For a brief period of time, this was the biggest song of all time in Australia simply for its refusal to drop out of the charts. I guess it makes sense given how this was a party jam from two members of the Gordy family released during the height of the club boom, although as you'll quickly discover from this list, I'm not a huge fan of the 2010's club boom.
This was so inescapable here in Australia and over in Kimbra's native NZ that it managed to become a massive worldwide success several months after its initial release, not bad for an indie duet between two artists that even in the southern hemisphere remain one hit wonders to this day with this ballad.
Although it may not seem like it, this is in fact a collaboration that was commissioned to be the theme song of a reality series as Christina Aguilera and Adam Levine from Maroon 5 were judges on the Voice America when this initially came out. It signaled a new chapter for the latter as his subsequent releases with his band would shift towards a more pop direction compared to their rock roots.
This remains Adele's biggest hit in Australia, likely because it serves as the lead single to her second album 21 which was a departure from her debut album which was made following her win on the X factor UK in 2007. The album was themed around an ex-boyfriend following a rocky breakup they had with this being the first of many songs where she trashes him with how awful he was to her.
This was the second hit that British RNB singer Taio Cruz managed to achieve worldwide, it was a big hit for him likely due to it being considered the quintessential party jam during the height of the club boom era amongst a sea of stiff competition. He would have one more hit the year after this became inescapable for him before he forever faded into obscurity.
We have the second appearance from LMFAO this early on from my list, it goes to show you how inescapable these two were for their second album even if that success faded almost as instantly as it came for them. I guess this was meant to be their version of "I'm too sexy," mainly because it came out twenty years after that track and both songs having a similar reputation nowadays.
It may surprise you to learn that Adele's earlier entry on this list didn't get to number one in Australia or NZ, I'm guessing because the success of that track was partially due to how we Aussies and kiwis instantly gravitated towards this second single from the singer's sophomore album which allowed both songs to linger in the upper echelons of our charts.
This remains Pitbull's biggest hit worldwide, likely for the chorus provided by Ne-yo which helps this stand out among the other bangers for the club boom around this time. This song caused a bit of controversy due to a cheap shot that Pitbull takes against Lindsey Lohan which resulted in her suing him for defamation of her character, that and the lyrics being perceived as an endorsement for sexual harassment even prior to the "Blurred lines" controversy.
It may surprise you to learn that this wasn't an immediate chart topper here in Australia, in fact it didn't top our charts at all as it was only a modest success upon its initial release and only became a best seller due to the One direction phenomenon taking off throughout the rest of the world. Indeed, this is one of the lower charting songs to appear this high on this list to give you an idea of how much of a sleeper hit it was down under.
This was the first hit that Bruno Mars had as a lead performer, sure he had hits with B.O.B and Travie McCoy prior to this ballad which shares its name and themes with a Billy Joel track from the 70's, however it was this ballad that made him a household name in the music scene.
This is another song that admittedly has some strange lyrics (what does she mean when she says, "I want you to love me like I'm a hot guy?") however, it's obvious that the appeal for this song was how opulent it sounds which does match the theme of the song as she wants this person to make her feel so special that no other woman in the world exists. It's a power fantasy sure, but one that's largely inoffensive.
This was originally released as a single in 2010 to deafening silence, not even an endorsement from Triple J could make this a hit for the trio Foster the people upon its initial release that year. It was given a second chance when it finally crossed over in their native America which allowed it to be a success worldwide, although it was technically a hit twice here in Australia as it received a boost in popularity early in 2012 for some reason.
This is another song that's easy to make fun of due to how melodramatic the lyrics are, after all would anyone actually catch a grenade for someone regardless of the situation? This is the song I feel best represents why I don't like Bruno Mars (well almost as it's not like this is a throwback track to the twentieth century) as I've never particularly cared for him as a vocalist or as a musician overall.
To think this remains Coldplay's biggest hit in certain parts of the world, although I'm guessing their big hit would've been "Clocks" or "Speed of sound" had digital downloads been legal when those songs were initially released as singles. Even so, this is one of the more divisive tracks from the band's catalogue likely due to it sounding like something that was made specifically for web commercials.
This was the first big hit that Jessie J achieved in Australia, I guess we Aussies weren't interested in validating "Do it like a dude" as a hit given how that flopped here despite it being a success in her native UK. Here we have her song about how money doesn't matter and its love that makes the world go around, a nice sentiment that some have criticised for being hypocritical coming from a pop song.
I guess the success of this song was proof that the world was ready to move on from an infamous incident that Chris Brown had involving his ex-girlfriend Rihanna (this will be the only time I mention it on this site, I promise) given how this managed to be a massive success for the RNB singer as if no time had passed between his last big hit "Forever" and this becoming a success.
Many people have had issues with this song from Flo Rida over the years, namely because they believe it stole the success that "Levels" from Avicii would've otherwise had given how the rapper uses that song as a chorus to connect his verses about how he has a good feeling about his future prospects.
Well, this song has been ridiculed to death and back, as such I won't be explaining what's wrong with it on this list and instead bring up why it was a success for Bruno Mars back in the day. Basically, it was the video as it features Bruno with a bunch of backup dancers dressed as apes (something that's really problematic the more you think about it) as well as audiences relating to the lyrics at the time.
This was supposed to just be the third advanced single for Calvin Harris's album 18 months; however, it was ultimately chosen as the lead single to Rihanna's album Talk that talk given how it came out around the same time she had completed that album. As such, it's the rare track from the Scottish producer where he's the featured artist instead of the vocalist which I feel should've been the case for all of his other singles.
This was Katy Perry's attempt at a self-empowerment anthem, while it's easy to make fun of (no Katy I've never felt like plastic bag, if that's even something that one can possibly feel like) I will say that it's a much better empowerment anthem than her earlier entry on this list if only because the production is much catchier as well as her sounding more earnest on here than she did on "Roar."
It looked like J-lo's singing career died off back in 2005 when her album Rebirth flopped on the charts, however she was able to make a successful comeback during the height of the club boom with this party jam with the assistance of Pitbull who seemed to be collaborating with every Latin musician during the first half of the decade. It remains her final hit to date, although her acting career also resurrected itself at this stage.
This is one of the more bizarre tracks from Rihanna, mainly because it's about her admitting to being into S&M which would be fine if it were by anyone else but coming from her makes this a bit uncomfortable for reasons I won't get into on this site (I'll leave it at how one of her relationships came to an end.) It was a huge hit for her likely due to the controversy surrounding its release as well as it's strange video.
Most people will only know Wynter Gordon for her contribution to Flo Rida's "Sugar," however in Australia, she managed to score a number one hit with this song which is strange because "Sugar" wasn't a big hit here back in 2009. I'm guessing Kesha was on to something by requesting her feature be removed on "Right round" as Wynter obviously didn't do the same for her collaboration with the Miami rapper.
This was the song where Lady Gaga's ambitions proved to be too much for the general public, mainly because it was cluttered with so much overproduction that any meaning to the song got lost from the public upon its initial release. That said, the song does have a powerful meaning behind it as this is openly a self-empowerment anthem specifically for the LGBT community given how she was queer herself.
While this wasn't the final hit that BEP managed to score with Fergie, it was the song which led to a massive backlash towards them due to it ruining the fond memories people have of the film Dirty dancing to the point where it's now considered a terrible movie by modern audiences.
This was the remix to a song from Snoop Dogg that likely would've faded into obscurity had it not caught the attention of David Guetta when it did, after all it was a song where the rapper wanted to see a woman work out for his own amusement which even back in the early 2010's, I don't think would've gone over very well with the general public unless it had a catchy dance beat to go along with it.
This is the last hit that BEP has been able to achieve to date, sure they had some buzz since the departure of Fergie over the years, however that buzz has only stayed on the internet as none of their viral singles have translated to mainstream success since this was a hit for them. It puzzles me when people say that the Beginning was a failure, maybe a critical failure but it certainly wasn't a commercial one.
This was released the same time in Australia as David Guetta's collaboration with Usher, meaning that there were two of his singles from Nothing but the beat floating around the upper echelons of the charts down under given how Usher and Sia are two very different vocalists. This was Sia's first hit in the mainstream anywhere in the world, likely due to it being a self-empowerment anthem even if it's paired with a beat made for the clubs.
This was another hit that Guy Sebastian managed to have in the southern hemisphere thanks to the assistance of an international artist, in this case he recruits American rapper Eve who tries to help him appeal to an American market to no avail.
This was one of two self-empowerment anthems that P!nk released at the start of the decade, it was by far the more successful of the two likely due to its Dark knight reference that many felt was dated even upon its initial release (which was two years after the film came out mind you.) It was an instant success here in Australia as was most of her songs that came out after her third album.
This was written as an empowerment anthem specifically for the LGBT community given how Kesha herself is bisexual and how she could relate to the bullying that members of the community go through on a daily basis (I certainly got a lot of flak for it myself growing up and even now experience casual discrimination solely based on who I am.) Naturally it was an instant hit for her due and made her an overnight queer icon.
This was the one and only hit from former reality show contestant Alexis Jordan, it was a surprise hit here in Australia and throughout Europe despite it being a massive flop in her native America. I'm guessing it was because her fellow Americans had forgotten about her appearance on America's got talent in 2006 and was somehow able to connect with the rest of the world with this love song.
It turns out this was the theme to a straight to video film known as Mac and Devlin go to high school, a film that happens to star both Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa as high school students, the former being held back for many years to get around how old he was to be in high school while the latter being a valedictorian of the school. Naturally the song is the only thing people feel is worth remembering about the film.
No this isn't named after the Bobby McFerrin track of the same name; this is instead an original track from Guy Sebastian he released as the first advanced single to his biggest album Armageddon.
On the surface, this seems like a tribute to the 80's action series of the same name, it would make sense given hot the theatrical adaptation was a commercial success around this time and Mr. T's popularity had resurfaced as well. It turns out that this is actually about a woman being on type A drugs (which is the heavy stuff for the uninitiated) and how this makes Ed concerned for her wellbeing.
This was one of only two hits that Christina Perri had in her career, the other being one of the themes to the first Breaking dawn film from the Twilight saga that will come much later on this list. Here we have her score a massive hit with this song about her heartbreak which connected with audiences likely due to it being released around the same time Adele had topped the worldwide charts with "Someone like you."
You know that both artists on this track were inescapable when this collaboration manages to become a hit despite only being a bonus track from a deluxe reissue of one of their albums and said album not doing anything to boost the main albums popularity at the time.
There were no signs of Jason Derulo's popularity slowing down in Australia, even though his fellow American's had moved on from him in favour of Chris Brown, he kept scoring hits like this ballad to who I'm sure was his partner at the time down under likely because we Aussies didn't want Chris Brown back in our mainstream.
This was a huge hit for Havana Brown during the height of the club boom here in Australia, although it's worth noting that this was the original version of the track which doesn't have a guest verse from Pitbull like my non-Australian readers would be familiar with. Naturally that version didn't chart here in Australia because he honestly doesn't add much to the track aside from his infamous lines about getting paid.
This is the last hit that Diddy had in any capacity throughout his career, here he's the face of a trio which consists of him and two backup singers similar to what Tony Orlando had with his group Dawn forty years prior. It's also the first-time audiences heard from Skyler Gray who would become an in-demand vocalist for the likes of Macklemore and Nicki Minaj as the decade went on.
I've been known to make a joke about how Taio Cruz should've sobered up before releasing his second album as this lead single to said album is indeed about him having a hangover and little else, it seems like an oddly legitimate criticism as it was also his final hit anywhere in the world even with the appearance of Flo Rida on the track.
It looked like Nicki Minaj wouldn't have any success outside of the Billboard charts given how nothing on Pink Friday managed to catch on anywhere else in the world, however her fortunes changed when she released this track from the deluxe edition of the album which was her first pop crossover due to how it features her singing and rapping throughout the track.
Given the demise of Australian idol back in 2009, it makes sense that the X factor Australia would take over as the show to dish out victory singles for the winner of each season. Here we have one from its third winner Reece Mastin who was such a popular contestant on the show that he even managed to crossover to NZ shortly after this became a success for him.
This was released around the same time as "Titanium" from earlier on this list here in Australia, this should explain why this wasn't as successful here as it was in other parts of the world since we Aussies felt we needed to support Sia over Usher at this time. Still, this was a massive hit here even if it remains the last hit that Usher had even as a featured artist.
This was the only other hit that Cobra starship had worldwide, likely for the video which curiously features Zelda Williams implying that she (and by extension her father Robin) were a fan of the band which I'm sure boosted their egos at the time. It was also a success due to it still being the height of the club boom when it was released as a single, although this would be the last the world would hear from them.
This was the other big hit that Adam Levine had with a hip hop group this decade, although at least the Gym class heroes were already an established act from the 00's so it's not like he was boosting a no name on this track with his chorus. Indeed, this was the first of three big hits that the trio would achieve worldwide from their final album, the other two tracks also featuring a chorus from other artists.
This was a song that many felt was a new low for Jason Derulo, mainly because he samples "Banana boat" by Harry Belafonte and flips the original song which was about being overworked a night shift to now mean that he doesn't want to leave the club even though it was the early hours of the morning. It was a massive hit during the height of the club boom by people who shared the sentiment of the song.
This is the final hit from Avril Lavigne to date given how it's in that dead zone of being too immature to be from her first too albums whilst not being campy enough to be among the likes of "Girlfriend" and "Hello kitty," although at least the middle ground was what allowed it to be a success for her given how her fans would widely reject her next album in 2013 due to "Hello kitty" turning her into a meme.
This is the final hit that Usher had in his career in most parts of the world, it was the second single to come from the deluxe edition of his album Raymond v Raymond which goes to show that the deluxe edition had a better selection of singles than the standard edition given how it took Usher's collaboration with Will I am for that album to take off worldwide.
This is the closest that "I'm with you" got to being a hit here in Australia, mainly because Rihanna sampled the track with Avril's permission as the fifth and final single from her album Loud. As you can tell from the title, this is a song about her celebrating something in her life by making a toast to it, although you can argue that the song is meant to be ironic given the choice of sample.
Marvin Priest is the son of one Maxi Priest who achieved a massive hit here in Australia and NZ with this club banger and nowhere else in the world, this is because the English singer was based here at the time he released this track and never managed to find international buzz from this.
We haven't had a lot of appearances from Chris Brown on this list, have we? Yeah, we Aussies were a bit mixed when it came to having him come back in the mainstream following his controversies in his personal life, however we allow him to have the occasional hit such as with this track with Benny Benassi who previously had a hit here in Australia with "Satisfaction" back in 2003.
This was the fifth Billboard chart topper in a row for Katy Perry, this was mainly due to the music video which depicted her as a typical bullied kid of the 80's who received a makeover from Rebecca Black (fresh off her viral hit with "Friday") which turns her into a Katy Perry equivalent of the 80's. It failed to reach to top spot everywhere else in the world likely due to it being a Kesha song that she was forced to give to Katy.
This is a song that became a hit likely due to it sampling "Float on" by Modest mouse which allowed it to be instantly recognised in the indie sphere as Lupe Fiasco was shedding light on a previously unknown song as far as the mainstream was concerned. This led to his album Lasers being a commercial success for him, although longtime fans panned it for being too commercial for their liking.
This was a hit twice around the world, the first time was on its own merits as it was a Katy Perry single released at the start of the decade and the second was the version that has Kanye West on it which helped it become the fourth consecutive chart topper from Teenage dream on Billboard. While the original is just a sex jam from one of the most sexually provocative women in music, the remix has been widely mocked for Kanye's bizarre verse.
This wasn't originally on Jessie J's debut album Who you are and was instead released on the deluxe edition which came out early due to the commercial disappointment of said album, needless to say this song managed to boost its popularity enough for it to be a huge success for the pop star thanks to how incessantly catchy it is as well as it showcasing her as the British equivalent of Katy Perry who can actually sing.
This was sandwiched between their two entries from much earlier on this list, so you'd think this would've been as inescapable as those two songs, but it wasn't. Granted it was still a massive hit for the duo despite the chipmunk vocals from Natalia Kills (the less said about her the better) but it's obvious that they wanted the name of the song to become a cultural phenomenon which it didn't.
As far as I'm aware, this was the first hit that Calvin Harris had anywhere in the world where he was on lead vocals, even in his native UK, he only had hits with a featured vocalist prior to this becoming a success for him. He's not the best vocalist out there which is perhaps why he doesn't have many hits in this vein, however that doesn't seem to be a deal breaker to his fans as he does have quite a few of these hits.
This was originally released as the third single from Bruno Mar's debut album Doo wops and hooligans, it was an instant flop for him likely due to it being cheesy even for one of his ballads at the time of its release. It was given a second chance after the success of "The lazy song" where it became a huge hit for him to complete his album cycle.
I think most people tend to forget that this was released as a single from Rihanna given how it came from Loud which contains some of her most iconic work in her catalogue, although it was a hit for her back in the day over "What's my name" (at least it was here in Australia) so perhaps this song has more fans than the internet will care to admit.
This was released as a bonus track from Jessica's second album a year after said albums initial release, it helped boost that albums popularity here in Australia but did it no favours in finding an international audience.
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