A while back, I made a list of the biggest hits in Australia throughout the 00’s. Unlike what I did for the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s, I used someone else’s ranking which means I didn’t specify how well a song did on each respective chart. My reasoning was because the AMR have been unofficial since 1999 given that’s when David Kent stopped publishing them, however I then reminded myself that my rankings throughout this side of my site have been based on those charts rather than the ARIA charts as I feel the former is more reliable than the latter. And so, I present to you the biggest hits of the decade with both charts combined.
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#37 for 2001
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#38 for 2002
This was another song from Missy Higgins that was released as an E.P, as such it was able to become a massive hit for her despite coming from an already highly successful album that was still selling strong numbers when this first came out. It more or less made her the rival of Delta Goodrem who was another Australian pop diva who found previously unheard-of success from one album.
#34 for 2005
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#44 for 2008
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#36 for 2000
#38 for 2001
This was the only hit to come from B2K even in their native America, I'm guessing P Diddy's desires of managing boy and girl bands would only last him for one song each as the female counterpart to these guys Dream (well white girl counterpart) only scored one hit two years prior with "He loves u not" before they too faded into obscurity (not here in Australia obviously.) These two acts were his only notable success in this regard.
#29 for 2003
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#33 for 2005
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#41 for 2009
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#31 for 2003
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#42 for 2009
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#37 for 2000
This is another song that's relatively low on this list due to shenanigans with the ARIA charts of the 00's, however I've gone on long enough about how dodgy they were on this site already, so I won't dwell on it here. This was the theme to the Baz Lurhman flick Moulin rouge which was a jukebox musical that revived the musical genre in the mainstream after many years of it being restricted to Disney flicks and their knockoffs.
#39 for 2001
I think I'm in the minority when I say that this is my favourite song from Jewel, sure it's a sellout and a complete betrayal of what she had released prior, however I appreciate her trying to make a pop song and I think she did a fairly good job on this track. Of course, her justification for this song in particular is that it was supposed to be a parody of pop songs which many have felt had become vacuous by this point.
#30 for 2003
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#34 for 2005
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#43 for 2009
This is one of those songs that's meant to be an anthem for the frat boys of the world, as such it was a massive hit for Cobra starship as it seemed inevitable that this type of song would make it big in the club boom that was exploding this year.
#42 for 2009
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#39 for 2001
This was the one and only hit for the protegee of Pras Michel, this was a surprisingly good year for artists discovered by former members of the Fugees between this guy and City High from earlier on this list. Pras himself provides a guest verse on this RNB track which apparently wasn't meant to be the case originally as this was meant to be a standalone singer for the rising RNB singer.
#40 for 2001
#41 for 2002
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#32 for 2003
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#38 for 2006
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#40 for 2001
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#28 for 2004
#35 for 2005
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#43 for 2007
This was originally a massive hit for Colbie Caillat worldwide the previous year, although for whatever reason, we Aussies weren't interested in this ballad about how much in love she was upon its initial release. We gave it a second chance this year where it became a massive success, much like Soulja boy from earlier on this list, it appears we were simply slow in allowing internet songs to make it big here.
#43 for 2008
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#41 for 2001
This was Jay-Z's first big hit here in Australia, even as a featured artist, he didn't have any success prior to this collaboration with his future wife Beyonce about how they were the (then) modern equivalent of Bonnie and Clyde. This song samples "Me and my girlfriend" by 2pac when he was known as Makaveli, I thought I'd bring that up given how this east coast rapper sampled a west coast rapper.
#31 for 2003
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#36 for 2005
Much like their debut single from earlier on this list, this was another female empowerment anthem from Madison Avenue as Cheryl sings about how she feels like she's been mistreated by the person she's singing to and how they won't be treating her as such for much longer once she's done with them. It was another instant hit for the duo and a song that promised them so much success moving forward in the decade.
#35 for 2000
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#38 for 2000
Following the success she had with Josh Abrahams the previous year throughout Europe as the Puretones on their rebranded collaboration of "Addicted to bass," Amiel Daemion finally released a solo single which was a massive hit here in Australia due to it being about how she wrote as she puts it a "stupid love song" following the end of her relationship with someone that clearly connected with us Aussies.
#32 for 2003
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#37 for 2005
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#39 for 2006
This will be Busta Rhymes one of only two appearances on the Australian side of my site as the rapper never had much success here for some reason, even so this isn't much of a hip hop track as the rapper instead sings on this song along with Mariah Carey who was still very much cancelled around this time due to her erratic behaviour around the time she starred in her first film Glitter.
#33 for 2003
Well, I suppose that this song's popularity wasn't that surprising considering how Good Charlotte were able to make it big with their brand of emo earlier in the decade, although I never minded those guys unlike Simple plan who I've never liked even back in the day. In any case, we have this song from their first album which took a while to take off here but was a massive success once it did.
#28 for 2004
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#40 for 2006
This was the big hit that 3oh!3 had that I mentioned from earlier on this list, it was originally uploaded to YouTube the year prior before it was picked up and distributed as a single by a major label who naturally found the song to be hilarious. It appears the world also found this song funny as it became a massive worldwide hit for the duo, although perhaps not as big as their other entry on this list.
#43 for 2009
Well, this is a song that's become divisive in recent years, mainly because like "Justify my love" from exactly a decade prior, the song is too Avant Garde for most mainstream audiences who likely feel alienated with how Madonna experimented with her sound on this track. I guess part of this song's success at the time comes from the music video which introduced the world to Sacha Baron Cohen's character Ali G.
#36 for 2000
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#42 for 2001
If you think stoner culture is anything new, then you should probably know that this comedy track from Afroman was a huge worldwide chart topper despite being little more than a song about how him being a stoner had ruined his life (I personally don't find it funny but evidently a lot of people did.) This was his one and only hit despite being a legitimate rapper who's released several albums in his career.
#41 for 2001
This was one of only two hits that Kanye West had as a lead artist here in Australia, the other would be "Stronger" from two years later which had him sampling Daft Punk of all people for a self-empowerment anthem. Here he recruits Jamie Foxx who was fresh off his Oscar winning performance as Ray Charles to provide him a chorus to connect his verses about a woman who's only into him for his wealth.
#35 for 2005
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#38 for 2005
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#45 for 2008
#44 for 2009
It's strange that Lily Allen wouldn't have any success in Australia prior to the two big hits she had this year, especially considering how "Smile" was a big hit for her in NZ and yet neither of these entries were as such over there. This had a bit of a long climb to its success as she didn't originally shoot a video for it until early this year despite it being released at the end of the previous year.
#44 for 2009
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#29 for 2004
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#30 for 2004
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#39 for 2005
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#41 for 2006
I guess Eminem felt enough time had passed from Encore that he could return with the exact type of songs that he made on that album, I guess there was a fanbase for these two albums to draw on given how Relapse was a massive success for him even though (in my opinion) it shares a lot of the same problems that Encore had from five years earlier.
#45 for 2009
Following his dismissal as the manager of the Spice girls, Simon Fueller formed a new group in the form of this teen pop band that came complete with a TV series to help them stand out from the increasing number of teen pop groups making it big around this time. I will say that this is incessantly catchy even if it's clearly made for the youth of the day and nobody else (which I was admittedly a part of back then.)
#37 for 2000
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#39 for 2000
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#33 for 2003
#31 for 2004
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#32 for 2004
#40 for 2005
I think this was the first sign of JT maturing into the sex symbol he would become on his second album Futuresex/Lovesounds the following year, although here he's playing second fiddle to Snoop Dogg who would score one of his last hits as a lead artist with this track even though he remained quite popular as a featured artist for many years after this came out.
#36 for 2005
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#42 for 2006
An interesting fact about Nelly Furtado's third album Loose was that the album cycle was different depending on where in the world you're from, as such this was the lead single to her album in the UK as opposed to her earlier entry which was the lead single in most other parts of the world including here in Australia and NZ. I'm guessing the Brits wanted to hear a female perspective of the Hall and Oates track of the same name.
#38 for 2006
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#39 for 2002
Well, I did promise myself and my readers I'll be nice to each and every entry I talk about on this site, so I will say that this did get a chuckle out of me when it first came out even if that was because I was twelve years old at the time. No doubt this was the reason why this lead single to Encore and the album itself was a success for Eminem as many people felt it was a giant drop off in quality back in the day.
#29 for 2004
#37 for 2005
Although "Breakaway" was the first song from Kelly Clarkson to showcase a more personal side of her, that was also the theme to the second Princess diaries flick which obviously didn't convince anyone that she was anything more than the winner of a reality series. Those preconceptions were shattered when she released the second single from the album of the same name which has become an anthem for breakups.
#38 for 2005
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#41 for 2005
#43 for 2006
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#45 for 2009
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#40 for 2000
This is the first of three Billboard chart toppers to compare sex to candy this decade, the other two being "Laffy taffy" from a group called D4L and "Lollipop" from Lil Wayne, neither of these other songs were hits in Australia which makes this the biggest hit down under with this premise by default. It's also the only one out of the three to get a female perspective as we have Olivia handling the chorus on this track.
#39 for 2005
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#42 for 2005
This was the penultimate hit that Jordin Sparks had here in Australia, her final hit would be with Guy Sebastian on a collaboration where she attempted to bring him to an international audience (it's still to come on this list.) I think Jordin was becoming more popular here in Australia than she was in her native America as this was a much bigger hit here than it was on the Billboard charts.
#46 for 2009
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#41 for 2000
This was supposed to be the song which confirmed J-Lo as someone who was down to earth and not a spoilt rich diva, I guess it's safe to say that she's long given up on this endeavour as there is countless evidence to support the fact that she is a toxic celebrity who only ever thinks of herself in recent years. None of this stopped the song from being a huge success for her back in the day, likely due to how bouncy it is.
#42 for 2002
#34 for 2003
This was the first hit that Miley Cyrus had in her career, mainly because it was the first song she released as herself rather than her Disney alter ego Hannah Montanna in a way to distinguish herself for when she inevitably left the company in the new decade. It was originally released as a bonus track from her alter ego's second album, however it was a hit by it being the lead single to her first album as Miley.
#44 for 2008
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#46 for 2009
It appears that EDM was still here to stay as this track from the American duo IIO was a massive hit in most parts of the world except of course for their native America given how EDM rarely does well on Billboard at the best of times, it was a massive hit here in Australia likely due to how lovestruck the track is as well as it being catchy enough to be played on the dance floors.
#42 for 2001
#43 for 2002
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#33 for 2004
It may surprise you to learn that the song this remixes "Valerie" wasn't a hit anywhere in the world back in the day (not even the popular remix five years after its initial release that you still hear on oldies stations) which means this was likely many people's introduction to that classic given how popular this version was for the Swedish DJ.
#30 for 2004
This was the solo debut for Fergie, it's a song that's infamous due to how abrasive it is as well as the "oh shits" played throughout the track which of course was censored to "oh snap" for the radio. If you can believe this, it was her first Billboard chart topper as none of her songs with BEP made it to number one in her native America prior to this coming out, although at least she scored three chart toppers with them after this.
#39 for 2006
This is the lead single to Gwen Stefani's second album the Sweet escape, it was a massive hit upon its initial release despite it instantly garnering criticism for a wide range of reasons from the music video which depicted her as a sexually provocative nun to the sample of "The lonely goatherd" from the Sound of music. These criticisms led to the song not being as successful as the title track from the album.
#40 for 2006
#45 for 2007
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#44 for 2007
This was the second single from P!nk's album Funhouse, it has a double meaning to it as on the one hand it can be taken literally to be about her sobering up from a bad night out and coming to terms with her drug addiction. On the other hand, and what the song is really about is that it's her sobering up with how toxic her relationship is with her husband (even if it turns out it wasn't that toxic) and how she needs to get away from him.
#45 for 2008
#47 for 2009
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#42 for 2000
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#43 for 2000
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#44 for 2000
#43 for 2001
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#34 for 2003
This was the final hit that JoJo managed to achieve in her career, this was due to legal troubles with her label who refused to allow her to release new music due to her second album underperforming and also refusing to let her out of their contract for whatever reason (she was only thirteen when she signed to her label, which it turns out is illegal as she was a minor.) At least she's finally been able to release new music since.
#41 for 2006
#46 for 2007
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#46 for 2008
#47 for 2009
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#44 for 2001
If you're a bit concerned that this song is a bit too low for this list, I'd hate to see your reaction when we finally get to "Yeah" and its placement (don't worry, it's still to come.) Anyways, we have the second single from Usher's Confessions album which was about how failed relationship with Chilli from TLC and how he admits to screwing up the relationship shortly prior to making the album.
#31 for 2004
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#48 for 2009
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#45 for 2000
Well, you don't make an album as successful as the Party album and instantly go away from the mainstream, so here's the lead single to the Vengaboy's second album which was a massive hit worldwide likely due to the video which has it presented as if they're in a German beer house. It would be their final hit here in Australia as the novelty of their music quickly grew stale down under.
#38 for 2000
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#45 for 2001
#40 for 2002
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#35 for 2003
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#43 for 2005
Wes Carr was the winner of the sixth season of Australian idol, he was considered the country star of the series which is perhaps why his victory single isn't among the more widely revered songs in this category despite its initial success.
#46 for 2008
#48 for 2009
Given how the two lead singles to her first official album were back-to-back success for her, I think it's safe to say that her not winning the fourth season of Australian idol wasn't a detractor for her popularity anymore given how much more popular she became than Damien Leith even by this point of her career. Of course, the best was still yet to come as it turns out she's also a gifted actress which led to her acting career taking off in the 2010's.
#49 for 2009
This was the final hit to come from No doubt before they went their separate ways to allow Gwen Stefani to embark on a solo career, although the real accomplishment this song achieved was it that it allowed people to discover the original from Talk talk as it wasn't a hit anywhere in the world back in the 80's. I don't think the original even appeared on oldies stations until this version became a massive worldwide hit.
#35 for 2003
#32 for 2004
This is where it all began for Kelly Clarkson outside her native America as this second single from her debut album managed to crossover here in Australia due to its lyrics of a woman (presumably Kelly herself) regretting shutting herself off from affection out of fear of being mistreated. It remains a poignant track to this day and was a hint of what was to come on her subsequent albums.
#36 for 2003
It's worth noting that "4ever" was pulled from shelves in order to encourage the success of the duo's second single as well as their album here in Australia, otherwise that would've easily been an even bigger success than it already was back in the day. Here we have said second single which was also a massive success for them back in the day and confirmed them as one of the hot new acts in the pop rock genre.
#40 for 2005
#42 for 2006
For nine years, this was the only hit that Train had outside their native America as none of their other singles from the 00's managed to become a hit for them outside of the Billboard charts. That of course changed in 2010 when "Hey soul sister" got them out of the one hit wonder bin in most parts of the world, although I'm sure many people would rather this be their one and only hit in retrospect.
#43 for 2001
This may seem a bit low to my readers, however rest assured that Alicia Keys wasn't as inescapable here in Australia as she was internationally given that her debut single was only a moderate success here compared to how well it did internationally. Admittedly it was still a huge hit here considering that it was an RNB piano ballad which still didn't have much appeal in our music scene even going into the new millennium.
#44 for 2001
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#41 for 2002
This was the third and final hit to come from Big Brovaz worldwide, likely due to the video which was clearly meant to be an homage to the TV show Friends (solving that shows issue of having an all-white cast in the process.) It was a much more sentimental track from the group who introduced themselves to the world as a tough RNB group who was all about being hard edge.
#37 for 2003
#33 for 2004
This was the only hit to come from Kelly Clarkson's third album My December, an album that was panned by critics for being too much of an emotional trainwreck as she recorded it without much guidance from her management at the time. I and many others have defended the album for being an honest look at her emotional state at the time, however her label insisted on them having more control over her music after it was released.
#47 for 2007
This was the last hit that Ricky Martin was able to achieve in most parts of the world, I'm guessing because his Latin lover shtick had grown stale by this point as other Latin crooners such as Enrique Iglesias and Marc Anthony had released less bombastic tracks from the genre to massive success. I know it would've been a bold move at the time, but I kind of wished he made these songs for men given his sexuality.
#39 for 2000
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