I suppose I should include a ranking for songs from the second half of the 00's given how I've done one of these lists for every other time period I've covered on this site, as you'll quickly find out, these entries stuck around for quite some time to the point that many would outrank some of the biggest albums of all time in Australia through this metric. Also don't ask me to do a list like this for the 2010's and beyond, quite frankly I don't want to as many songs frequently re-enter the charts thanks to digital downloads and ESPECIALLY streaming. Heck I've had to impose a cutoff point of the final week of 2010 for each entry on this list for the sake of my sanity.
Also, the commentary from this list is a combination of those found on my biggest digital hits list as well as the main lists for entries that failed to appear on that list.
Likely due to it coming off too much as a victory single from a reality series which our digital storefront wasn't a fan of in the 00's.
It looks like Brendan Urie and company were able to score a second hit off their debut album here in Australia, this also came close to appearing in the NZ side of my site but was too much of a sleeper hit over there to do so for the record.
This was such a commercial disappointment for Beyonce here in Australia, I'm not sure why as this lead single to her second solo album used the same formula as "Crazy in love" right down to it having her future husband Jay-Z on as a guest rapper. I guess her fans wanted her to embrace her feminist side of her music as she would find more success with her feminist (and sometimes misandrist) anthems from here on out.
While this was far less successful as a digital release than as a physical single here in Australia, the fact that it still lingered in the top twenty of that format should give you an idea of how well-loved Kelly Clarkson was even if fans were admittedly weary about the direction she was taking her career in with this track and the album it came from.
While this duet between Beyonce and Shakira was more of a success as a physical release than on our digital storefront, it was still a huge hit regardless of which format we're looking at which makes the failure of the latter's third English album here all the more puzzling later in the decade.
This was more of a sleeper hit for Kanye here in Australia as opposed to being a more mainstream success over in NZ and his native America, I guess we Aussies were too busy vibing to his earlier entry on this list which sampled the Daft punk track to take notice of his collaboration with T pain back in the day.
I wasn't expecting to feature the sixth single from the Pussycat dolls on this site given how it was barely a sleeper hit for the quintet back in the day, I guess having Timbaland provide a guest verse was what allowed this to become a hit for the girls even though the album was a proven success by the time it hit the store shelves.
I actually don't know why this was more of a hit on our physical charts than it was on our digital charts.
I told you this only barely missed the cut for appearing on the main list, in fact it's technically more popular than "This love" on the digital format but only because it charted much higher on those charts. It of course didn't chart nearly as long which is why it places much lower on this list than that does.
This was a minor hit for Jordin Sparks here in Australia as opposed to it being her second biggest hit over in NZ, it also means we've featured every song of hers to chart here in Australia on this side of my site given how she hasn't charted since her collaboration with Guy Sebastian.
There's little surprise that this was more of a hit on our digital charts than it was on our physical charts considering how these guys got their start as a YouTube act, although it's impressive they were able to appeal to those who preferred to consume their music through physical media back in the day.
This proved to be equally as popular on our digital charts as it was on our physical charts, I'm guessing she won over those who were put off by her third album on the digital storefront given how much less popular "Never again" was earlier in the decade on there (it's still to reappear on this list regardless.)
This was a bit more of a hit on our digital charts than it was as a physical release for Rob Thomas, this makes sense given how his band scored one of the biggest hits of the decade on that format despite them not having a huge physical hit single their debut single from 1997.
While her previous two entries proved to be more successful as physical releases than they were on our storefront, the same definitely isn't the case with the singles from Funhouse as this was far more popular as a digital release than it was on our physical charts.
You better believe that the Glee phenomenon was so inescapable when the show debuted that it was able to spawn a genuine hit for its cast in the music industry, indeed this cover of the Journey classic was one of the last hits of the decade worldwide due to it being so well received on the show that it single handedly made the original a cultural icon despite it being a massive flop back in the 80's.
The original version of this track was a massive flop worldwide for Kid Cudi, likely because of how unconventional it was even for the realms of emo rap. It was given a second chance this year when a group by the name of Crookers remixed the track to be more commercially viable where it became a massive hit for him here in Australia and his native America.
22 weeks
I think this was meant to be the "Lose yourself" of 50 cent's autobiographical film Get rich or die trying, it was a hit worldwide likely due to the film being a box office success (even though it was panned by critics for being a rip-off of his mentor's film) but it didn't receive any accolades to my knowledge nor did it reach the dizzying heights of Eminem's Oscar winning ballad from earlier in the decade.
This is the oldest song on this list, suffice to say that even though it does appear lower on here than it would on my hypothetical physical list, the fact that it retains a high position on here despite how long it charted on our main charts easily suggests that it was far more popular on our digital storefront than it was as a physical single here in Australia.
This was far less popular on our digital charts than it was as a physical release, I'm guessing because Nick Lachey's only claim to fame here in Australia was that he was the ex-husband of Jessica Simpson, meaning that the bulk of his audience here were likely those who bought physical singles as they were fans of several songs that didn't make the cut for this list.
Over a decade prior to his presence on the song which single handedly introduced the world to 2010's reggaeton "Despacito," Daddy Yankee was a one hit wonder with his own reggaeton track which became a surprise worldwide success for the Latin artist likely due to how catchy it was compared to everything else on this list. You'd think that he would've thrived during the Zumba craze of the 2010's given how his music would fit into those playlists.
It's entirely possible that James Blunt would've had even further success with the first two singles from his debut album had the digital charts launched when they were initially released, as is, the third single from the album was far more popular on our storefront likely due to it being unaffected by the albums success on there as opposed to how its success as a physical release was impacted by it.
Victory singles generally didn't do so well on our digital charts like they did as physical media.
This may have quickly fallen off the digital charts once they initially launched, however it too was released several months prior to their launch which easily suggests that it was simply going out of vogue in our music scene rather than it being rejected by the digital crowd. Quite impressive given how Ashlee disgraced herself two years prior with her infamous SNL performance in the eyes of the music scene.
I guess this song from Happy feet really connected with those who consumed music from digital downloads considering how much more successful it was on our digital charts than it was as a physical release, although I'm sure this would've been an even bigger hit on the latter format if anyone knew who Gia Farrell was outside of the film's soundtrack.
Well, if you couldn't tell by the title of this song, this was a novelty track about the hobby ping pong that became a surprise hit for the Australian band Operator please likely due to this being an excellent time for offbeat songs to make it big in the mainstream worldwide. I'm willing to bet that if streaming had existed back then, this would be one of the biggest hits of all time down under as well as a huge international hit.
This is the final new entry from Fall out boy on this list, it was the third single from their breakthrough album Infinity on high which was only a success thanks to digital sales given how the album was already a massive success here by the time this had hit our store shelves.
This was originally released two years prior from the Swedish pop star September (real name Petra Marklund) it wasn't a big hit anywhere in the world for some reason which led to it fading into obscurity. It was given a second chance this year when a British DJ remixed it where it became a massive success for her everywhere in the world including America which was unusual for a European artist by this point in time.
I guess Akon was able to score one more entry on this list after all given how his remix of MJ's 1983 classic managed to be more of a success on our digital charts than it was as a physical single upon its release. I did notice while combing through our digital charts that older songs did pop up in the lower half of those charts quite often throughout the decade which would explain this remixes success.
Much like his earlier entry on this list, I'm a bit surprised that this wasn't more of a hit for T.I on our digital charts especially considering how it had JT as a guest feature, although their other collaboration from earlier on this list also didn't do as well on our digital charts as it did as a physical release.
This was equally as popular on our digital charts as it was on our main charts, although the fact that her earlier entry finally outranks this on a list on my site is an accurate representation of how successful her solo career was during the final stretch of the decade.
This was the title track from Jessica Mauboy's second album, it was a big hit for her just like another entry that's still to come on this list, proving that she was robbed three years prior when she lost the fourth season of Australian idol.
The hits kept on coming for BEP going into the new decade as this fourth single from the E.N.D (Energy never dies for the uninitiated) was a massive worldwide hit for the quartet. Evidently this was stitched together with "Imma be" in their native America due to its video serving as a continuation to that video, it would explain why that track was the third Billboard chart topper for them on the album.
You better believe Soulja boy wasn't a one hit wonder here in Australia, although he nearly was as this struggled to find an audience amongst us Aussies given how much of a novelty his earlier entry was back in the day. Naturally this was a far bigger hit for the rapper in NZ and his native America.
This was sandwiched between the two big hits off of Maroon 5's second album It won't be soon before long, I guess this means we Aussies weren't that impressed with this track from the band and only kept it around out of obligation rather than having any genuine affection for it.
21 weeks
For whatever reason, "Behind these hazel eyes" was a massive commercial disappointment here in Australia despite how well I remember hearing that song on the radio back in the day. Fortunately, the fourth single from Breakaway was a massive hit for Kelly Clarkson due to it being about her dealing with her parents' divorce and how it left her emotionally scarred growing up.
This was the third victory single to come out of Australian idol, although at least this time, the winner in question had more of a career than her predecessor as Kate scored a second solo hit after this as well as a ton of success as one of the members of Young divas.
I guess Chris Brown needed to earn his way into becoming a superstar as far as our digital storefront was concerned as there’s no evidence this was a hit at all if that format launched during the height of its popularity.
This likely would've been more of a success here in Australia had ARIA incorporated digital sales during the height of its popularity, as is, it did fairly well as the fourth single from the Rogue traders first album with Natlie on vocals given how it was already a massive success by the time it was released as a single.
I don't remember this track at all from back in the day, apparently this comes from a British artist who was active here in Australia which would explain why it was a modest success here and nowhere else in the world.
Given the success of their earlier entry on this list worldwide, Hinder was finally able to find massive success with their album which included this second single from the band that was a hit only here in Australia and their native America. These were the only two hits that the band was able to achieve as their second album failed to become a success for them the following year when it was released.
This was the lead single to the Rogue traders second and final album with Natalie Bassingthwaighte as their lead vocalist, as you can tell, it wasn't as inescapable as the previous entries I've featured on this site so far which should tell you how it struggled to find an audience back in the day. Their next single was a much bigger hit for them the following year, proving their time in the spotlight wasn't over just yet.
This was another E.P that Missy Higgins managed to score a hit with on the singles charts, although this formula didn't work out as well for her as despite it debuting at number one on our charts, it was only half as successful as the other two E.P's I've mentioned on this site from her. Still at least the album overall was a massive success.
Well given how the Crazy frog was no longer able to score hits in the music scene, this allowed the German creation Gummibear to fill in for the amphibian which managed to score one hit this year thanks to its CGI video making the waves on YouTube. This won't be making my weird videos list as it was obvious that the bizarre imagery on there was intentional much like it was on Crazy frog's videos.
I told you Maroon 5's ambitions of doing whatever it took to make it big in the mainstream began much sooner than people thought, here we have a song featuring Rihanna that didn't have the famous pop star on the album that became a worldwide hit for the band. It's a bit of a coincidence that this was released ten years prior to when they would repeat this feat with "Girls like you" only with Cardi B instead of Rihanna (and with a video appeasing the feminists.)
Jordin Sparks was certainly on a roll during the second half of the decade when it came to both formats of our charts, so much so that it's bizarre that the hits would dry up for her going into the 2010's even though she began on a strong foot with her collaboration with Guy Sebastian (which is still to reappear on this list.)
This was another near miss for the main list that proved to be equally as successful as both a digital release and as a physical release here in Australia, again this is further proof that pop divas were equally as welcome with the cool kids as they were with the more mainstream audience throughout the decade.
Even though this was considered to be the first part of BEP's previous entry on this list, it was released as the fifth single from their album the E.N.D likely because we Aussies didn't particularly care for the storyline of their singles like their fellow Americans did. As a result, it was far less successful here than in their native America, although it could also be due to most of us finding the song irritating with its stuttering vocals.
Given how Nelly was one of the biggest names of the 00's and that Fergie was at the height of her solo popularity, it makes sense that the two would collaborate on this track even if the results was a bit of a commercial disappointment for the pair. Fergie would rebound from this when she rejoined BEP the year after its release, and this wouldn't be the last we'd hear from Nelly either.
It turns out this lasted for quite some time on our charts despite it not being much of a hit for Chamillionaire (I can't even with that name) so much so that it earns itself a spot on this list even though I doubt many Aussies remember this being a hit here back in the day. Naturally this was the best the rapper can do given how he's a one hit wonder even in his own homeland.
20 weeks
There were no signs of these girls slowing down in the music industry as their second single managed to become a massive worldwide hit for them, this time it's with one of their ballads which showcases a more restrained side of them which I'm sure also titillated their audiences the same was as their other songs did.
Well, this is awkward, mainly because I'm featuring a song from a trans woman years prior to her transition but also due to her involvement with Shawn Mendes a decade after her initial breakthrough. Nowadays Teddy is more famous for her work with Shawn than her own material.
I guess this was released quite early in the year which would explain why it only lasted a few weeks on the digital charts when they first launched, this suggests that the second single from Nickelback's magnum opus All the right reasons was indeed quite popular on the format and thus, popular with those more in touch with the hip crowd.
This would've been Guy Sebastian's final hit in his career given how his fourth album Memphis album failed to produce a hit single for him and that none of his albums were that successful (barring his debut of course.) He would score a massive comeback by the end of the decade which would extend his popularity well into the 2010's.
Given how the third single from Shannon Noll's second album was a bit of a commercial disappointment here in Australia (it won't be appearing on this list) this fourth single becoming a big hit was a bit of a surprise given how its placement on here was due to how well it did with its physical sales (as are all entries on this list.) I guess this goes to show that "Now I run" was more of a weak choice for a single than anything else.
This was commissioned for the fifi world cup this year; it combines the works of Queen with the popularity of the Crazy frog which explains its success even if I know many Queen fans are screaming at this entry as they read it. If it's any consolation for those people, this was the song which killed the Crazy frog phenomenon as it didn't have any more hits after this.
This was the second single from Delta Goodrem's third album, here she incorporates new age into her sound which helps elevate the message of regaining one's personal believes in something after it's been destroyed. While it was a hit for her, it wasn't as big as a lot of her other entries on this site so far, suggesting that people didn't find it as inspiring as she had hoped.
This was equally as popular on our digital charts than it was on our main charts, this is despite the fact that from what I can gather, the censored version of this track never charted on our digital charts meaning that we Aussies certainly loved our profanity in these types of songs.
While it's hard to say how much more or less success Ciara would've had during her initial breakthrough in Australia had digital downloads been a factor onto our charts, this collaboration she had with JT would suggest that it would've made little difference overall given how it was equally as popular regardless of which format we're referring to.
Last but not least, we have this bonus track that came from Britney Spear's second greatest hits album she released at the end of the decade, this goes to show how much hype she had for her first album of the 2010's which naturally wasn't met when she released it in 2011.
This is the final hit that the Pussycat dolls were able to achieve anywhere in the world, it was always intended on being the fourth single from their second album but was pushed back from its planned release due to the surprise success of their earlier entry with A.R Rahman on this list.
This is the final hit that John butler trio scored in their career, although they would go on to have moderate success throughout the 2010's with their albums including the album this served as the lead single for.
This came out around the time Fergie was finding massive success with her solo album, I guess this means the song's success was more out of the novelty that the BEP members were finding success away from each other rather than genuine interest in Will I am's solo career. Indeed, that interest would peter out when he released his own solo album in 2013.
This was more of a hit on our digital charts this year, as such it has the distinction of leading off this bonus part of my list as it likely would've flopped here in Australia had ARIA not incorporated the digital charts onto their main charts. As for the song itself, it's more of Ne-yo's RNB crooning that made him a household name throughout the decade.
19 weeks
This was the fourth hit to come from Mariah Carey's comeback album, although like the other entries from the album, it was far more successful in her native America as the rest of the world was likely still sceptical at the time that she had recovered from her erratic behaviour from earlier in the decade which she clearly had by this point in her career. It could also be that love ballads weren't doing so well in the mainstream at the time internationally.
This feels like an odd choice for a single because like the rest of Confessions on a dance floor, this was meant to flow in from the previous track on the album and into the following track seamlessly to give off the illusion it was one big continuous song on the album. That didn't seem to hinder its popularity here in Australia as it became a massive hit for the queen of pop even this far into her career.
I guess this was the song that confirmed that Chris Brown wasn't going to be a flash in the pan as it managed to become a worldwide hit for the RNB singer, it wasn't exactly the biggest hit anywhere in the world, however it did promise him a ton of success that he would of course achieve later in the decade.
You know that Nicole Scherzinger was inescapable this year when she was able to revive the popularity of Diddy after four years of him not having a hit anywhere in the world, here they are with that song which is a sex jam about how much they're both into each other which naturally titillated audiences this year.
I bet you were beginning to forget that Kelly Rowland had a solo career given how omnipresent Beyonce was even this soon after the demise of Destiny's child throughout the world. Here she is with her first single from her second album which comes complete with a guest verse from Eve who was also still scoring hits this far into the decade despite her also not having much success as a lead artist for several years by this point.
This was the final hit that Young divas achieved here in Australia, this being a cover of the Loverboy track from 1981 and had Ricki Lee replaced in the group with Jessica Mauboy given how the former had a massive hit this year with her earlier entry on this list.
Given how Nicole Scherzinger was able to revive Diddy's popularity the previous year, it only makes sense that he was score a second hit from around this time with the assistance of Christina Aguilera who was also as the height of her popularity thanks to the success of her album Back to basics.
There have been plenty of artists to make it big over the years due to their ventures in other medium, however I think Axle Whitehead is the first artist to have a hit single following a gig of being a host on a music show since the early 70's here in Australia. In this case, he was the host of Video hits which was a show that featured music videos of usually the latest hit singles but occasionally showed older videos as well.
So Simple Plan were still a thing during their third album, it may surprise you to learn that though it was a commercial disappointment for them, they would bounce back with their fourth album in the 2010's which spawned two big hits for them down under, proving that yes, we Aussies did love these guys for a while.
This was a hit here in Australia likely due to the similarities it had with "Halo" from earlier on this list as both songs were written and produced by Ryan Tedder which led to accusations of him recycling songs to give to artists. As this was the only time two songs of his sounded this similar to each other, these claims quickly went away as he continued to have success as a songwriter and occasionally with his band.
This was the fifth single to come from Jessica's sophomore album, it goes to show how much Australian idol got it wrong by having her lose to Damien Leith in 2006 given how only three years later she would be one of the biggest names in music whilst he would be relegated to a tribute act at best.
Oh, Britney you naughty girl, titling your track about how much you want to be the sexual desire of your target audience. It appears the world were a bit turned off by this track as it was only a minor sleeper hit here in Australia and flopped in most other parts internationally, however it did fairly well in her homeland.
It feels weird that Flo Rida and Nelly Furtado collaborated back in the day, what's weirder is that it was for a film known as G force which might be one of Disney's worst films before the launch of Disney+. I guess this was a success due to the star power rather than our love for a third-rate Disney flick.
18 weeks
This was a random hit that Nelly had this year about grillz, for the uninitiated, those are the fake teeth that rappers and other celebrities tended to wear throughout the decade, meaning Nelly made a song specifically about how he finds women wearing the mouthpieces to be sexy. I guess enough people also found the mouth gear to be sexy which is why it was a massive hit for him worldwide.
Same reason that that applies to "Run it.")
This was the second hit that the Young divas had here in Australia that was a cover of a song produced by Stock Aiken and Waterman back in the day and was a huge flop down under, this time they update the Lonnie Gordon classic from 1990 which I'm willing to bet was many people's introduction to the dance pop classic of that era given how popular this cover was.
This is the final hit that Gwen Stefani had in her career both solo and with No Doubt, heck she hasn't even had a hit since as a featured artist which should give you an indication of how far into obscurity she's fallen since her second album. At least she ended things on a high note as this third single from said album was one of the better received in her career after two singles that still divide fans to this day.
This is the last hit that Kylie Minogue has had to date in her career, although she has tried to recapture her past glory over the years which does lead her to still occasionally chart even to this day. I will say that she's doing a better job at being a legacy pop diva than Madonna as she's yet to release something with the intention of it becoming a meme such as what Madonna's latest singles from the 2010's.
This was the first single that Rihanna released after a very dark period in her life, I won't mention what it is because I want this site to be a safe space for everyone, but I feel that I don't have to regardless because it's so ingrained in pop culture that it would be redundant for me to do so. One thing I will say is that it appears that she didn't want people getting the wrong idea that she was suddenly turned off by sex with this track.
Much like 3oh!3 from earlier on this list, the Lonely Island were another group to find success in the music industry thanks to their presence on YouTube back in the day. This was their first song they released as a single which became a smash hit thanks to their brand of humour connecting well with audiences back then.
This is the final new entry for this list, it comes to us from Wes Carr who managed to score a second single following his victory track from earlier on this list. For what it's worth, I have better memories of this track than of "You" which goes to show how much more popular this was at the time.
Like many songs from this year, this somewhat got lost in the shuffle due to the tragic passing of MJ when it was released as a single. I'm not sure how much bigger this would've been for Lily Allen given how it was the fourth singles from her second album, however the fact it did as well as it did prove that we Aussies were in love with her music.
17 weeks
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.
This was the third and final hit that the Sugababes had here in Australia, it was a song about how you shouldn't care about what people look like as its their actions that make a person what they are and not their physical appearance. It's a song that was absolutely necessary for the time given how people had become so caught up in their appearances that they didn't realise who they were hurting in the long run.
Again, Akon seemed particularly unwelcomed on our digital storefront.
This is a song whose success caused controversy this year, mainly because Dean Geyer came in third place on the fourth season of Australian idol and yet was able to score a hit here over the runner up which was Jessica Mauboy. Of course, the controversy has long since died out due to her being way more successful than either artist from that season to appear on this list.
This is the final hit single that Robbie Williams had anywhere in the world as this likely became a hit as a last hurrah for his career given that it was released during the final weeks of the decade.
16 weeks
This was the other big hit that Lindsay Lohan had here in Australia, with this being a song she wrote about her estranged relationship with her father who had been exploiting her fame since she joined Disney almost a decade prior to this coming out. Even though she was panned by critics for not being a good vocalist in their eyes (I personally disagree with that assessment) it still resonates with fans to this day thanks to its honest lyrics.
The legends are true people, Paris Hilton did in fact have a singing career back in the day which consisted of this one and only hit from her one and only album. As I said, I promised myself that I was going to be nice to each and every entry I feature on this site, as such I will say that this is far from the worst song I've ever heard as it at least has a catchy melody and Paris doesn't actively drive me insane on the track.
This was the lead single to Guy Sebastian's third album, an album that seemed to have better luck with its singles as the second single will be making an appearance on the next list of mine as well.
This was the only other hit from Sneaky sound system that managed to appear on this site given how both "Pictures" and "I love it" both were too much of sleeper hits to qualify for these lists. Here we have the lead single to the band's second album which I'm sure would've been bigger just the year prior given how the digital landscape had finally become mainstream and thus pushed these sorts of songs aside.
This was a tie in song to the short-lived Aussie comedy series Summer heights high, it's a show that resonated with audiences back in the day due to it being a parody of School life in Australia (specifically that of Sydney) which no doubt boosted the popularity of this song from one of the characters of the show. The show is certainly a product of its time, however it's worth a watch if you're into politically incorrect humour.
This is the second hit that Gym class heroes had here in Australia (we'll get to the first in a bit) this one samples a song called "We don't have to take our clothes off" from Jermaine Jackson which was a huge hit in America back in the 80's. I'm not sure how we Aussies came across this track, however it was enough of a novelty for us to make it a success for the band.
12 weeks
Another victory single that wasn't even that popular as a physical release.
We haven't seen a lot of nepotism on this site so far, so let's rectify that by looking at the one and only hit from the daughter of a record label founder Kate Alexa. There's not much to say about the song itself, it's your typical teen pop that was still thriving from around this time here in Australia. The real meat of this song's success is that Kate is the daughter of Michael Gudinski who founded Mushroom records which is THE record label of choice here in Australia.
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