Hey there, I thought I’d make a list ranking the longest charting singles from what I believe to be the most lucrative time in music history here in Australia. This list is fairly straight forward, each entry appears A: by how long they charted for and B: how well they did during their chart run. The only other thing is that the charts became somewhat redundant starting in 2007 where ARIA allowed for digital downloads which effectively removed the shelf life of each single. This means I’ve decided to include the chart runs of songs on the digital and single charts from this period to give an idea of how long a song would’ve lasted on the charts without this change whilst allowing songs that didn’t chart on the physical chart to appear on here as well.
It seemed like Anastacia would be a one album wonder given how her second album was a massive flop throughout the world, that wasn’t the case given how her third album was a big comeback for her in Australia and throughout Europe largely thanks to its lead single which blended gospel with pop rock in a way that no one had done around this time. It proved to be a massive hit here in Australia more than anywhere else.
2004 27 weeks
Although he remains a one hit wonder here in Australia with this theme to a long forgotten animated film from his native NZ (and one that doesn’t look good judging by the animation displayed in the music video) Dave was a huge superstar in his homeland by originally with his band D.D smash and for many years after his first solo hit with the reggae group Herbs. I defy anyone to get this song out of their heads after hearing it, it’s virtually impossible to do so.
1987 27 weeks
OK I have a question for my readers, has anyone ever been able to understand a single word while listening to this song besides “likey boom boom down?” I guess it’s lucky for Darrin O’Brien AKA Snow that A: he has a really good flow on this track B: the production is catchy as hell and C: that he had a rough upbringing that brought credibility to the rap game. Sadly, this was all cancelled out by unfair comparisons made between him and Vanilla ice at the time.
1993 27 weeks
It seemed like Diana Ross was yesterday’s news when she scored a massive hit with this track, of course this was written by the Bee gees and even has the Brothers Gibb provide backup vocals, which meant that it had massive international appeal even if it bombed in her native America. The video is also really cool as it serves as a montage of how she began as a Motown artist twenty years prior and where she was at this moment.
1986 27 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2005 27 weeks
It does amuse me that this guy is a one hit wonder in America given how inescapably popular he was for the remainder of the 00’s internationally, this was his second hit from his debut album which proved to be as successful as hit one and only Billboard hit here in Australia. People have made jokes about how much of a wimp he is on record, however it’s worth noting that he’s a former Captain in the British army.
2005 27 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2005 27 weeks
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.
2005 27 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2009 27 weeks
You know I was once a naïve young child who thought this song was literally about making milkshakes, yeah it turns out this song is much raunchier than that the video would have you believe. All I’ll say is that the clue comes from where milk tends to come from and the line “I can teach you, but I’d have to charge” and let my readers figure out the rest from there. It was a massive hit here in Australia likely due to us Aussies instantly figuring out the true meaning of the song and feeling titillated by it.
2004 27 weeks
Ever felt that the Carpenters were too wholesome for you? If so, may I present you the Captain and Tennille who do away with the wholesomeness from the brother and sister duo in favour of this husband-and-wife duo who seem to be aiming for a more middle of the road crowd with their breakthrough single. I always found Toni Tennille to be the equivalent of Karen Carpenter if Karen let herself loose in the studio.
1975 27 weeks
This is one of the more bombastic tracks to come out of the American hip hop scene, although it may surprise you to learn that this wasn’t a hit in the duo’s native America but rather throughout Europe due to this and their other hit “Don’t stop” being huge chart toppers in the UK for some reason. Naturally we Aussies followed suit in making these songs a huge success, likely due to how catchy they were for our dance floors.
1995 27 weeks
It looks like 2pac was still able to find success in the mainstream nine years after his death as Eminem decided to take one of his previously unreleased songs and pair it with “Indian sunset” by Elton John which helped it become the rappers biggest hit here in Australia as well as getting him out of the one hit wonder bin that “California love” had trapped him in months prior to his untimely demise.
2005 27 weeks
There were several songs that were delayed this year in order to allow the contestants of Australian idol to reign supreme on our charts, this third single from Evanescence’s debut album was one of them and the song that suffered the least from this trend as it managed to be as successful as it would’ve been were it not for its delay. It’s a good thing as it’s a haunting ballad from the band showcasing Amy Lee’s pain from a breakup.
2004 27 weeks
Even though she made a huge splash with this disco rendition of an old Eddie Floyd track, Amii has gone on record saying that she was never a fan of disco and would’ve preferred it if she had made easy listening ballads during the height of her popularity. Naturally the world disagrees with that sentiment as she makes for a great vocalist for the dance floor and even had this rechart in the UK during the height of Live aid.
1979 27 weeks
This was a huge comeback success for Alice Cooper who had been MIA on the charts for exactly a decade worldwide as the last hit he had was with “How you gonna see me now” from the end of the 70’s. Here he is with a song that seems to be a perfect fit into the hair metal that was popular around this time, meaning that he sadly wasn’t able to retain his popularity going into the 90’s.
1989 27 weeks
Although he had already achieved success worldwide with his misguided cover of Otis Redding’s “Dock of the bay,” many consider this to be the moment when Michael Bolton began his chart dominance worldwide due to much more of a hit it was compared to his earlier work. Despite him being the writer for this ballad, it was originally a hit for Laura Branigan seven years prior in America.
1990 27 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2009 27 weeks
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.
2009 27 weeks
This was the lead single from Delta’s third album, it was equally as successful as the songs from her first two albums even though the public had really begun to turn on her as a person due to her relationship with Brian McFadden who was considered a massive public nuisance while he was with her. They eventually came around for her once they broke off their engagement.
2007 27 weeks
This was another successful ballad to come out of Rod Stewart this decade, one that I’m pretty sure led to a rather nasty rumour about him concerning sailors that I won’t bother repeating on this entry.
1975 27 weeks
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.
1999 27 weeks
Much like “How you remind me” two years prior, this song was also a hit here in Australia much sooner than it was over in America given how it managed to be one of the biggest hits of the year down under before it even touched the upper echelons of the Billboard charts. I maintain that these guys were very over hated throughout the decade as while their songs did sound similar to each other, there were far worse songs floating around.
2003 27 weeks
Well, here’s a song whose story on how it became an international success is more interesting than the song itself. It was a huge hit here in Australia and the UK of all places before it became a hit in NZ and throughout Europe which finally allowed it to crossover to Toni’s native America where it topped the Billboard charts. Since then, it’s become a staple in cheerleader culture thanks to its striking video.
1982 27 weeks
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.
2002 27 weeks
Although “Creep” was a minor success for these girls in Australia when it came out, it was this third single from their sophomore album which finally broke them through into the mainstream down under albeit months after it was already an international success for them. This is a self-empowerment anthem from the trio, one they themselves should’ve headed from given what was in store for them next.
1995 27 weeks
Even though she scored a massive hit at the start of the decade with “I need your body,” Tina Arena was sadly in danger of being dismissed as an Australian knockoff of Paula Abdul when she released her debut album to commercial failure. She took this criticism to heart with her second album which saw her move away from the dance pop of her earlier work and more towards RNB which proved to be a success for her.
1994 27 weeks
Well, this was a surprise hit for Paul Simon, mainly because the last time he had any success throughout the world was ten years prior when “50 ways to leave your lover” was a Billboard chart topper for him. I guess the premise of him allowing people to call him Al was endearing enough for this to become a massive hit throughout Europe and Australia, but not in his native America for some reason.
1986 27 weeks
Even though the album cycle for Evanescence’s debut album was well and truly done by the time Amy Lee collaborated with the south African band Seether, that didn’t mean that the world was tired of her music as she was able to make this a worldwide smash for the band largely thanks to her presence as well as the song feeling like it belongs on her album.
2004 27 weeks
The last time we mentioned Maria McKee on this site was when she wrote Feargal Sharkey’s biggest hit “A good heart” from five years prior, here she is now with a song of her own that she wrote for the Tom Cruise flick Days of thunder which sees the heartthrob play a race car driver hotshot. The film is noticeable for being the first of three he made with his future wife Nicole Kidman.
1990 27 weeks
Unlike Guy Sebastian who rushed out a second album to cash in off the success he had from winning the first season of Australian idol, Shannon Noll took his time with a follow-up album which resulted in him retaining his popularity he had from the show for its release as evidence by how successful its lead single was. This popularity sadly wouldn’t translate to his third album he released two years later.
2005 27 weeks
This was the only noticeable success that David Dundas (sorry Lord David Dundas as he does have an official title) achieved in his music career, although he did score a minor hit here in Australia with “Another funny honeymoon” which means there was some appeal to this guy’s music outside of this ad jungle for a jean commercial. Oh yeah, this was written specifically as an ad jingle, hence why it sounds like one.
1976 27 weeks
It seemed like it was open season when it came to EDM taking over the mainstream in Australia this year, as such we have this track from Dutch duo Twenty 4 Seven scoring a massive hit at the start of the year with this track that largely went ignored in the UK, NZ and America back in the day. Many other EDM artists throughout Europe would follow suit and find varying degrees of success here.
1993 27 weeks
It looked like that Bryan Adam’s time in the spotlight had come to an end when he released his third album this decade, mainly because he really did take his sweet time in releasing new music this decade despite him easily being one of the biggest artists of the 90’s. This managed to take off for him more due to the presence of Sporty Spice who was all of the news around this time due to the drama going on with her band the Spice girls.
1998 27 weeks
This will be the only entry that will have new commentary from me given how both versions of this song are appearing together, I don’t know which version is ultimately more popular than the other but I’m assuming that the original version was what entered the charts here and the remix is what boosted its popularity in early 2002.
2001 27 weeks
This was the lead single to Backstreet boy’s third album Millennium, an album that was meant to signify the beginning of a new era given how they felt confident that they had won the boy band wars before they were even over (to be fair they absolutely did win the wars overall.) The lyrics are a bit strange on this track, however I don’t think many people care about that anymore and I doubt many people did to begin with.
1999 27 weeks
So, Gene Pitney was able to score a massive hit single this year huh? I guess if Perry Como and Telly Savalas were able to find success during the midpoint of the decade throughout the world, I don’t see the harm in this guy doing so only a mere decade after his last hit single “I’m gonna be strong.”
1975 27 weeks
These guys were already a household name by the time Countdown launched the previous year, although they saw their popularity grow even further from their debut album when this cover of an obscure 50’s track became a huge success for them likely due to the glam rock phase still being as strong as ever this year. Sadly, their popularity would dwindle once their next single “Glad all over” dropped off the charts.
1975 27 weeks
Given that this Oscar winning ballad was written for a film called White nights, I think it’s safe to say that it’s since become an anthem for those who would describe themselves as the name of the film. Originally this was meant to be the title track of his third album, however said album took so long to make that he changed the name to the second single that would also serve as his final hit single to date.
1985 27 weeks
This is a cover that only exists to cash in off the success of a beloved classic, Nicki French is a singer whose popularity began and ended with this cover which is little more than a dance remix of the Bonnie Tyler version from 1983 sung by her. I guess enough people had nostalgia of the original for this to be a huge success, and admittedly this dance track was a huge success throughout the world and not just in the EDM loving Australia.
1995 27 weeks
This isn’t among my favourite tracks from Fleetwood Mac, granted it’s certainly a departure from their previous sound as this feels more in line with a prog track as opposed to their usual folk rock but something about the marching beat just doesn’t sit right with me. I’m obviously in the minority as this remains their biggest hit in their catalogue outside of America (where “Dreams” has that honour) and is still well loved to this day.
1979 27 weeks
This was one of two collaborations that Eve had with Gwen Stefani, the other would come later in the decade when the latter released her solo debut to establish herself away from No doubt. In the meantime, we have this sex jam where both of them feel confident in being the love of the listeners lives and how irresistible they feel they are, audiences naturally agreed as it was a huge hit for them.
2001 27 weeks
This was the other Billboard chart topper that Savage Garden had, although it’s worth noting that this wasn’t a number one hit in Australia likely due to how inescapable the album itself was upon its initial release. Another fun fact about this song concerning the American charts is that it was the final chart topper for a while for anyone who wasn’t from North America or Jamaica as the next person to top the Billboard chart outside these demographics was James Blunt with “You’re beautiful” in 2006.
1999 27 weeks
This was the last major hit that Smokie had in most parts of the world, likely due to Chris Norman branching out after this to pursue a solo career that only got as far as duetting with Suzi Quatro on “Stumbling in.” It appears we Aussies in particular found that to be in poor taste as though that was a hit here, he and his band never had any success after the fact.
1978 27 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2006 27 weeks
This was the first of three highly successful tracks to come from Wa Wa Nee (man what a stupid band name they gave themselves) it’s also one that sparked international interest in them given how huge it was this year for them. Even though they scored all of this success with their singles, it didn’t translate to their albums which caused them to break up when their second album failed to spawn a hit for them.
1986 27 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2007 27 weeks
Well, this was the decade of obvious sampling, so it makes sense that this short-lived Hispanic hip hop group would score a massive worldwide success with this track given how it samples the Champs classic from 1958. I will say that hip hop was able to find success down under back in the day provided it had a gimmick to go along with the rhymes, this happened to use nostalgia baiting.
1992 27 weeks
This was the one and only hit from Grayson Hugh not just in Australia but throughout the world, I’m guessing because this flopped in his native America likely due to the video which is admittedly ridiculous even for its time. The lyrics do make up for the cheesy video which apparently were meant for Olivia Newton John to sing, however I feel this guy does a better job then she could ever hope for.
1989 27 weeks
This was the second big hit to come from No Mercy this year, proving that Frank Farian had achieved his redemption arc following the disaster that was Milli Vanilli from earlier in the decade. The album these two big hits came from was a massive success here, which led audiences to wonder what was next for this trio. It turns out that their curiosity floundered when they released their next album.
1997 27 weeks
While this wasn’t the lead single for Diesel and dust, this was the song which was released once the album dropped which proved to be a massive hit worldwide as audiences became invested in the plight for aboriginal rights (and are still fighting for them to this day.) This led to the album being a massive success for the band and it being declared one of the best albums from an Australian act of all time.
1987 27 weeks
Kelly Marie was a Scottish pop star who scored her one and only hit throughout Europe with this disco track that was originally meant for the king of rock and roll himself Elvis Presley, that should explain why she’s singing like him on the track. Here in Australia, this was her second big hit as she previously saw success with “Make love to me” just as the 70’s was beginning to wind down.
1980 27 weeks
This was the second single to come from Bryan Adam’s album 18 till I die, OK technically the third as “Have you ever really loved a woman” was included on the album despite being written for the Don Juan De Marco soundtrack. This was the last hit single that he had as a solo artist as the remaining hits he had this decade were with another person.
1996 27 weeks
This was the lead single to the girls second album Spiceworld, it was clearly meant to signify that the girls were bigger than ever complete with a video that in all honesty was better than anything found in their trainwreck of a film of the same name. Here they infused Latin influences onto the production in an attempt to appeal to the rising popularity of the Latin craze which no doubt added to the song’s success.
1997 27 weeks
This was the third hit to come from Mika’s debut album, he had a fourth hit with “Big girl” but that’s too much of a sleeper hit to be making an appearance on this site of mine. Once that track fell off the charts, his popularity seemed to come to an end as his second album was a huge failure for him by the end of the decade.
2007 27 weeks
Although “You make me feel like dancing” is often regarded as the big hit from Leo Sayer’s third album, it was actually this ballad that proved to be his biggest hit this decade and would’ve been his biggest hit overall were it not for his cover of “More than I can say” from the start of the following decade. Indeed, Leo’s biggest hits are his ballads and not his more upbeat tracks.
1977 27 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2005 27 weeks
It’s worth noting that “4ever” was pulled from shelves in order to encourage the success of the duo’s second single as well as their album here in Australia, otherwise that would’ve easily been an even bigger success than it already was back in the day. Here we have said second single which was also a massive success for them back in the day and confirmed them as one of the hot new acts in the pop rock genre.
2005 27 weeks
These guys were about a year off from experiencing the 90’s and yet it appears they were already sick of the 80’s, I guess the rest of the world was as well given how this managed to become a huge hit for them. Interestingly this was a Billboard chart topper for the English band despite this flopping in their native UK, perhaps it was due to the American flags that were waved so patriotically in the video.
1988 27 weeks
Before Hannah Montana, there was Lizzie McGuire which was a Disney show about a teenage girl dealing with her day-to-day struggles. It starred Hilary Duff in the title role who would go on to have a singing career once the movie premiered in theatres this year, this being the biggest hit in her career likely due to the success of the show and the film she starred in.
2003 27 weeks
Following the success of MJ’s earlier entry, this track from two years prior became a surprise success for his family band likely due to him being a welcome presence on our charts that he apparently wasn’t upon this track’s initial release. I don’t even know why this song flopped in Australia initially as MJ didn’t seem to have any problems with finding success with his album Off the wall when it came out.
1979 27 weeks
Much like in their native America, this was the bigger hit for Color me Badd in Australia likely due to it being catchier than their debut single from the New jack city soundtrack. It’s impressive to think that these guys were as successful as they were considering how few people fondly remember their music, sure it was upbeat, but it didn’t win a ton of critical praise for the quartet.
1991 27 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2007 27 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2006 27 weeks
You’d think that this Italian group would’ve had more success here in Australia considering they saw massive success in the UK with their songs from earlier in their discography. This decade has been filled with surprises given how they weren’t the only acts to make it big in the UK with songs that flopped here in Australia only to find success here with songs that weren’t that big in the UK.
1996 27 weeks
This was the final hit single that Michael Bolton was able to score anywhere in the world, although he did chart the following year with “Can I touch you there” proving that not everyone had given up on his music by the midpoint of the decade. This song is a bit of a bait and switch as you’d expect this to be about how he’s bitter over a relationship he wishes he had no investment in, instead it’s him saying that what he had with this person is more than love.
1993 27 weeks
You’d think that a reggae cover of a Marvin Gaye classic would be sacrilege, although you’ve also likely noticed that I’ve never had much of an issue with reggae covers of older tracks with the occasional exception. In any case, we have this reggae trio covering Marvin’s only hit he had in Australia (shocking I know) where it became a huge success for them, more so than the original I might add.
1996 27 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2007 27 weeks
This is the lead single to Gwen Stefani’s second album the Sweet escape, it was a massive hit upon its initial release despite it instantly garnering criticism for a wide range of reasons from the music video which depicted her as a sexually provocative nun to the sample of “The lonely goatherd” from the Sound of music. These criticisms led to the song not being as successful as the title track from the album.
2006 27 weeks
It looked like Pitbull was here to stay going into the new decade as this second single from his club boom phase was also a massive worldwide hit for him, there’s honestly not much I can say about this track except that aside from this, “I know you want me” and his theme from Men in black III “Back in the time,” all of his hits have had the assistance of someone else in the music industry.
2009 27 weeks
This was the final hit that Jordin Sparks has had anywhere in the world, although in this case she was playing second fiddle to Guy Sebastian who was clearly trying to find an international audience now that he had established his comeback with “Like it like that” going into the 2010’s.
2009 27 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2007 27 weeks
While this wasn’t the first big hit that Kenny Rogers had here in Australia, this was the song which seemed to convince us and most of Europe that he was the real deal in country music which is odd because this wasn’t among his bigger hits in his native America. In any case, he was able to make a huge splash with this ballad that cause his career to explode going into the new decade.
1977 27 weeks
Sweet were on a roll when they released this cover of a rockabilly track from the early 60’s, after all glam rock was at the height of its popularity this year no thanks to Countdown promoting the genre on TV over the likes of all the easy listening that these guys had to compete with during the first half of the decade.
1974 27 weeks
The last time Gabrielle had a hit here in Australia was with her debut single “Dream” from eight years prior, so to see her back on the charts with this theme song to the first Bridget Jones’ diary film was a bit of a surprise to say the least even if its success was inevitable in retrospect due to how popular the movie was and remains to this day. It was able to get the British RNB singer out of the one hit wonder bin if nothing else.
2001 27 weeks
This was the second hit from DJ Sammy to become a success this year that was a cover of a song from 1985, this time we have him making a dance track of the Don Henley classic which got him out of the one hit wonder bin in most parts of the world that his earlier entry threatened to trap him in. I guess he ran out of 80’s classics to make his own which led to him failing to score any other hits.
2002 27 weeks
This was meant as a commentary of how older artists were able to find success many years after their initial popularity died out in the music industry, yes you can also interpret the lyrics to be literal which is about a person who is coasting off on their laurels from their past achievements. Yeah, there’s no other way to interpret this track, John is clearly annoyed by how older artists were making it big over younger talent.
1975 27 weeks
This was the only hit single that Faith Hill managed to score in Australia, although it’s worth noting that I do remember hearing her 00’s songs on the radio quite a bit so it’s possible she was the victim of digital piracy going forward into the new millennium. It could also be that this was the only song shoved in our faces from the radio that we were receptive to as it’s a sweet upbeat ballad.
1998 27 weeks
This is another entry from the sub-genre I’ve dubbed as late-night rock, this is the type of rock music I picture myself listening to whenever I’m at a cocktail bar at two in the morning drowning my sorrows away. I guess this is my way of saying this is something you’d expect at a jazz bar, which I feel was what the band was going for with their one and only hit about a hot summer night.
1979 27 weeks
This was the only other success that Iggy Pop was able to acquire anywhere in the world, although here he required the assistance of Katie Pierson from the B52’s fresh off the success she had with their album Cosmic thing. Neither artist on this track would see any further success with their subsequent material.
1990 27 weeks
Also known as the song that introduced the phrase “it’s Britney bitch,” we have this lead single to Britney’s fifth album Breakout which saw a much more provocative side of the (then) troubled pop star following a string of public drama that forced her to be placed into her father’s conservative ship (which the less I say about the better.) It was a massive hit for her likely due to fans wanting to support her during what was a dark period of her life.
2007 27 weeks
Well, it appears that Keith Potger learned his lesson and finally put the New seekers out of their misery this year, he even reformed his original band albeit with the notable absence of Judith Durham who wouldn’t re-join the band until the early 90’s. Instead, the band went with Louisa Wisseling as the lead vocalist who managed to help them score a massive hit with this ballad for the band.
1975 27 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2006 27 weeks
Given how well-loved Nelly was from around this time, it only seems fitting that Chingy would follow suit into being an overnight sensation from the mid-west which began with his debut single which contains the infamous line “give me what you got for a porkchop.” The song regularly appears on worst of the 00’s lists for the line in question as well as people believing that Chingy isn’t a good rapper.
2003 27 weeks
Now I know I should think this cover is awful especially since I’m a huge fan of Fleetwood Mac, however anything that makes me think of the band and especially Stevie Nicks is a win in my book which means this cover is fine with me. It was a surprise hit for the Dixie chicks given how they were on the cusp of getting cancelled when it was released due to them dissing the (then) current president.
2003 27 weeks
This was the other big hit to come from Reality bites, although this one has a more interesting story to it as Lisa Loeb and Nine stories weren’t even signed to a label when this became a Billboard chart topper for them. This more than anything makes the song more famous than the film it was commissioned for as it helped them break a record by being the first act to top the American charts without having a label.
1994 27 weeks
This was originally released a decade prior to deafening silence for Arrow, a Caribbean singer who wanted to make it big in the English-speaking market but failed for whatever reason. It was given a remix which helped it climb the charts both here and, in the UK, although it was only a hit here due to it being perfect for our dance floors and even TV commercials which centre around red hot deals.
1994 27 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2007 27 weeks
Much like her earlier entry on this list, this was initially a bomb in Australia for Tina Charles, likely due to the sudden rise in popularity of “Dance little lady dance” which prevented this from becoming a success upon its initial release here. This proved to be her final hit worldwide likely due to audiences finding her voice to be overbearing for a genre that was defined by stripped back vocals.
1977 27 weeks
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.
2000 27 weeks
Tina Cousins originally released her debut album to deafening silence in her native UK the previous year, however thanks to her involvement with the Abba tribute from earlier on this list, said album was given a second chance in Australia where it spawned two big hits for her beginning with this dance track about how she feels alone without the love of her life. The video highlights the feeling of emptiness in the lyrics by having he be stranded on an island that appears to be abandoned.
1999 27 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2008 27 weeks
This was the final hit to come from Evermore who were on a roll during the second half of the decade due to them no longer being hindered by illegal downloads like many of their contemporaries were during the first half of the decade. I’m not sure why they didn’t have any success going into the 2010’s as they released two more albums after the album this serves as a lead single for.
2009 27 weeks
There was a lot of hype going into Toni Child’s second album, that hype was met when the lead single became a huge success for her here in Australia despite her still being unable to find success in her native America (something that she never wound-up accomplishing.) Indeed, this would be her last hit single anywhere in the world as once the album cycle ended, she was considered yesterday’s news.
1991 27 weeks
This was supposed to come out the previous year for the Spice girls here in Australia like it did in NZ and throughout Europe, I don’t know why it was delayed as it ended up being a huge success once it was released here but that’s what happened back in the day. This is one of the more recognisable tracks from their catalogue, again likely due to how catchy it is and how it expands on their theme of friendship.
1997 27 weeks
My NZ readers will recognise the lead singer of this Australian band as Tina Cross who was a teen idol in her homeland before she migrated here to form this new wave band. I have to say, she had one of the most unique voices of the decade which makes it a shame that none of the other band’s material caught on back in the day, I’m not sure why as they were regulars on Countdown as were most Aussie artists.
1985 27 weeks
There was a five-year gap between Maroon 5’s debut and sophomore album, although it didn’t feel as long given how most people didn’t even know about the band until 2003 when “Harder to breathe” began making the airwaves from their debut. Here we are with the lead single to their second album which was a much more instantaneous hit for the band worldwide due to their popularity being as strong as ever.
2007 27 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2007 27 weeks
Wow was Suzi seeing diminishing returns in the mainstream worldwide as the decade went on, to think this woman was briefly the most successful in the rock scene with her first two albums both here and throughout Europe. Here she scores a hit with a song that’s much softer than the glam rock that made her a household name earlier in the decade, although it did lead to her having a revival period.
1978 27 weeks
Apparently, EMF stands for Epson Mad Funkers and not Ecstasy Mother F**ker’s like I and many others had assumed, I thought I’d bring that up as the band came from the Madchester scene the previous year before scoring a massive Billboard chart topper with this track. Indeed, this has gone down as one of the most quintessential dance tracks to play in a scene that involves strip dancers or a seedy night club.
1991 27 weeks
