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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#34 for 2004
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#44 for 2005
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#47 for 2008
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#48 for 2008
#49 for 2009
Britney was certainly on a roll when she released the title track to her album Circus, an album that remains the last one to have any success despite her scoring a couple of hits in the 2010's with the likes of "Hold it against me" and "Till the world ends." Much like "Piece of me," this is also a song addressing her media frenzy which she refers to as a circus, however it's handled much better on this track.
#47 for 2008
#50 for 2009
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#46 for 2001
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#42 for 2002
#36 for 2003
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#37 for 2003
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#46 for 2000
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#47 for 2000
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#47 for 2001
#43 for 2002
Considering this was the biggest hit of the decade over in America, you may be shocked to see how low this second single from Mariah Carey's comeback album the Emancipation of Mimi is on this list. Alas this isn't the result of its success being taken away due to illegal downloads, it just wasn't as inescapable here in Australia or indeed anywhere else in the world as it was on the Billboard charts.
#41 for 2005
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#45 for 2005
#44 for 2006
It blows my mind when people say that teen pop was dead once the turn of the millennium happened at the start of the decade, it's true that the boy band wars had died off (for the most part) however teen pop still had its place in the mainstream as evidence by the two entries that Stacie Orrico has on this list alone. This was the bigger of the two hits due to how she was in a complicated relationship with her partner.
#38 for 2003
This was one of two hits that Sean Paul had in Australia as a lead artist, this is impressive considering how he only ever had a hit as a featured artist over in NZ which is bizarre considering the kiwis would've loved this guy throughout the 90's if he had released his catalogue back then. Another surprise is that he was massive over in the UK given how the Brits also didn't have much love for reggae over the years.
#39 for 2003
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#38 for 2003
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#46 for 2005
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#49 for 2008
This is the third and final hit that T.I had outside of America, although I feel that this would've been a hit regardless given how it has Justin Timberlake on the chorus who seemed to be a cheat code when it came to artists (specifically rappers) throughout the decade scoring a massive hit. This cheat code of his expired once the 2010's rolled around as he didn't have much success then even as a lead artist.
#51 for 2009
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#48 for 2001
Now I know I should think this cover is awful especially since I'm a huge fan of Fleetwood Mac, however anything that makes me think of the band and especially Stevie Nicks is a win in my book which means this cover is fine with me. It was a surprise hit for the Dixie chicks given how they were on the cusp of getting cancelled when it was released due to them dissing the (then) current president.
#40 for 2003
Unlike Guy Sebastian who rushed out a second album to cash in off the success he had from winning the first season of Australian idol, Shannon Noll took his time with a follow-up album which resulted in him retaining his popularity he had from the show for its release as evidence by how successful its lead single was. This popularity sadly wouldn't translate to his third album he released two years later.
#42 for 2005
This victory single came from by far the most controversial winner of Australian idol as Damien Leith wasn't even an Australian citizen when he won the fourth season of the series, not helped is that his victory came at the expense of Jessica Mauboy who would've been the only aboriginal contestant to win the show.
#43 for 2006
#48 for 2007
This was the lead single to Billie Piper's second and to date final album, it was a massive hit here in Australia given how she finally found success the previous year with the fourth single from her debut album. It remains the final hit in her career to date as she would abandon her singing career in favour of acting which led to her being cast as one of the more beloved characters in the Doctor who franchise.
#40 for 2000
It looked like that Madonna was here to stay for the third decade in a row as this third single from her album Music was a massive success for the queen of pop worldwide, although her popularity would quickly fade away when she released her next album later in the decade where she attempted to tackle politics to dismal results. The decade would turn out to be a rocky one for her, although at least she had some success throughout.
#41 for 2000
#45 for 2001
This was originally an album track on N sync's third and final album Celebrity, as such there wasn't chance of the original becoming a hit for the boy band which wasn't good because the album had failed to produce a hit for them due to it being the end of the boy band wars in America. They decided to get Nelly to contribute a guest verse for the remix which allowed it to become a massive hit for them.
#44 for 2002
This was released mere months after the MTV music awards where Madonna kissed both Britney and Christina Aguilera on stage, meaning that moment was meant to hype up this lead single to Britney's fourth album In the zone which it did as it became the biggest hit of the decade for her in most parts of the world. Admittedly Madonna doesn't add much to the track as she's mostly there to bring up the lesbian aspect of the track.
#41 for 2003
#34 for 2004
He may not have come in first place on the show, however that didn't prevent Shannon Noll from finding massive success with his cover of the Moving pictures classic from 1982 which invertedly recontextualises the song to be about how he didn't win the series which I'm guessing tugged at the heartstrings of audiences this year to make it a huge success.
#35 for 2004
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#35 for 2004
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#36 for 2004
This is a song I don't really remember from back in the day, likely because I remember "Over and over" being played on the radio while this song was charting which should give you an idea of where the radios priorities were back in the day. Still, this was a massive hit and one that finally convinced Christina Aguilera to realise her dream of making a double album of throwback hits from the forties.
#36 for 2004
#43 for 2005
This was the second and final hit that Missy Elliott had here in Australia as well as being the other track on this list where she had a hit with Ciara given how the RNB singer is on here to not only provide a chorus for the rapper but also provide her own rap verse to try her hand at a hip hop track. It was a massive hit for the pair and suggested the possibility of them making an album together that never came to be.
#44 for 2005
This was the lead single to P!nk's fourth album I'm not dead, an album that reassured her fans that she wasn't out of ideas and that she had new life in her music which seemed to be the case as she's still going strong even to this day (as of this writing.) Here she has a message to girls to not follow the trends of the moment and that it's a good thing if they consider themselves as outcasts.
#44 for 2006
Although this was always intended to be the second single from J-Lo's debut album, the fact that it was marketed as the theme song to the new millennium (despite needing to come out the following year for that to happen) likely helped it become a huge hit for her despite the mediocre reception of her album. Indeed, it looked like her popularity would come to an end after this dropped off the charts, however as we all know, it didn't.
#42 for 2000
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.
#42 for 2003
#37 for 2004
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#45 for 2007
This is the last hit that Linkin Park has had in their career, mainly because their output in the 2010's has taken many bizarre turns that the mainstream hasn't been able to keep up with (and the less said about their 2017 effort the better.) I guess it's fitting that this theme to the second Transformers film would be the last many would hear from them given how their previous hit in Australia was the theme to the first film.
#52 for 2009
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#48 for 2000
#49 for 2001
Flo Rida was on a roll when he released his second big hit of the year, although given that it had a guest verse from Timabaland, I'm sure it would've been a success even if he didn't have the biggest hit of the year with his entry from the start of this list. His fortunes would change for the worse when he released his third single with Will I am, although that's mainly because "In the ayer" was poorly received by the internet.
#48 for 2008
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#49 for 2000
This is where it all began for Craig David, it's interesting to think that Usher would only have one hit by this point in his career in Australia and yet this guy would spawn three hits down under before his American counterpart would escape the one hit wonder bin here. That's honestly the best way I can describe Craig as he really was doing the same thing that Usher was during this phase of his career.
#43 for 2000
The last time Gabrielle had a hit here in Australia was with her debut single "Dream" from eight years prior, so to see her back on the charts with this theme song to the first Bridget Jones' diary film was a bit of a surprise to say the least even if its success was inevitable in retrospect due to how popular the movie was and remains to this day. It was able to get the British RNB singer out of the one hit wonder bin if nothing else.
#46 for 2001
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#50 for 2001
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#44 for 2002
#39 for 2003
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.
#43 for 2003
This is often cited as the song where fans of No doubt officially gave up on Gwen Stefani, I'm guessing because it remains her biggest hit in her native America even though there are plenty of other contenders for that honour throughout the rest of the world. It may also be because this is a diss track towards Coutney Love of all people who called her a cheerleader, I guess her revenge was to act like one on this track and video.
#45 for 2005
This is an English cover of In grid's debut single from two years prior, it was a huge hit here in Australia likely due to the opulence of the production which allows it to still be used in ads for fancy jewellery and holiday destinations to this day. In grid was an Italian pop diva who saw much more success throughout Europe than she did in English speaking parts of the world due to the language barrier of her music.
#44 for 2003
Before Hannah Montanna, there was Lizzie McGuire which was a Disney show about a teenage girl dealing with her day-to-day struggles. It starred Hilary Duff in the title role who would go on to have a singing career once the movie premiered in theatres this year, this being the biggest hit in her career likely due to the success of the show and the film she starred in.
#45 for 2003
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#37 for 2004
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#47 for 2005
While on the surface this is a song about how Sara Bareilles isn't going to write a love song about the relationship she's in, it's actually her standing up to her label who wanted her to write a generic love song even though she didn't have any experience with love while making her debut album from earlier in the decade. It turns out they were happy for this to be the lead single for her second album.
#49 for 2008
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#50 for 2008
This was another hit to come from a Jamaican artist this decade here in Australia but not over in NZ, I guess the kiwis had finally grown tired of reggae music after three decades of embracing it throughout the twentieth century. In any case, we have this one and only hit from Kevin Lyttle which can be taken the wrong way as a song about forcing a romance due to the lyrics but has rarely been taken as such due to how catchy it is.
#38 for 2004
This is the last hit that everyone involved with this track had here in Australia, although in their native America, R Kelly would have one more hit with "Same girl" with Usher later in the decade. I guess the controversial RNB singer was added to the track to help break up the monotony of this being the third collaboration between Ja Rule and Ashanti as it's yet another "thugs need love too" anthem the pair made.
#46 for 2005
I feel I have the same opinion of this song as what many people do, namely that while I love J-Lo's performance on this track, it's sadly cancelled out by that trumpet playing throughout the track which seems to be off key for some reason. It's because of this clash in sounds that the song was a success but not as much as her previous efforts from earlier in the decade, although it's still more coherent than the rest of the album.
#47 for 2005
This was the third big hit to come from the Veronicas debut album, it continues the trend of the duo singing in unison to create the illusion they were singing as one person which I and their many fans appreciate for its uniqueness as well as us connecting with the song regardless of how it's presented. They would release two more singles from the album which both flopped due to the album sales eating up their success.
#45 for 2006
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#50 for 2009
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#51 for 2001
We've featured several tracks from his ex-wife Jessica Simpson on this site so far, so I guess it was only a matter of time before we got a hit from Nick Lachey here in Australia which came in the form of this lead single from his second solo album. Nick of course was previously known for being a member of the boy band 98° who also didn't have any success here in Australia, that would explain why this was his only hit here.
#46 for 2006
This had a bit of a delay to its release here in Australia, although once it came out it was a modest success for Rihanna and Ne-yo who sing with each other about how they don't like the fact they have feelings for each other. It would be largely overshadowed by "Please don't stop the music" due to how long it took for this to take off here in Australia.
#49 for 2007
#50 for 2008
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#51 for 2008
This was the second and final hit that this Australian sister duo had in their career, I think it was a hit as well as their final hit due to the chorus reminding people of "Little red corvette" back in the day and them being divided on whether that's a good thing or not (it certainly reminds me of the track which is an excellent thing in my book.) They would eventually be replaced with the Veronicas in the music industry.
#44 for 2000
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#52 for 2001
This was a surprisingly good year for music to appeal to lesbians, wasn't it? Although I should point out that this Russian duo isn't a gay couple or even gay themselves and were only showing their support for the queer community (a bold stance for them considering Russia's stance on said community) with this song and music video which has the clever spin of having the homophobes be prisoners instead of them.
#46 for 2003
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#40 for 2003
The last time Snoop Dogg had a hit here in Australia was almost a decade prior with his breakthrough single "What's my name," so to see him return with a song that seems to be respectful towards women as opposed to his other hit which had casual sexism in it (it's not as offensive as you would think) is a bit of a surprise but inevitable given its catchy chorus and production provided by Pharrell Williams.
#47 for 2003
This was the only hit for both people involved on this track here in Australia, although both of them were much more popular in America given how Fabolous scored a bunch of hits on Billboard whilst Tamia was a popular choice for a guest vocalist on other people's tracks over there. As with most tracks with a male rapper and female singer, this was a "thugs need love too" anthem that was popular back in the day.
#48 for 2003
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#51 for 2009
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#38 for 2004
This was the penultimate hit that Akon had as a lead artist here in Australia, although he would still have a ton of hits moving forward as a featured artist for the likes of David Guetta and even the king of pop himself before his tragic death in 2009. This was a bit of a contrast to his other big hit this year given how this is him being remorseful about a relationship ending rather than wanting to force his love on someone.
#50 for 2007
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#50 for 2000
This song was originally featured in Coyote ugly in a scene where the main lead realises she needed to perform the songs she wrote in order to land her dream job of being a professional songwriter, I guess enough people were impressed with a song that was meant to be little more than a jam session that the band in question the Calling were given a record deal where they were able to release it in the real world this year.
#45 for 2002
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#45 for 2002
This was the only hit that Wyclef Jean had as a lead artist in Australia, although I get the feeling this was only a hit because it seemed like it was meant to be a reunion duet with Lauryn Hill that was instead a duet with the female member of City High once he realised he wasn't going to make up with his Fugees co member. He would have another hit with Shakira later in the decade whilst she would fade into obscurity.
#46 for 2002
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#46 for 2002
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#39 for 2004
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#40 for 2004
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#41 for 2004
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.
#48 for 2005
#47 for 2006
This is the last song from Lady Gaga which didn't have an over-the-top music video, sure you can make the argument that all of her videos are somewhat over the top, however at least her first four videos only had erratic choreography at worst and took place in relevantly normal situations. It's a bit of a missed opportunity that this didn't have her trademark imagery given the subject matter of the song.
#53 for 2009
This was another massive hit that the Offspring were able to achieve in their career, it seems to continue the narrative they had with their previous album Americana right down to the music video complimenting the lyrics in a way I feel few others had in the twentieth century. The band's popularity would dwindle as the decade went on; however, they did score one more hit with "Hit that" two years after this.
#45 for 2000
#47 for 2001
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#48 for 2005
This was the third hit to come from Mika's debut album, he had a fourth hit with "Big girl" but that's too much of a sleeper hit to be making an appearance on this site of mine. Once that track fell off the charts, his popularity seemed to come to an end as his second album was a huge failure for him by the end of the decade.
#51 for 2007
#51 for 2008
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#52 for 2008
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#53 for 2008
#52 for 2009
Sash were a German EDM group who holds the record for the most songs to hit number two on the UK charts without ever having a number one hit over there, this was one of those near chart toppers they had which was also their only hit here in Australia proving that we Aussies were beginning to fall out of love with EDM around the turn of the millennium.
#46 for 2000
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#51 for 2000
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#41 for 2003
#42 for 2004
Aah comedy rap, when you're funny, you can find an endearing audience that will revisit your track time after time. When you're not (or at least only appeal to a niche audience) you may be popular for a little while like this lead single from D12's second and final album, however you'll eventually fade into obscurity as the general public no longer finds any humour in your track.
#39 for 2004
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#53 for 2009
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#54 for 2009
These guys were yet another punk rock band that were adored by Triple J but otherwise largely ignored by Australian audiences, that is until this became a hit for them due to the video which lampoons some of the biggest teen pop stars of the late 90's as a way of distancing themselves from the other popular acts on TRL. This was a disturbingly common trend for older artists that regularly appeared on the music program.
#47 for 2000
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#53 for 2001
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#43 for 2004
This was the second and final hit that TV rock had here, likely due to us fellow Aussies realising that they were a bit of a one trick pony as I and many others can't tell the difference between this and their previous hit "Flaunt it" from the previous year.
#52 for 2007
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#46 for 2007
This was supposed to be the fourth single from I'm not dead and in P!nk's native America it was, however, it was pushed back as the fifth single in the parts of the world where her earlier entry was released as a single likely due to fears that it being pushed as a single would result in her getting cancelled similar to how Madonna and the Dixie chicks did earlier in the decade. Of course, that didn't end up happening as this became a huge hit for her worldwide with little issue.
#53 for 2007
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#54 for 2001
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#44 for 2004
This was another two for one deal from Nelly here in Australia (apologies for the lack of album art for "Flap your wings") as this serves as the lead single to his two albums Suit and Sweat which showcase two sides of the rapper from around this time. I remember "My place" being the big hit from around this time, although "Flap your wings" also remains fondly remembered to this day by his fans.
#40 for 2004
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