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.
This is the only hit that Naughty by nature managed to achieve in Australia, it's curious that this was the song that made them big here considering that this was a massive flop in NZ and their native America back in the day. I guess we Aussies wanted them to have at least one hit here now that we were open to having our charts be dominated by RNB and hip hop like the rest of the world was throughout the 90's.
#58 for 2000
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#51 for 2004
It had been five years since No Doubt released their breakthrough album Tragic kingdom, although that album did take its sweet time in finding success around the world due to the band being unknown prior to its release. In any case, we have the lead single to their follow up album Return of Saturn which proved to be their only hit from said album around the world, naturally this led to the band changing up their sound later in the decade.
#59 for 2000
Well, we've finally come to one of the most politically charged songs to ever become a hit worldwide, there's not much to think about on this track as Green day make very clear that they felt ashamed to be Americans given the political climate they were living in at the time of the song's release. It served as the lead single to their biggest album which was a concept album that further explored this feeling they had.
#47 for 2004
This was the lead single to Good Charlotte's third album Good morning revival, much like their earlier entry on this list, this likely wouldn't have been as big a hit in Australia had it been released earlier in the decade given how the likes of "Lifestyles of the rich and famous" and "Predictable" failed to appear on this site despite them both receiving tons of airplay upon their respective initial releases.
#59 for 2007
Surprised to see this meme fest so low on this list? The reason why isn't because it wasn't popular here in Australia, but rather because it was one of the many victims of Sony tampering with their release schedule and audiences rushing to buy the song upon its initial release and not allowing it to stick around to accurately reflect its popularity here. At least the response track this inspired was also a huge hit here.
#48 for 2004
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#52 for 2004
This was the third hit in a row that the Rogue traders managed to have here in Australia, this time they interpolate "My Sharona" by the Knack which perhaps reminded audiences of the original enough to make this a hit for them. The song has gotten flak over the years for its lyrics, specifically the chorus where Natalie admits to watching someone who was in turn watching her, only to find out she was watching them to begin with.
#52 for 2006
This was the final hit to come from Evermore who were on a roll during the second half of the decade due to them no longer being hindered by illegal downloads like many of their contemporaries were during the first half of the decade. I'm not sure why they didn't have any success going into the 2010's as they released two more albums after the album this serves as a lead single for.
#59 for 2009
Just a heads up that I'm on team Digimon when it comes the Pokémon vs Digimon wars from around this time, it's just a better constructed franchise with better characters and a more complex card game that it's based on (even though Yu-gi-oh is my favourite card game but I digress.) That out of the way, this was the theme song to the English dub of the first Pokémon movie, a dub that's infamous for changing the storyline of the original film which was a common troupe for 4kids dubs back in the day.
#60 for 2000
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#59 for 2000
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#60 for 2000
I told you that British artists weren't that successful here in Australia, I'm willing to be the only reason why this track from Westlife was a hit here was due to it being a cover of one of Billy Joel's most recognisable songs in his catalogue and we Aussies were having nostalgia for the original when this came out. If finally got the Irish band out of the one hit wonder bin here despite how inescapable they were worldwide.
#57 for 2001
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#55 for 2005
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#56 for 2007
This was the title track from Britney's second album, a title that seemed to be her trolling her haters which she had plenty of even this early in her career due to their criticisms of her destroying the music industry with her teen pop (they should wait until the 2010's with how bad things would get in that regard.) The song itself is fun and innocent and was clearly meant for a younger audience who made it a success.
#61 for 2000
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#61 for 2000
I think this was meant to be the debut single for Bow wow (then known as Lil bow wow) if it was then it was a massive flop in his native America as "Bounce with me" was the hit that introduced him to his fellow Americans. This was a surprise hit throughout Europe for him which likely explains why it was a hit here in Australia, although it was his only hit as a kid as he wouldn't have another until he became an adult.
#58 for 2001
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#59 for 2001
This was the second single to come from Nelly Furtado's debut album, it was a big hit everywhere in the world except her native Canada where it wasn't even released as a single. I'm guessing because they weren't interested in her paying homage to her Portuguese heritage like the rest of the world was, in fact this was her big hit off her debut album in NZ and on Billboard because of this appeal.
#59 for 2001
It looked like there would only be one hit from Linkin Park's debut album as the second single "Crawling" failed to become a hit here like their debut from the previous year, however this third single from the album picked up the slack as it became their first hit in their native America likely due to it being an emo rock track rather than the nu metal that the rest of the album was.
#48 for 2002
This was the only major hit that Candice Alley managed to achieve in her career, it was a massive hit upon its initial release likely due to it being well promoted this year along with many other tracks from Australian artists prior to when Australian idol took over our music scene by the end of the year. Candice would have a second minor hit later in the year with "Obsession" which has a similar subject matter to this ballad.
#52 for 2003
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#54 for 2008
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#59 for 2009
This was the third hit that Shakira had this year, and just like her first entry on this list, this is an English cover of one of her tracks she originally recorded in Spanish which means the lyrics aren't as tightly written as her other entry on this list. Still, it was a massive hit for her and only wasn't as big as her other entries due to the album being a massive hit by the time it was released as a single.
#49 for 2002
Given how well-loved Nelly was from around this time, it only seems fitting that Chingy would follow suit into being an overnight sensation from the mid-west which began with his debut single which contains the infamous line "give me what you got for a porkchop." The song regularly appears on worst of the 00's lists for the line in question as well as people believing that Chingy isn't a good rapper.
#53 for 2003
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#52 for 2003
This was another two for one deal that the Spice girls released for their final album Forever, it's an album they didn't want to make given how they knew that they needed all five of them to connect with their audience and there were no signs of Ginger Spice rejoining the group at the time of its release.
#62 for 2000
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#53 for 2003
I get the feeling if we Aussies were more open to allowing British artists to make it big throughout the decade then this British trio would've had a ton of success here, after all they did have a minor hit with "One night stand" the previous year which sounded similar to their biggest hit. I guess the lyrical content is different as that's about having a one-night stand whereas this is about wanting more out of a relationship.
#54 for 2003
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#53 for 2004
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#54 for 2004
Given how there was so much 80's nostalgia throughout the decade, it's surprising that it wasn't until the end of the decade that we saw a hit with a song that could've easily come out of that decade which came to us courtesy of the British duo La roux. It's a shame that this was their one and only hit especially considering how it managed to crossover to America the following year for them.
#60 for 2009
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#54 for 2003
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.
#53 for 2005
#53 for 2006
This was the debut single for a band who would go on to have massive success throughout the decade worldwide, although curiously it was only a hit here in Australia as this flopped in their native America for some reason. I guess the song is on the shorter side which led people to believe it was over before it even began, a sentiment that wasn't felt here in Australia as it was a huge success here.
#60 for 2001
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#52 for 2002
This was a two for one deal from Cosima, a fan favourite on the first season of Australian idol who had to drop out due to developing an illness during the show that affected her ability to sing. Here she scored her one and only hit with these two tracks, the first being a cover of a Cold chisel classic and the second being what I'm sure was meant to be her victory single had she won the season.
#49 for 2004
We haven't had many actors from Home and away to make it big in the music industry, one of the lucky few was Tammin Sursock who scored a massive hit with this song about being in a pointless relationship with someone who isn't willing to meet her halfway in said relationship. It was a big hit for the Australian actress; however, it was also her only hit as she's more well known for her TV roles these days.
#50 for 2004
#54 for 2005
It appears that Christina Aguilera had always wanted to make a throwback album to the forties and that her collaboration with Nelly on "Tilt ya head back" wasn't a fluke in that regard, as such we have the lead single to her third album which was a good indicator of what was to come on that album as it indeed attempts to be a throwback to the music that audiences were listening to in the first half of the twentieth century.
#54 for 2006
This was released the previous year to deafening silence here in Australia, I guess we Aussies felt that we didn't need a folk song from a Scottish woman even though Sandi Thom dominated our charts with her entry from the top of this list. It was given a second chance when it was featured in the film the Devil wears Prada which is considered one of the best rom coms of the decade.
#60 for 2007
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#62 for 2000
We looked at Kelly Rowland's solo debut from earlier on this list, now let's look at the song that introduced Beyonce as a solo artist which comes complete with a guest verse with her future husband Jay z who she's obviously crazy in love with on this track. It feels weird that this wasn't among the bigger hits of the year in Australia, mainly because I remember this being overplayed to hell and back.
#55 for 2003
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#55 for 2004
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#60 for 2001
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#53 for 2002
Time to look at what I believe is the most over hated song of the decade, yes, this lead single from Nickelback's third album All the right reasons does have strange lyrics about reminiscing on the good times, however there are far worse songs on this list alone and even from Nickelback that I don't understand why this is often considered to be one of the worst songs of the decade by the internet.
#55 for 2005
Even though it was a moderate success, the second album from the Rogue traders didn't pull in the numbers of their first album with Natalie Bassingthwaighte from earlier in the decade. As such, she decided to leave to the group to embark on a solo career which began with this lead single to her solo album which proved to be a massive success for her.
#56 for 2008
#61 for 2009
It looked like Pitbull was here to stay going into the new decade as this second single from his club boom phase was also a massive worldwide hit for him, there's honestly not much I can say about this track except that aside from this, "I know you want me" and his theme from Men in black III "Back in the time," all of his hits have had the assistance of someone else in the music industry.
#62 for 2009
This is a song that should be much higher on this list but isn't due to having most of its success contained in the first few weeks of its release, this is due to it being the first victory single from a reality show contestant (or in this case group) to make it big in Australia which sets the tone for how the decade would turn out down under.
#63 for 2000
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#56 for 2004
Anastacia had only been able to achieve one hit from her first two albums in Australia, this second single from her third album broke tradition by being a massive hit for her likely due to it continuing the theme of her entry from the start of this list of being a gospel rock track about her being done with a relationship she was in. It would be her final hit in most parts of the world as her next album was a huge flop for her.
#51 for 2004
It's easy to think that Jessica Simpson came from Disney much like Britney and Christina, however she was a teen idol that had no such affiliation with the House of mouse and was instead looking to make it big during the height of the teen pop era of music. She was off to a good start with her debut single as it showcases how much of a powerhouse she was as a vocalist, rivalling that of Christina at her best.
#64 for 2000
There weren't a lot of successful British artists throughout the decade here in Australia, however Ronan Keating was a rare exception likely due to the good will he had during his time with Boyzone throughout the 90's. Here he scored a massive hit with the second single from his solo debut ("When you say nothing at all" was technically the lead single) which was a huge hit for the Irish performer down under.
#65 for 2000
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#54 for 2002
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#55 for 2002
This is the only other hit that Eve had as a lead artist in her career, although she would score two more hits after his as the guest rapper with Gwen Stefani and Guy Sebastian of all people. In the meantime, we have this collaboration with Alicia Keys fresh off the success of her debut album who provides her a chorus about how even female thugs need love too, the male equivalent worked for Ja rule after all.
#50 for 2002
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#55 for 2003
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#56 for 2003
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#57 for 2004
Following the success she had with the Young divas from the previous year, Ricki Lee decided to give her solo career another shot which went over much better as this became a huge success for her. The supergroup also kept going this year by replacing her with Jessica Mauboy, she would follow suit the following year and have a much more prominent career as well.
#61 for 2007
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#60 for 2009
This was originally a flop for Nelly here in Australia due to his album not making many waves in our music scene despite its international success, however it got a second chance when it was featured in the film Scary movie 2 due to it being made by the Wayan brothers who were known for using drugs in their films and this song having a ton of drug references throughout its runtime (which were all censored on the radio of course.)
#61 for 2001
Well, this is a song that showcases a more immature side of Outkast, or at least it does for Andre 3000 as while Big boi is on this track, it's still primarily his song given that it appears on his side of their album. As silly as the lyrics are on the radio edit, the album version is something else as it has an outro of him finding different ways to call his ex a bitch, it's absolutely hilarious and likely why this was a hit.
#52 for 2004
This will be the only appearance from Avril Lavigne on this list, suffice to say that "Don't tell me" was another victim of Sony tampering with the release schedule of a song in order to allow all of the entries from Australian idol contestants to run rampant on our charts this year. Fortunately, this second single from her sophomore album wasn't affected by this which allowed her to have a hit with this ballad about her angsty breakup with someone.
#53 for 2004
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#58 for 2004
#56 for 2005
There was a time where people took this song seriously, I guess because this was during the height of emo and that the video depicted a violent car crash caused by drink driving and convinced themselves this was a PSA about how that can ruin one's life. Still, there's a reason this has become a meme over the years, it's so overdramatic that it's easy (and let's be honest fun) to mock whenever mentioning it.
#56 for 2005
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#53 for 2006
#57 for 2007
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#58 for 2007
This wasn't nearly as successful internationally as it was on Billboard where it became 50 cent's second consecutive chart topper, and in case you were wondering, yes there are exactly 21 questions asked in this song (even if some of them were asked more than once.) I think the real appeal of this track was having Nate Dogg on the chorus who just like on "Regulate" nine years prior, delivers a killer chorus.
#56 for 2003
This was the only hit for the underage American southern rapper J-Kwon, a hit that sparked a bit of minor controversy as it opens with a song about how teen drinking was bad but he didn't care because he had a fake ID. Naturally this line was cut from the radio version of this song which left audiences with the counting gimmick he had throughout the song, it's about all I remember from it if I'm being honest.
#54 for 2004
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#59 for 2007
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#61 for 2009
This was the final hit that Jordin Sparks has had anywhere in the world, although in this case she was playing second fiddle to Guy Sebastian who was clearly trying to find an international audience now that he had established his comeback with "Like it like that" going into the 2010's.
#63 for 2009
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#63 for 2000
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#61 for 2001
While the title for the most sexually explicit song from Enrique Iglesias will always go to "Tonight I'm loving you," for a while there was a strong contender for this title track from Escape to take that prize as the lyrics have been criticised over the years for being very forward about Enrique's intentions towards the person he's singing to. It turns out this was the song that won over his longtime partner (who he's never married) Anna Kournikova.
#51 for 2002
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#59 for 2004
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#60 for 2007
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#61 for 2007
This was the second single from Rihanna's Good girl gone bad album, it wasn't nearly as big a hit as her earlier entry on this list even though we Aussies certainly appreciated the rock edge this song has. It kind of reminds me of "Black cat" from Janet Jackson as that was another rock track from an artist who only released RNB tracks prior to its success, and indeed Rihanna would have more rock hits in her career.
#62 for 2007
This was the victory single for by far the least popular winner of Australian idol, it was a hit as expected, however I doubt anyone even remembers who Natalie Gauci is considering she didn't even release a studio album following her win on the show.
#63 for 2007
#57 for 2008
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#64 for 2000
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#65 for 2000
This was another song that was heavily delayed here in Australia to allow Australian idol to take over the charts, as such it proved to be less successful here than if it had of been released on time like it was everywhere else in the world towards the end of the previous year. I guess its delay allowed this to out chart "Kryptonite" here even if that song was more successful down under than this ballad.
#55 for 2004
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#60 for 2004
This was the one and only hit from the Australian trio Slinkee Minx, mainly because it's a cover of a Belinda Carlisle classic that while obscure everywhere else in the world, is fondly remembered down under due to it being a huge hit for her back in 1990. This is basically a dance remix of the original track as aside from adding a catchier beat than what the original had, there's hardly any difference between the two songs.
#56 for 2004
Following the success of her breakthrough single "Forever" from the previous year, Tina Cousins decided to rerelease her debut single from two years prior where it became a massive hit here in Australia for her. It was at its most popular here given how it was only a modest success for her upon its initial release in her native UK, likely because it got lost in the shuffle of all the other EDM at the time.
#66 for 2000
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#66 for 2000
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#56 for 2002
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#62 for 2009
This was the third Billboard chart topper Britney Spears had in her career, it continues her streak of making blatantly sexual tracks to titillate audiences who find her attractive and offend those who claim that she's ruining pop culture but really isn't. The song sparked massive controversy due to its reference to Peter Paul and Mary in the chorus due to it coming out right after Mary from the folk trio tragically passed away.
#64 for 2009
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#62 for 2001
Uncle Kracker got his start as the turntablist for Kid Rock who was (at the time) a rap rock artist making songs such as "Bawitdaba" and "Daddy cool" from the Osmosis Jones soundtrack, so to see him with the first of only two hits he had as an adult contemporary artist is a bit of a surprise to say the least. I remember this receiving tons of airplay back in the day, so perhaps it was pulled from shelves to promote his album which sadly didn't work.
#62 for 2001
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#63 for 2001
Much like her earlier entry, this second single from Avril Lavigne was much more successful here in Australia than its placement would otherwise suggest, however I've already gone over why that's the case, so I won't repeat myself here. Instead, I'll talk about the songs which are both iconic to this day due to them showcasing the complicated feelings that Avril has during throughout her life at this point.
#52 for 2002
I think this is the first hit to become as such thanks to the power of text to speech, and who says that AI generated content is a recent phenomenon when it was able to give Italian DJ Benny Benassi a hit in the early to mid 00's? Of course, the real success of this song comes from its two music videos, both of which are completely bizarre which of course makes it a shoe in for my inevitable weirdest videos list.
#57 for 2003
Shark tale is a film that seems to divide audiences, it all comes down to whether or not they appreciate this parody of the Pixar formula the same way that Shrek 2 (which also came out this year) parodies the Disney formula or if they feel that the film is nothing more than a collection of pop culture references strung together to try and form an incoherent plot. At least people like the theme song from Christina Aguilera and Missy Elliott.
#57 for 2004
This was the theme to a German kids cartoon of the same name, originally, I heard it in a German class I was taking at school and dismissed it as something my teacher wanted to share with the class, she was heavily pregnant at the time after all. As it turns out, she was actually trying to be hip and with it as this was a surprise hit this year throughout the world much like the Bob the builder theme from earlier in the decade.
#57 for 2005
While she wasn't as inescapable as her main Disney rival Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera did have the advantage of having the better voice of the two which is perhaps why she was able to score three Billboard chart toppers from her debut album. This was the second of the three which no doubt inspired a movie named What women want which came out less than a year after its initial release.
#67 for 2000
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