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.
If you were to go back and read about one hit wonders from the 80’s, you’d find that these guys were dismissed as such with “Rock lobster” despite this lead single from their second album doing quite well albeit only here in Australia due to them performing it on Countdown upon its initial release. It retains the wacky energy from their debut single even if it omits the LGBT references in the lyrics.
1980 19 weeks
I guess we Aussies weren’t as invested in having Diana Ross be one of the biggest names of the 80’s as the rest of the world was given how much less successful this cover of the 50’s classic was here compared to NZ and her native America. At least this reached the upper echelons of our charts as opposed to “I’m coming out” which was a massive flop for her down under.
1981 19 weeks
This is the only hit that ELO was able to achieve from their album Out of the blue, it’s another song I’m surprised wasn’t a huge mainstream hit given how it remains a staple on oldies stations to this day, however it did come from an album that was an instant success. The big notable single from Out of the blue is “Mr blue sky” which only became as such due to being placed in every movie trailer you can think of.
1977 19 weeks
Well, this is a bit different from Bon Jovi from their earlier entry, mainly because this was a country ballad whereas their other hit this year was one of the most iconic hair metal ballads of the decade. I think most people tend to forget that Bon Jovi was partially a country band considering how much more iconic their hair metal tracks have become over the years, although they were a good country band as well.
1987 19 weeks
This was sandwiched between Andy’s two biggest hits worldwide, although it was a massive hit in its own right as all of his entries on this site were Billboard chart toppers for him. It’s unfortunate that his popularity would die out by the end of the decade, although nowhere near as much as him passing away in 1988 due to his drug problems.
1978 19 weeks
Madonna was on a roll this year as she scored her third hit from her debut album, although I get the feeling my British readers will be surprised to see this ballad on this list given how it only became a hit over in the UK two years after its initial release. What’s more confusing is that “Lucky star” was her big breakthrough on Billboard despite it being a massive flop here, presumably because it was the fourth single and released mere months prior to “Like a virgin.”
1984 19 weeks
This was one of only two hits that Erasure scored here in Australia, although the other hit was an Abba themed E.P they released in the early 90’s so realistically this was the only hit single they had here. They were far more popular in their native UK despite this being a flop for them over there, I guess they needed some time to adjust to their love ballads set to catchy dance pop before making them a success.
1986 19 weeks
This is the final hit that Icehouse had here in Australia, it’s the lead single to their album Code blue which you’d think would be a runaway smash due to them coming off one of the biggest albums of the 80’s with Man of colours. Alas, it appears these guys had very little shelf life in the 90’s even at the beginning of the decade as they would be yesterday’s news once this fell off the charts.
1990 19 weeks
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.
1996 19 weeks
Well, we can finally have the Pretty in pink theme on this side of my site as it was indeed a moderate success here back in the day for OMD, I guess we Aussies were a bit adverse to having the new wave band be a success but changed our minds once they appeared on Countdown with Kim Wilde months after this became a worldwide smash for them.
1986 19 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2007 19 weeks
Given how Nicole Scherzinger was able to revive Diddy’s popularity the previous year, it only makes sense that he was score a second hit from around this time with the assistance of Christina Aguilera who was also as the height of her popularity thanks to the success of her album Back to basics.
2007 19 weeks
This is a hybrid of Whitney Houston’s “How will I know” (the title coming from the first few lines of the song) as well as U2’s “With or without you” which the British group LMC credited the latter for likely as a condition for sampling the track on here. The lyrics were performed by English vocalist Rachel McFarlane who does an admirable impression of Whitney throughout the track.
2004 19 weeks
This was the final hit that Young divas achieved here in Australia, this being a cover of the Loverboy track from 1981 and had Ricki Lee replaced in the group with Jessica Mauboy given how the former had a massive hit this year with her earlier entry on this list.
2007 19 weeks
I did mention on the previous list that Greg Kihn managed to achieve a second hit here in Australia with this song, although it was far less successful than “The breakup song” which is why you don’t hear it as much on oldies stations as that classic. Still, this was a sign that him and his band would survive in the MTV era even if this was the last anyone would hear from them.
1983 19 weeks
Although this wasn’t the inescapable success that their two earlier entries on this list were, this nonetheless lasted quite a while for 1927 on our charts for it to be a massive success for them back in the day even with how inescapable their album was. “Compulsory hero” almost qualified to appear on this site but was too much of what I like to call a “fan hit” to do so due to how quickly it fell off our charts.
1989 19 weeks
Although it did come close to making this list, I consider “I begin to wonder” to be too much of a fan single for it to be worth featuring on this list. The same isn’t the case for Dannii Minogue’s final hit as it lasted for quite some time on our charts due to how much catchier it was then that other single.
2003 19 weeks
It looked like that Tina Turner’s album Break every rule would be a massive flop here given how its lead single “Typical male” failed to become a success with us Aussies, however the album was saved when the second single became a huge sleeper hit for her here despite it failing to become a hit anywhere else in the world. Even “The best” was a massive hit throughout Europe by the end of the decade.
1987 19 weeks
I guess this was also a big success here in Australia for Alison Moyet like it was over in NZ, although it failed to fight through all the Christmas entries upon its initial release which is why it failed to appear on this side of my site up until now. For what it’s worth, “Love resurrection” almost made the cut for this bonus list of mine given how it cracked our top twenty like it did internationally.
1984 19 weeks
Named after the iconic female lead in the Terminator franchise, Sarah Connor (real name Sarah Lewe) managed to score a moderate success this year here in Australia with this female empowerment track about how she’s fed up with the poor treatment she’s received from her partner. It was only a modest success throughout Europe as well, making you wonder how we Aussies even came across this track.
2004 19 weeks
Many believe Rick Astley to be a one album wonder, unfortunately that’s mostly true as save for this lead single to his second album and “Cry for help” from earlier on this list, he didn’t have much success outside of Whenever you need somebody even in his native UK. I guess leading the album with the lone song not produced by Stock Aitken and Waterman didn’t pan out well for his prospects.
1988 19 weeks
This was originally released in 1984 to deafening silence here in Australia, I’m guessing because Severed heads were a bit ahead of their time when it came to spoken word lyrics set to a dance beat. It was resurrected a decade later likely out of nostalgia for the Pet shop boys where it became a decent sized sleeper hit for the band.
1994 19 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2009 19 weeks
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.
2005 19 weeks
If we were to exclude his remix of “Love is in the air” from earlier on this list, this was the final hit that John Paul Young had in his career which is fitting as it sees him trying to adapt with the times which is a far cry from the more insightful songs he released earlier in his career.
1983 19 weeks
Oh, Britney you naughty girl, titling your track about how much you want to be the sexual desire of your target audience. It appears the world were a bit turned off by this track as it was only a minor sleeper hit here in Australia and flopped in most other parts internationally, however it did fairly well in her homeland.
2009 19 weeks
This is the last hit that Santana had for twenty years anywhere in the world, although it certainly wasn’t through a lack of trying given how they were quite active throughout the 80’s and 90’s before they got their big break with “Smooth” in 1999. If the title seems familiar to you, that’s because this is a cover of a Buddy Holly track from two decades prior.
1978 19 weeks
It feels weird that Flo Rida and Nelly Furtado collaborated back in the day, what’s weirder is that it was for a film known as G force which might be one of Disney’s worst films before the launch of Disney+. I guess this was a success due to the star power rather than our love for a third-rate Disney flick.
2009 19 weeks
We now have two entries from the Stranglers on my site, admittedly neither of them was among the biggest hits of their time here in Australia, however at least the punk band has some recognition on my site as opposed to so many of their contemporaries. They would go on to release new music after this, however it was to diminishing returns even in their native UK.
1984 19 weeks
It looks like we Aussies weren’t as interested in making the Game a household name like the rest of the world was given how this is the only appearance he’ll be making on this side of my site. Even then, this was one of the many entries from 2005 on this list that only made the cut dure to a lack of competition rather than it being pushed aside for fiercer competition.
2005 19 weeks
I’ve yet to see either of the Bill and Ted movies (I’m not much of a Keanu Reeves fan guys) meaning I have no idea how this late period track from Kiss ties into the film or indeed if it was even commissioned for it in the first place or simply included on its soundtrack. In any case, the film was a massive box office hit, meaning the success of this theme song makes sense.
1992 19 weeks
If the production on this track sounds familiar to you, that’s because it was sampled in Len’s one and only hit “Steal my sunshine” over two decades after this came out. This is another song I feel got the short end of the stick here in Australia as this was a massive hit throughout the rest of the world, I guess Countdown listeners were put off by the seductive nature of the song in a way that didn’t apply to Donna Summer.
1976 19 weeks
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.
2004 19 weeks
It looks like we Aussies gave some more love to Sean Paul than I remember from back in the day, admittedly the Jamaican rapper was inescapable throughout the rest of the world, so it makes sense that we Aussies would join in on the fun even if I doubt anyone could understand a word he was saying in any of his songs.
2003 19 weeks
This is where it all began for Joe Jackson as this was the lead single to his debut album, although I do have to wonder how we Aussies came across this track given how it was a massive flop in his native UK (perhaps it was a Countdown appearance19 that’s since been lost to the sands of time.) Obviously, his peak in popularity wouldn’t come until his fifth album Night and day, however this was a strong first impression he made.
1979 19 weeks
We have another entry from my Countdown list from a while back, this time it’s the third biggest hit that Kids in the kitchen had from their debut album as well as the song they released to coincide with their album Shine. I get the feeling the album ate up most of this song’s success as it remains a fan favourite in their catalogue to this day thanks to how anthemic it sounds.
1985 19 weeks
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.”
1994 19 weeks
It looks like we get to feature a second single from Live on this site after all as this became a surprise hit for the band in 2003 here in Australia, it was also a surprise hit for them in NZ but I didn’t think to cover sleeper hits for the 00’s on that side of my site due to it being a wasteland of songs that would’ve made the list purely through airplay.
2003 19 weeks
This was the lead single to Joe Cocker’s comeback album err…. Cocker from 1986, this is the album that has “You can leave your hat on” as its second single so suffice to say that he went with the wrong choice to lead off its album cycle. It didn’t ultimately matter as the album was a massive hit for him here in Australia, however it’s possible he could’ve had a top ten hit with that iconic track instead of this being a mere top twenty hit.
1986 19 weeks
This is the third single from Five’s second album, it was a bit of a dud for the boy band given how it felt like more of the same even at the time of its release. They would of course rebound with the next single from said album as it was a cover of the Queen classic “We will rock you” complete with instrumentation from the original band themselves.
2000 19 weeks
Although he’s had plenty of representation on this site, this is the only solo entry from Jay Z to feature on here as we Aussies checked out what all the hype was about with this lead single to his first album of the 21st century. This would lead to his success with his future wife Beyonce as well as Linkin Park, his BFF turned mortal enemy Kanye West and friend Rihanna.
2001 19 weeks
What was that about Nikki Webster being a one hit wonder here in Australia? Granted this was a sleeper hit for the little girl who once sang at the opening ceremony for the 2000 Olympics, however the fact that it makes it on this list should tell you all you need to know about how much success she had that the music industry likes to pretend never existed.
2002 19 weeks
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.
2001 19 weeks
This was the second of only two solo hits that Stevie Wright had here in Australia, although he did have one of the biggest hits of the decade with “Evie” from the previous year and he was the lead single of the Easybeats who were one of the biggest Australian bands of the 60’s. This was one of the earliest songs to be performed on Countdown, which in addition to his previous success, made it a shoe in to be a hit this year.
1974 19 weeks
This was the final hit that the New seekers managed to achieve before they called it quits to allow the genuine article to score a comeback the following year with “Sparrow song,” they were meant to be the British equivalent of the Australian band but fell short due to selling themselves as a pop band as opposed to a folk band like the genuine article was.
1974 19 weeks
Our final entry on this list comes from Roberta Flack, one of the more popular artists during the first half of the decade in Australia despite being and female RNB singer of colour which normally is a combination of words that doesn’t give you much success here. Indeed, her voice was so distinct that even we Aussies fell in love with her three Billboard chart toppers as this was easily the weakest hit of the three here.
1974 19 weeks
This was originally the debut single for Cliff Richard that was released all the way back in 1959, it was a modest success for the English crooner and launched a very lucrative career for him that persisted as recently as 1999. This year he rerecorded it with the cast of the Young ones for charity, and let’s just say that this version doesn’t do the original any favours for me liking this man’s music.
1986 18 weeks
This was the first time Madonna had released a song with a poignant message attached to it (and it certainly wasn’t the last) here she advocates that should a teenage girl fall pregnant that it’s ultimately up to her if she decides to keep the baby or not and not her parents or guardians and certainly not anyone else. It became the clear hit from her third album True blue due to feminists of the day applauding her approval for providing teenage girls with agency.
1986 18 weeks
This was the second single from Abba’s fourth album Arrival, and one that seems oddly appropriate in this day and age given how frequently they proclaim this to be a “rich man’s world” throughout the lyrics. It was an easy chart topper for the Swedish foursome and ensured that their popularity wasn’t a fluke during the midpoint of the decade.
1976 18 weeks
This is one of many hit singles this decade that saw massive success despite it never charting on Billboard, it goes to show you how out of touch the American charts were this decade when this signature track from Lenny Kravitz fails to dent their charts. In any case, we have one of the more iconic songs on this list primarily due to that guitar lick that is instantly memorable the second you hear it.
1993 18 weeks
In case you were wondering, this is indeed a remix of a track from R Kelly’s album Chocolate factory that he released due to the song having some of the stranger lyrics in his catalogue. Somehow, the troubled RNB singer (I won’t go into why that is on this site) is a two-hit wonder here in Australia with this remix and one other song on this list as none of his other songs managed to become a hit like they did internationally.
2003 18 weeks
Well, this is a Christmas staple that refuses to die in the current day and age of streaming payola, although at least this only comes around during the Christmas season so it’s not like it’s clogging the charts all year round or anything. I guess it’s good to know that it was a huge hit for the duo back in the day, although it came at the expense of arguably their best song “Everything she wants” being a bigger hit here.
1984 18 weeks
I love “Islands in the streams,” it’s one of the rare country ballads I can listen to countless times without growing tired of. That should give you an idea of how much I dislike this track given how it blatantly samples the original in order give Pras Michel a solo hit following the demise of the Fugees. This was also the theme to the film Bulworth, hence why Warren Beatty appears on the cover with the three artists on this song.
1998 18 weeks
I used to like this song, granted I was only nine years old when it came out, but there’s a certain innocence to it that makes its popularity back in the day make sense to me. I do feel bad for it as it’s often considered one of the worst songs of all time from an Australian artist, likely due to it being the rare, manufactured teen pop track from Australia in comparison to the rock and roll audiences are used to.
2001 18 weeks
Well, this is a song that hasn’t received much love since its initial release, I’m guessing this is due to the music video which depicts the two rock icons dancing around with some of the strangest choreography ever put to film. The fact this is a cover of a 60’s classic made specifically for charity likely doesn’t help its cause either as this suggests it was only a hit because of this charity rather than people like the song itself.
1985 18 weeks
This was the first hit that Outkast managed to achieve outside of their native America, I’m guessing because people took an interest in the song’s subject matter about how the narrator is apologising to the mother of his girlfriend and how he impregnated her during the relationship. Both rappers take a different approach to the song with Andre being more sympathetic whilst Big Boi isn’t as such.
2001 18 weeks
Aah comedy rap, when you’re funny, you can find an endearing audience that will revisit your track time after time. When you’re not (or at least only appeal to a niche audience) you may be popular for a little while like this lead single from D12’s second and final album, however you’ll eventually fade into obscurity as the general public no longer finds any humour in your track.
2004 18 weeks
Following the success that he had with Dru hill in his native America, Sisqo left the group to pursue a solo career which was off to a good start with this track about how he fell in love with a woman based on her thongs (a bikini bottom for my non-American readers.) Some have accused this song of being sexist as it glorifies the objectification of women based on a piece of clothing, usually by people who do the same thing to men.
2000 18 weeks
This was another huge success for the Police due to the strength of their musicianship, although it appears that Sting’s song writing had significantly improved on this track as I haven’t seen anyone criticise it in any way over the years. This was from their penultimate album which was admittedly not as successful as the two albums it was sandwiched in between.
1981 18 weeks
Well, this is a surprise, I don’t think anyone had expected the Backstreet boys to have a hit this far into the decade given how the boy band wars had come to an end by 2001 and that they were crowned the definitive champions of said wars. Even so, this finally gave them a chart topper here in Australia as none of their other songs managed to reach the top spot like this did down under.
2005 18 weeks
This was that other sports track that made it big this year in Australia, and again we have the cricket to thank for promoting this and its sequel track into the mega hits that they were. Oh yeah, this song has a sequel to it, and it also cracked the top ten here just as the decade was coming to an end.
1979 18 weeks
If you’re a bit concerned that this song is a bit too low for this list, I’d hate to see your reaction when we finally get to “Yeah” and its placement (don’t worry, it’s still to come.) Anyways, we have the second single from Usher’s Confessions album which was about how failed relationship with Chilli from TLC and how he admits to screwing up the relationship shortly prior to making the album.
2004 18 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2009 18 weeks
Even though this was a massive comeback success for Skyhooks following a lengthy breakup from the mid 80’s, it sadly wasn’t well received by critics who felt that this didn’t live up to the standards they had set throughout the 70’s. Apparently, the band didn’t take to well to this criticism and as a result, they broke up shortly after this became a success.
1990 18 weeks
I’m not sure what took so long for this song to be released in Australia, it was a massive international success for Shaggy and an instant success for him once he finally released it this year here. I’m guessing it was due to how his previous song “In the summertime” was looking to become a success here given how it was included in the soundtrack for the Paul Hogan film Flipper which likely caused us to delay this songs release.
1996 18 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2009 18 weeks
Here we have another song that was inescapable from the Bay city rollers this decade in Australia, there’s only so much I can say about these tracks without coming off as repetitive and redundant.
1975 18 weeks
Much like the original from Diana Ross and Lionel Richie, this duet between Luther Vandross and Mariah Carey was a huge success this year even though I’m not sure why as it’s not like it was attached to anything like the original was. Perhaps it was through the artistic momentum that Mariah had given how she could release anything this year and it would be a huge success for her worldwide.
1994 18 weeks
This was the biggest hit that Elton John had throughout the decade, likely due to this being a heartfelt ballad towards a Nikita in his life which tugged at the heartstrings of listeners back in the day. Despite this being his biggest hit of the 80’s, this would be the start of the very difficult time in his life as he would suffer from drug problems that would persist for the remainder of the decade.
1985 18 weeks
Given how Wings were no more once the 80’s began, it appears that Paul McCartney finally felt comfortable to release his second solo album which spawned easily the biggest hit of his career he had without the assistance of anybody else. Whether it be with the Beatles, Wings or a musician of colour, Paul has had a ton of success with other people, however very few of it came from a solo performance.
1980 18 weeks
Well, this is one of those songs that’s easy to hate, instead of me bashing it, I’ll say the one positive I can about it. This song does have good intentions as it’s clear that both Paul and Stevie want to achieve racial harmony between black and white people, they clearly have their hearts in the right place on this track.
1982 18 weeks
Given how successful his debut album was in Australia, it only makes sense that Leif Garret would continue to have success with his second album given how it was a huge success in his native America. For whatever reason, his popularity came to a screeching half once the album cycle was complete, which no doubt led to his drug addiction which preventing him from launching a comeback.
1978 18 weeks
Although it has a low placement on this list, this was the first chart topper that Kylie Minogue had here in Australia since “Confide in me” from six years prior. Again, we have a song that debuted high on this list due to strong first week sales and then quickly dropped off the charts once the initial hype had died down, although there was a lot of hype with this song as it was a return for Kylie to bubble-gum pop.
2000 18 weeks
This was originally a hit for Merilee Rush in the late 60’s, so Juice Newton had a lot to prove with her rendition which obviously she was able to when it became a massive worldwide hit for her. It turns out she performed this track on Countdown which is why it became much bigger here in Australia than most parts of the world, this no doubt led to her second hit which is still to come on this list.
1981 18 weeks
This was the theme to Prince’s second film Under the cherry moon, a film that received the opposite reception of his first film Purple rain as it was heavily panned by critics and was a box office flop for the rock star. At least the soundtrack was still well received, showing a far more sexually provocative side of Prince which he was already known for being sexually charged in his music by this point.
1986 18 weeks
While this wasn’t the only hit that Daryl Hall and John Oates scored in Australia back in the day, it was by far their biggest hit thanks to a memorable performance of the track on Countdown as well as the lyrics which detail a money hungry gold digger that the audience should look out for. This was a success here slightly before it was as such anywhere else in the world, proving how much we loved these guys.
1982 18 weeks
Yeah, as far as the music industry is concerned, the 80’s didn’t officially end until around the time where Nirvana took the world by storm by introducing grunge to a wider audience later in the decade. In the meantime, we have this lead single to INXS’s album X which details the type of woman that Michael Hutchence is into by describing her as a “suicide blonde,” whatever that’s meant to mean.
1990 18 weeks
Before it became the theme song to the Michael Keaton flick Gung Ho, this was originally the title track to the reissue album of Jimmy’s debut Bodyswerve which became an instant Australian classic due to it being dedicated to the working-class society of our country. It seemed like an obvious choice for a film that centres around this plot, however it wasn’t able to help him score a hit in the northern hemisphere.
1985 18 weeks
This was billed as a Christmas single from East 17, meaning it was always meant to be a UK chart topper for them during the Christmas of 94 even though it remains their only chart topper in their homeland. As we Aussies were already well familiar with these guys from their previous album, they had very little issue with finding success here albeit well into the new year as it wasn’t a Christmas track here.
1994 18 weeks
This was the second single from Backstreet boy’s third album Millennium, and it’s a song that’s notable for two reasons. The first is the guitar solo which was a more common troupe in teen pop from around this time (likely to spark outrage from rock snobs) and the second is for its music video which was one of the most expensive to ever be created, the price tag certainly shows with its high budget CGI.
1999 18 weeks
Well so much for Ginger Spice wanting to get away from the spotlight, although I don’t think it’s uncommon knowledge that she just wanted to get away from the Spice girls given all the behind-the-scenes drama that was going on at the time (to say nothing about the revelations revealed year later.) It makes sense that her first hit single would be akin to a cabaret number as she was the vaudeville performer in the group.
1999 18 weeks
Following her departure from Bananarama, Siobahn Fahay formed a new group with Marcella Detroit who scored initial success with their debut single “You’re history” from the start of the decade. Their second album was where their popularity exploded as this lead single became a huge worldwide smash for the duo, although it led to them struggling with mental health issues which resulted in their breakup.
1992 18 weeks
This was the second hit that Rod Stewart managed to achieve this decade in Australia, although it should’ve been the first as it was meant to be the lead single from his second album this decade but wasn’t for some reason. This unique album cycle paid off for him as he got two big hits here with two of his more upbeat tracks in his catalogue, and many will tell you (me included) that this is his best song.
1982 18 weeks
This was the only notable hit that Blind Melon had in their career, mainly because of the video which depicted a cute little girl in a bee costume that fans and haters alike have dubbed as “bee girl.” People who dislike this song (me included) complain that Shannon Hoon’s vocals are very irritating on this track, although that is a vocal minority as this remains well loved to this day for the band.
1993 18 weeks
This was a song that came out of nowhere this year, we have Tracy Bonham who scored a massive hit in Australia with this post grunge track that seemed to connect with us a mere two years after the death of Kurt Cobain. I feel that this is a companion piece to Meredith Brook’s “Bitch” as both women seem to be unapologetic with airing out their grievances on both tracks which is why people love these women.
1996 18 weeks
This was the only hit from Nick Cave and the Bad seeds throughout their career, even then I feel this was more a hit due to it being a duet with Kylie Minogue during the height of her indie phase. The two have surprisingly decent chemistry on this trach which is perhaps why it was able to find mainstream success passed the novelty of a pop princess duetting with a rock star who likely stood against her earlier catalogue.
1995 18 weeks
While the second single from the Swing was a hit (we’ll get to it in a bit) it wasn’t a huge success for the band like the third single was, indeed, this is likely the reason why the band were able to appeal to an international audience as it has a really catchy instrumental which makes it different from most songs that become popular over the years. They had one more single from the album before they went to work on their next album.
1984 18 weeks
This is the closest that Stevie Nick’s “Edge of seventeen” managed to become a hit here in Australia, Stevie of course gave her blessing to Destiny’s child and even appears in the music video to prove that the trio didn’t steal the track from her without her consent. Here we have them inventing a new term for sexy, which of course has since been legitimised as a word in the Oxford dictionary.
2001 18 weeks
This was the debut single for a band who would go on to dominate the 80’s with some of the greatest and bestselling albums of all time worldwide, although here we have a more subdue performance from the band which likely helped it stand out from all of the disco that was becoming popular around this time. They wouldn’t have another hit here until “Twisting by the pool” in 1983.
1978 18 weeks
Well, this is a ballad that still manages to hit hard all of these years later, Christmas of 1974 was a dire time for those living in Darwin as they were struck by Cyclone Tracy proving that climate change has been a thing for many years at this point. In order to raise funds for the survivors, NZ duo Bill and Boyd recorded this track which had all the proceeds going towards those that were affected by the disaster.
1975 18 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2009 18 weeks
This was the second hit that Merril Bainbridge managed to score in Australia this year, although it wasn’t an eventual sleeper hit in America like her earlier entry despite having a new music video shot exclusively for an international market. Despite being a sweet ballad on the surface, the song is actually about how Merril’s previous partner had drowned and how it made her an emotional wreck.
1995 18 weeks
This was the first of two highly successful covers of track from Diana Ross and the Supremes this decade, the other coming from Kim Wilde with her rendition of “You keep me hanging on” later in the decade. Much like her cover, Phil’s rendition of this track proved to be more successful than the original outside of America, suggesting that the Brits were trying to atone for sleeping on her music back in the day.
1983 18 weeks
This was the first of two hit singles that this Danish duo managed to achieve worldwide, it’s a song that fits into the teen pop demographic right down to the two performers being teenagers on the track. Naturally this was a huge hit throughout Europe as well as in the southern hemisphere given how kid friendly tracks such as this was all the rage as the decade was coming to an end.
1998 18 weeks
Well, you don’t make an album as successful as the Party album and instantly go away from the mainstream, so here’s the lead single to the Vengaboy’s second album which was a massive hit worldwide likely due to the video which has it presented as if they’re in a German beer house. It would be their final hit here in Australia as the novelty of their music quickly grew stale down under.
2000 18 weeks
This was the only hit that Tupac Shakur was able to achieve in Australia during his lifetime, hey at least he managed to score one hit here prior to his murder this year unlike his rival Biggie Smalls who only saw success down under after he was assassinated. Here we have a guest verse from the king of the west coast Dr Dre, a verse that curiously references the sunshine state which is odd because that’s how the east coast is described.
1996 18 weeks
This was the first of two big hits that Livie managed to score from her film Xanadu, a film that’s gone down in infamy as one of the worst to be ever made due to its bizarre plot and wooden acting from its star Michael Beck. This song plays in a scene where the two formerly meet for the first time, namely that Livie is skating around in an abandoned roller rink to the song itself.
1980 18 weeks
Madonna was always known for experimenting with her sound, so here she is trying her hand at RNB which proved to be a huge success for her as this and the album it was pulled from became a hit worldwide. The album was produced by Babyface who was the driving force for Boyz II Men, meaning that the album in retrospect has been criticised for Madonna chasing a trend rather than setting one.
1994 18 weeks
Well, this is a song that showcases a more immature side of Outkast, or at least it does for Andre 3000 as while Big boi is on this track, it’s still primarily his song given that it appears on his side of their album. As silly as the lyrics are on the radio edit, the album version is something else as it has an outro of him finding different ways to call his ex a bitch, it’s absolutely hilarious and likely why this was a hit.
2004 18 weeks
This is where it all began for Wham, a British duo who would go on to have massive success this decade thanks to the charisma of its two members George Michael and Andrew Ridgely. If you’re wondering why their debut album didn’t crossover in America, it’s likely due to it featuring a ton of rapping from George as he wanted to make music that he felt would cater to an American market.
1983 18 weeks
