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.
This was a massive hit worldwide before crossing over to America where it topped the Billboard charts, it makes sense that it would be a success in America given how the rest of the world fell in love with the passionate vocals as well as how lovestruck the overall theme of the song is. Interestingly there was a separate video released for this song in America compared to the rest of the world, a common trend from this time.
1986 29 weeks
Tiffany might have had more success with her singles overall in Australia, however her rival Debbie Gibson was able to score a massive hit this year with the lead single to her second album Electric youth due to ballads being at the height of their popularity around this time. This allowed the album to be a moderate success here as this was bigger than anything Tiffany put out despite her being massively successful worldwide.
1989 29 weeks
This was the second single to come from Nelly Furtado’s debut album, it was a big hit everywhere in the world except her native Canada where it wasn’t even released as a single. I’m guessing because they weren’t interested in her paying homage to her Portuguese heritage like the rest of the world was, in fact this was her big hit off her debut album in NZ and on Billboard because of this appeal.
2001 29 weeks
Brandy might not have been one of the more popular artists of the decade in Australia, however at least both of her signature ballads managed to be a huge success here. There’s honestly not much more I can say about this ballad in particular, it was a massive hit for her before she became yesterday’s news as the decade was coming to an end.
1999 29 weeks
Much like Ginger Spice, Sporty was also able to score more than one hit on her own around the turn of the millennium as this second single from her solo album managed to be a huge sleeper hit here in Australia following the success of her earlier entry on this list. Her last hit would be her reunion with the Spice girls also from earlier on this list before she became little more than a legacy act.
2000 29 weeks
This was the song which helped Joshua Kadison’s album take off here in Australia, true he saw success the previous year with “Jessie” however there was no indication that would lead to him having any success with anything else from his catalogue. Indeed, he remains a one album wonder which goes to show that audiences can sometimes be fickle with who they make a household name.
1994 29 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2007 29 weeks
Even though it was a moderate success, the second album from the Rogue traders didn’t pull in the numbers of their first album with Natalie Bassingthwaighte from earlier in the decade. As such, she decided to leave to the group to embark on a solo career which began with this lead single to her solo album which proved to be a massive success for her.
2008 29 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2006 29 weeks
This was the solo debut for Fergie, it’s a song that’s infamous due to how abrasive it is as well as the “oh shits” played throughout the track which of course was censored to “oh snap” for the radio. If you can believe this, it was her first Billboard chart topper as none of her songs with BEP made it to number one in her native America prior to this coming out, although at least she scored three chart toppers with them after this.
2006 29 weeks
You thought this thing was a one hit wonder back in the day, didn’t you? It turns out there were several albums worth of remixes that he made back in the day including this remix of one of the bigger hits of the 70’s from Hot butter that was also a huge success worldwide and even decently successful here in Australia.
2005 29 weeks
This was one of the more popular disco tracks to emerge from this decade, it comes to us courtesy of this family group who obviously wanted to become the new Jackson 5 (or I guess Jackson nine in this case) with this upbeat song about shaking your groove thing. Unfortunately, this was their only hit even in their native America as other disco acts came in to replace them on the dance floors.
1976 29 weeks
Well, we needed to have another version of the Village people eventually, enter the Skatt bros who managed to copy the formula of the LGBT band and score a massive hit here in Australia around the time they released their film Can’t stop the music. This was an excellent year for queer disco in Australia it seems.
1980 29 weeks
This was the only notable success for Scottish singer/songwriter Frankie Miller, although I’m not sure how he made it big with this ballad considering it wasn’t a huge hit for him in his native UK. I guess this was a hit here due to the ballad striking a chord with audiences who were beginning to grow tired of Rod Stewart’s usual fare, although this didn’t lead to Frankie having any more success of his own.
1978 29 weeks
This was supposed to be the fourth single from I’m not dead and in P!nk’s native America it was, however, it was pushed back as the fifth single in the parts of the world where her earlier entry was released as a single likely due to fears that it being pushed as a single would result in her getting cancelled similar to how Madonna and the Dixie chicks did earlier in the decade. Of course, that didn’t end up happening as this became a huge hit for her worldwide with little issue.
2007 29 weeks
Karen Knowles was one of the stars of Young talent time throughout the 70’s, so it only makes sense that she would see massive success with this ballad given how she was still a teenager when it was released as a single. It makes you wonder why she didn’t have any success once she was all grown up.
1980 29 weeks
This was the only hit that Big pig managed to score here in Australia, I guess they were technically a British band as they were based in the UK when they started releasing songs two years prior, however they’re often claimed as an Australian act likely due to them not having any success over there. This was a massive success over in NZ for some reason, I guess it pop up on a popular DJ’s set over there.
1988 29 weeks
Well, this this fourth single from Loose says (or third if you’re from the UK) all good things come to an end which is what happened for Nelly Furtado once the album cycle ended this year as she’s yet to find another hit anywhere in the world with her subsequent material. At least she managed to have four massive hits in a row worldwide from an album that got her out of the one album wonder bin.
2007 29 weeks
This was released on the tenth anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death in the duo’s native UK, naturally it interrupted the album cycle for their sophomore album Actually which is perhaps why the album wasn’t as big a success as their debut Please was. It’s success this year was due to the album cycle not being altered internationally which means this cover came out months after the anniversary.
1988 29 weeks
Following the success of No doubt and their album Tragic kingdom, it appears that the ska punk scene had little issues with finding success here in Australia which leads us to this breakthrough hit from the Mighty mighty Bosstones. This is one of those songs that was featured in just about everything you can think of back in the day, as such it’s become more of a meme nowadays than a genuine hit single for the band.
1998 29 weeks
This was the third and final hit that Fedde Le Grand managed to achieve this year, this time it’s with Danish singer Ida Corr, or more specifically a remix of a song from Ida Corr which saw no success even throughout Europe for her. Just like the other two songs on this list, this song’s popularity was largely thanks to the video in where there were a bunch of clones of the singer participating in a big band.
2007 29 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2008 29 weeks
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.
1996 29 weeks
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.
1998 29 weeks
This was the only notable success for the Wallflowers likely due to it referencing the Disney princes Cinderella in the lyrics which was receiving a resurgence in popularity this decade due to the Disney renaissance pushing all of its older characters back into the spotlight. This led their album to being a moderate success before they forever faded into obscurity.
1997 29 weeks
I’m not even sure what to make of this track, I guess it’s cool that the video heavily promotes queer culture even if it stereotypes the LGBT community as sexually driven who will do it whenever wherever. It was a massive success for Wayne G and helped him become an in-demand producer over the years.
1998 29 weeks
This was the only hit that Jon Secada managed to score in Australia, although I wouldn’t feel too bad for him as he went on to massive success in his native America throughout the rest of the decade. This has often been cited as one of the earliest songs to launch the Latin craze that would dominate the second half of the 90’s, it’s more of an adult contemporary track but it does have Latin elements to it.
1992 29 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2007 29 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2008 29 weeks
While it didn’t last very long in the upper echelons of our charts, this Billboard chart topper from 2Pac managed to stick around for quite some time for it to be a sleeper success with us Aussies. This sadly means that this was also the final hit the rapper had down under before his tragic passing, although at least this didn’t rebound on our charts following the news of his tragic death.
1996 29 weeks
This is another song from the acid house genre, meaning that it was inescapable from the band’s native UK as well as it being a huge international hit for them. If the vocalist sounds familiar to anyone, that’s because it’s Sonique who’s best known for her hit single “It feels so good” which she released ten years after this became a hit for her.
1988 29 weeks
I did mention on the NZ side of this site that this was a modest success here in Australia back in the day, again we have an instrumental track on this list that was largely pushed aside in favour of all the music that Countdown was promoting which makes this song’s absence on this side of my site rather noteworthy. At least you can still hear this on oldies stations to this day, that and Robin Thicke’s sample of it was a success here.
1976 29 weeks
This was a sleeper hit here in Australia for Def Leppard, in fact you can make the argument that this eventually becoming a success here was what helped the album take off over a year after its initial release despite how much of an instant success it was internationally for the British hair metal band. They did have a minor hit with “Rocket” from the album, however it won’t be appearing on this list.
1988 29 weeks
This was the big hit from Australian glam rock band Supernaut who managed to take the Countdown scene by storm with their brand of glam rock right when the genre was beginning to die down in the mainstream. Indeed, had they had broken through just a little bit earlier in the decade, they likely would’ve been on the same level as some of the big international stars from the genre such as Sweet and Suzi Quatro.
1976 29 weeks
This took its time in finding success here in Australia, mainly because it was already a huge hit in NZ and the duo’s native UK the previous year and it was an Irish pub rock track from the duo during a time which we Aussies were into this sort of music. I guess it didn’t have the flashy imagery that had taken over MTV and as such had to work our way into our playlists while were we at the pub.
1982 29 weeks
It’s hard to say if we Aussies considered this a guilty pleasure back in the day or if it was largely pushed aside due to what was popular on Countdown given how long it charted for, both evaluations of this song’s sleeper success here are valid as it’s almost identical to their other big hit this decade “That’s the way I like it” even though that didn’t prevent this from being a mainstream success worldwide.
1976 29 weeks
This was the first song that Fischer Z released when they reformed the previous year, as a result it felt like no time had passed between their last hit from the start of the decade and this hit they had this year. Although the band never broke up again, this would be the last time we Aussies would hear from them as they wouldn’t have another hit after this.
1988 29 weeks
This came close to making my digital list of the 00’s, it didn’t because it was too much of a sleeper hit to qualify for that list. This goes to show how close this was to making Kisschasy as big as the likes of Thirsty merc and Evermore given how this became a success around the time those two bands made it big.
2007 29 weeks
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.
1994 29 weeks
While this wasn’t their debut single by any means, it was the song that made Sugar ray into a household name thanks to them ditching their nu metal sound in favour of a more pop friendly direction starting with this track. Lyrically it’s about how Mark McGrath is finding out he’s been cheated on with his girlfriend, although instead of confronting her about it he’s going to get even with her by sleeping around himself.
1999 29 weeks
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.”
1995 29 weeks
I’m not sure why this wasn’t an instant success here in Australia like it was internationally for Whitney Houston, although it did stick around for quite some time on our charts likely due to her winning us Aussies over once “How will I know” was given a music video shortly after its release. It may have been a humble beginning to her career, but it’s one that people look back on fondly to this day.
1985 29 weeks
This was the only hit that German DJ Da Hool managed to score in his career, again we have an EDM song making it big in Australia which is nothing new at this point of the 90’s. One thing I can say about this song is that according to ARIA it wasn’t a hit at all, meaning that this song’s appearance is based on how well it did on the AMR charts (which is how I base these rankings on this site.)
1997 29 weeks
Well, this was certainly a surprise hit for the Carpenters, who’d thought they would even attempt to cash in on the science fiction craze of the 70’s? They did which resulted in them scoring one more hit in Australia as well as in the UK several years after their popularity died out in both countries.
1977 29 weeks
We’re really ploughing through these entries from the midpoint of the decade that appeared on the NZ side of my site, aren’t we? Here we have the second and final hit that Bill and Boyd had which was indeed a sleeper success here in Australia following the success of their charity single from the year prior. I guess their fellow kiwis were more interested in this novelty ballad over their tribute to the victims of cyclone Tracy.
1975 29 weeks
This guy was one of the biggest names in music throughout the 60’s, so I guess he was able to achieve a huge comeback hit this decade along the likes of Perry Como and Bobby Vinton.
1975 29 weeks
This is a cover of a song that was made in the late 50’s, even so I wasn’t expecting to see this on one of these lists considering I was dead certain this was always meant as a commercial jingle and not a critically acclaimed art pop track from the start of the 80’s. Even though this remains well loved in the music community to this day, the band couldn’t shake off their novelty status which led to them breaking up in 1984.
1979 29 weeks
Well, I did mention this was a moderate success here in Australia when I mentioned it on the NZ side of my site, so here we are with the one and only hit that Skid row managed to achieve outside of their native America likely due to it being similar to what Bon Jovi or Def Leppard would release from around this time. I get the feeling these guys would’ve had more luck internationally had they broken through sooner.
1990 29 weeks
This was the debut single for Nelly, one of the most popular rappers of the 00’s as we’ve already seen on this list alone. I guess this is proof that he was capable of harder hip hop topics rather than the pop rap that he would become synonymous with as the decade went along, meaning that it was always going to be hard for this to find a mainstream audience no matter how much street cred it had.
2000 29 weeks
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.
1994 29 weeks
This was the second single from Mariah Carey’s debut album, a song that confirmed her to be the real deal as many divas have tried to make it big over the years with a good voice and little else to offer in their catalogue. Again, Mariah’s true potential would come later in the decade when she added flavour to her music that only she could provide, although there’s still merit to her earlier work nowadays.
1990 29 weeks
Even though this was a massive success in NZ, I’m willing to bet its sleeper success here in Australia was due to Rod Stewart performing it on Countdown given how (as far as I can tell) it was the only song of his that he performed on the show throughout its thirteen-year run.
1977 29 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2008 29 weeks
Well, here’s that song from Slade that I mentioned earlier on this list, although it’s worth noting that they already had their comeback in their native UK the previous year with “My oh my” which makes this songs success a little less surprising considering that and Quiet riot’s entry. Even so, this comeback was short lived as the band failed to adjust to the 80’s with their sound.
1984 29 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2009 29 weeks
We have another country legend who likely would’ve seen more success here in Australia had he not had the misfortune to break through when Countdown was launched, this time it’s Cal Smith who was riding off the success that John Denver had with this ballad that connected with us Aussies albeit without the endorsement of Countdown given its failure to appear in the upper echelons of our charts.
1974 29 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2006 29 weeks
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.
1994 29 weeks
It’s tough to say when post grunge took over from grunge music in the mainstream, one of the earliest examples of the former genre gaining traction here in Australia comes from this one and only hit that Belgian band K’s choice had here. This definitely feels like it’s a bit ahead of its time and easily would’ve been as big as some of Nickelback’s hits throughout the 00’s had it released later than it did.
1996 29 weeks
Before there was Killing Heidi, we had the Superjesus as the Australian band with a kick ass female frontwoman in our alternative scene. This was their first big hit that they had which they released months prior to their debut album which was also a massive success for them, although Ella Hooper and company did unfortunately steal their thunder going into the new millennium.
1997 29 weeks
Whereas these guys managed to score two massive hits in NZ back in the day, this was the best that Incubus were able to do here in Australia as this was a huge sleeper hit mainly due to strong airplay as I remember this getting played to hell and back upon its initial release. This is just one more reason why I would love to see how well it did on digital downloads as I feel that would be a more accurate representation of its popularity.
2001 29 weeks
We looked at Marc Anthony’s other big hit on the NZ side of this site, time now to look at by far his most recognisable hit in his catalogue as that managed to be a sleeper success for him here in Australia right as the 90’s were becoming the 00’s. I guess we Aussies allowed this guy to become a success due to this coming out right at the height of the Latin craze dominated by Ricky Martin and J-lo.
1999 29 weeks
There weren’t a lot of RNB groups to make it big in Australia back in the day, one of the lucky few who did was the Stylistics who scored a massive hit with this RNB ballad due to how inescapable it was throughout the rest of the world. Like many RNB groups of the day, they had more success over in NZ even during the second half of the decade, giving you an idea of how much they loved RNB.
1974 29 weeks
This was the debut single for the Pussycat dolls, a former burlesque troupe turned girl band who scored massive success with this track where even upon its initial release I remembered being widely mocked for how overconfident the lyrics are. I’m not that familiar with the Busta Rhymes feature as they never played it on the radio back in the day, I’m guessing to promote the song as a sexual fantasy for those attracted to the band members would have.
2005 28 weeks
I’m usually the type of person to get annoyed whenever someone cries sell-out to an artist’s biggest hit in their catalogue, however in this case I’m on board with those who consider this to be a sell-out from Bon Jovi despite it not being that far off musically from their earlier efforts such as “Wanted dead or alive” or “Bed of roses.” I think the issue here for me is how painfully earnest they are even compared to their earlier work, but that’s just me.
1994 28 weeks
This was among the first songs whose music video was banned, although not by MTV as the video for this title track of Olivia’s biggest album in her career was banned in her native UK due to its shameless depiction of body shaming. The song is a bop to this day; however, most people have described it as a body shaming anthem due to the (admittedly offensive) visuals in the video.
1981 28 weeks
Even though this appears on Wham’s sophomore album Make it big, this is curiously credited as a George Michael solo ballad which goes to show that even before they took America by storm, he was already having ambitions of making it big without his partner in crime Andrew Ridgely. The two stuck together for one more album before going their separate ways two years later.
1984 28 weeks
Although this wasn’t the lead single to Icehouse’s biggest album Man of colours, it was their biggest hit both in Australia and NZ as well as their one big hit over in America due to how big it was in both countries in the southern hemisphere. I guess it’s their best song even though on a technical level, their work from Primitive man from five years prior is better.
1987 28 weeks
Lionel admitted himself back in the day that his first solo album was made to appease his fanbase from when he was a part of the Commodores, this was to ease them into the change in music direction that he wanted to make in his career which resulted in his magnum opus Can’t slow down and this lead single of his. It’s a party jam that’s since become a staple of parties since its initial release.
1983 28 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2007 28 weeks
It seems rather curious that Kim Wilde wasn’t even aware of the original version of this track from the Supremes at first, admittedly it is shocking to know that Diana Ross and company didn’t receive much love in the mainstream outside of America back in the day. Kim’s version of this track about making a clean getaway from someone fooling around with the narrator’s heart managed to equal the success the original version had two decades prior in America where it topped the Billboard charts.
1986 28 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2006 28 weeks
We already looked at the EDM version of this track in my 1995 list, so now let’s look at the most popular version of this Alphaville track in the southern hemisphere from the Australian band Youth group which took the music scene by storm thanks largely due to its music video which pays homage to the home videos people used to make throughout the twentieth century.
2006 28 weeks
This was a massive success for Fine young cannibals for a few reasons, the first is how dynamic of a vocal performance Roland Gift gives throughout the track which highlights just how messed up he feels about the woman he’s singing about. The second is for the video which is both hilarious and gives unique visuals to convey the lyrics about this relationship, no wonder it found a captivating audience worldwide.
1989 28 weeks
This wasn’t a big hit in Amanda Perez’s native America, it did OK, but it wasn’t a giant hit like it was for her in the southern hemisphere on Billboard. I can understand how this was so big in NZ given how it’s a contemporary Christian RNB number, however I can only assume this was a big hit here in Australia due to there being a sudden rise in popularity with songs about questioning one’s faith in religion.
2003 28 weeks
The last time anyone had heard from Matthew Wilder was with his version of this track from thirteen years prior, now all the sudden he was a well-respected producer for the likes of P Diddy and No doubt which would explain the popularity of this cover from Danish group Unique II. I have to say that the woman singing on this track is a far better vocalist than Wilder, yes, his lyrics are poignant, but he always sounded weird to me.
1996 28 weeks
It looked like that Leo Sayer had become yesterday’s news by the time the 70’s became the 80’s, however the English crooner had other ideas as he decided to record an old Buddy Holly track after seeing an advertisement for a greatest hits package of his and his band the Crickets. This resulted in this ballad being his biggest hit in most parts of the world and kept his career going for a little while longer.
1980 28 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2005 28 weeks
It looked like Madonna’s career was done for when she released her ill-fated concept album American life in 2003, however she was able to brush over that disaster with her next album which was a throwback album to the disco era starting with this lead single that samples “Gimme gimme gimme” by Abba. It was a massive hit everywhere in the world except her native America where it was only a modest success.
2005 28 weeks
This is one of the more divisive songs to emerge from the decade, mainly because people are split with the opinion whether or not Linda Perry is a good vocalist (personally I don’t think she is.) As a result, this song has often been described as very shrill and earnest from its detractors, although it also did lead Linda into becoming an in-demand songwriter for many of the biggest stars of the 21st century.
1993 28 weeks
If Lionel’s earlier entry on this list wasn’t the indication that he was about to become one of the biggest names in music this decade, then this third single from his sophomore album cemented his place among the A-list despite it being subjected to heavy backlash over the years for what many perceive to be highly creepy lyrics. That’s to say nothing of the video which makes them arguably worse by having them be directed at one of his students at a university.
1984 28 weeks
Although it’s become a staple for the decade in Australian music, you may be surprised to learn that “Living in the 70’s” was a flop for Skyhooks despite it being one of the first songs to be promoted on Countdown on the show’s inception. Fortunately, the second single from the album of the same name was a massive hit for the band, likely due to them referring to the 6:30 news as a horror movie.
1974 28 weeks
This was a bit of a surprise hit for NKTOB given how it wasn’t much of a hit in their native America, I’m guessing it crossed over here due to how incessantly catchy the track is compared to the rest of the album which is mostly filled with ballads from the boys. This eventually led the song to be released in the UK where it was an even bigger hit for them.
1989 28 weeks
Well, this might’ve been the duet to sink the reputation of both artists involved, bear in mind that the original from Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush was a huge hit in Australia exactly twenty years prior to when Shannon Noll and Rogue trader’s frontwoman Natalie Bassingthwaighte took their stab at the ballad to massive commercial success. I bring this up because fans of the original were not thrilled with this remake.
2006 28 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2007 28 weeks
Well, if nothing else, this is equal opportunity when it comes to calling out both sides of the gender spectrum who mooch of their significant others minimum wage while that person works hard to provide for them. It’s easy to see how this struck a chord with audiences given how the name of the song is what we often shout at to people who seem to just mooch off of those around them for a living.
1999 28 weeks
This was one of only two hits that Atomic Kitten had here in Australia, I’m guessing because we Aussies weren’t that interested in the UK pop scene as you’ve likely noticed a lack of British artists on these lists so far compared to our local scene and American artists. Still, they were quite big in NZ and their native UK given how they managed to score multiple hits in those countries with this type of ballad.
2001 28 weeks
It’s worth noting that Missy Higgins released most of her singles as E.P’s even though songs were generally released with three or four other tracks as singles by this point in time, even so her first big hit was the lead single to her debut album which she called an E.P to no doubt drive up sales for it. This paid off for her, although I feel she didn’t need to do this given how popular it’s remained since its release.
2004 28 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2006 28 weeks
The original version of this track won the Oscar for best original song due to it being extensively used in the film Slumdog millionaire, however that song is largely in Indian and as such, wasn’t going to connect with an English-speaking audience. A.R Rahman went to the Pussycat dolls of all people to commission an English-speaking remix of the track which allowed them to have a massive worldwide hit.
2009 28 weeks
Angry Anderson is best known as the lead vocalist for Rose tattoo, an Australian band who rivals AC/DC as the band who rocks the hardest from the 70’s and 80’s. So, you can his fans horror when he agreed to rerecord one of the bands earlier songs and rework it as a wedding theme for Scott and Charlene in Neighbours (Jason Donovan and Kylie Minogue for the uninitiated.)
1987 28 weeks
This came from an album that was released two years prior from Crazy town, it’s the black sheep of the album given how it was more of a rap rock track similar to what RHCP were doing (it even has a riff from one of their songs) as opposed to the rest of the album which was in the nu metal category. It was a surprise hit for the band likely due to the novelty of it being a love ballad from such a rough looking band.
2001 28 weeks
If you’re wondering what took these guys so long in finding an audience here in Australia, I think it’s because we Aussies were sceptical of their musical talent initially given how they had sung with perfect American accents on record and yet could barely speak English in interviews. We gave them the benefit of the doubt this year by allowing this to become one of the biggest hits of the year, however our scepticism was proven right by the end of the year.
1989 28 weeks
Well, this is a change of pace from Billy Idol, his earlier work was among the loudest songs to come out of the decade whereas this was more subdue as was the album it was pulled from Whiplash smile which traded in Billy’s bombast for a sound more in line with the quieter bands of the decade. This change in direction paid off for him as both this song and the album were his most successful in his career respectively.
1986 28 weeks
This was the breakthrough single for one of the most prominent disco artists to emerge from this decade, although unlike many of their contemporaries, these guys would be eventually revealed to be a queer band as people noticed how intentionally campy their antics were compared to other disco acts of the day. This has helped them retain a loyal fanbase to this day as opposed to their contemporaries.
1978 28 weeks
We have another Oscar winning ballad to grace us with its presence on this site, this time it comes to us from Berlin who had previously been known as new wave band and who you may recognise for their hit singles “No more words” from two years prior (especially if you’re from NZ where it was a huge hit.) As usual, we have an indie band whose fans cried sell-out to once they made it big worldwide by attaching themselves to a Tom Cruise flick.
1986 28 weeks
We had “Computer games” from Mi-sex, now it’s time for the music scene to get specific with this song written about the Space invaders phenomenon from the Australian novelty act Player 1 (not to be confused with the soft rock band Player.) Before “Pac man fever” and around the time that arcade classic was launched, this song was making it big down under with a specific arcade unit.
1980 28 weeks
This is the last hit that Shaggy was able to achieve anywhere in the world, mainly because there’s two versions of the song floating around which helped it become a hit here albeit slowly as the remix was released much later than the original version. Both versions have Brian and Tony Gold handling the chorus while Shaggy himself raps about how the woman in question turns him on.
2002 28 weeks
This was the only hit that Heather Smalls and company were able to achieve in Australia, although they did make up for their lack of singles success by having two successful albums back in the day. I never understood why people took issue with Heather’s voice, the best I could come up with was that she’s been unfavourably compared to Sade Adu who also combined genres in her heyday. She combined rock with jazz whereas these guys combined rock with RNB.
1993 28 weeks
This was the debut single from Savage Garden and one that has a different music video depending on where in the world you’re from. The original is a low budget clip which is basically Darren Hayes poorly green screened onto a car driving around the country whilst the international version is more visually striking as it has Darren singing in front of a camera and then has the footage play on a girl’s TV.
1996 28 weeks
