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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#57 for 2002
This was released around the premiere of the reality show the Osbourne's, a show that's basically the equivalent of Keeping up with the Kardashians but for the family of Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne that came out five years prior to that other show ever seeing the light of day. Here daughter Kelly decides to cash in off her newfound fame by releasing her debut album which contained this cover of Madonna's 1986 classic.
#53 for 2002
Much like their previous entry on this list, this third single from BEP's Elephunk is different depending on which version we're looking at. The single version is a rather innocuous party jam that was a predictable hit for the group, however the album version has some truly bizarre lines as well as a breakdown where the members spout gibberish that I and many others find to be absolutely hilarious.
#58 for 2004
I remember this song being way popular than its placement on this list would otherwise suggest, meaning that it's possible this second single from Nickelback's All the right reasons would've been even bigger had the digital charts been launched during the height of its popularity here in Australia. This was pushed back as one of the later singles in America from the band, likely due to it sounding different from the rest of their catalogue.
#55 for 2006
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#54 for 2006
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#57 for 2003
This is another song that was pulled from shelves due to Sony wanting to ensure that this year was all about Australian idol contestants, it was an EDM song from a British duo which had nothing to do with the program and yet they were fiddling with this song's success regardless. It was the duo's only noticeable hit here in Australia despite the pair being active for over a decade when they crossed over this year.
#59 for 2004
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#55 for 2008
#63 for 2009
While Eminem had success the previous year with "My name is," it was this song that made him an overnight sensation due to it essentially being him calling out all of the double standards not just in the music industry but in pop culture in general whilst having a catchy beat and a hilarious video to go along with what he has to say. It was a massive hit for him whilst also reassuring people that his vulgar content wasn't meant to be taken too seriously.
#68 for 2000
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#67 for 2000
This served as not only the lead single to J-Lo's second album, but also as the theme for her film the Wedding planner which co-stars Matthew McConaughey as her love interest. It was panned by critics mainly for the writing as not even the likes of Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman could make the story of the film work, indeed it's best that this song remains the lead single to an album and nothing more.
#63 for 2001
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#58 for 2002
This was the second hit from DJ Sammy to become a success this year that was a cover of a song from 1985, this time we have him making a dance track of the Don Henley classic which got him out of the one hit wonder bin in most parts of the world that his earlier entry threatened to trap him in. I guess he ran out of 80's classics to make his own which led to him failing to score any other hits.
#54 for 2002
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#58 for 2003
It appears that P Diddy was still trying to find the next teen idol for his label as he signed (then) teenage model Cassie Ventura to his label where she scored a massive worldwide hit with this RNB track before fading into obscurity. There were a lot of female RNB stars in this vein who were likely trying to become the next Ashanti or Ciara, although Cassie was by far the most successful in this vein.
#56 for 2006
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#62 for 2007
This was one of the better received songs in Britney's career as it was an autobiographical account of her rise to fame (well biographical as it wasn't written by her) it was a massive hit worldwide due to people connecting with the tale of how she got everything she wanted but it all made her feel hollow inside. In a way, this was "Everything I wanted" almost two decades before Billie Eilish wrote that track.
#69 for 2000
This was the only hit to come from Samantha Mumba worldwide, although she did score a second hit in her native UK with "Body II body" which is a song that sampled "Ashes to ashes" by David Bowie on its twentieth anniversary. Here she is with an RNB jam about how she was in love with someone and her confessing her love to that person, it's a topic universally relatable so much so that it was a hit in America as well.
#70 for 2000
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#64 for 2001
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#61 for 2004
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#55 for 2006
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#59 for 2002
I've heard people describe P!nk as little more as little more than an industry plant for the pop rock sphere to seem as real as possible despite being completely fake, to those people, I point them to this fourth and final single from her sophomore album which is about her coping with the divorce of her parents which greatly connected with people back in the day to allow it to be a huge hit for her.
#58 for 2003
The hits kept on coming for Ja Rule in Australia as he released the lead single to his album the Last temptation, I'm guessing it was due to the presence of Bobby Brown who hadn't had a hit here for a decade and was now providing a chorus for Ja about what it's like to have thug loving (basically a term he coined for the "thugs need love too" troupe.) This was a huge flop for him in his native America, although at least it was released over there.
#59 for 2003
This was another song that was impacted by Sony tampering with the release schedule, trust me, this one and only hit from the Hoobastank was inescapable here in Australia as I'm sure it was throughout the rest of the world back in the day. I'm not sure why this was the song to catch on worldwide as the rest of their catalogue would've fitted in nicely with the rock scene equally as well as this did.
#60 for 2004
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#65 for 2001
This was the only hit that Fat Joe had over here in Australia, I think it's mostly due to the "What's love got to do with it" interpolation on the chorus as well as it being another "thugs need love too anthem" which was becoming increasingly popular throughout the world back in the day. It even has Ashanti on the chorus which I guess was meant to reassure audiences that she wasn't exclusively for Ja Rule when it comes to hip hop collaborations.
#55 for 2002
This was the only hit that Ja Rule had from his album the Last temptation in his native America, I'm guessing it was mainly for the video which is an homage to the final song sequent from Grease only with Ja Rule as Danny and Ashanti as Sandy (this was a good year for musicians of colour taking on roles originally done by Caucasian actors.) It's also the second "thugs need love too" ballad from the pair in question.
#60 for 2003
This was meant to be the last song that Eminem released before he retired from music, of course that retirement lasted all of four years as he would return by the end of the decade with his album Relapse which was a commercial success for the rapper despite also being panned by critics like Encore was. In America, the big hit off his greatest hits album was "Shake that" which was his attempt at a strip club anthem.
#57 for 2006
There was a five-year gap between Maroon 5's debut and sophomore album, although it didn't feel as long given how most people didn't even know about the band until 2003 when "Harder to breathe" began making the airwaves from their debut. Here we are with the lead single to their second album which was a much more instantaneous hit for the band worldwide due to their popularity being as strong as ever.
#64 for 2007
These guys were certainly on a roll going into the new millennium given how they were able to finally score a number one hit in their native UK with this second single from their sophomore album Invincible. It seemed like they would be moving away from their hip hop roots going into the new millennium, however their third single traded in these roots in favour of a dated cover of a Queen classic.
#71 for 2000
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#66 for 2001
It took a while for Maroon 5's debut album to find success worldwide, in fact I remember hearing the lead single "Harder to breathe" on the radio from the previous year quite a bit back in the day, so you can imagine my surprise when I found out it was a flop for them even in their native America years later. Their second single is also much lower on this list than I otherwise would've predicted if I'm being honest.
#61 for 2004
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#68 for 2000
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#67 for 2001
#60 for 2002
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#62 for 2004
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#57 for 2005
#56 for 2006
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#57 for 2006
#63 for 2007
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#63 for 2004
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#64 for 2009
This is the last big hit that RHCP had here in Australia, although internationally that honour would go to "Snow" from the same album as this served as the lead single for which either way should tell you that this was the last album that they would be superstars with before their popularity evaporated going into the 2010's. This song would've done alright with its physical sales; however, its success largely came from digital sales.
#58 for 2006
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#59 for 2003
The legends are true people, Lindsay Lohan did in fact have a singing career that consisted of two albums that saw a moderate amount of success for the former Disney star. This was the lead single of her first album which was her version of "Piece of me" from Britney Spears as it addresses her public behaviour (back when it was mostly innocuous) and how she was fed up with tabloids exploiting it for profit.
#58 for 2005
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#65 for 2009
Given how his former band Westlife managed to score a massive hit two years prior with "You raise me up," it only seems fitting that Brian McFadden finally scored a hit of his own with this lead single to his second album here in Australia and virtually nowhere else in the world. By this point, he had migrated here due to his ongoing relationship with Delta Goodrem, however he moved back to Ireland once their engagement was called off.
#58 for 2008
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#69 for 2000
Although it has a low placement on this list, this was the first chart topper that Kylie Minogue had here in Australia since "Confide in me" from six years prior. Again, we have a song that debuted high on this list due to strong first week sales and then quickly dropped off the charts once the initial hype had died down, although there was a lot of hype with this song as it was a return for Kylie to bubble-gum pop.
#72 for 2000
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#68 for 2001
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#58 for 2005
#58 for 2006
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#64 for 2007
Christina Aguilera was another victim of having her songs pulled from the shelves in order to promote her album, again it worked as Stripped was a massive success for her and to be fair, the singles still did fairly well such as this lead single from the album. Here she decided to go straight for the shock factor by releasing something that Disney would've never allowed on her debut album now that she was no longer with them.
#56 for 2002
Shakaya was one of the very few Australian groups to have its members be of indigenous descent to make it big in Australia, even then this was their only massive hit as it's about them being harassed by a stalker who they want nothing to do with and them telling this person to leave them alone. They did have buzz with their next two singles, however only "Cinderella" came close to recreating this song's success.
#57 for 2002
There didn't seem to be any signs of Craig David slowing down in the mainstream as he released the lead single to his second album which became an instant success for him, I'm guessing because he was making the waves over in America this year with the material from his debut album which made him in the same leagues as Usher who was also enjoying a successful year around the world with his material.
#58 for 2002
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#59 for 2006
If you're wondering what this song even is, it was the theme song to Happy feet which is a film that divides audiences to this day due to how preachy they tend to find the environmental message of the film. It was a massive box office success worldwide which allowed this theme to be a hit here in Australia for the unknown singer Gia Farrell.
#65 for 2007
This was the third hit that Shaggy achieved on his comeback album hot stuff here in Australia, this time he recruits Samantha Cole to provide the chorus for him as he gushes about the love of his life and how fortunate he is to have her as his partner. Apparently, this was originally recorded with Janet Jackson for a soundtrack a movie no one has ever heard of from 1998, that would explain why he rerecorded that track for this album.
#64 for 2001
This will be one of only three appearances from the Sugababes on the Australian side of my site, although like most British groups (specifically the girl groups) they were much more successful over in NZ throughout the decade. The girls are best known for their multiple lineup changes throughout their career, to the point whereby the time the band was no more, none of the original members were a part of the group.
#59 for 2002
#61 for 2003
This was the only hit to come from Puddle of Mudd here in Australia, although their big hit internationally was "Blurry" from the previous year which flopped here for some reason. The song is infamous for being written from the perspective of a teenage boy who got dumped for the first time, at least that's what people who despise this song have claimed given how it's been widely mocked since its initial release.
#62 for 2003
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#60 for 2003
#64 for 2004
At least Shannon Noll was able to have genuine success this year following his loss of the first season of Australian idol, this is because his second single was a hit that stuck around long enough to appear much higher than any of the other entries from Guy Sebastian which were hits but only because of his name recognition.
#62 for 2004
This is a response track to Eamon's entry from earlier on this list, although contrary to popular belief, Frankee wasn't the girlfriend Eamon was singing about on his song as she was instead some random singer who wanted to cash in off the success of that track by writing a response from the perspective of his girlfriend.
#63 for 2004
This is the last hit that Kylie Minogue has had to date in her career, although she has tried to recapture her past glory over the years which does lead her to still occasionally chart even to this day. I will say that she's doing a better job at being a legacy pop diva than Madonna as she's yet to release something with the intention of it becoming a meme such as what Madonna's latest singles from the 2010's.
#66 for 2007
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#69 for 2001
This will be the only appearance from Selwyn on this site, mainly because "Buggin me" was too much of a sleeper hit to reach the upper echelons of the charts to qualify for this list and "Way love's supposed to be" was only a minor hit at best despite it being the fan favourite from the Australian RNB singer. Here we have his cover of the Hall and Oates classic that was well received by us Aussies this year.
#60 for 2002
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#61 for 2003
This is another victim of Sony's insistence of pushing popular songs aside in Australia to make way for Australian idols chart dominance, in this case it was the second single from Britney Spears which I assure you was a massive success here in Australia back in the day despite its low placement on this list. At least this managed to have presence on our charts for the short amount of time that it was available.
#64 for 2004
This was originally a hit for Savage in his native NZ where it didn't have Akon providing a guest verse for him, that version wasn't released here in Australia as he was able to afford the international RNB singer by the time it was released down under almost a year after its initial release. He had a ton of other hits in his homeland; however, he remains a one hit wonder with this song (OK a two-hit wonder if you count the Joel Fletcher remix.)
#59 for 2005
#59 for 2006
I bet you were beginning to forget that Kelly Rowland had a solo career given how omnipresent Beyonce was even this soon after the demise of Destiny's child throughout the world. Here she is with her first single from her second album which comes complete with a guest verse from Eve who was also still scoring hits this far into the decade despite her also not having much success as a lead artist for several years by this point.
#67 for 2007
This was initially a flop for Eric Hutchinson likely due to it receiving no promotion in his native America when it was first released the previous year, it eventually became a hit here in Australia and NZ due to its inclusion on the Packed to the rafter's soundtrack which had exploded in popularity this year due to how popular the show itself was. Unfortunately, this was the singer/songwriters only hit even in the southern hemisphere.
#65 for 2009
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#66 for 2009
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#70 for 2000
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#71 for 2000
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#61 for 2002
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#65 for 2004
Considering the original version of this track wasn't among the biggest hits of the 70's anywhere in the world, it seems odd that it would be the song that British DJ Meck would decide to use it as the song to reintroduce the world to Leo Sayer decades after he last had a hit anywhere in the world. It proved to be equally as successful here in Australia as the original was likely for the video which pays homage to Xanadu of all things.
#60 for 2006
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#67 for 2009
I feel that Beth Ditto was the Caucasian equivalent of Lizzo as she was an LGBT performer who was so comfortable with her appearance that it became an endearing factor of her image, and like Lizzo, she never felt the need to put anyone down in order to make herself feel good unlike some other performers throughout the 2010's. It's a shame her band only had one hit, although it was one more hit they had here than their native America.
#66 for 2009
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#68 for 2009
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#72 for 2000
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#62 for 2002
In most parts of the world, Enrique only had two hits with his other appearances on this list from his second English language album Escape, however in the southern hemisphere, he scored a third hit from the album with this track likely due to it having more of a rock edge compared to what he had released up until this point. He would score one more hit this decade with "I'm not in love" before temporarily fading into obscurity.
#61 for 2002
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#63 for 2002
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#66 for 2004
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#59 for 2005
It turns out Biggie Smalls wasn't a one hit wonder here in Australia after all as he managed to achieve a second posthumous hit here with this posse cut with Diddy, Nelly and Jagged edge. I suppose if 2pac was able to keep scoring hits worldwide from beyond the grave there was no reason his main rival in his lifetime couldn't do the same.
#61 for 2006
Given how the third single from Shannon Noll's second album was a bit of a commercial disappointment here in Australia (it won't be appearing on this list) this fourth single becoming a big hit was a bit of a surprise given how its placement on here was due to how well it did with its physical sales (as are all entries on this list.) I guess this goes to show that "Now I run" was more of a weak choice for a single than anything else.
#62 for 2006
Also known as the song that introduced the phrase "it's Britney bitch," we have this lead single to Britney's fifth album Breakout which saw a much more provocative side of the (then) troubled pop star following a string of public drama that forced her to be placed into her father's conservative ship (which the less I say about the better.) It was a massive hit for her likely due to fans wanting to support her during what was a dark period of her life.
#68 for 2007
You may recognise this woman as one of the members of Mis Teeq who had a massive hit six years prior with "Scandalous" here in Australia, here she is with a solo hit that became as such down under a full year after it was a hit in her native UK. If it wasn't obvious from the lack of British entries on these lists, this should be the best proof I have that we Aussies weren't that interested in the British music scene this decade.
#67 for 2009
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#65 for 2007
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#66 for 2007
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#56 for 2008
My American readers are likely confused as to how this managed to become a hit here in Australia given how it wasn't even released as a single over there, I guess we Aussies didn't want a song as controversial as "Superman" to become a success here, so instead we went with this as the fourth single from the album instead of that which the rest of the world followed suit with.
#63 for 2003
There have been plenty of ballads like this over the years to make it big, however I feel this was the first to make it big solely for why it exists which is that it's a victory single for the winner of the first season of Australian idol Guy Sebastian. This is someone I personally don't have much respect for reasons I won't get into on this site but suffice to say I'm not a fan of his music.
#64 for 2003
#65 for 2004
This was the second single from Delta Goodrem's third album, here she incorporates new age into her sound which helps elevate the message of regaining one's personal believes in something after it's been destroyed. While it was a hit for her, it wasn't as big as a lot of her other entries on this site so far, suggesting that people didn't find it as inspiring as she had hoped.
#69 for 2007
#59 for 2008
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#57 for 2008
Well, this was the complete opposite of what "Friends forever" is, OK maybe not, as that would imply this sex jam has anything to do with graduation from high school and being friends forever with the people you met along the way. Evidently that song was pulled from shelves in order for this to thrive in Australia, it paid off as the song was a massive hit at the expense of the album which flopped.
#65 for 2001
This was the first of three collaborations that Ja Rule made with Ashanti throughout the decade, each of them were for a "thugs need love too" ballad where she would provide him a catchy chorus while he spits bars about how much of a player and gangster he is. It appeared to connect with audiences back in the day as the formula did spawn three big hits for the duo not just in Australia but throughout the world.
#62 for 2002
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#62 for 2003
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#63 for 2003
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#64 for 2003
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