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 are two versions of this track that contributed to its success, there's the original which was a solo venture from Blu Cantrell where she fancied herself a rapper to try and convey the guy's perspective of this song about them falling out with each other. This version didn't go over very well likely due to her cosplaying as her partner, so a remix was commissioned with Sean Paul proving new verses which was much better received.
#47 for 2003 website
I wouldn't have pegged the Pet shop boys to be a fan of Absolutely fabulous, a show that's basically the British version of Kath and Kim as it has two female comedians navigating the day-to-day life of the modern world (or rather, the world of the 90's) with hijinks ensuing. The duo managed to cherry pick the best moments of the shows earliest seasons and place them in a mix that managed to become a huge success for them.
#37 for 1994 website
This was the first sign of Gwen Stefani wanting to branch out in a pop direction, or at least that's what people who dislike this song will tell you as the song which made No doubt a household name was "Just a girl" which was only slightly less pop friendly than this lead single to their third album. It features a guest verse from Jamaican rapper Bounty Killer who adds his flavour of reggae to the mix.
This was the lead single of East 17's second album Steam, an album that didn't do so well despite spawning this and their Christmas song "Stay another day" which became their sole UK chart topper. I guess these guys won the first round of the 90's boy band wars purely through the strength of their debut album as that spawned four giant hits here as well as the album being big in of itself.
#39 for 1994 website
I told you that British artists weren't that successful here in Australia, I'm willing to be the only reason why this track from Westlife was a hit here was due to it being a cover of one of Billy Joel's most recognisable songs in his catalogue and we Aussies were having nostalgia for the original when this came out. If finally got the Irish band out of the one hit wonder bin here despite how inescapable they were worldwide.
The lead single to their second album was a bit of a commercial disappointment here in Australia, however this second single from the album was a massive hit for them likely because of it being an honest display of Chester Bennington's pain that definitively connected with audiences back in the day. It was so popular that it was mashed up with Jay-Z's "Encore" where it became an even bigger hit.
There were no signs of Shannon Noll slowing down from his second album as he managed to have a huge hit with the title track from said album, in fact it looked like he had finally overtaken Guy Sebastian in the mainstream given how he would only have one hit to his name this year (which we've already looked at) from an album that wasn't anywhere near as successful as what Lift was.
This was the debut single for one of the most popular bands to come out of Ireland this decade, although my UK readers will likely be surprised to see this song on this list and not later in the decade as this only became a success there in 1999 following the success of their second album. We Aussies knew that these guys were on to something special when they initially broke through, hence why the song is on this list.
This was an interesting year for Whigfield as she was able to score a second hit here in Australia and nowhere else in the world, I'm guessing because the rest of the world had moved on from her brand of dance pop whilst we Aussies had only just discovered her despite her massive success she had in Europe earlier in the decade.
It looks like Des'ree was able to escape the one hit wonder bin in most parts of the world with this track, although I get the feeling she wishes this wasn't a hit for her given how it's often considered to be one of the worst written songs of all time. I feel she gives a compelling enough performance to overlook these ridiculous lyrics, although I've never been one for judging a song based on its lyrical content.
#49 for 1998 website
This was meant to be the third single to be released from Five's debut album, although it was pushed back to be the fourth single likely due to them having the same "na na na's" as what Will Smith had on his hit "Getting jiggy with it" from the previous year. The similarities didn't prevent this from being a hit here in Australia for the British boy band, although I'm sure Will Smith fans weren't happy about this.
#50 for 1999 website
While she wasn't as inescapable as her main Disney rival Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera did have the advantage of having the better voice of the two which is perhaps why she was able to score three Billboard chart toppers from her debut album. This was the second of the three which no doubt inspired a movie named What women want which came out less than a year after its initial release.
This will be the only appearance from Selwyn on this site, mainly because "Buggin me" was too much of a sleeper hit to reach the upper echelons of the charts to qualify for this list and "Way love's supposed to be" was only a minor hit at best despite it being the fan favourite from the Australian RNB singer. Here we have his cover of the Hall and Oates classic that was well received by us Aussies this year.
#50 for 2002 website
I'm surprised this collaboration didn't happen much sooner in time considering how Aerosmith have been active almost as long as Santana has, I guess it was only once the latter found success by collaborating with some of the biggest names of the 90's and 00's that he finally decided to add a rock legend to his roster of collaborations with this track. Indeed, this sounds like something from the golden age of 70's rock and roll which is likely why it was a hit.
This was another two for one deal to come out of this decade, in this case we have both "Mr. Wendal" and "Revolution" being a massive success as the third and fourth singles from Arrested development's debut album. The former is about the wisdom of the titular Mr. Wendal while the latter is about starting a revolution to demand American politicians make do on their (to this day) empty promises to the American black community.
#45 for 1993 website
This was the second cover that Whitney Houston recorded for her feature film debut; this time she's covering Chaka Khan for reasons I can't seem to fathom as I don't remember this cover being in the film itself. It's a noteworthy cover as it managed to be a bigger hit for her than for Chaka back in the late 70's, no doubt helping people rediscover the RNB singer around the time this became a hit for her.
This was the only hit from Nick Cave and the Bad seeds throughout their career, even then I feel this was more a hit due to it being a duet with Kylie Minogue during the height of her indie phase. The two have surprisingly decent chemistry on this trach which is perhaps why it was able to find mainstream success passed the novelty of a pop princess duetting with a rock star who likely stood against her earlier catalogue.
#39 for 1995 website
This was the lead single to the Corrs third album, an album which saw them branch away from their Celtic sound they had on their previous two albums in favour of more conventional adult contemporary. This paid off for them big time internationally as this was a massive worldwide success for them, however it wasn't as big here in Australia likely due to us feeling like they sold out with this track.
This was the only hit to come from Puddle of Mudd here in Australia, although their big hit internationally was "Blurry" from the previous year which flopped here for some reason. The song is infamous for being written from the perspective of a teenage boy who got dumped for the first time, at least that's what people who despise this song have claimed given how it's been widely mocked since its initial release.
It took a while for Maroon 5's debut album to find success worldwide, in fact I remember hearing the lead single "Harder to breathe" on the radio from the previous year quite a bit back in the day, so you can imagine my surprise when I found out it was a flop for them even in their native America years later. Their second single is also much lower on this list than I otherwise would've predicted if I'm being honest.
Well, these guys chose a strange song to launch the album cycle of Zooropa didn't they? Fortunately, once "Numb" had left the charts, they released this song which had Bono back on vocals while the Edge provides backing vocals to justify why they had him on lead vocals from their earlier single. People remain divided on this album to this day due to how they feel about the band heading in an industrial direction.
You knew she was going to make one of these lists eventually, so here's the big hit that Bjork managed to achieve outside of her native Iceland thanks to being quite possibly the most bombastic hit single of the 90's with the combination of her vocals and the swing jazz production on display. She already had success with her solo album Debut from two years prior, however this lead single from her second album Post was what made her a household name.
This was the second single to come from La Bouche's album this year, it's a song that shares its name with a Eurythmics track that in turn had a cover from Marilyn Manson that was also released this year albeit as a massive flop. This song has nothing to do with that track as it's a dance track about how the duo is looking for love on the dance floor whereas that song is about err...... whatever it's about.
This was originally the debut single for the Backstreet boys released three years prior, due to the success of their second album, their first album was given a second chance this year where it became a modest success for the boys. All of this led to them winning the boy band wars by their third album the following year.
This was the third hit that Shaggy achieved on his comeback album hot stuff here in Australia, this time he recruits Samantha Cole to provide the chorus for him as he gushes about the love of his life and how fortunate he is to have her as his partner. Apparently, this was originally recorded with Janet Jackson for a soundtrack a movie no one has ever heard of from 1998, that would explain why he rerecorded that track for this album.
It took us long enough, but we finally have a single from Garbage appearing on my site even though they were one of the more successful bands of the 90's with their first two albums. It's by far their most pop friendly song as well as one of their shortest as it's about Shirley Manson addressing the love of her life (which is hinted at being a trans woman in the lyrics) that was an instant success for them.
Following the massive success she had with her sophomore album, Kasey Chambers decided to hold fans over between that and her third album by releasing this cover of the Cyndi Lauper classic from the 80's which proved to be a massive hit for the Australian country singer upon its immediate release.
This song was reportedly inspired by the reality series of the same name, in fact Beyonce was supposedly watching the show when she decided to theme a breakup anthem around the show which resulted in the song's creation for the album of the same name. It was a massive hit for the trio upon its initial release, in fact I'm surprised it wasn't a bigger hit here in Australia given its status as a feminist anthem.
Given how Avril Lavigne was about to take over the world with her debut album this year, it only seems fitting that her predecessor Alanis Morissette would get in one more hit in her career before handing over the torch to her younger counterpart. I feel this is a good indication of why Avril needed to take over the mantle of being a voice of a generation from Canada as I keep forgetting this even exists.
Well, I did warn you that this song would be much lower on this list than you'd think, once again you can thank Sony for this blunder who not only delayed this song's release by a month, but also had the audacity to pull it from shelves two months after it did come out. I'll go into details with these songs that suffered this sort of fate when I get around to the NZ side of these lists.
This was the first hit single that Mariah Carey had that had her craft a distinctive personality for her worldwide audience, sure her previous songs were impactful, but they could've been sung by anybody unlike this track which is distinctly her own. It also sees her incorporating RNB into her sound which she would continue to do for many of her songs throughout the rest of the decade.
This was a hit singles twice in Australia for Alicia Bridges, the first time was upon its initial release where it rode the disco bandwagon along with many other RNB tracks of its day and the second was with this remix which was used for the film Priscilla queen of the desert. It's usually this remix people think of whenever they think of any version of this song or indeed, a queer anthem in general.
This took a while for it to find success here in Australia, again because RNB wasn't that big here in Australia until the second half of the decade. This song was likely a success thanks to the angelic chorus from an RNB group known as Kut Klose, a group that I and many others feel deserves better than to play second fiddle to Keith Sweat given how much better their vocals are than his on here.
This was the fourth single that Savage Garden released from their self-titled debut album, as such it was an instant success here thanks to the production once again living up to their namesake and being savage compared to everything else that was popular around the time of its release. They would release one more single from the album with "Universe" before going back to make their second album.
This is the final hit that Brandy has had anywhere in the world, mainly because it's a completely different type of song that fans were used to throughout the 90's as it's what's known as a glitch pop track due to the production sounding like it's glitching out during the song. Although it was a hit in certain parts of the world, it was the death nail in her career as her subsequent follow ups flopped.
#49 for 2002 website
This was the only other hit that Jamelia was able to achieve here in Australia, this time it's with her version of "Fighter" by Christina Aguilera as this is about her thanking her abusive ex for making her a better person despite treating her like crap in the relationship. It's a shining example of how female empowerment in music has been around for much longer than modern pop artists give people credit for.
Now that these guys had one of the biggest hits of the decade, they had little issues with finding success in Australia and the rest of the world which allowed this A Capella rendition of a 50's staple to become a hit for them this year. Indeed, their next album would be an even bigger success given how it spawned two back-to-back Billboard chart toppers for them that would also be huge hits worldwide.
Technically this wasn't the only hit that Motiv8 had in Australia as he also scored a hit under the alias of Mozaic the following year with "Nothing in the world" as well as being the brainchild behind Gina G's Eurovision classic "Ooh aah just a little bit." Before he scored a hit with either of those dance tracks, he made it big with this EDM track thanks to the vocals of Angie Brown who you may recognise for her performance on Mark Morrison's "Return of the Mack."
This was the lead single from a covers album that Tom Jones released just as the decade was coming to an end, it's notable for A: helping the Cardigans escape from the one hit wonder bin and B: helping the Talking heads original finally find an audience here in Australia after almost two decades of complete obscurity. This was the only hit from the album Reload, although I would've thought "Sex bomb" would be a big hit as well.
This is the final hit that Janet Jackson scored in her career worldwide, mainly because she would find herself getting cancelled at the 2004 Superbowl for her wardrobe malfunction despite the fact that Justin Timberlake was the reason for why the world got a peak at her breasts that night. She hasn't made any comment about how she feels about that night, although I doubt she has positive feelings towards the N sync member.
This is another song on this list that's much lower than it probably should be, although it had the similar fate to U2's "Beautiful day" from the start of the decade where it had strong first week sales and then quickly dropped out of the charts as opposed to many entries that had their releases tampered with by our music industry. This was the lead single to Kylie's album Body language, a mixed bag of a release that many fans will say was her last decent album.
My American readers are likely confused as to how this managed to become a hit here in Australia given how it wasn't even released as a single over there, I guess we Aussies didn't want a song as controversial as "Superman" to become a success here, so instead we went with this as the fourth single from the album instead of that which the rest of the world followed suit with.
#49 for 2003 website
This will be one of only three appearances from the Sugababes on the Australian side of my site, although like most British groups (specifically the girl groups) they were much more successful over in NZ throughout the decade. The girls are best known for their multiple lineup changes throughout their career, to the point whereby the time the band was no more, none of the original members were a part of the group.
Well, this is the lead single to the first of two albums which saw Metallica go in a more mainstream direction than their previous album which fans had already complained was a watered-down version of their earlier work, I guess the message their old school fans were sending these guys was that they really didn't want the masses to influence what these guys would make in their discography.
This was the second volume of the Unforgiven trilogy that Metallica released, as I said this was the biggest hit of the trilogy likely due to it being more pop friendly than the first entry from seven years prior.
#50 for 1998 website
Well, I guess even D12 can prove that they had a serious side to them during their time together, as such we have their third and final hit from their discography which seems to take a page from some of Eminem's more serious work from his solo albums. They never released a third album due to the death of Proof two years later, although they did try to reunite throughout the 2010's to little avail.
This lead single to Robbie William's swing album was delayed here in Australia due to the sudden rise in popularity of his earlier entry on this list, it certainly had little to do with the presence of Nicole Kidman who was fresh off her Oscar nominated performance as Satine from Moulin Rouge where she even scored a minor hit the previous year with co-star Ewan Macgregor with the film's one original track "Come what may."
This was the last song to become a hit for Craig David outside his native UK, although I get the feeling this was the case due to it sampling Sting's "Shape of my heart" from his 1993 album Ten summoner's tales and even managed to get Sting to rerecord the chorus on this track which connects the verses together. It was also the first time Sting managed to score a hit anywhere in the world in over a decade.
This is one of two hits that the Rogue traders had from their debut album that wasn't based off a sample from an older track (their first single was based off an Elvis Costello sample) the other was "We're coming home" which was too much of a sleeper hit to make it on this site. This was a huge hit for the band as it was the song they released once they dropped their album which was a massive success.
#46 for 2005 website
This was the last hit that Destiny's child was able to achieve in their career internationally, although they had one more hit on Billboard with "Cater 2 u" which is the opposite of what Beyonce would become known for throughout her solo career. Indeed, most of their catalogue saw a more lovestruck side of Beyonce and company which she would distance herself from the further into her solo career she got.
#49 for 2005 website
The song this live concert is paying homage to was originally released by Abba from their 1977 self-titled album which was clearly meant to be a homage to the music of the 40's and 50's given that was no doubt the music which made Abba want to become musicians. So basically, we have a live rendition of a song that was made in the 70's which in turn was paying homage to music from the first half of the century.
#47 for 1999 website
This was the first of two hits that British singer/firefighter scored here with a cover of a 70's track (yes, we have a firefighter scoring hits in Australia.) Here Newton resurrects the camp classic from Jigsaw (or British Jigsaw as we Aussies called them) for an even campier dance hit that became a huge success on our dance floors. He would score an even bigger hit the following year by covering Dan Hill.
This was a surprisingly good decade for Eric Clapton considering he hadn't had any success with his singles in Australia prior to his appearance on MTV unplugged four years prior. Here he scores another hit due to it being the theme to the film Phenomenon where John Travolta plays a man who suddenly acquires telekinetic powers with chaos ensuing from there. It was a box office success despite mixed reviews due to the premise of the film.
This was originally released as a bonus track from Bruce Springsteen's greatest hits package from two years prior, most likely as a way to capitalise off the film of the same name from 1993. It was given a second chance when it was included in the Jerry Maguire soundtrack where it became a massive success due to it being the soundtrack to Tom Cruise and Renee Zellweger's romance in the film.
If you can believe it, this wasn't originally released as the theme to Romeo + Juliet and was instead released as the Swedish band's lead single to their third album from the previous year. Somehow Baz Lurhman got a hold of this track and included it in his film adaptation of the Shakespeare play where it became a massive worldwide success for them, probably because people thought it was a No doubt track.
#49 for 1997 website
Here we have the title track from Madonna's magnum opus Ray of light, an album that sees her returning to her indie roots by having stripped back production after over a decade of releasing albums with bombast and glossy production. Here we have proof that a song can be as catchy as hell with minimal production, in fact I and many others would've had this be the lead single rather than her earlier entry.
If you thought that "How do I deal" was a fluke hit for Jennifer Love Hewitt due to it being the theme to a film she starred in, it turns out it wasn't as she was able to score two more hits here in Australia with songs that were akin to what Avril Lavigne and Michelle Branch were releasing at the time. This was the first of those two songs which was well received here in Australia and nowhere else in the world.
This was the second hit that Silverchair achieved from their sophomore album this year, it was a moderate success for the band as it was a more mature version of their original sound from their debut album.
#48 for 1997 website
The legends are true people, Jennifer Love Hewitt did in fact have a singing career before she transitioned into acting beginning earlier in the decade as a teen pop idol similar to that of Alanis Morissette. Like the Canadian singer/songwriter, she transitioned into a more mature singer/songwriter with this track that was written for the second film in the I know what you did last summer franchise which she also happened to star in.
Following the demise of Aqua from earlier in the decade, keyboardist Lazyboy decided to embark on a solo career which was a complete failure for him save for this spoken word track about how lazy he felt America was becoming during the midpoint of the 00's. I'm not sure if this was supposed to be taken seriously or what, but it was a huge hit for him here in Australia and nowhere else in the world.
#45 for 2005 website
This was the lead single to Tina's third album In deep, an album that didn't exactly live up to the hype that her previous album set up but was nonetheless a huge success for her here in Australia. I personally would've gone with "Now I can dance" as the lead single as that was more fun and a better album opener than this track.
#41 for 1997 website
This was the lead single to the Velvet rope, although I wouldn't blame you for thinking her earlier entry was considering how that completely overshadowed this cover of the Joni Mitchell classic. OK so it's not really a cover as Janet only samples the chorus to the original while she and Q tip have original verses, much like a bunch of other songs throughout the decade that managed to get big with this formula.
This wasn't intended to be an LGBT anthem as it was simply another dance track that George Michael released this decade; however, it became one when it was revealed that he was gay against his will as the British tabloids discovered him at a gay bar around this time and outed him as a result. At least he was able to embrace who he truly was after the fact as otherwise that would've been a traumatic experience for him.
The 90's might have been wrapping up this year, however that didn't mean its trends were as we have this trance track from this German DJ becoming a massive worldwide success after a full decade of successful European DJ's making it big with EDM. I guess this is one of the more popular instrumentals of the decade as well as most of the big hits from the genre in Australia had vocals attached to them.
This was another two for one deal to make it big in Australia, this time it's the fourth and fifth singles from Vanessa Amorosi's debut album which were likely bundled together in order to give her a fourth consecutive hit from the album. The two songs are totally different from each other as "The power" is an upbeat track about living her life to the fullest whilst "Everytime I close my eyes" is a downtempo love song.
This was another female empowerment anthem to become a hit worldwide, this time it comes from Christina Aguilera and Lil Kim who collaborated with each other for the second time this decade after "Lady marmalade" from two years prior for a song that might not have been as successful, but still resonated with audiences worldwide due to them making an anthem for women for the ages.
This was the debut single from the grunge band Collective soul, a band who only had one hit here in Australia but did very well in their native America throughout the remainder of the decade with their subsequent follow ups. I'm guessing this was a hit here due to this being the height of the grunge era, although it makes the failure of the rest of their catalogue all the more confusing if that's the case.
This was a massive success for Pearl Jam likely due to the popularity of its key song "I got ID" which was heavily flogged on the radio at the time. Indeed, this kept the bands momentum going as their next two albums would be a massive success for them during a time their peers would struggle for popularity.
You know that the Backstreet boys were the clear winners of the boy band wars when the young brother of one of its members was able to score a huge hit throughout Europe with his cover of an 80's classic. The sad thing is that the Jets original never charted here in Australia, meaning most of us Aussies likely don't realise this is even a cover to begin with. It's a shame because the original is a ton of fun.
While Eminem had success the previous year with "My name is," it was this song that made him an overnight sensation due to it essentially being him calling out all of the double standards not just in the music industry but in pop culture in general whilst having a catchy beat and a hilarious video to go along with what he has to say. It was a massive hit for him whilst also reassuring people that his vulgar content wasn't meant to be taken too seriously.
This is another song that was way more popular back in the day here in Australia than its placement on this list otherwise suggests, again you can blame Sony of Australia for tampering with its release schedule to cater to the Australian idol masses of the year. This was the only song to come from Big Boi's side of the duo's album Speakerboxx, I'm guessing Andre 3000 wanted all of the singles from the album if this was the only song to be released from the album as a single not by him.
Given this was on an album filled with sexually charged dance tracks meant to titillate her audience, it feels a little odd that Madonna would choose this rare ballad of hers as a single. It paid off as it became the big hit from the album in most parts of the world, proving that her audience ultimately wants to hear good music from her before being titillated by her antics.
In most parts of the world, Enrique only had two hits with his other appearances on this list from his second English language album Escape, however in the southern hemisphere, he scored a third hit from the album with this track likely due to it having more of a rock edge compared to what he had released up until this point. He would score one more hit this decade with "I'm not in love" before temporarily fading into obscurity.
Following the success of the title track from Erotica, Madonna decided that she was done trying to shock audiences with her sexual appeal and instead go for a more conventional dance track as the second single from the album. It proved to be a bigger hit for her mainly due to it being a song you can play on the dance floor but also due to the video and its visuals of balloons floating away signifying going deeper into the relationship.
(part of this song's success predates the OZ music charts, as such, I had to improvise with its placement on this list)
This could've very well been the last hit single that Mariah Carey had in Australia given what was about to come next for her in the new millennium (we won't be discussing it here.) Fortunately, she was able to return with her 2005 effort the Emancipation of Mimi which we'll get to on the 2005 list. For now, we have this anthem about sticking it to the cheating scumbag that Mariah was dating at the time complete with a huge budget music video.
This was the second single from Bomfunk MC to make it big worldwide, it's more or less like their earlier entry on this list only without the bizarre music video or the shout out to Smokie that the radio somehow missed had an f-bomb in. There's not much I can say about this song, it was a hit for the band that didn't lead them to have any further success.
It looked like Anastacia's second album was going to become a complete flop for her around the world given how its lead single "Paid my dues" failed to become a hit for her, in order to prevent that from happening, the second single was given a remix which people pointed out made it seem like it was "I'm outta love" 2.0 which regardless proved to be a hit for the American pop star here in Australia at least.
The first season of Australian idol was such a phenomenon here in Australia that its theme song was an instant number one hit when Sony of Australia decided to release it as a single, although the real success from the show came with Guy Sebastian's earlier entry on this list becoming the biggest hit of the decade and the second biggest hit of all time behind Elton John's tribute to Princess Diana from 1997.
This was an amazing year for Ciara as she scored a third hit in a row around the world with this track, here she recruits Ludacris to provide a guest verse for her which normally wouldn't have done the song any favours (save for Usher's "Yeah") but in this case it likely helped Ciara have that third hit here in Australia as the album they all came from failed to become a success like the singles were.
#48 for 2005 website
This was a two for one deal from Frente, although it wasn't originally as "Lonely" was released on its own as the band's American debut single and flopped due to it being a departure from their sweet and innocent image from their debut album. They attached their cover of a New order track which also came on an E.P named after their other song which helped them score one final hit this year down under.
This was the big breakthrough that Green day had from their album Dookie, an album that began its cycle with a song about masturbation which no doubt initially turned people off from the duo. This was one of the first hits to not receive a physical release in America, which is why it never charted on Billboard despite it being one of their most popular songs even to this day.
This was Leann Rimes only hit as a country artist in Australia, oh she would go on to have massive success in the new millennium as a pop star, however she began her career as a country singer with tracks such as this ballad. Considering she was only fourteen years old when she released this song, it's impressive that her vocals are this strong considering what most fourteen-year-olds sound like.
#48 for 1996 website
This was the only hit for British DJ Blue boy, an EDM track that was a shoe in to become a success in Australia due to EDM still being at the height of its popularity during the late 90's. There's not much I could find out about the person behind this track, apparently their birth name is Alexis Blackmore, and they identify as a man, apparently that can be a male name even though I always thought it was a female one.
This is the final appearance that Bryan Adams will be making on this site, mainly because he scored a massive hit with the British DJ Chicane who felt he could make a dance track with the Canadian crooner providing vocals. He turned out to be correct as this was a massive worldwide hit for the duo, although it was also the DJ's only hit as none of his other collaborations caught on anywhere.
I didn't really have room to mention why "Who let the dogs out" was so low on my previous list, although it should be obvious by now as it was yet another song pulled from shelves in order to encourage album sales from the group. The second single from said album didn't suffer such a fate as it was free to become a massive hit here in Australia due to it a fun party jam that wasn't from a kid's movie.
Well, if you wanted to hear Shannon Noll's take on a song specifically written for the Australian cricket team in the late 70's, you're probably one of the many people who made this a hit during the early months of the year back in the day. Again, this is a song that's much lower on this list due to how quickly it dropped off the charts despite it being a massive hit.
Unlike her E street co-star Melissa Tkautz, Toni Pearen waited until she was an adult before she began recording songs which it turns out were far less sexually charged given how she went for a more adult contemporary direction with her music. This means that while her songs are admittedly less memorable, they're also less embarrassing which is why Toni was able to successfully become a TV host once the hits dried up.
(part of this song's success predates the OZ music charts, as such, I had to improvise with its placement on this list)
Given how the Eminem show was meant to debunk all of the controversies that were lobbied against Eminem, it only makes sense that he would make this the centrepiece of the album which of course meant that it would be released as a single right after his entry from towards the top of this list. While it didn't win over his haters, it did reassure those who were on the fence that no, he wasn't a violent misogynistic homophobe like he portrayed himself as on his albums.
It had been a while since Dannii Minogue troubled the charts with her pop music, so it seems inevitable she would follow in the footsteps of her older sister and move towards indie music during the second half of the decade. She did just that with this track which ranks among her more popular songs in her catalogue, although like Kylie she would return to bubble-gum pop in the new millennium.
This was released the previous year in Gareth Gates native UK when he came second in the short-lived series Pop idol, basically it was a version of Popstars but for solo artists much like what that series would become throughout the decade. I'm not sure why this was released as a single here in Australia a year later, however it was which led to it becoming a surprise hit for the British contestant.
I think this is the first hit to become as such thanks to the power of text to speech, and who says that AI generated content is a recent phenomenon when it was able to give Italian DJ Benny Benassi a hit in the early to mid 00's? Of course, the real success of this song comes from its two music videos, both of which are completely bizarre which of course makes it a shoe in for my inevitable weirdest videos list.
#44 for 2003 website
This often gets lost in the shuffle when it comes to BEP's catalogue, mainly because it wasn't as big a hit as all their other entries on this site likely due to it being a rehash of "Shut up" from their previous album only with Fergie also needing to defend herself from her partner like the other three with theirs. It was still a hit for the group, mainly for the laid-back production and the sentiment still coming through.
#43 for 2005 website
It may not have had any endorsements from De la soul like their earlier entry on this list, however this second single from the Gorillaz was still a massive worldwide success for the British band due to it being just as funky as their other hit from their second album this year. Although they consisted of a real-world band, their gimmick was their comic book style cartoon band that they used for their music videos.
This was the final hit that Cher was able to score here in Australia, admittedly this comes immediately after her earlier hit on this list as it served as a huge comeback for her after a rather dormant period in the mainstream. I guess this song and the rest of the album was devoid of any autotune to reassure listeners that she could still sing at this point in her career, even though the usage of autotune has been called the Cher effect.
Not counting her collaboration with Busta Rhymes on "I know what you want," this was the first hit that Mariah Carey had in the 21st century anywhere in the world given how she began the century with her acting debut in Glitter, a movie so infamous that it reportedly was responsible for her declining mental health earlier in the decade. Here she returns to form with the lead single to her comeback album under her alter ego Mimi.
#47 for 2005 website
This is a song that may seem extraordinarily low to anyone reading this list, indeed it was a massive success for U2 back in the day even if its placement on here suggests it was a mere moderate success at best. It had record breaking sales upon its debut here in Australia, however that led to it dropping in the lower half of the charts where it stuck around due to airplay refusing to let it die.
#46 for 2000 website
It's a bit weird that "Me myself and I" flopped here in Australia and yet this sex jam from Beyonce's debut album was a hit, then again, I don't remember hearing the third single from the album much back in the day and yet remember this being inescapable. This samples "Love to love you" by Donna Summer and has an added flavour of middle eastern music to give it that erotic sound she was going for.
It feels weird that this song underperformed in Australia back in the day, especially considering how inescapable she would go on to be later in the decade given how it was a much bigger hit for her internationally at the time. This was the moment where she began distancing herself from her debut album as this is her admitting that she had to compromise who she was in order to make that album.
I get the feeling if we Aussies were more open to allowing British artists to make it big throughout the decade then this British trio would've had a ton of success here, after all they did have a minor hit with "One night stand" the previous year which sounded similar to their biggest hit. I guess the lyrical content is different as that's about having a one-night stand whereas this is about wanting more out of a relationship.
#50 for 2003 website
I may have to tread lightly with this entry as there's a bit of a dark reason why Houston is a one hit wonder with this posse cut with Chingy and Nate Dogg, that's because he had a medical episode while promoting the track which resulted in him needing to be hospitalised and subsequently dropped from his label. At least it was a massive worldwide success for the rapper that promised him a bright future.
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