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.
I wouldn’t have thought that a hip hop track from two underage rappers would be among the bigger hits of the year in Australia, boy did these two prove me wrong as their infectious flow combined with as they put it the “smooth groove melody” helped them find an audience in a country that seemed to be very picky with which hip hop tracks made it big. Indeed, the rest of their catalogue didn’t find much success down under.
1992 17 weeks
This was the only notable success from Quindon Tarver, a teenage RNB singer who score a huge hit here in Australia with his version of the Prince classic and nowhere else in the world. This came from the second volume of the soundtrack which was a huge hit here which would explain this cover’s success.
1997 17 weeks
Boy was this a pain to do research on, apparently this is from an Italian trio whose initials make up the name of the project. It was a massive flop throughout Europe; however, it became a surprise hit here in Australia thanks to a popular remix from Nick Skitz as did many obscure dance tracks from this decade. Naturally I’m judging the songs by their original mixes, however I can’t in this case because I don’t know where to find the original.
1995 17 weeks
OK look, I appreciate a guy with a huge dick as much as the next person, however I don’t think that body shaming a guy with a tiny dong is the type of message that anyone should be sending out at any point in time. I get that this is meant to be a joke, however I don’t blame anyone who finds this Gillette woman to be beyond irritating on this track as she not only doesn’t give a good performance but also has a very toxic attitude about her.
1994 17 weeks
It looked like the album cycle for Dangerous had concluded when both “Heal the world” and “Who is it” failed to catch on here in Australia, however MJ had other plans as he wanted people to know that Slash provided the guitar solo for the one rock track on the album which seemed to be enough of an incentive for it to be a huge success from the album despite said album being over a year old at this point.
1993 17 weeks
For some reason (most likely a joke) this track about Denis Leary being a nuisance in the Hollywood scene managed to be voted as the best song of 1993 on the first annual Triple J list. This allowed the song to become a genuine hit for the Hollywood actor and even sparked interest in his music career due to how big it was down under, although thankfully this was the only hit he had anywhere in the world.
1994 17 weeks
The 90’s were here, which means it was time to get our love for the 70’s into gear which Kylie was here to do with the second single to her third album Rhythm of love. Indeed, this was a huge hit for her due to everyone’s love for the 70’s, specifically the O’jays despite them not having any success here back in the day. The decade would have many highs and lows for her as she would experiment with her sound.
1990 17 weeks
The legends are true people, Madonna did in fact cover Don McLean’s signature track for her film The next best thing where she sleeps with the (totally straight) Rupert Everett where they have a child out of wedlock. As much as the cover has been despised over the years (I certainly don’t like it) I think we can all agree that it’s at least better than the movie who’s only redeeming factor was its positive depiction of LGBT characters.
2000 17 weeks
We almost went through the entire decade without there being a “Girls just want to have fun” equivalent, so here’s Shania Twain filling in that void with this track which became her fourth hit from Come on over during the height of its popularity worldwide. It comes complete with a video that is the reverse of Robert Palmer’s “Addicted to love” as we have her as the lead vocalist with guys as her backing band.
1999 17 weeks
This was the lead single to Guy Sebastian’s second album, an album he released less than a year after his debut which goes to show you how quickly he was trying to become the next big thing in the Australian music scene.
2004 17 weeks
Skyhooks were on a roll as they released the advanced single to their third album, a song that acknowledges that they needed to up their production if they wanted to remain relevant now that they’ve become one of the biggest names in Australian music. Although it wasn’t as successful as their earlier hits, this was a huge hit regardless and reassured the band that they had a loyal fanbase.
1975 17 weeks
This will be Busta Rhymes one of only two appearances on the Australian side of my site as the rapper never had much success here for some reason, even so this isn’t much of a hip hop track as the rapper instead sings on this song along with Mariah Carey who was still very much cancelled around this time due to her erratic behaviour around the time she starred in her first film Glitter
2003 17 weeks
This was the only notable success that Leonardo’s bride was able to score here in Australia, heck it suffered a similar fate to what Merril Bainbridge went through earlier in the decade as this was originally released the previous year to deafening silence only for it to be given a second wind this year. Sadly, this didn’t lead to the band having international success like Merril did around this time.
1997 17 weeks
This was the second single to come from Holly Valance, this time it’s an original track where she’s telling the person she’s with to pump the breaks on their relationship, although it’s easy to interpret this as her being a sex worker as well given that’s how I imagine them dealing with rowdy customers. Of all the cast members from Neighbours to have a music career, I can say that Holly was by the most sexually provocative.
2002 17 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2009 17 weeks
You’d be forgiven into thinking this was a late 90’s cover of the Carl Douglas classic from 1974, heck Carl himself is back to rerecord the chorus of that track for the British hip hop group Bus stop. Alas the chorus is just here to connect their verses which technically makes this an original track that simply relies of nostalgia baiting its audience to make it a success.
1998 17 weeks
Given how the Rolling Stones were back on top of the charts here in Australia, I guess it makes sense that the bassist Bill Wyman would score a massive hit here with this track about how he’s a rock star which he curiously sings in French about during each chorus. I guess the novelty of him wanting to be as recognisable as Mick Jagger and Keith Richards allowed this to be a success here and in NZ.
1981 17 weeks
This was the other big hit that Livie managed to achieve worldwide from the Xanadu soundtrack, although this time she has the assistance of Electric light orchestra who were also present on the soundtrack as this play’s during the final dance sequence of the film. As a bit of a trivia, her earlier entry was her big chart topper in Billboard this year whereas this was her big chart topper in the UK.
1980 17 weeks
Given the success of their E.P from earlier on this list, we have the debut single from Ratcat which promised them a ton of success this decade that ended up being restricted to their debut album which admittedly was a huge hit for them this year. There was a ton of hype for these guys when the album dropped, so there was little chance that it was going to fail which is more than I can say for their later material.
1991 17 weeks
This served as not only the lead single to J-Lo’s second album, but also as the theme for her film the Wedding planner which co-stars Matthew McConaughey as her love interest. It was panned by critics mainly for the writing as not even the likes of Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman could make the story of the film work, indeed it’s best that this song remains the lead single to an album and nothing more.
2001 17 weeks
Years before it was featured in the first Shrek film as a montage of Shrek and Donkey’s journey to save Princess Fiona, this was a huge hit for the Proclaimers in the southern hemisphere following the massive success they had with their earlier entry on this list. This helped the album be a massive success as it proved they were more than just a novelty act and were able to sustain an audience with their pop rock.
1989 17 weeks
This was the song from Soundgarden’s breakthrough album Superunknown to make them a huge household name in Australia and most parts of the world, likely due to its nightmare inducing video which depicts a suburban neighbourhood from the 50’s filtered with the sense of irony that permeated this decade. It was a massive success for the band down under, although it would be their only hit.
1994 17 weeks
This was one of two hits that Raydio were able to achieve in Australia, the other being “You can’t change that” from the following year which seems to explain the popularity of their front man Ray Parker Jr throughout the following decade. Here he tells the story of Jack and Jill in a modern setting which tugged at the heartstrings of audiences thus enabling it to be a huge worldwide success.
1978 17 weeks
This was the lead single to Celine Dion’s album Let’s talk about love, I’m guessing it was chosen as such due to the resurgence in popularity that Barbra Streisand had this year following the success of her earlier entry on this list. Of course, this songs legacy has long since been overshadowed by the albums second single which also serves as the theme to the blockbuster film Titanic.
1997 17 weeks
Passengers was a side project from the members of U2, so this basically is a U2 track that managed to be a massive success worldwide under a pseudonym for them which goes to show you how popular the Irish band was throughout the 90’s. They would come back later in the decade under their original name with their venture towards pop rock in 1997.
1995 17 weeks
This was one of two hits that Sean Paul had in Australia as a lead artist, this is impressive considering how he only ever had a hit as a featured artist over in NZ which is bizarre considering the kiwis would’ve loved this guy throughout the 90’s if he had released his catalogue back then. Another surprise is that he was massive over in the UK given how the Brits also didn’t have much love for reggae over the years.
2003 17 weeks
This was the second single to come from Be yourself tonight here in Australia, and one that was a success likely due to how well it did in their native UK where it remains their biggest hit in their catalogue. I have to say that I’m not a huge fan of this track from them, I prefer their less opulent songs overall and the video admittedly was always strange for me to watch.
1985 17 weeks
This was the only hit that Michael Sembello was able to score throughout his career, to think this was originally written as a horror song before he had to rework it as a theme to Flashdance. I guess he didn’t do much to the song as the lyrics do seem to describe a serial killer more than a dancer working at a seedy night club, although I’m guessing that’s why it’s endured over the years like the film itself.
1983 17 weeks
This was the first big hit that the Angels were able to score in their career, mainly due to how Doc Neeson describes the woman in question as someone who usually keeps her guard up except for the person he’s talking to. It’s a compelling performance he gives and a large reason as to why it remains one of their biggest hits in their catalogue, although there would be a huge quiet period for them after this.
1980 17 weeks
It appears that Donna Summer hadn’t completely transitioned into being a feminist with this track as while it’s more in line with new wave than disco, it’s still a sexually charged track largely thanks to her performance. Her feminist tracks would come later in the decade and would culminate with her next hit “She works hard for the money” which seems to be her finally disowning her previous album Bad girls.
1980 17 weeks
I guess we Aussies were willing to give these guys a chance once they won the Grammy for best new artist this year, as such we have probably their best song as it was written by Diane Warren who is best known for writing power ballads for many artists over the years. No sooner did this become a hit for the German duo that the scandal was revealed that they didn’t in fact sing a note on any of their songs.
1990 17 weeks
This was the only other solo success that Jon Bon Jovi was able to achieve in his career, once again we have the second Young guns film to thank for this as this was also taken from the soundtrack which may as well serve as his solo debut album. He would release his first official solo album later in the decade when he received backlash for his band’s album These days due to it abandoning their glam rock roots.
1990 17 weeks
JPY was on a roll when he released the lead single to his third album Green, although he seems to have given up on his criticisms of the music industry as this is a much more straightforward track about how he wants to be with the person he’s singing this to. It did hamper his success somewhat going forward, however he continued to find success throughout the rest of the decade.
1977 17 weeks
This was a remix of New order’s breakthrough single from five years prior, in fact it was no coincidence this came out when it did as it was released on the fifth anniversary of the original version of this track. Curiously, this version was more successful in Australia than the original, mainly because we knew who the band was by this stage.
1988 17 weeks
This is where the Willennium pun came from as Will Smith decided to cash in on the Y2K scare by releasing this track that became a success due to its meme status (or whatever we called a viral hit back then.) Naturally this was seen in poor taste for the rapper considering all of the stress people were going through due to Y2K back in the day.
1999 17 weeks
This is one of those songs that is way too catchy for its own good, the chanting throughout the track will get stuck in your head after more than one listen to this cover of Redbone’s track from the early 70’s. The Chantoozies consisted of four models turned singers supported by a backing band of four guys, one of them being the young brother of James Reyne during the height of his popularity.
1987 17 weeks
Well, this is just depressing, not the song itself as it remains a disco classic to this day but rather that it was the only hit that both bands involved had here in Australia. There was little chance this was going to fail as it’s a celebration of disco right when the genre seemed to be at the peak of its popularity, although it’s likely due to this oversaturation that the disco backlash took place in America.
1979 17 weeks
You know Metallica was the hottest new band of the day when this live recording of their signature tune becomes a huge success this year, I’m guessing we Aussies hopped on board with this track when we realised we ignored their back catalogue from the 80’s and wanted to have this be a success in some shape or form.
1994 17 weeks
You may have noticed that Madonna had released a bunch of ballads throughout her career, she certainly noticed as she collected all of her biggest hits in this vein onto her themed greatest hits album Something to remember which she released around this time. This was the first of three songs released from the album, proving that audiences wanted to hear more of her sombre tracks going forward.
1995 17 weeks
Well, I guess it was only a matter of time before someone decided to make an EDM remix of the Charleston this decade, enter this novelty act who would go on to score a massive hit the following year with a remix of that famous Jack Nicholson quote from the Shining. At least this was a massive success in the UK which more than explains how both of these songs found an audience here in Australia.
1994 17 weeks
Given how his British counterpart Craig David was scoring massive worldwide success with his debut album this year, it only seems fitting that Usher would follow suit in his success when he released his own album this year which kicked off the cycle with this ballad about how the person he’s singing to reminds him of an ex he used to go out with. I think we’ve all been in the situation he describes in the song which explains its success.
2001 17 weeks
This was a song that Shaun Cassidy released exclusively in Australia, likely because he felt he could get away with covering Ruby and the Romantics given that they never had any success here in Australia. In America, the second single he had was his Billboard chart topper “Da doo ron ron,” proving how he was able to score success throughout his career.
1977 17 weeks
While it’s not exactly a cover of the Bob Marley classic, the fact that Warren G sampled the chorus of the original (more specifically the Eric Clapton version) does leave people to believe this is a cover when in fact it’s like his earlier hit on this list where it’s just nostalgia baiting to connect his rhymes together. It appears we Aussies became fed up with this trend of nostalgia baiting as there weren’t many hits like this after this year.
1997 17 weeks
This was the debut single for Depeche mode, and while it was a huge success here in Australia (even more so than their native UK) it would also be their only hit despite them having massive success worldwide throughout the rest of the decade. Indeed, I’m personally more familiar with “Enjoy the silence” from 1990, likely because that was their big hit in America a decade into their career.
1982 17 weeks
This was the only hit that Austrian band Bingoboys were able to achieve worldwide, likely due to the presence of American rapper Princessa giving out (admittedly awful) dance instructions to help people bust a groove on the dance floors of the 90’s. The song is notable for its sample of an old dance routine from the 40’s, perhaps as a way of juxtaposing the old dance routines with the (then) modern routines.
1991 17 weeks
This was the only song to be found in Dick Tracy that was a hit in the real world, likely due to the songs in the film being sung by Madonna’s character who was a vaudeville singer during a time where women’s rights were non-existent. As such we have this track that can very easily be seen as sexist even when it first came out, however the context of the film allowed it to be a huge worldwide success for her.
1990 17 weeks
This will be the only appearance from Avril Lavigne on this list, suffice to say that “Don’t tell me” was another victim of Sony tampering with the release schedule of a song in order to allow all of the entries from Australian idol contestants to run rampant on our charts this year. Fortunately, this second single from her sophomore album wasn’t affected by this which allowed her to have a hit with this ballad about her angsty breakup with someone.
2004 17 weeks
Well, here we are with the only song that Donna Summer managed to score on her own with a female empowerment anthem, although admittedly I would’ve been dumbstruck if this had of failed here like it did in some countries considering how much sympathy she allows for the protagonist of this song. She wants to reassure listeners that women give their dues to society, and she does it in a very humanising way.
1983 17 weeks
So, there’s this resort in South Africa known as Sun city which was once notorious for having relocated people of colour as hotel staff against their will, more notoriously is that they offered financial incentives to bands and artists to perform at the hotel despite there being an international band from westerners visiting the region. This was a protest song made in defiance of those who broke the law to perform as the venue.
1986 17 weeks
While it wasn’t the lead single to her indie album Impossible princess (that would be “Some kind of bliss”) this was the big hit from the album which no doubt led to it being a huge success here. Despite winning over the alternative scene with this album, Kylie felt like she needed to return to form which resulted in her doing just that with her next album Light years.
1997 17 weeks
If you’re a fan of Hi 5, then you’ll likely recognise Kelly Haggart on here as this was the band she was with before she joined the children’s band later in the decade. I guess you can consider this the female equivalent of the Wiggles in that regard even though the other two members has since faded into obscurity, indeed their biggest hit while a cover, is about how they want you to as they put it “be their baby.”
1992 17 weeks
This was the final hit that U2 had here in Australia, at least one I wouldn’t consider a “fan hit” as “The saints are coming” with Green day quickly dropped off our charts here that I consider that to be as such. In any case, this was the lead single to their Grammy winning album How to dismantle an atomic bomb which proved how well loved they were both critically and commercially in the mid 00’s.
2004 17 weeks
This was the penultimate hit that Akon had as a lead artist here in Australia, although he would still have a ton of hits moving forward as a featured artist for the likes of David Guetta and even the king of pop himself before his tragic death in 2009. This was a bit of a contrast to his other big hit this year given how this is him being remorseful about a relationship ending rather than wanting to force his love on someone.
2007 17 weeks
This was the last hit that 2 Unlimited had in Australia, although as I said earlier, they would continue to have massive success throughout Europe as the decade went on. These two hits ensured that their second album would be a modest success here which no doubt led to the success of a bunch of other EDM albums throughout the 90’s here as our love of the genre grew.
1993 17 weeks
This was Leann Rimes only hit as a country artist in Australia, oh she would go on to have massive success in the new millennium as a pop star, however she began her career as a country singer with tracks such as this ballad. Considering she was only fourteen years old when she released this song, it’s impressive that her vocals are this strong considering what most fourteen-year-olds sound like.
1996 17 weeks
This was the only hit that Fat Joe had over here in Australia, I think it’s mostly due to the “What’s love got to do with it” interpolation on the chorus as well as it being another “thugs need love too anthem” which was becoming increasingly popular throughout the world back in the day. It even has Ashanti on the chorus which I guess was meant to reassure audiences that she wasn’t exclusively for Ja Rule when it comes to hip hop collaborations.
2002 17 weeks
This was the only hit from NZ singer Kim Hart, likely due to it being a disco record which means she was perhaps a little bit late to the party given how disco was supposedly beginning to lose its popularity this year. Admittedly it could also have been that she was only barely in her twenties when she broke through, after all there weren’t that many younger female pop stars during the days of Shaun Cassidy and Leif Garrett.
1980 17 weeks
This was the other hit that Feargal Sharkey had this year, as I said earlier this was written by the ex-partner of the person who wrote his biggest hit which makes his two hits a back and forward between the two during their breakup. Something I forgot to mention earlier is that “A good heart” had Boy George on backing vocals, which likely further boosted the popularity of Feargal’s career this year.
1986 17 weeks
This was the only hit that Debarge were able to score outside of their native America, likely because this was the theme to The last dragon which was a Motown produced film that was panned by critics. The family band scored other hits in their native America over the years, as did lead singer El Debarge who wrote the theme to Short circuit which was a huge box office success the following year.
1985 17 weeks
This was the second single from Kylie Minogue’s self-titled album, it’s a song that has a video which pays homage to the Jane Fonda classic Barbarella which I’m sure helped it win over audiences back in the day. It’s also catchy as hell, which is unusual for a downtempo ballad, I guess Kylie managed to find a way to make this formula work as she would release a whole album of this material later in the decade.
1994 17 weeks
Given how she received critical acclaim for her role as the titular Evita (a rare feat for Madonna in Hollywood) it only makes sense that her showstopping rendition of the signature track from the original concept album would be a huge success for her this year. This was pushed back as the second single due to the film wanting to push her Oscar winning ballad “You must love me” as the lead single from the album.
1997 17 weeks
This was the last hit that Pseudo echo had here in Australia before they sold out with their earlier entry on this list, indeed we have another song that some may say is overproduced but to good effect as it’s about how the band love thrills and excitements in their lives which is captured in the production on this track. They would release one more single from their second album which sadly wasn’t a hit for them.
1986 17 weeks
This was released around the premiere of the reality show the Osbourne’s, a show that’s basically the equivalent of Keeping up with the Kardashians but for the family of Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne that came out five years prior to that other show ever seeing the light of day. Here daughter Kelly decides to cash in off her newfound fame by releasing her debut album which contained this cover of Madonna’s 1986 classic.
2002 17 weeks
We have another comedy routine to become a hit this year, this was the final one to do so on the singles charts as comedians restricted themselves to only releasing albums from here on out in Australia. This was a comedy sketch about how George Smilovici felt he was tough, the joke being that he was a redneck how was about as threatening as say, an underweight rock rapper from the 90’s on TRL.
1984 17 weeks
This was the first solo hit that Annie Lennox had, OK technically it isn’t as this was a duet between her and Al Green which was made for the Bill Murray flick Scrooged which was a modern take of the Ebeneezer Scrooge fable. From what I can gather, the film was a critical and commercial success thanks to Bill’s performance as the titular character, thus enabling this to be a huge success for the pair.
1988 17 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2006 17 weeks
Even from the very beginning, Rihanna was able to achieve massive success throughout the world with her singles, it’s just that she wouldn’t be the household name we all know her as until later in the decade as this second single from her debut album often gets forgotten about when looking over her catalogue.
2006 17 weeks
There were two versions of this song floating around the charts this year, there’s the English cover from British band After the fire which was a bit hit in America and the original from Austrian rapper Falco who scored the bigger international hit. I guess we Aussies had brushed up on our German throughout the decade as there were a few German language songs to make it big throughout the 80’s here.
1983 17 weeks
This was a two for one deal from Frente, although it wasn’t originally as “Lonely” was released on its own as the band’s American debut single and flopped due to it being a departure from their sweet and innocent image from their debut album. They attached their cover of a New order track which also came on an E.P named after their other song which helped them score one final hit this year down under.
1994 17 weeks
I guess this guy having two Billboard chart toppers this year makes sense given how much of his back catalogue was finding success through covers around this time, this was the bigger of the two hits here in Australia proving that older crooners were among the more popular artists from around this time.
1975 17 weeks
This was the second single to come from the Cranberries sophomore album, although it wasn’t politically charged and was more in line with their previous material which I’m sure was a disappointment for those who fell in love with their earlier entry on this list. The band would continue to find success with their third album the following year, although their popularity would end after that.
1996 17 weeks
I think this may be the shortest song I ever feature on this site, even if I were to go back to the 60’s, this would still hold that record due to it not even being a minute and a half long. I suppose calling this a song is stretching it as it’s more a quick comedy routine set to rock music that amused fans of MTV back in the day from comedian Liam Lynch.
2003 17 weeks
This is the fourth and final single from INXS’s magnum opus Kick, it’s a slower ballad that many believe to be their signature tune which is perhaps how it became a hit despite coming from an already highly successful album. It was their final hit of the 80’s as their next hit would be “Suicide blonde” from their next album X.
1988 17 weeks
Well at least David Bowie was able to have some success in Australia during the second half of the decade, although you’d think a man who’s such a force of creativity in the music scene would’ve thrived during the Countdown era. Indeed, the last time he troubled the charts here was with “Sorrow” back in 1974, and yet he was able to score a string of hits throughout the rest of the world with his work.
1977 17 weeks
I guess Genesis also wanted to get in on the irony of the decade before we realised irony would be the word to describe the 90’s, here they have a song about how they can’t dance, despite them not being a dance act and thus no one really caring if they can or not. It was their final hit in the world as well as Phil Collin’s final hit here in Australia as his subsequent follow ups flopped here in the decade.
1992 17 weeks
Norman Gunston was an Australian character who originate from Aunty Jack, the Australian 70’s equivalent of Mrs. browns boys which was widely successful during its two-season run from 1972-1973. Once the show ended, the actor playing him released a comedy album which contained this skit about the popularity of Abba that became a hit for him, it wasn’t even his last single as he did the same thing for Kiss in 1980.
1976 17 weeks
This was the lead single to Split Enz’s album Time and tide, although it wasn’t as memorable as their earlier entry on this list which is why it wasn’t as big a hit here. It did do considerably better in NZ, proving that the band were catering more to their local scene rather than us Aussies with this entry, although it was a huge hit regardless and did lead to the album being a massive success.
1982 17 weeks
You knew there had to be a newer version of Pseudo echo at some point, so here we are with Indecent obsession who were a younger version of the band who managed to score their one and only hit this year with their debut single. Even though the marketing depicts them as the Australian equivalent of NKOTB, they were a proper band who played their own instruments who just happen to be conventionally good looking.
1989 17 weeks
This was another big hit from Mark Holden that he achieved during his time in the spotlight, he was essentially Shaun Cassidy and Leif Garrett if they had an Australian accent, and he had no shame of the music he made for his audience.
1976 17 weeks
Given how Avril Lavigne was about to take over the world with her debut album this year, it only seems fitting that her predecessor Alanis Morissette would get in one more hit in her career before handing over the torch to her younger counterpart. I feel this is a good indication of why Avril needed to take over the mantle of being a voice of a generation from Canada as I keep forgetting this even exists.
2002 17 weeks
One of the few movies that Madonna starred in to be critically acclaimed was A league of their own, mainly because she’s more of a supporting character as the film focuses on Geena Davis and Laurie Petty as sisters who become rivals in the women’s baseball league of the forties in what’s based on a true story. She also wrote and performed the film’s theme song which many feel is the worst part of the film due to how bland and lifeless they feel it is.
1992 17 weeks
This was the only other hit that these girls were able to achieve in their career, at least it was an original track meaning they weren’t among the dozens of artists I’ve featured on this site so far to only find success with a cover or two over the years. Like I said earlier, one of the members would return at the end of the decade as a member of Hi 5, meaning that this was a mere steppingstone for her future success.
1992 17 weeks
This was the backing band for Gary Glitter, a man who has gone down in infamy for his disgusting habits that I won’t be sharing on this site. He at least had a talented band to back him up during his heyday, and it appears the public agreed as they gave them a hit without their troubled front man once his popularity began to die down this year.
1975 17 weeks
This was the lead single to Janet’s breakthrough album Control, an album that didn’t see much success here in Australia save for this track likely due to it being a display of female empowerment during a time where that was becoming popular in the mainstream. She wouldn’t have another hit down under until the lead single of her next album, even then her popularity wouldn’t explode here until the 90’s.
1986 17 weeks
This lead single to Robbie William’s swing album was delayed here in Australia due to the sudden rise in popularity of his earlier entry on this list, it certainly had little to do with the presence of Nicole Kidman who was fresh off her Oscar nominated performance as Satine from Moulin Rouge where she even scored a minor hit the previous year with co-star Ewan Macgregor with the film’s one original track “Come what may.”
2002 17 weeks
This song was released here in Australia when Laura Branigan performed it and her earlier entry on Countdown this year, so it was a shoe in for being a huge hit for her down under. Australia was where she was the most successful because of her appeal this year, that appeal comes from her killer vocals as well as her songs mostly being covers of foreign language tracks made popular throughout Europe.
1983 17 weeks
This was one of only three hits that Dolly Parton had in Australia, although she did appear on Countdown back in the day so it’s not like we weren’t aware of her country classics here. This was her big breakthrough in her native America which is perhaps why she was able to find success with this ballad here, her other two hits came when she began her acting career and with her BFF Kenny Rogers.
1978 17 weeks
Less than a year after the final album to come from his father, Julian Lennon released his debut album Valotte which was a huge worldwide success for him likely due to him being the son of one of the most famous musicians of the twentieth century. This was the big hit from the album which sounds similar to what his father would’ve released if he had lived to see the 80’s, I guess this was better than nothing.
1984 17 weeks
This was the one and only hit that Norah Jones had in her career, although she was more of an album’s artist anyway and her brand of jazz pop really didn’t fit well with the likes of every other entry on this list so it being a hit was more of a surprise than anything. What wasn’t a surprise was that she would see so much critical and commercial success given how she’s the daughter of a well-established musician Ravi Shankar.
2003 17 weeks
Well, here we are with the one and only hit that Barry Manilow managed to score with a song he wrote, at least it’s his signature tune as this lounge track has managed to endure over the years thanks to its inherent camp value. This was also one of many songs to make it big over the years to be dedicated to Rio, Copacabana being a district in the capital city of Brazil.
1978 17 weeks
This was the final hit that Sherbet was able to score during their time together, I guess their overexposure had finally caught up with them much like Abba and Bay city rollers around this time. Unlike Abba and much like Bay city rollers, they would never recover after this, although lead singer Daryl Braithwaite would which makes him in the middle of those two bands.
1978 17 weeks
This was the first hit that Ol’55 had in Australia, a throwback band to the 50’s who scored massive success with decade with songs meant to remind people of the “swell” days of that decade. It appears there were plenty of people from the 70’s who were indeed longing for simpler times in music as there were a ton of other bands and artists who also scored success with this formula back in the day.
1976 17 weeks
This was the last song to become a hit for Craig David outside his native UK, although I get the feeling this was the case due to it sampling Sting’s “Shape of my heart” from his 1993 album Ten summoner’s tales and even managed to get Sting to rerecord the chorus on this track which connects the verses together. It was also the first time Sting managed to score a hit anywhere in the world in over a decade.
2003 17 weeks
Next were one of the more popular RNB groups of the 90’s, even so I don’t think they were expecting to score a hit in Australia with their Billboard chart topper due to how RNB had only recently become more popular here over the last few years. Indeed, the note for note cover that Blue made a few years later would be a bigger hit down under, although at least the original was a success this year.
1998 17 weeks
This was the only solo hit that Steve Winwood was able to achieve in his career in Australia, yes, he had other hits with his bands Spencer Davis group and Traffic as well as having a huge album earlier in the decade with Arc of a diver, however this was the only hit he had to himself here. It’s surprising to me it wasn’t a bigger hit considering A: how passionate he sounds on the track and B: it being a huge Billboard chart topper for him.
1986 17 weeks
This was the debut single for the Counting crows, a band who would become more well known in the 00’s for not one but two movie themes but originally began their career as an alternative rock band a decade prior to those hits. This was the first song to become popular in their native America despite not having a physical release over there, meaning that its popularity on Billboard can only be traced on their airplay charts.
1994 17 weeks
This was the third and final hit that Counting crows had here in Australia, it was the theme song to Shrek 2 which was played during the opening scene of the movie where we find out that Shrek and Fiona are a happy couple before the plot kicks in. Much like the first film, I’m a massive fan of the sequel due to its quirky humour that lampoons the Disney formula without it ever coming off as too mean spirited.
2004 17 weeks
This was the other big hit that the Hooters managed to score here in Australia, it was actually the lead single to their debut album which became a hit exclusively here in Australia likely due to the religious lyrics connecting with us in a way that they failed to do so internationally. Even though they saw massive success with both of these songs and their album here, they would fade into obscurity after this year.
1985 17 weeks
This feels like a passing the torch moment as it was not only the second big hit that Enrique Iglesias was able to achieve here in Australia, but also it was the final hit that Whitney Houston had in her lifetime as the 00’s wouldn’t be so kind to her given the personal drama in her life. It was a fitting end to her popularity given how much chemistry she has with the Latin crooner on this ballad.
2002 17 weeks
This was the third and final hit that Corona was able to achieve this year worldwide, this time it’s a song about how the narrator wants you to give them a try in a relationship which I’m sure many people were open to the idea of given how infectious the single remains to this day. They would disappear from the music industry after this to allow La Bouche to take over the mainstream with their album.
1995 17 weeks
