Have you ever wondered what the Australian charts would look like if you were to combine the AMR charts with the ARIA charts? Between 1993 to 2007, a group of music historians did just that on their website known as Oz net music charts which sadly went defunct in 2008 due to ARIA completely taking over the music charts (although this was nine years after David Kent stopped releasing his charts publicly.) You can access the site through here to see what our music landscape would look like had ARIA not parted ways with David Kent throughout most of the 90's and 00's.
In honour of this site's achievements, I've decided to rank the biggest hits of this time period according to their charts (although I won't include songs from 2006 and 2007 as they would dominate the upper regions of this list and have also seen representation on my digital lists for the 00's.) As usual, I won't be making any new commentary here as there's nothing more, I can add to each of these entries I didn't cover when looking at them previously on this site. Also, this will differ from the site's official recap as A: they didn't update it after mid-2002 and B: it only covered songs popularity while they were in the top ten. Also starting with this list, I'm including songs that almost qualified for my main lists but didn't because they were pushed aside for all those "fan singles" that clogged up our charts during this time, I feel it's only fair to finally give these sleeper hits the attention they deserve on this site.
Well, this might be one of the most controversial songs of the decade, mainly because of the line "e's are good" in the chorus which is basically an endorsement for ecstasy. This was a huge UK chart topper, and it was blatantly promoting drug use, although considering it was part of the rave culture which is known for its violent participants, I think it's safe to say that the fact this song was a success at all was impressive.
(part of this song's success predates the OZ music charts, as such, I had to improvise with its placement on this list)
This was the third Billboard chart topper in a row for Mariah Carey, proving once again just how inescapable she was in America throughout the decade. Here it was a modest success for her as it's a cute enough ballad about how she's in love with the man of her dreams on this track, it could've been bigger here if the album wasn't already such a huge success, and our charts weren't solely based on capitalism.
It's easy to forget that Human nature found more success with their albums back in the day rather than their singles given how they were a boy band, however that was the case as this advanced single from their second album was only a moderate success for them despite coming off the massive success of their debut from two years prior.
It appears we Aussies gave these guys a second hit after all (technically third as their earlier entry was a two for one deal here) this time they had the full endorsement of Nelly who provided a guest rap for the RNB group at the height of his popularity which no doubt was what enticed us Aussies to make this a sleeper hit for the group.
Although this didn't last very long in our top twenty like their earlier entry did, this was the big hit that Shakaya had during their brief time together likely due to it being one of many songs to subvert the Cinderella cliche of waiting around for something positive to happen in your life (something that hasn't happened in ANY version of the fairytale, but I digress.) It also showcases the girls at their best both as singers and rappers.
Although it failed to appear on this list, "Lifestyles of the rich and famous" was a big sleeper hit here in Australia that found most of its success in the lower half of the charts from the previous year. Their second single from their sophomore album proved to be more of an immediate hit here which also helped the album become a commercial success and put the band on the map of the emo rock scene.
I think this was meant to be the "Lose yourself" of 50 cent's autobiographical film Get rich or die trying, it was a hit worldwide likely due to the film being a box office success (even though it was panned by critics for being a rip-off of his mentor's film) but it didn't receive any accolades to my knowledge nor did it reach the dizzying heights of Eminem's Oscar winning ballad from earlier in the decade.
This was the final hit that U2 had here in Australia, at least one I wouldn't consider a "fan hit" as "The saints are coming" with Green day quickly dropped off our charts here that I consider that to be as such. In any case, this was the lead single to their grammy winning album How to dismantle an atomic bomb which proved how well loved they were both critically and commercially in the mid 00's.
I'm sort of cheating with this entry as this is by all accounts what I would consider to be a "fan single," however it racked up quite impressive sales during the short amount of time it was available as a single here in Australia, hence why I'm including it on here despite having a pitiful chart run.
Ever wanted to hear a dance cover of one of Roxette's most personal ballads? Well, you're in luck as Belgian duo DHT did just that when they released their cover of the 80's classic which became a massive sleeper hit here in Australia upon its initial release. Apparently, there was a stripped back cover of the song as well, that would explain why it rebounded on our charts shortly after its release.
Although it wasn’t an instant success here in Australia like it was over in NZ, we Aussies were intrigued enough with this lead single to the Spin doctor's debut album that we allowed it to chart for quite some time on our charts back in the day. Heck, it didn't even rebound when "Two princes" from earlier on this list was released and became an instant success for the band here.
I guess ATB was able to score a second hit in his career with this follow up to his earlier entry on this list, although I say that knowing full well that many struggle to differentiate this with "9PM" given how similar the two songs are to each other. I guess that explains why this was more of a sleeper hit here in Australia rather than a genuine mainstream success like that song was.
This was another song that was a bit late to the party here in Australia given how it was an RNB jam, although it was a hit here even if it wasn't as big as it was in NZ and Kandi's native America. This is a cheating anthem that she justifies by having her cheat due to her partner cheating on her, it tends to divide people on whether it's an empowerment anthem or something akin to Rupert Holme's "Escape."
Whereas his debut single from the previous year was a fast tempo track about getting over a bad breakup, this other big hit that Daniel Bedingfield had worldwide is a slow ballad about hanging onto a bad relationship which means his two big hits are the polar opposite of one another. This was more of a sleeper hit here in Australia, hence its lower placement on this list compared to his other entry.
It's a bit understandable that this wasn't as big a hit here in Australia for Evanescence as their earlier entry on this list, after all their album was a massive success already and this wasn't as much of an earworm as their other big hit nor was it radically different like the third single from the album "My immortal" which was also a monstrous hit the following year here and throughout the world.
This was released as the first single from Celine's album of the same name here in Australia as opposed to her top entry on this list which was the lead single over in America this year, I'm guessing we Aussies weren't as excited for the album at first given how this was only a modest success for her and that she needed her appearance from the summer Olympics for her top entry to be a success down under.
This was the last hit that Living end scored in Australia for quite some time, I get the feeling they were the victims of digital piracy throughout the 00's as their next hit wouldn't come until "White noise" almost a decade later when digital downloads were well and truly legal in Australia. This was the third single from their debut album, which is why it managed to become a hit this year.
It's hard to think that this was the first hit that Nelly had here in Australia, admittedly his earlier entry on this list was released as the second single from his album after its title track, however it only became a hit due to its inclusion in the second Scary movie film. This on the other hand was a success upon its immediate release down under, meaning this was the song that won us over to Nelly's music.
Well, I didn't think I'd be including this divisive song on this list given how it struggled to crack the top twenty on ARIA upon its initial release, such is the advantage of the Oz music charts as they combined took into account how this nearly cracked the AMR top ten which allowed it a placement on this list of mine. The only other thing I have to say about this debut single from Jet is that contrary to popular belief, it wasn't created specifically to sell iPods as it existed a year prior to when Apple used this as its theme song.
Pauline Henry was the lead singer of the short-lived Scottish band the Chimes from the start of the decade, they were decently successful worldwide but went their separate ways due to it not being among the biggest albums of its time. Here she branches out on her own with a cover of a Bad company track that proved to be a hit here in Australia despite the original flopping nearly two decades prior.
It appears there were two different versions of the Jennifer Rush track to become a hit this year in Australia, although this version from Italian singer Beverly Skeete was an EDM rendition as opposed to Celine Dion's take from earlier on this list so it's not like there was any mistaking the two versions of the track.
Well, this was a surprise hit here in Australia, mainly because nowhere else in the world was this British/American band able to score a hit other than with "I've been thinking about you" from the start of the decade. There wouldn't be any more surprise hits from these guys despite them never breaking up.
Max Sharam was a promising indie singer that Triple J heavily promoted on their station, although this was her only hit likely due to it placing very high on their second annual list in an attempt to bring her music to a wider audience. Her popularity was limited to her one and only album which wasn't a big success for her, although I'm not sure why she never recorded another album in her career.
Although Pocahontas nowadays has a bad reputation due to its historical inaccuracy when it comes to depicting the settlement of America, back then it was a critical and commercial success due to the admittedly gorgeous visuals as well as the soundtrack being well crafted including this theme song performed by both the titular character and Vanessa Williams which won it an academy award.
It may surprise you to learn that this was slightly more popular here in Australia than the lead single from a band who has the acronym of POT USA (well get to it in a minute.) I guess we were more amused by this track which appears to be about nonsense given that the video seems more like something you'd expect from SNL rather than from an alternative band during the height of 90's rock.
While this didn't have any chance in topping our charts like it did on Billboard and nearly did in NZ, this was regardless a huge success for Boyz II men here in Australia likely due to how influential they had become by the time it was released here. In a way, it's bizarre that this wasn't as big here as some of the other songs that were influences by the quartet that have already appeared on this list.
This was the breakthrough single for the Bloodhound gang, one of those comedy bands whose sense of humour is what I can charitably describe as an acquired taste. If your sense of humour lines up with theirs, then you'll likely have a ton of fun with their music and if it doesn't, it'll probably annoy you to no end. Unfortunately, my sense of humour doesn't line up with theirs, so you can guess how I feel about them.
This guys had been active in the industry for a decade before they finally made it big with their one and only hit this year, indeed this sounds like something that would've come out in the dying days of Countdown meaning this was a band who didn't evolve their sound when they first formed and got extremely lucky that there was already nostalgia for the synth pop of the 80's from around this time.
Well Sisqo's success the following year had to come from somewhere, so here's the final hit that his band Dru hill had before he embarked on a solo career which began with his infamous song "Thong song." This has nothing to do with the Bee gees classic of the same name, I'd just thought I'd mention that here as there were two RNB covers of that track throughout the decade from Portrait and Take that.
Britney was on a roll with this third single from her second album worldwide as it was one of many songs to proclaim that she came out of a relationship stronger than she was before entering it to become a success this decade, indeed this set the template for the likes of "Fighter" by Christina Aguilera and "Thank you" by Jamelia as positive songs about a woman coming out on top after a breakup.
It looks like Fragma weren't one hit wonders after all as they managed to score a second hit with this track here in Australia, although it's another entry I remember being far more popular back in the day than its placement on here would otherwise suggest. I guess this is due to it being a massive hit in the UK as were many of these news entries on this list.
It's a bit weird that this was only a sleeper hit here in Australia given how vividly I remember hearing this getting overplayed on the radio back in the day, admittedly it was a bigger hit here than Sonique's international hit "It feels so good" (stay tuned for that in a bit) and is second only to her appearance on "Theme from S'express" from over a decade prior as the biggest hit of her career down under.
This was a hip hop track that came out of nowhere here in Australia given how it wasn't a success for him anywhere else in the world including his native America, not even the kiwis gravitated towards this track which is really odd because they were the ones who discovered these hidden gems throughout the 90's.
You better believe that the Ali G character created by Sacha Baron Cohen was a cultural phenomenon back in the day, here he is with Shaggy scoring a sleeper hit here in Australia with this novelty track about how awesome it is to be the viral sensation. Of course, nowadays Sacha is best known for his character Borat who would prove to be a massive box office success in his self-titled mockumentary from 2006.
We finally have an entry from Busta rhymes on this side of my site that isn't an RNB ballad, although I don't know how we Aussies came across this number from the rapper given how it was a massive flop for him in NZ and his native America at the time of its release. Still at least we can truthfully say that we're aware of the true talents he has to display with this entry.
This is the only other hit that Tammin Sursok achieved in Australia throughout her music career, it was a bit of a commercial disappointment compared to her earlier entry on this list which is perhaps why she only ever realised one album in her catalogue. Like I said, she's far more well known for her acting roles rather than her music.
I did say when I featured this on the NZ side of my site that it was strange how this failed to feature on this side of my site, this is because of Bow wow's earlier entry on this list which suggested that we Aussies were more receptive towards making him a household name as an adult than the kiwis were. Indeed, we were initially on board with this prospect but changed our minds the older he got.
This was the third and final hit that the Sugababes had here in Australia, it was a song about how you shouldn't care about what people look like as its their actions that make a person what they are and not their physical appearance. It's a song that was absolutely necessary for the time given how people had become so caught up in their appearances that they didn't realise who they were hurting in the long run.
Robbie was on a roll when he released the second single from his album Intensive care given how this is another single that only barely failed to appear on one of my lists due to it being more of a sleeper hit for the British singer/songwriter here in Australia than a mainstream success. It would be all downhill from here for him as his next album would see him embarking with hip hop.
This was the only hit that Bell Biv and Deveo were able to achieve here in Australia, I'm guessing this was due to the success Bobby Brown had around this time which likely explains the success of Johnny Gill from earlier on this list. They had better luck over in NZ where all of their recognisable songs were massive hits for them.
While this wasn't their debut single or even from their debut album, this was the song which got Smashing pumpkins (what is with that name?) off the ground in most parts of the world due to how melodic it sounds compared to how bombastic everything else is on this list. Indeed, these guys feel like the antidote to all of the loud EDM and grunge that was coming out this decade given how downtempo they were.
There's this movie known as Above the rim which stars Tupac Shakur as a basketball player, from what I can gather the film was poorly received for being nothing more than a string of cliches carried by the rappers admittedly compelling performance (maybe he should've played Michael Jordan in Space jam.) The film spawned a massive hit with this duet between Warren G and Nate Dogg, the former being one of the few rappers to have massive success here in Australia.
This was the only hit to come from jazz musician Lucas, a Danish musician who made a song which I think is meant to be a theme song to a show he was planning on making given what the lyrics are on here. I guess people wanted something to offset all of the EDM that was getting big this decade, and this appealed to them before the likes of RNB and hip hop in Australia.
This was the second single to come from These days, an album that still divides Bon Jovi fans to this day due to it being a far cry from their arena rock days and instead goes for more mainstream rock with the occasional exception such as this track which is more in line with hard rock.
From what I can gather, this only took off here in Australia due to it being chosen as the theme song to the 1996 film Flipper rather than there being any hype for Shaggy's second album here. To this day, I'm not sure why this and "Boombastic" from earlier took so long to connect with us Aussies as he didn't have any issues winning us over three years prior with "Oh Carolina."
There was still no shortage of EDM making it big in Australia this year, here we have a big hit from Italian DJ Brainbug who made it big with this song that feels like another entry into the DDR soundtrack that seems to be made to cash in on all of these songs from Europe throughout the 90's.
This was one of the more overplayed songs of the late 90's here in Australia, so of course it would be a massive success for Fastball given how it wasn't from a highly successful album of theirs. Evidently, they saw minor success in their native America after this breakthrough song, although they remain a one hit wonder here likely due to how incessantly catchy this is compared to their other songs.
If you're wondering why this incessantly catchy song didn't at least make one of my year end lists, that's because Regurgitator made the strange decision in not having this be the lead single to their magnum opus Unit likely to avoid any accusations of them selling out as this is admittedly very different from the rest of their catalogue due to how bouncy it is. Also yes, the video is bizarre and a worthy candidate for my weirdest videos lists.
I guess credit where it's due, this is a creative way to recontextualise the Jacksons song "Can you feel it" by having it be about a woman essentially decking someone for trying to steal her partner from her. It was a massive hit for the Dutch group mainly through nostalgia but also for audiences getting on board with the message of the track, although it was their only hit here in Australia.
This is another EDM track that was a huge bomb on the ARIA charts but did fairly well on the AMR charts, as such it was a shoe in for this list as it didn't quite rack up the points from the latter charts to qualify for a year end list of mine but was definitely noteworthy to appear on this list alongside the other near hits that appear on here.
Before they were Disco Montego, this family duo went by Kaylan who scored a massive sleeper hit at the start of the 00's with this EDM track proving that the genre still had plenty of appeal left even if it was largely pushed aside in favour of all the teen pop of the moment. Naturally they would find further success once they rebranded themselves with their earlier entry on this list.
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.
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.
These guys are best known for their big hit in their native America "I believe," however five years later they scored a huge sleeper hit here in Australia with this gem making it one of the first hits going into the 00's here. I'm not sure why we gravitated towards this and not their big American hit given how they both sound similar to each other and have the same spiritual lyricism to boot.
You may be surprised to see a song from Nivea on this side that isn't "Don't mess with my man," we have a different song about not messing with something on Nivea's request that was a hit here in Australia the year prior to that worldwide hit she had. Here she doesn't want you to mess with the radio, which is the first part of a chorus where she lists all the other things she wants the listener to do or do not.
As far as we Aussies are concerned, this was the third single from Robbie's third album Sing when you're winning and not "Better man" from way earlier on this list. As such, we had a bit of a mixed reaction when this song came out as it succeeded "Kids" which meant that his attempts at being hip weren't as passe to us as I'm sure it was for the kiwis and his fellow Brits but was still jarring regardless.
It looked like Matchbox 20 going to just be an album band here in Australia given how "Bent" underperformed here despite it being a Billboard chart topper for them the previous year, however that wasn't the case as the second single from their sophomore album did become a genuine hit here in Australia albeit from the lower half of the charts which is why it isn't appearing any higher on this list.
I guess we Aussies weren't as kind towards Shania Twain's third international album as the kiwis were given how this was only a sleeper hit here despite being another entry on this list that debuted high on our charts. At least this was an eventual success here which is more than I can say for any of the other tracks from the album, I guess that explains her fifteen-year hiatus she took after making the album.
This was originally an album track from Britney's (then) most recent album Britney, it was given the remix treatment for the third Austin powers flick Goldmember when the song opened up the film with a Britney fembot performing the track before being exposed for what it was. Speaking of the film, it's not very good as it moves the setting from the 60's to the 70's and is very heavy handed with its meta commentary.
Much like her other Razzie nominated track on this list, this song is about how Britney feels that she needs the freedom to do what she wants in her life given how she was on the cusp of turning twenty when she released her third album which also serves as the soundtrack to her film Crossroads. Speaking of the film, it's as bad as everyone says it is due to Britney not being a good actress as well as its cliched storyline.
This was meant as both the theme song from the Lizzie McGuire film as well as the lead single to Hilary Duff's debut album, it kick started her career outside of Disney as she found herself in acting roles that showcased a more risqué side of her in addition to her albums slowly becoming less kid friendly with each release.
Looks like Jessica Simpson wasn't above nostalgia baiting her audience throughout her career as this is the second time she reminded them of an 80's classic following "I think I'm in love with you" from the start of the decade where she sampled "Jack and Dianne" from John Mellencamp. This is a straight cover of the Top gun theme which audiences seemed to appreciate this year.
This was the final hit that Enrique Iglesias was able to have in the English-speaking world for the remainder of the decade, this is despite the fact that his next album would also be in English and yet it failed to produce a hit single for him during the second half of the decade. This song features Kelis, although only on the single version as she was absent on the album version for some reason.
This top twenty hit in Australia happens to come from a group of literal plastic dolls given how the creators of the Bratz brand decided to make their equivalent of "Barbie girl" for the dolls (side note whatever happened to these dolls?) Naturally we Aussies made this a success, although it appears there were fewer teenage girls with disposable income than usual as this was a mere sleeper hit down under.
This feels like something the band released as a single to bait the people who don't like them into making angry rebuttals to them (I certainly have over the years, but I digress) given how this was back in the day that people went out and bought music, this means that enough people enjoyed this track to make it a success for the band here in Australia.
Even though she only had the one massive hit here in Australia with "So yesterday," Hilary Duff was nonetheless able to retain some level of popularity here even during the midpoint of the 00's where many of her Disney colleagues failed to have any presence in the music scene. That said, her time was starting to come to an end even on our charts as her subsequent releases after this all bombed here.
I bet you weren't expecting a 90's rendition of a Simon and Garfunkel track to appear on this list, here we are with the Lemonheads (boy howdy that band name) which became a surprise hit here in Australia due to heavy promotion from Triple J who seemed to be amused with this cover upon its initial release.
Although it's tempting to call this a cover, it's only a tribute to the Bay city rollers song of the same name at best as the only similarity it has to that classic aside from its name is that the two songs share the same chorus. The rest of this track is little more than titillation for Madonna's fanbase which was enough for it to be a sleeper hit here in Australia a year after the album's release.
It looks like these guys were able to score a second hit here in Australia following the massive success of their earlier entry on this list, indeed we Aussies couldn't seem to get enough of Twenty 4 seven (what a strange name and even stranger way of presenting it) given how they have two hits here they didn't have anywhere else in the world. If only the Brits made these two songs a hit like they did for "I can’t stand it."
This is another song that took a while to find success here in Australia back in the day given how it was the debut single from Joshua Kadison, although it did eventually crossover here when it became a surprise hit for the singer/songwriter in the UK of all places which eventually led to the success of his earlier entry on this list.
He managed to have one of the bigger albums of the decade with She, so it only makes sense that Harry Connick Jr would have a massive hit in Australia with the albums lead single which admittedly was very different to all of the other songs on this list due to it being a jazz single. This helped him balance out his popularity in both the music industry and in Hollywood as he kept getting high profile acting gigs.
It did seem weird that this failed to appear on this side of my site given how it made the cut of the NZ side, although this was because it was technically a hit twice here both upon its initial release and when it played during the finale of season one of F.R.I.E.N.D.S. It's the only entry on here that became a hit twice during its run that failed to appear on this side of my site any sooner.
This cover of the Neil Diamond classic was originally a part of Urge overkill's 1992 E.P Stull which naturally received little attention due to the E.P coming from an alternative band that saw little success in their native America. It was finally given a chance to shine when it was chosen as the theme song to the cult classic Pulp fiction which was one of the most popular films of the mid 90's worldwide.
We haven't looked at a song from Annie Lennox in a while, have we? Here we are with what many will tell you is her signature track (despite it being a cover of an obscure track from 1986) thanks to how lush and opulent it sounds even compared to her work with the Eurythmics. It's the last time anyone cared about her music as even her reunion with David Stewart yielded no success for her.
While it didn't quite make the cut for my 1995 list on this side of my site, it appears we Aussies were intrigued by this RNB cover of the Bee gees classic enough for it to be a sleeper hit down under back in the day. Naturally it did take a while for this to see the light of day here as opposed to in NZ where it was an instant success months before it was released here.
I guess RHCP was able to score a hit from their divisive One hot minute here in Australia after all given how this lead single from the album did stick around for quite some time on our charts back in the day, indeed the album has since seen a reappraisal as it being merely different from the band's catalogue rather than being a complete disaster like it was seen as back in the day.
This was the first big hit that Chynna Phillips was able to score here in Australia this year, again I get the feeling we Aussies were feeling nostalgic for her bands one and only hit from the start of the decade and decided to give her two more hits this year to compensate for us ignoring Wilson Phillip's other American hits back in the day.
This was the only hit that the Butthole surfers (oh wow that band name is both problematic and stupid) were able to achieve in their career, probably because it's by far their most normal song in their catalogue which takes all kinds of strange directions throughout their career. I get the feeling this was featured prominently on MTV in addition to Triple J heavily promoting the track.
Given how "One sweet day" became the longest running Billboard chart topper this year, it only makes sense that other artists would copy the formula of making a song that serves as an ode to the fallen friends of the people who made it. Enter Bone thugs n harmony who saw massive success with this track worldwide, although this was their only hit here in Australia likely because of the formula.
We have one more entry from JX to feature on my list, this one incidentally being his biggest hit in his native UK which is perhaps why we Aussies gave him a third hit even though we were clearly done with his brand of EDM by this point in time. Unlike his other two hits, I'm unable to determine who the guest vocalist is on this track.
This was originally Mark Morrison's debut single in his homeland as it was released to deafening silence the previous year, naturally it was given a second chance this year due to the success of his earlier entry on this list which helped it become a modest success here in Australia as well as his native UK. This was all before he was given a chance over in America for the record.
One of the shorter songs to become a hit over the years (that is until more recent times) this was the lead single to Ixnay on the hombre which really struggled to remain on our charts despite having a strong debut upon its initial release. Indeed, were it not for it lingering for quite some time on the lower half of our charts, it wouldn't have qualified for this list of mine.
These guys had been active in the industry for exactly ten years when they finally had their commercial breakthrough this year, it's with a song you may recognise as the American theme to the TV drama House (it had a different theme depending on where in the world you're from.) I guess this was a success six years prior to the show premiering due to its music video which still haunts my nightmares to this day.
You didn't think the two girls who were responsible for "This is how we party" from earlier were a one hit wonder did you? Well history might have relegated them as such; however, they did in fact have a second hit in the southern hemisphere back in the day with this gem albeit a sleeper one here in Australia and as a fan single over in NZ.
Alanis's second international album wasn't as well received as Jagged little pill, likely because it didn't have the same level of raw emotion as that juggernaut that still connects with audiences to this day. That said it was still a massive success and even has its fans nowadays, although this lead single was the only notable success to come from the album aside from its sales.
Although their previous album One hot minute was a huge commercial success for the band (regardless of what the A.V club will tell you) it didn't spawn a hit for them which makes this lead single from their album Californication a comeback for them on the singles chart. This was a return to their sound from earlier in the decade now that John Frusciante was back in the band, and they weren't political anymore.
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.
It did feel weird that this failed to appear on one of my lists given how I remember this being everywhere back in the day, although I guess this was the introduction to one of the most successful emo bands of the 00's (at least here in Australia) with a song that's about taking the rich and famous down a peg or two. I guess in retrospect this song is hypocritical given what these guys would achieve in their career.
You better believe this was a sleeper hit here in Australia back in the day, I guess we Aussies and kiwis were bigger fans of Growing pains than the rest of the world given how the son of Alan Thicke managed to score a massive success in the southern hemisphere despite this being a massive flop in the northern hemisphere back in the day.
Obie Trice was another one of Eminem's protegees from back in the day, although he wasn't nearly as successful as 50 cent given how this was his one and only hit anywhere in the world. He would have problems with his mentor which would cause him to leave his label later in the decade, however he probably regrets doing so as even after cutting ties with him, he still failed to score a second hit.
I debated on if I could include both of these songs on this list as technically, they were separate chart entries even if the former was deleted from the chart the week the latter was released, in the end I've decided to allow them on here since ARIA insists on counting this as a two for one deal even if that wasn't the case originally. In any case, the former is the song which helped Michael's self-titled album finally take off here in Australia given how catchy it is even outside of the swing revival genre whilst the latter is a swing cover of the Spider man theme which was included in the Spiderman 2 soundtrack and was only a success here in Australia.
This will be the only other new entry from Good charlotte on this list given how it was the lead single to their second international album, although it doesn't escape my notice that both new entries from them on here are the lead singles to their respective albums even if this didn't have as strong a message as their earlier entry did.
I really wasn't expecting to feature a song from the Hunters and collectors on this site given how they were always more of an albums band when it came to their success here in Australia, however this song did allow their album Cut to become a massive success for them right when the purge of Australian music took place in 1993 due to how long it managed to stick around on our charts back in the day.
Shortly before they scored their final top ten hit with "Go west" here in Australia, the Pet shop boys were able to score a sleeper hit with this lead single to Very which suggested that the EDM duo was here to stay following the purge of 80's bands and artists that took place around the time these songs were released. Alas these songs being a success here was more of a last hurrah for the band than anything else.
This was the final hit that John Farnham scored from one of his albums in Australia, although it wasn't his final hit overall as he did score another huge hit with Human nature later in the decade and his albums were still selling big numbers throughout the 90's. I like to interpret this song as him explaining his early teen pop success, yes, the song is actually about a relationship gone wrong, but it can also apply to his earlier work.
Although she's best known for being a fitness instructor in her native UK, Efua Baker briefly had a singing career in the mid 90's which began and ended with this novelty track about how she fell in love with a guy that turned out to be married. The tale struck a chord with Australian listeners enough for it to be a modest success here, although it also stuck her in the one hit wonder bin.
Although it wasn't a top ten hit here in Australia like it was internationally, it appears we Aussies still had enough room in our mainstream to allow this second hit that Enigma had in their career to become as such upon its initial release. I'm guessing you can blame the strong album sales for why this didn't do as well here as it did in NZ and America.
If the beat to this song sounds familiar to you, that's because this samples "Dreadlock holiday" which no doubt led to the original being a nostalgia bomb when this first came out. As this is a hip hop track from a NZ group, this was naturally a massive hit over there and no doubt led to us Aussies checking out what all the fuss was about which resulted in its success over here.
There are so many versions of this song that it's impossible to tell which one was the version that became big here in Australia, I'm playing it safe by featuring the original version even though that sat on shelves ignored in the southern hemisphere for almost a full year despite it nearly topping the Billboard charts upon its initial release. I guess you can thank the Addam family remix of the song for its success down under.
Jaki Graham first had a hit in her native UK a decade prior with "Could it be I'm falling in love," it wasn't a hit here in Australia, but this cover of the Chaka Khan classic was likely due to us Aussies realising how little success Chaka had back in the day and rewarding her with given success to her covers whenever we could. This flopped in Jaki's native UK, possibly due to her being part her prime at this point.
