Does anyone even remember the film, Loser? True to its title, the film follows two teenagers who feel like outcasts in the world and eventually find and fall in love with each other. The theme song from American band Wheatus basically describes the plot of the film in the lyrics, which I'm guessing is why it managed to be more popular even at the time than the film was as it contained its premise in a short amount of time.
Well, here's a nostalgia bomb for everyone who grew up during the late 90's, we have the breakthrough single for the Italian trio Eiffel 65 as well as one of the first hit singles to incorporate egregious usage of autotune which even at the time seems to have driven people up the wall. Then there's the strange music video complete with the awful CGI used for the aliens.
It had been two decades of silence from Santana when they released this lead single to their comeback album Supernatural this year, it's hard to say if the album would've been a success without this track given that many people attribute this as a Rob Thomas solo project more than a Santana track with Rob's vocals on it. What I do know is that it made both Santana and Matchbox 20 international superstars.
While this wasn't the debut single from Vanessa Amorosi (that honour goes to "Have a look") it was the song which made her a household name given how it was considered to be the unofficial anthem for the 2000 Sydney Olympics with how inescapable it was upon its initial release. This resulted in the song being a huge success over in NZ and even sparked interest for Vanessa throughout Europe.
This was the first of a string of hits that American singer Anastacia had in Australia, I bring this up because she curiously never had a hit on the Billboard charts despite being a massive success throughout Europe. I guess this was due to her fellow Americans confusing her for a woman of colour initially and being taken aback when they saw she wasn't, she does admittedly have a lot of soul in her vocals.
This was the only big hit to come from the Italian DJ Spiller, although the song is better known for having British model turned singer Sophie Ellis Bextor on vocals who would go on to have massive success with her own album later in the decade. I'm not sure why this was Spiller's only hit given how much success Sophie would have, perhaps it was seen as a novelty track at the time.
One of the catchiest female empowerment anthems to ever be released, this debut single from Madison Avenue created plenty of international success, so much so that it managed to top both the NZ and UK charts despite it getting stuck behind Eiffel 65's entry from earlier on this list here in Australia. Sadly, the duo ruined their good will at the 2000 ARIA awards when Cheyne Coates appeared to be intoxicated while performing on stage.
This was originally released simply as "Mascara" where it managed to climb the charts following the success of the band's debut single "Weir," then their label decided to bundle it with "Leave me alone" which allowed both songs to top the Australian charts early on in the 00's and just in time for their debut album Reflector to be released.
Like many people over the years, I always found Macy Grey to be a rather odd vocalist as her dry vocals never sat very well with me. Of course, that puts me and her critics in the minority as this debut single of hers managed to be a huge success worldwide because of these vocals connecting with her fanbase. This was her only hit here in Australia, although the album it came from was a huge success.
Oh, Bloodhound gang, you were a bunch of very naughty boys indeed as you made this track which came complete with a music video that was clearly meant to shock and horrify audiences from back in the day. Of course, this was going to be a huge success for the band given how this was back in the day where people were rewarded with being provocative in the mainstream rather than shunned.
This was one of two hits that the Finnish group Bomfunk MC's had here in Australia, we'll get to their other hit in a bit, but for now we have their song which was able to have the F-bomb played on the radio due to listeners missing the "Who the f**k is Alice" reference in the lyrics. I'm guessing this means that the song was a hit mainly for the sound as this was a bit before songs became a hit due to being a meme for its lyrics.
While the Spice girls were still a unit by this point in time, it seems like the girls wanted to be done with it as Sporty Spice released her solo album much like Scary and Ginger did before they released their third and final album later in the year. Given how the was the most vocally gifted of the girls, her solo debut proved to be the biggest his out of all of their solo material, although it could also be due to the presence of Left eye Lopez.
Following the success that he had with Dru hill in his native America, Sisqo left the group to pursue a solo career which was off to a good start with this track about how he fell in love with a woman based on her thongs (a bikini bottom for my non-American readers.) Some have accused this song of being sexist as it glorifies the objectification of women based on a piece of clothing, usually by people who do the same thing to men.
It had been five years since Bon Jovi last troubled the charts with their material, although given how this was a return to form for the band, it may as well have been eight years as they hadn't released anything this hard hitting since "Keep the faith" from 1992. It was a welcomed comeback from the band who went on to have sound success throughout the 00's before becoming a nostalgia band by the end of the decade.
From what I can tell, Duets is a film that exists. It's about Huey Lewis teaching Gwyneth Paltrow how to be a singer which led to this cover of the Smokey Robinson track that I personally don't have much issue with, although how it became a huge success in the southern hemisphere and nowhere else in the world is beyond me.
This is a song that's more well known nowadays for the behind the scenes drama it caused as two of the original members of Destiny's child only found out they were fired and replaced from the band when the music video was unveiled this year, I guess that explains why it took them so long to release a second single from their sophomore album given that "Bills bills bills" was a Billboard chart topper for the quartet.
This was always meant to be the lead single to Destiny's child's third album Survivor, however it came out as such an empowering feminist anthem that it was selected as the theme to the theatrical adaptation of Charlie's angels which has received a mix reception over the years due to some praising it for its female empowerment while others feel that it's a campy remake of a property made at the height of misogyny in pop culture.
Although she's appeared in many Disney products over the years, it turns out Mandy Moore was never a product of Disney herself and was instead a child star who scored massive success starting out with her debut single that she's long since distanced herself from due to it sounding like something that would come out of the Disney machine at the time. Indeed, it turns out that much like Hanson, her later music would become more respectable as she got older.
This was one of only two hit singles this sister duo managed to achieve in Australia, although it's easy to see why this succeeded given how it's an affectionate track about how they'll always be there for each other. Unfortunately for them, their legacy has since been overshadowed by another duo from Australia comprising of twin sisters that since went on to have massive international success, that of course being the Veronicas.
We've now entered a new decade where we have these guys making it big worldwide thanks to their kid friendly dance pop as well as their TV show which was taking the world by storm. With all of this success, you'd think that they would have massive crossover appeal in America, aside from a ballad that didn't even chart here, you'd be wrong with that assessment.
This gospel track from the sister duo Mary Mary was a massive flop in their native America, I'm not sure why as it was a massive hit for them everywhere else in the world including here in Australia where gospel music usually doesn't do so well as evidence by the absence of Mary J Blige on this site. For what it's worth, we Aussies were much more receptive to musicians of colour going forward in the 00's.
Well, this is certainly something different from Alecea Moore AKA P!nk, she would become known as a pop rock chick as early as her second album and yet here we are with her second single from an album which is more in the RNB genre. Although I and many others still have love for her early work, she's since disowned her debut album as she admitted to being forced to make it by her management.
So, we all remember "Bitch" from Meredith Brooks, right? Well Australian comedian Chris Franklin decided to release a version of that song from the perspective of an Australian bloke which became such a success for him that it even out charted the original on our charts. Naturally this was a song that only we Aussies would find any appeal from, which means it was never released internationally.
Although this can easily be seen as a typical breakup song (which is highly unusual coming from a boy band) this was actually a diss track towards the group's former manager who had screwed them over with their royalties during the early phase of their career. Although they had a big hit here in Australia the previous year with "I want you back," this was the song that finally put them in the league of the boy band wars here.
This was where it all began for Alecea Moore, even during her RNB phase she was all about female empowerment as her debut single was about her calling out her partners bad behaviour and how she wasn't going to tolerate it. Naturally it was a massive worldwide hit for her as female empowerment anthems were commonly accepted in the mainstream by this point in time.
Given how inescapably popular Usher was quickly becoming throughout the world, it only makes sense there would be a British equivalent which came in the form of Craig David. This was his second single from his debut album and by far the biggest on said album here in Australia, mainly because it has a gimmick of detailing his sexual escapades on each day of the week hence the name of the song.
This was originally a track from Vitamin C's debut album from the end of the 90's, it was also included on her second album where it was decided to be released as its lead single where it became a hit for the American pop star due to it being the perfect theme to a graduation ceremony. It would've been an even bigger hit here in Australia were it not pulled from shelves in order to promote her second single "The itch."
Well, their earlier entry on this list was one of the biggest hits of all time moving from the 90's to the 00's, so it only seems fitting that this second single from Eiffel 65 would also be a big hit for the band right down to the music video continuing the story that their earlier entry had. They didn't have a third hit from their album, meaning that the Italian trio were a two-hit wonder worldwide.
This was the theme to the Leonardo Dicaprio flick The beach, a film that was critically panned for being little more than an excuse to see him stranded on a deserted island to be objectified by those who find him attractive. Indeed, the song remains the only part of the film that was well received as it became a massive hit for All saints who (in my opinion) greatly improved from their debut album two years prior.
There won't be a lot of British artists moving forward on this site (at least on the Australian side of this site) so I guess it's a bit of a surprise to me that this British girl group managed to score such a massive hit here despite it flopping in their native UK. It's another song where the girls are reassuring their partners that they're going to get over the breakup, another theme that was common throughout the decade.
Following the success of their first single on this list, Destiny's child released this female empowerment anthem about them having fun which is a bit of a contradiction to "Say my name" as that song is about them getting annoyed that their partner isn't spending enough time with them. Naturally these two songs aren't meant to be part of the same narrative, which is perhaps why they were both a massive success.
This was the only notable success for the Canadian band Len, I'm guessing because they could only interest audiences with one summer jam about how both lead vocalists (who incidentally are brother and sister) missed out on hooking up with the love of their respective lives for one reason or another. They join a long line of one hit wonders who made it big with a summer jam before fading into obscurity.
It looked like the album cycle for J-Lo's debut album was finished when "Feeling so good" underperformed on the charts from the start of the year, however it looks like she had other ideas as she released this fourth single from the album which became a massive success here in Australia likely due to the Latin craze still being strong in our music scene. I'm not sure what took her so long to release this track as this felt like a natural single from the start.
Although he already had success here in Australia as a member of Take that, this was the first big hit that Robbie Williams had as a solo artist despite him having huge success over in NZ and his native UK as the 90's was coming to an end. I have to assume this was due to the video which shows him literally peeling off layers of himself until only a skeleton remains, why else would this be the song that made him big here?
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.
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.
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.)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
This was the penultimate hit that Five had before their demise later in the decade, I'm guessing because fans of the iconic band they were covering on this track (who not only gave them approval to cover it but also provided updated instrumentation for them to sing over) were none too thrilled at the boy bands take of one of their more iconic songs in their catalogue.
Much like Daft punk, this was also a French duo who scored a massive hit at the start of the decade with an EDM number, although unlike Daft punk, they wouldn't last very long in the mainstream as they would disband later in the decade. Honestly there's not much more I can add to this track other than them being a less successful version of those guys.
This was one of two hits that the German EDM group Fragma had throughout the world at the start of the decade, the other was with "Everytime you need me" which sadly was too much of a sleeper hit here in Australia to be appearing on this site. I guess the EDM scene was still going strong going into the new millennium even if it was quickly losing steam in the mainstream compared to how inescapable it was in the 90's.
If you're wondering why there was a huge gap between this and "What a girl wants" (which we'll get to in a bit) that's because there was a song released between these two Billboard chart toppers called "I turn to you" which was a massive flop worldwide for the (then) Disney star. I'm guessing this was chosen as the fourth single from her debut album to showcase what a powerhouse of a vocalist she is.
It was a new decade and yet it appears that the EDM scene hadn't quite reached the end of its popularity in Australia as this trance single from Alice Deejay proved to be a massive success for them during the early months of the 00's. I'm guessing the reason why they didn't stick around for the rest of the decade was because they angered rock fans by titling their album who needs guitars anyway, that's a recipe for disaster.
This was always destined to be a huge hit for Kylie Minogue given how it was the second single from her album Light years which saw her return to bubble-gum pop that made her a household name in the 80's, however it was also a success here due to it being performed at the closing ceremony of the 2000 Olympics which seemed appropriate given how it was a song about how special a night was for her.
This was the final hit to come from Toni Braxton anywhere in the world, likely due to it being a song where she chastised the wife of one of her exes about how he wasn't good enough for her. Needless to say, this left a bad taste in people's mouths given how she was previously known for sweet ballads such as "Breathe again" and "Unbreak my heart," although it is a bop provided you ignore the lyrics.
This was the third hit in a row from Vanessa Amorosi, it was an instant success likely due to it being about making the most of what you have as life is fleeting and can end at any moment. This was a hit around the time that her earlier entry saw an international release, although that song was only a success in NZ likely due to rumours that she would perform it at the 2000 Olympics (which she did at the closing ceremony.)
Although the Backstreet boys had been crowned the winner of the boy bands late 90's edition by this point, Human nature still managed to make a case that they should've taken the crown (at least here in Australia) with this lead single to their third album which was a massive success for them going into the 21st century. Nowadays it's lost its popularity due to it being seen as a "nice guy" anthem even though it avoids many of that type of songs pitfalls.
This was Aaliyah's only hit here in Australia, although much like her big hit in NZ from two years prior, this was also a song featured from a film which in this case was a film she also starred in. That film is of course Romeo must die which was panned by critics for its clunky story but praised for the performances from Aaliyah and her co-star Jet Li, suggesting she was also a talented actress as well as a singer.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Say what you will about "Take me there" by Blackstreet, at least it was an appropriate theme song to the first theatrical Rugrats film which is more than I can say about this track from the Baha men which serves as the theme song to the second theatrical film. The song is about how the group (who refer to themselves as dogs) are on the prowl for sex, and yet this was used in a kid's film which launched them into popularity.
This was the lead single to the Corrs third album, an album which saw them branch away from their Celtic sound they had on their previous two albums in favour of more conventional adult contemporary. This paid off for them big time internationally as this was a massive worldwide success for them, however it wasn't as big here in Australia likely due to us feeling like they sold out with this track.
Given how this was coming from not one but two of the biggest albums of the decade, you'd think that this collaboration would've been more inescapable back in the day given how it was a song about protecting the children of the world from two former teen idols. I can't even say if this song's success came from Kylie's fans or Robbie's as neither fanbase seems to be that fond of the collaboration.
This was the only hit to come from Leah Haywood, a rising star in the Australian music scene who curiously called it quits after just one album likely due to her feeling that she couldn't adapt with the times after said album underperformed on our charts. Indeed, this feels like it was only a hit due to the success that Mandy Moore and Jessica Simpson had this year with their ballads being similar to this one.
This was the second single from Bomfunk MC to make it big worldwide, it's more or less like their earlier entry on this list only without the bizarre music video or the shout out to Smokie that the radio somehow missed had an f-bomb in. There's not much I can say about this song, it was a hit for the band that didn't lead them to have any further success.
There was a good chance that these guys would be the biggest British band of the decade and not Coldplay, they were certainly off to a good start with this Britpop track that became a huge hit here in Australia despite it flopping in their native UK for some reason. The Scottish band would release their third album the following year, however it would be largely overshadowed by Coldplay's debut album.
This feels like a passing the torch moment as it was not only the second big hit that Enrique Iglesias was able to achieve here in Australia, but also it was the final hit that Whitney Houston had in her lifetime as the 00's wouldn't be so kind to her given the personal drama in her life. It was a fitting end to her popularity given how much chemistry she has with the Latin crooner on this ballad.
The legends are true people, Madonna did in fact cover Don McLean's signature track for her film The next best thing where she sleeps with the (totally straight) Rupert Everett where they have a child out of wedlock. As much as the cover has been despised over the years (I certainly don't like it) I think we can all agree that it's at least better than the movie who's only redeeming factor was its positive depiction of LGBT characters.
This is the final appearance that Bryan Adams will be making on this site, mainly because he scored a massive hit with the British DJ Chicane who felt he could make a dance track with the Canadian crooner providing vocals. He turned out to be correct as this was a massive worldwide hit for the duo, although it was also the DJ's only hit as none of his other collaborations caught on anywhere.
This is where the Willennium pun came from as Will Smith decided to cash in on the Y2K scare by releasing this track that became a success due to its meme status (or whatever we called a viral hit back then.) Naturally this was seen in poor taste for the rapper considering all of the stress people were going through due to Y2K back in the day.
Much like Ginger Spice, Sporty was also able to score more than one hit on her own around the turn of the millennium as this second single from her solo album managed to be a huge sleeper hit here in Australia following the success of her earlier entry on this list. Her last hit would be her reunion with the Spice girls also from earlier on this list before she became little more than a legacy act.
This is a song that may seem extraordinarily low to anyone reading this list, indeed it was a massive success for U2 back in the day even if its placement on here suggests it was a mere moderate success at best. It had record breaking sales upon its debut here in Australia, however that led to it dropping in the lower half of the charts where it stuck around due to airplay refusing to let it die.
Wow was this song EVERYWHERE when it first came out, it's hard to believe that it wasn't any bigger here in Australia as it certainly felt like it was on the radio and in commercials. This was the only hit that Groove Armada managed to score down under, likely due to the novelty of a track saying "I see you baby shaking that ass" ad nauseum not allowing them to be taken seriously in the mainstream.
Given how Limp Bizkit was beginning to take the world by storm this year with their brand of nu metal, it was inevitable that we Aussies would have our own equivalent of that band in the form of 28 days who scored their one and only hit with this track that I'm sure most of us confused for the likes of Fred Durst. They would get sidelined once their American counterparts released their album Chocolate starfish and the hot dog flavoured water.
For a while, this was the final hit that Backstreet boys were able to achieve in most parts of the world given how it's often regarded as the final entry from the boy band wars before they officially came to an end, it's low placement on this list is mainly due to us Aussies wanting to move on from the phenomenon even though I do remember it being everywhere on the radio back then.
This was arguably the final song to be released in the 90's that became a huge hit worldwide, mainly because this serves as both a Christmas song as well as an unofficial anthem for the turn of the millennium despite that not happening until the end of this year. It's also considered to be one of the worst songs of all time and a good reason as to why Cliff Richard hasn't had any more hits since.
This was the final hit single that Celine Dion was able to score in her career in most parts of the world, mainly due to it being the perfect book end to a highly successful decade as this serves as the lead single to her pseudo greatest hits package All the way a decade of song that also has enough new tracks to qualify for a studio album. I guess she could've had more success if she didn't embarrass herself at Vegas in 2002.
Even though the Backstreet boys scored many more hits worldwide than these guys did, the fact that this was able to go to number one on Billboard did allow them to win the boy band wars in their native America as far as TRL was concerned. This song is also a breakup track much like their earlier entry on this list, further giving them an identity that separated them from their contemporaries of sentimental lover boys.
Whereas her earlier entry on this list didn't spark any controversy (well at least from anyone who didn't despise teen pop with a passion) this on the other hand raised a few eyebrows due to it heavily sampling "Jack and Diane" from John Mellencamp where she takes on the role of Diane in the song. It was a massive hit here in Australia likely due to nostalgia, however fans of the heartland rocker weren't too pleased about this.
It was a new decade, so naturally Aqua felt it would be the perfect opportunity to drop the lead single to their second album which was a modest success worldwide thanks to a video which saw a massive improvement in the budget compared to their earlier work. It was more of the same fun bubble-gum pop mixed with EDM that they had offered before, however this formula didn't work out for them on their second album overall.
It looked like Mandy Moore would be one of the leading forces of the teen pop era going into the new millennium, unfortunately for her and many of her contemporaries, the sub-genre would quickly become uncool by the end of the following year which prevented her from having many other hits like the ones she has on this list. Still, I don't think she minds that didn't happen given how she's distanced herself from this music.
It turns out that the British duo Shaft was able to have an appearance on the Australian side of my site after all given how this remix of the Rosemary Clooney classic managed to rack up just enough points to appear on this list. There's really not much to say about this remix as the duo simply move the arrangements of the original to make it better suited for the dance floors of the turn of the millennium.
We haven't had many Asian pop stars making it big in the west, have we? Here we have one of the lucky few to do so as Coco Lee is from Hong Kong who scored a massive hit this year exclusively in Australia with one of her few English language tracks about whether the person she's singing to is interested in her or not. It easily fits in with all of the teen pop that made it big on this list.
This was the final hit single that Salt N Pepa managed to score before they initially called it quits, although can we even say this is one of their songs when it's a mashup of "Gitty up" and Pink Floyd's "Another brick in the wall?" I think this was meant to be released as the twentieth anniversary of the latter song which is perhaps why it was such a huge success for the trio here and in NZ.
