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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#25 for 2004
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#38 for 2008
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#32 for 2002
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#33 for 2002
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#34 for 2002
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#26 for 2005
This was the only other hit that Sean Paul had here in Australia, likely because it also managed to top the Billboard charts just like "Get busy" did three years prior. He interestingly did very well over in the UK considering that the Brits didn't seem to have much love for reggae until he came alone this decade.
#33 for 2006
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#28 for 2001
#35 for 2002
This is a song that was meant to be a tribute to Madonna who was quickly becoming less relevant in the mainstream by the time of its song's release, to do this the Androids compared her favourably to other female pop stars of the moment and how they couldn't hold a candle to the queen of pop's legacy. It was a surprise hit for the Australian band likely due to the video where the members cosplay as the different pop stars.
#33 for 2002
#27 for 2003
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#27 for 2005
This is often considered as one of the worst songs of the decade, mainly for how repetitive it is as well as how awful the lyrics are. Basically, it's a song that serves more as a warmup to Fergie's solo album as it can be considered the predecessor for that album's single "Fergalicious" which also has her and Will I am gawking at how attractive she is.
#27 for 2005
#31 for 2006
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#39 for 2008
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#36 for 2009
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#29 for 2000
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#26 for 2004
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#36 for 2002
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#30 for 2000
This was the only hit from American RNB singer Mario Winans anywhere in the world, I'm guessing because it samples the Enya track "Boadicea" which is why she has a featuring credit on this track despite not having any vocals on here. Another featured artist was P Diddy who provides a guest verse to reinforce why Mario doesn't want anything more to do with the person he's singing about.
#26 for 2004
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#28 for 2005
As far as I'm aware, this is the last hit to launch the career of a cast member from Neighbours, although I get the feeling this was always going to be a hit considering A: this sounds exactly like something the Veronicas would've had a hit with around this time and B: Stephanie McIntosh is the much younger sister of Jason Donovan who kickstarted this trend in the late 80's.
#34 for 2006
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#29 for 2001
This was a massive flop in Nitty's native America, I'm guessing because his fellow Americans didn't appreciate the interpolation of the Archies "Sugar sugar" on the chorus. It appears we Aussies did as this was a number one hit over here, although it's often considered one of the least memorable chart toppers in recent memory down under due to most people (me included) often forgetting that it even exists.
#28 for 2005
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#29 for 2005
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."
#27 for 2000
#29 for 2001
This was the first hit that Outkast managed to achieve outside of their native America, I'm guessing because people took an interest in the song's subject matter about how the narrator is apologising to the mother of his girlfriend and how he impregnated her during the relationship. Both rappers take a different approach to the song with Andre being more sympathetic whilst Big Boi isn't as such.
#30 for 2001
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#30 for 2001
This fifth single from Innocent eyes sort of cheated in becoming a chart topper for Delta Goodrem as it came bundled with her cover of "Happy X mas" given how it was released during the Christmas period of 2003. Even so, it allowed her to become the only artist to score five chart toppers from a single album in Australia as no other album has spawned more than three chart toppers down under over the years.
#28 for 2003
#27 for 2004
This was a mashup of "Numb" from Linkin Park and "Encore" from Jay Z that the two acts performed on MTV that was released as a single, it was a massive hit for both parties likely due to the popularity of the former who had already had a hit with their track the previous year as well as the latter's popularity steadily growing thanks to his relationship with Beyonce.
#29 for 2005
The only American idol contestant to see success with their victory single outside of America apart from Jordin Sparks was Fantasia from four years prior, although I get the feeling this victory single was a success here in Australia mainly due to the buzz she received with her collaboration with Chris Brown from earlier on the list which would explain why that song was heavily delayed in order for this to become a hit.
#39 for 2008
This was the first big hit that Pitbull had in his career, he had previously attempted to make it big with the Crunk scene earlier in the decade to little avail, so he decided to reinvent himself as a club artist where he had much more longevity in the mainstream. This is another artist that I'm not particularly a fan of, mainly for the reasons most people aren't as he never struck me as an interesting rapper.
#37 for 2009
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.
#28 for 2000
There won't be a lot of appearances from Coldplay on this site, at least not on my 00's lists as their popularity would largely be confided to their albums in the southern hemisphere due to illegal downloads eating up the success of their singles. The exception to this was their debut single which was a massive hit here in Australia like it was in their native UK.
#31 for 2001
This was the third and final hit to come from Craig David's debut album in most parts of the world, it's a more standard RNB ballad from Craig as it's him walking out of a toxic relationship and indeed everything making his life worse than what it needs to be. No doubt the success of all of these tracks from his album led to the success of his American counterpart Usher later in the year worldwide.
#32 for 2001
This second single from the Eminem show has always given me mixed signals as on the one hand he wants to make amends with his mother but on the other he does so in a way that suggests that he can never forgive her for the way she treated him while he was growing up. I guess these complicated feelings he had for her connected with audiences around the world as it was an easy hit for the rapper.
#34 for 2002
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#35 for 2006
This was the second single to come from Mika's debut album, it was also a massive hit here in Australia even though it didn't have a particularly interesting subject matter like his earlier entry on this list. I should point out that he was a member of the LGBT community which is perhaps why his debut album appealed to the queer community when it first came out, although his popularity didn't extend to his second album.
#39 for 2007
If the vocals on this track seem familiar to you, that's likely due to the fact that this was the one and only hit from the voice actress of Garnet from Steven Universe years prior to being cast in the LGBT Cartoon network series. Here the English vocalist recruits Kanye West to provide her a guest verse for little reason other than to have him be the American boy in question she's singing about.
#40 for 2008
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#31 for 2001
Although this song has a relatively low placement on this list, this is mainly because it was slightly delayed here in Australia and then released where it became Kylie's biggest hit in her career despite having a relatively short chart run. This was a practice that had ruined the Billboard charts throughout the 90's and would have similar damage to the ARIA charts throughout the 00's.
#33 for 2001
This was the first big hit that Silverchair had since the turn of the millennium, sure their fourth album Diorama was a huge success for them earlier in the decade, however it failed to spawn any hits for them here in Australia or anywhere else in the world. Perhaps if digital downloads were legal when it was initially released, it would've had a big hit like this lead single to their fifth and final album.
#40 for 2007
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#37 for 2009
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#31 for 2000
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.
#29 for 2000
I guess there was a tradition for the runner up of a season of Australian idol to have the bigger hit than the winner, although in this case Lee Harding cheated as he released a two for one deal as he has an original song he wrote for the competition as well as cover on here. Don't feel too bad for the winner Kate as she had more success than him both solo and as a member of the Young divas.
#35 for 2006
While it was a little late to the party in the southern hemisphere, this debut single from Chris Brown was a massive success in Australia and NZ and ushered in one of the most divisive RNB singers of all time. This was even prior to his string of controversies as a person as even from the beginning, people felt he was little more than an Usher wannabe and later on would refer to him as a Justin Bieber of colour.
#36 for 2006
It took her nearly a decade, but Britney Spears was finally able to have a second Billboard chart topper with this lead single to her album Circus likely due to her embracing the sexual nature of herself which she does tenfold in the music video. At the risk of coming off as mean towards this track, I have to say that this is one of the most repetitive songs to ever become a success as the title is repeated over forty times throughout its runtime.
#41 for 2008
I used to like this song, granted I was only nine years old when it came out, but there's a certain innocence to it that makes its popularity back in the day make sense to me. I do feel bad for it as it's often considered one of the worst songs of all time from an Australian artist, likely due to it being the rare, manufactured teen pop track from Australia in comparison to the rock and roll audiences are used to.
#34 for 2001
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#32 for 2001
We've finally arrived at what many people consider to be the quintessential track from Green day as it doubles as both a breakup anthem as well as a song attacking the American political climate of the mid 00's. For me, I always felt this song was a rip off of Avril Lavigne's "My happy ending" mostly for the "oh oh's" feeling ripped from that song on this track, although many have argued it working better on here.
#30 for 2005
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#30 for 2005
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#40 for 2008
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#41 for 2008
This was one of the more successful victory singles to come from Australian idol, likely due to the controversy where although he was born in Australia, Stan Walker managed to win the series despite him being a NZ resident which allowed this to crossover to his homeland following his victory over fan favourite Hayley Warner. This controversy caused the show to be cancelled going into the 2010's.
#38 for 2009
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#32 for 2000
#33 for 2001
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#37 for 2002
It turns out that her cameo in Coyote ugly was meant to signify Leann Rimes transitioning from country to pop as the songs on the soundtrack also appeared on her album that year which flopped due to the soundtrack being a massive success. Here she is with the lead single to her second pop album which was also a massive success here in Australia and NZ, although it was a massive flop in her native America.
#35 for 2002
Most people believe that "All-star" was the theme song to Shrek, though it does appear in the film (the first scene as a matter of fact) the honour of the theme song actually goes to Smash Mouth's cover of the Monkees signature track which played in the final scene of the film before Eddie Murphy puts his spin on it (yeah, I'm a big Shrek fan, don't @ me.) It remains the final hit single from the band to date.
#35 for 2001
This was originally released at the start of the decade to deafening silence, mainly because it was considered to be too emo for a time that was meant to be a celebration of entering not only a new century but also new millennium. Of course, things quickly got sombre in society following the 9/11 attacks from the previous year, which allowed this sombre ballad to become a worldwide hit through that affiliation.
#36 for 2002
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#28 for 2003
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#29 for 2003
#27 for 2004
This was a song that P!nk released exclusively in Australia and NZ and the UK due to how well her fourth album I'm not dead was doing in all three countries, as such my American readers will likely be confused as to what this song even is given how it was never released in her homeland due to her not being as popular there around this time. It was a huge hit in the southern hemisphere and a flop in the UK.
#41 for 2007
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#38 for 2009
It appears that rave tracks were still a thing going into the new millennium, so much so that this was able to crossover to Australia during a time where EDM was quickly losing its popularity in our music scene. There's not much to say about the group in question, Public domain was a British EDM group who had their success before fading into obscurity in their native UK.
#36 for 2001
This was a fantastic year for Mya in Australia as she not only achieved two hits on her own, but also was part of a highly popular posse cut from the Moulin rouge soundtrack (which we'll get to in a bit.) Here she sings about being free from a toxic relationship, presumably the same one that she was in on her earlier entry on this list which makes this a compelling narrative if that's the case.
#37 for 2001
This by all accounts should be much higher on the list given how inescapable it was on the radio in Australia back in the day, however it was unfortunately pulled from shelves as were the other singles from Avril's debut album to encourage album sales which I guess worked out as the album was a massive success for her. Still, it drives me insane that this song is much lower than it should be on this list, but rules are rules.
#37 for 2002
Well it looks like this was an excellent year for European DJ's (or in this case a group of German DJ's) to dig up older songs and put their own spin on them for the clubs of the day, this time we have Scooter who dug up the Supertramp classic of the same name and scored a massive chart topper here in Australia with this formula much like DJ Otzi did earlier on this list.
#38 for 2002
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#30 for 2003
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#31 for 2005
This was the first of three hit singles that Dutch DJ Fedde le grand managed to achieve worldwide thanks to having a provocative music video to accompany it going viral on YouTube, imagine how much bigger this would've been if the mainstream included YouTube views onto their respective charts.
#42 for 2007
It's easy to think that the duo's earlier entry on this list was the lead single to their second album, it turns out this title track was as well as it being their highest charting single as it debuted at number one here which is something none of their other tracks were able to do throughout the 00's. This was passed up as the lead single internationally as "Untouched" was their lead single overseas instead.
#43 for 2007
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#39 for 2009
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.
#30 for 2000
And who says that teen pop was dead by the midpoint of the decade? Granted it certainly didn't have a stranglehold of the music scene like it did at the start of the decade, but that didn't mean that songs such as this debut single from Jesse McCartney didn't have a chance at being a massive worldwide hit. Interestingly this flopped in his native America even though he would have massive success over there later in the decade.
#31 for 2005
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.
#31 for 2000
This served as the world's introduction to Brian McFadden and Delta Goodrem as a couple given how this duet appears on both of their albums from around this time, it was the first hit that the former had as a solo artist and would've been the latter's seventh consecutive chart topper had it been released before "Mistaken identity" which finally broke her impressive record on the Australian charts.
#32 for 2005
This was one of the rare RNB ballads that Chris Brown has in his catalogue, even back then, it feels like a black sheep compared to the rest of his catalogue which is more upbeat and showcases a tougher side of his image. This song's released was heavily delayed here as was his earlier collaboration with Jordin Sparks due to how long it took for "Kiss kiss" to become a hit here (which is still to come on this list.)
#42 for 2008
This was a passing of the torch moment as it not only was the first of many hits that David Guetta would have in his career, but also the final hit that Kelly Rowland would have as she wouldn't touch the charts in the 2010's both solo and as a featured artist. It seemed like the French DJ had a bit of a death touch on his first album when it came to the artists careers he featured, although thankfully it was only for this one album.
#39 for 2009
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.
#32 for 2000
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#34 for 2001
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#32 for 2005
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#36 for 2006
This was the first big hit that Lil Wayne had here in Australia (I don't count his verse on "Soldier" as I never heard that on the radio back in the day) it was a collaboration with multi-instrumentalist Kevin Rudolf which was such a success for them that it convinced him to become a rock star which even his diehard fans will tell you was a terrible idea. Kevin also had success here with the likes of Brian McFadden and Jay Sean.
#40 for 2009
Following the mixed reception of her third album My December, Kelly Clarkson found herself needing to conform to what her management wanted rather than making the music she believed in which resulted in her becoming a solo version of the Veronicas on her fourth album. Now I'm a huge fan of the Australian duo, so this isn't a bad thing to me even though many people felt that this was.
#41 for 2009
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#33 for 2000
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#34 for 2000
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.
#33 for 2000
Well, this is a surprise, I don't think anyone had expected the Backstreet boys to have a hit this far into the decade given how the boy band wars had come to an end by 2001 and that they were crowned the definitive champions of said wars. Even so, this finally gave them a chart topper here in Australia as none of their other songs managed to reach the top spot like this did down under.
#33 for 2005
This song may seem low on this list due to how successful it was on the Australian digital charts; however, I've ranked these songs based on how well they did with their physical sales given how the digital charts were in their infancy when they launched this year and thus, had songs overstay their welcome on those charts. In any case, we have this lead single from Eskimo Joe's third album which finally broke them through to a mainstream audience.
#37 for 2006
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#37 for 2006
This is the censored version of one of the more controversial songs to come out of the decade, replace the word love with f**k and you'll start to see why as that's the only change made in the song which has some macabre production to juxtapose with Akon's voice. Snoop Dogg is also on here to provide a verse which is also creepier if you're looking at the censored version.
#44 for 2007
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#35 for 2000
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#35 for 2001
This was the lead single to Taxiride's second album Garage Mahal, an album that was only a moderate success for the band purely through how big this song was at the time of its release. It remains their biggest hit in their catalogue as their two songs from their first album weren't that big here all things considered despite this easily being able to fit in with their debut album from three years prior.
#39 for 2002
This was Christina Milian's only hit here in Australia, although it's worth noting that it wasn't even released as a single in her native America as her debut single "AM to PM" was a massive flop on Billboard for some reason. Both of these songs were much bigger in the UK which allowed this to be a massive success down under and the other track to be a sleeper hit thanks to her rich vocals on both tracks.
#40 for 2002
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#42 for 2007
#42 for 2008
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#43 for 2008
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#40 for 2009
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#36 for 2001
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?
#34 for 2000
I guess there was supposed to be a third round to the boy band wars this decade given how Blue were just the latest entry into the boy band genre to make it big with this track, although we Aussies sat out of it if there was as I don't remember there being many other contestants back in the day once the Backstreet boys faded into irrelevancy. Like many British acts of the decade, these guys were far more successful in NZ.
#38 for 2001
