mean) and how she can't help by be the way she is.
#45 for 2003 website
This is the final hit single to come from a Popstars contestant from anywhere in the world, in this case it was the first winner of the series to be a solo artist given how the franchise wanted to follow the American idol format this year (despite this coming out before that show even premiered) which led to the success of Scott Cain who quickly faded into obscurity once this dropped off our charts.
We have another double entry to appear on this site, this time it's from Anthony Callea who offered audiences a two for one deal with an original track from him along with a cover of a Simon and Garfunkel classic. It was an easy hit for the singer, and one that compelled him to come out as gay shortly after its success.
Given that I'm well familiar with Night at the Roxbury (more than I care to admit) it took me by surprise that this song wasn't originally written for the film and was instead a huge hit earlier in the decade for this singer of colour. It turns out he had a bunch of other hits throughout Europe that also fitted in the EDM trends, meaning he was one of the few dance artists to be underrepresented in Australia.
Although his earlier entry made Billboard history by being the first entry to debut at number one on their charts, it was this song that was meant to take home that honour given that it was a duet between the two most popular members of the Jackson dynasty complete with what it still the most expensive music video ever created (not to mention it being a better song in my opinion.)
#36 for 1995 website
This was the only hit that Mary J Blige had here in Australia, although had the digital charts been incorporated into the main charts sooner than they were, she would've also had a hit later in the decade with her cover of "One" with U2. I'm not sure why it took her nine years to find success here in Australia as it's not like her brand of RNB was that different from the tracks that made it big here in the 90's.
This was a hit for both British DJ Tim Deluxe and Irish singer Sam Obernik here in Australia but not in their native UK, I'm guessing it was due to their fellow Brits finding the production too irritating to realise this was actually a female empowerment anthem due to Sam standing up to the person who's supposedly trying to chat her up. That's honestly my assessment of the song and why I don't enjoy it despite its good intentions.
Here we have another contender for the best song of the 90's according to public opinion (no arguments here) although this has been mired in controversy as while the band did have permission to sample "The last time" from the Rolling stones, it was only for a small part of the track and not the basis of the melody which resulted in a lengthy lawsuit between them and the Rolling stones former management.
These guys were certainly on a roll going into the new millennium given how they were able to finally score a number one hit in their native UK with this second single from their sophomore album Invincible. It seemed like they would be moving away from their hip hop roots going into the new millennium, however their third single traded in these roots in favour of a dated cover of a Queen classic.
The legends are true people, Madonna did in fact cover Don McLean's signature track for her film The next best thing where she sleeps with the (totally straight) Rupert Everett where they have a child out of wedlock. As much as the cover has been despised over the years (I certainly don't like it) I think we can all agree that it's at least better than the movie who's only redeeming factor was its positive depiction of LGBT characters.
#35 for 2000 website
It was a new decade and yet it appears that the EDM scene hadn't quite reached the end of its popularity in Australia as this trance single from Alice Deejay proved to be a massive success for them during the early months of the 00's. I'm guessing the reason why they didn't stick around for the rest of the decade was because they angered rock fans by titling their album who needs guitars anyway, that's a recipe for disaster.
This is one of those breakup anthems that's impossible to take seriously, I mean she goes about getting over this guy in the most over the top way that I don't anyone would even care that she's essentially getting even on him cheating on her by robbing him blind and leaving him homeless. Audiences obviously got the humour of this track worldwide as it was a massive hit for the American RNB singer.
#44 for 2001 website
Even from the very beginning, Rihanna was able to achieve massive success throughout the world with her singles, it's just that she wouldn't be the household name we all know her as until later in the decade as this second single from her debut album often gets forgotten about when looking over her catalogue.
Passengers was a side project from the members of U2, so this basically is a U2 track that managed to be a massive success worldwide under a pseudonym for them which goes to show you how popular the Irish band was throughout the 90's. They would come back later in the decade under their original name with their venture towards pop rock in 1997.
This was originally a hit for Candi Station two decades prior where it remains a disco classic to this day. Rather than use the original for the party scene where the two leads meet in Baz Lurhman's adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, he instead got unknown American singer Kym Mazelle to cover the original which allowed her to finally score a hit single after almost a decade of no success in the music industry.
There seemed to be two lanes this year with popular music, the kiddie pop which dominated the first half of this list and the alternative scene which will dominate the second half of this list. Marcy Playground managed to appeal to those in the middle ground as this became a huge success for them in the alternative scene and also while charting along the likes of the Spice girls and Backstreet boys.
#46 for 1998 website
This was another popular EDM track to come from a French producer during the first stretch of the decade, here we have the one and only hit from Supermen lovers who is a sole DJ despite their stage name implying they were a group like Modjo or Daft Punk. I think this song made it big due to the video which depicted Claymation, we haven't seen one of these videos since the 80's on this site.
This was the second single from Kylie Minogue's self-titled album, it's a song that has a video which pays homage to the Jane Fonda classic Barbarella which I'm sure helped it win over audiences back in the day. It's also catchy as hell, which is unusual for a downtempo ballad, I guess Kylie managed to find a way to make this formula work as she would release a whole album of this material later in the decade.
It looked like that Billie Piper wasn't going to find any crossover success here in Australia with her debut album, that changed when the fourth and final single from the album became a success here which funnily enough also serves as the title track from said album. This meant that she no longer had any issues with finding success here which led to her biggest hit the following year with "Day and night."
#45 for 1999 website
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