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 is from the physical charts)
2007 14 weeks
This was arguably the final song to be released in the 90’s that became a huge hit worldwide, mainly because this serves as both a Christmas song as well as an unofficial anthem for the turn of the millennium despite that not happening until the end of this year. It’s also considered to be one of the worst songs of all time and a good reason as to why Cliff Richard hasn’t had any more hits since.
1999 14 weeks
This is the victory single for the second winner of Australian idol, there’s not much I can say about these songs other than them making many of these winners one hit wonders here in Australia.
2004 14 weeks
There haven’t been that many Olympic themes to make it big over the years, in fact this is technically the biggest hit to spawn from the games as the only other big hits I can think of to be affiliated with the games are “Absolutely everybody” and “Moscow.” Even then those songs weren’t officially affiliated with the games and only were due to the Australian press. In any case, we have this duet between opera singers Jose Carreras and Sarah Brightman singing a song that translates to “friends for life.”
1992 14 weeks
And who says that teen pop was dead by the midpoint of the decade? Granted it certainly didn’t have a stranglehold of the music scene like it did at the start of the decade, but that didn’t mean that songs such as this debut single from Jesse McCartney didn’t have a chance at being a massive worldwide hit. Interestingly this flopped in his native America even though he would have massive success over there later in the decade.
2005 14 weeks
This was the only hit that 112 managed to achieve here in Australia, it’s curious that this was their big hit down under given how this flopped in their native America for whatever reason. Also is it just me, or does this song sound like it was sampled from an alternative rock track? It heavily reminds me of the Doom II soundtrack which was well known for having compositions based on classic metal songs.
2002 14 weeks
Well, if you wanted to hear Shannon Noll’s take on a song specifically written for the Australian cricket team in the late 70’s, you’re probably one of the many people who made this a hit during the early months of the year back in the day. Again, this is a song that’s much lower on this list due to how quickly it dropped off the charts despite it being a massive hit.
2004 14 weeks
Christina Aguilera was another victim of having her songs pulled from the shelves in order to promote her album, again it worked as Stripped was a massive success for her and to be fair, the singles still did fairly well such as this lead single from the album. Here she decided to go straight for the shock factor by releasing something that Disney would’ve never allowed on her debut album now that she was no longer with them.
2002 14 weeks
Uncle Kracker got his start as the turntablist for Kid Rock who was (at the time) a rap rock artist making songs such as “Bawitdaba” and “Daddy cool” from the Osmosis Jones soundtrack, so to see him with the first of only two hits he had as an adult contemporary artist is a bit of a surprise to say the least. I remember this receiving tons of airplay back in the day, so perhaps it was pulled from shelves to promote his album which sadly didn’t work.
2001 14 weeks
This was the only hit that country star James Blundell managed to achieve in his career, even then this was largely due to the involvement of James Reyne who was still one of the hottest Australian singers around this time. Admittedly this allowed Blundell’s third album to be a huge success following the success of this cover of the Dingoes track, however neither of them found any success after this.
1992 14 weeks
With all of the popular teen dramas coming out of the 90’s, you’d think that the one that spawned a Billboard chart topper would be the most popular. You’d be wrong as the Heights was a musical drama that was heavily panned by critics for being a poor man’s Fame as it centred around a group of kids looking to make it big with a band they were in, basically it was the 90’s equivalent of glee except for teen rock rather than teen gossip.
1993 14 weeks
Following the demise of his band, Stuart Goddard AKA Adam Ant launched his solo career which was off to a good start with this track about how he felt like he had been a goody two shoes up until this point in his career. Although this promised him massive success throughout the rest of the decade, it never came for him even in his native UK as he never had another hit after this.
1982 14 weeks
This was the debut single for a band who would go on to have massive success throughout the decade worldwide, although curiously it was only a hit here in Australia as this flopped in their native America for some reason. I guess the song is on the shorter side which led people to believe it was over before it even began, a sentiment that wasn’t felt here in Australia as it was a huge success here.
2001 14 weeks
Sash were a German EDM group who holds the record for the most songs to hit number two on the UK charts without ever having a number one hit over there, this was one of those near chart toppers they had which was also their only hit here in Australia proving that we Aussies were beginning to fall out of love with EDM around the turn of the millennium.
2000 14 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2009 14 weeks
While this song does rely on cheap nostalgia baiting with what it used as the melody, I will admit that Dimples D makes the sample work on this track given how she promoted this song with the parenthesis “A witch for love.” This is an obvious reference to how cunning the genie often was in I dream of genie, and indeed the lyrics of this song indicate a cunning side of the female rapper that helped it retain its popularity once it exploded this year here in Australia and over in NZ.
1991 14 weeks
Well, this was a massive surprise, the last time Tom Jones has bothered the charts anywhere in the world was with his soft rock track “Say you’ll stay with me till dawn” which was way back in 1977. Through a combination of a bizarre music video and endorsement from Triple J, he was able to score a massive comeback during the midpoint of the 90’s which led to him releasing a highly successful covers album in 1999.
1994 14 weeks
This was a massive success for Pearl Jam likely due to the popularity of its key song “I got ID” which was heavily flogged on the radio at the time. Indeed, this kept the bands momentum going as their next two albums would be a massive success for them during a time their peers would struggle for popularity.
1995 14 weeks
I would be interested to know how much of this second single’s success was eaten up by the album sales of Fever and how much of it was taken away due to digital piracy at the time, it was a number one hit for Kylie and all over the radio and yet it only barely made the cut for appearing on this list of mine. As for the music itself, it was Kylie returning to her roots of bubble-gum pop whilst injecting maturity into the genre with her lyrics.
2002 14 weeks
This was the lead single MJ’s masterpiece Thriller, I get why it was chosen as the lead single considering it was a collaboration with his then BFF Paul McCartney, however many will agree that any of the other songs on the album would’ve made for a better lead single and no doubt would’ve made it an instant success as opposed to it having to work its way to being the biggest album of all time.
1982 14 weeks
This was the last hit that Bardot were able to achieve in their short time together, mainly because the main star of the group Sophie Monk wanted to embark on a solo career following the departure of one of their other members during the production of their second album. While Sophie did achieve moderate success on her own with her solo album, it didn’t reach the success she had with her group.
2001 14 weeks
This was the lead single to Kylie’s third album which was the first in her catalogue that never saw a release in America due to the failure of her second album on Billboard. This is also one of the last hits that Stock Aiken and Waterman had before they broke apart from each other, although by this point, I think people had affiliated this sound strictly with Kylie due to how much she owns these tracks.
1990 14 weeks
The legends are true, Mel Brooks did in fact have a hip hop hit back in the day with a song about the joys of being Adolf Hitler. Obviously, this song is meant to be satire as if there’s a bigger hater of the third Reich than Mel Brooks then I’ve yet to come across that person, however it’s a bit shocking to see this man in his forties score a hip hop hit in Australia with this theme song to his remake of the film of the same name.
1984 14 weeks
These guys were on a roll here in Australia given how their third single was a cover of the Pet shop boys debut single, it was proof that they were the real winners of the first round of the boy band wars of the 90’s here in Australia. I’m guessing the success of this cover was what led to the success of the EDM duo having a hit here with a cover of their own, that being of a Village people track which we’ll get to.
1993 14 weeks
In Australia, this was the second single from Abba’s penultimate album Super trouper, I bring this up here because everywhere else it was the title track which was a massive UK chart topper for the Swedish foursome. This wasn’t quite as huge here likely due to it not being among their more memorable tracks, however it was a hit proving that we Aussies still loved the band until the bitter end.
1980 14 weeks
I’m not exactly sure if this song was pulled from shelves or if it just lost its popularity unusually quickly here in Australia, I guess it was the latter as it had a similar chart run over in NZ where it wasn’t burdened by any tampering from the labels, but I wouldn’t rule out the former either. This felt like a passing the torch moment given how Usher would explode in popularity this year whilst Diddy would fade.
2002 14 weeks
It seems odd that George Harrison would be the only member of the Beatles to record a tribute for John Lennon following his death from the previous year, although I guess both Paul and Ringo still had complicated feelings about him around this time given how they never made up with him during his lifetime following the bands demise. George would disappear from the music industry for a while before coming back in 1987.
1981 14 weeks
Even though it remains one of her more iconic songs in her catalogue, “Wouldn’t change a thing” was too much of a “fan single” to qualify for my site which isn’t the case for the third single from her second album which stuck around for quite a bit going into the 90’s. I should also mention the album cycle’s strange fascination with putting her in a cowgirl getup as the album doesn’t have a cowboy theme to it.
1989 14 weeks
This was the theme to the Bond film of the same name; it remains the most successful Bond theme of all time due to it being the band’s second Billboard chart topper as well as the only Bond theme to top the Billboard charts. It appears that this song had cursed everyone involved with the project as Roger Moore would step down as the titular character after this and Duran Duran would never again have a hit in Australia.
1985 14 weeks
This was the final hit that the Bay city rollers were able to score in Australia, I guess all good things must come to an end which is what happened to these guys when this only barely became a success for them.
1976 14 weeks
This was the final hit that Queen was able to score during Freddie Mercury’s lifetime, I get the feeling this was only a success for them due to this being released at the end of the decade and fans wanting to give the band one final hit for them to close out the decade as a relevant band. Indeed, their last hit was from five years prior when their album the Works spawned two of their bigger hits for them.
1989 14 weeks
This was the lead single from Cargo in America, as such it’s the reason why it was the big hit in America as opposed to their earlier entry which was a massive flop for the band on Billboard. The success of the song here in Australia was inevitable as the band were still on top of the world as far as we Aussies were concerned this year, although aside from “Down under” recharting this year, it would be their final hit.
1983 14 weeks
Well, he may have lost the magic he had with Bernie Taupin from earlier in his career (don’t worry he’ll get it back later in the decade) however that didn’t mean that Elton John wasn’t able to achieve success as indeed this was a huge hit for him worldwide as was the album it serves as the lead single to. He would go on to have many highs and lows throughout the 80’s, making it a very unpredictable decade for him.
1980 14 weeks
This was the second solo hit that Jason Donovan was able to achieve in his career, although his success in Australia was noticeably pitiful compared to how well he was doing in the UK due to how much the Brits were in love with his role in Neighbours. This is another song that’s hard for me to talk about without being mean as it’s gone down in infamy as one of the worst songs to come out of the 80’s.
1989 14 weeks
This remains the final hit from Guns N Roses worldwide, mainly because their cover of the Rolling stones classic serves as the theme to the theatrical adaptation of Interview with the vampire which remains one of the most critically acclaimed gothic horror films of all time. The film depicts Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise in what many have interpreted as a homosexual relationship, which of course makes it a classic among the LGBT community.
1994 14 weeks
This has to be one of the most incessantly catchy songs to become a hit throughout the 80’s, this is due to the charismatic performance of Limahl as well as the instrumentation that his band Kajagoogoo (man what a stupid band name) provided for him on this track. For whatever reason, this wasn’t that big of a hit here in Australia which is why it appears much lower on this list than you would otherwise expect.
1983 14 weeks
This is often forgotten about in Madonna’s vast catalogue, mainly because it charted around the same time both of her movie themes were dominating our charts in addition to this being the fourth single to a very successful album which prevented it from becoming more of a success even without the competition. There are also two versions of this track as the album version is very different from the live version that serves as its official music video.
1985 14 weeks
This was obviously meant to come out three years prior but was understandably delayed due to the tragic death of John Lennon shortly after it was recorded, it was a huge hit here in Australia due to his fans wanting to find out what he had in store for his album Milk and honey even if it’s long since been forgotten in his catalogue due to the lack of legacy it and the album has had over the years.
1984 14 weeks
Although he was quickly losing his popularity as the decade went on (as were most Australian artists admittedly) Diesel was nonetheless able to score a hit with this lead single to his second solo album due to it retaining his blues influence that he had on his previous effort both solo and with his band the Injectors. This would sadly be his final hit here due to Australian artists really struggling to compete with international acts from this point forward.
1993 14 weeks
It looked like we Aussies wouldn’t be interested in the works of Fine young cannibals given how their first two singles underperformed on our charts (admittedly this was more due to how much competition they had at the time) however this third single from their debut album managed to become a hit for them here likely due to it being a cover of an Elvis Presley classic that connected well with us back in the day.
1986 14 weeks
Following the commercial disappointment of “What do I have to do” (which sadly won’t be appearing on this list) Kylie decided to have the fourth and final single from Rhythm of love have a guest rap verse that didn’t appear on the album on the single which paid off as it was able to become a success for her here and in the UK. Said rap verse has largely been lost to the sands of time due to it not adding much to the track.
1991 14 weeks
One of the funniest films to ever be released is Monty Python’s the Life of Brian, a film that admittedly caused controversy back in the day due to it mocking Christianity which got it banned by many Christian groups in several countries (then ban has since been lifted.) The film ends with this novelty track that was so popular here in Australia that it became a genuine hit eleven years prior to doing so in the UK.
1980 14 weeks
This is another song that likely would’ve made one of my lists proper were it not for the strong album sales eating up its commercial success here in Australia, then again, this was the second single from the sequel to Bat out of hell following Meat loaf’s triumphant comeback from way earlier on this list. As it turns out, this proved to be equally as successful in Australia and NZ respectively as the Jim Steinman original was.
1993 14 weeks
This was only barely a success here in Australia for INXS, I’m guessing because this felt different from what the band had released prior to this point which must have caught us Aussies off guard when it first came out. It’s since become one of their signature tracks over the years as has all of the tracks from their album Kick, proving how timeless each of these songs have become compared to many of the entries on this list.
1988 14 weeks
This was only the second hit that Peter Andre was able to achieve in his career, although most of my non-Australian readers likely didn’t even realise he had any success prior to “Mysterious girl” from two years later given how his earlier work as since faded into obscurity due to its failure outside of Australia.
1993 14 weeks
This is the last hit that Culture club were able to achieve in their initial run together, it was a more stripped back ballad from the band given how they were no longer the biggest name in music and thus decided to move away from the new wave sound that made them big initially. They would break up shortly after their fourth album was released due to it being a commercial disaster for them.
1986 14 weeks
You’d think there’d be more hype for an album Queen made during the final months of Freddie Mercury’s lifetime, alas it appears fans considered this release to be in poor taste as it was only barely a sleeper hit here in Australia as well as a minor hit in their native UK at the time of its release.
1995 14 weeks
You know that Hilary Duff was inescapable when she’s able to score a massive hit with a cover of a Belinda Carlisle classic with her less popular sister Haylie, this was commissioned for the Cinderella story soundtrack which stars Hilary in the titular role which was panned by critics but was a modest box office hit. Let’s just say this cover was more popular than the film here in Australia back in the day.
2004 14 weeks
Boy howdy did this really scrape by to make it onto this list, this was the theme song to the TMNT film that was mostly passed up here in Australia in favour of Hi tek 3’s earlier entry on this list. Interestingly, this was a massive chart topper for the American duo in the UK of all places, suggesting the Brits were massive fans of the live action flick.
1990 14 weeks
I guess we Aussies were able to give these guys a second hit after all as this peaked during the Christmas period of 1996/1997 much like it did over in NZ, yes it was only a sleeper hit, however those strong sales during that period ensured it a spot on my list.
1996 14 weeks
We have one final entry to look at from I’m talking, this being the second single from their one and only album Bear witness which did decently well, and no doubt helped the album become a moderate success in its own right. This is where the band’s winning streak came to an end as lead singer Kate Ceberano would leave them in order to pursue a highly lucrative solo career throughout the 90’s.
1986 14 weeks
We have one final entry from my Countdown list from a while back, it appears we Aussies loved Kate Bush’s performance of this song so much that we decided to make it a hit even if it was only during the Christmas period of 1978/1979 hence its low placement on this list.
1978 14 weeks
This is another song that’s relatively low on this list due to shenanigans with the ARIA charts of the 00’s, however I’ve gone on long enough about how dodgy they were on this site already, so I won’t dwell on it here. This was the theme to the Baz Lurhman flick Moulin rouge which was a jukebox musical that revived the musical genre in the mainstream after many years of it being restricted to Disney flicks and their knockoffs.
2001 13 weeks
This is another victim of Sony’s insistence of pushing popular songs aside in Australia to make way for Australian idols chart dominance, in this case it was the second single from Britney Spears which I assure you was a massive success here in Australia back in the day despite its low placement on this list. At least this managed to have presence on our charts for the short amount of time that it was available.
2004 13 weeks
Well, we have a second hit to come from the cartoon rabbit who felt the need to mashup a bunch of songs from yesteryear into a hit single, at least this was their final hit single here in Australia unlike in their native UK where they scored a third chart topper there with another one of these mashups.
1989 13 weeks
You know this thing was inescapable when the inevitable Christmas track was a massive hit for it back in the day, the Crazy frog was so hated back in the day that many publications gave it alternative names to “the annoying thing” which its official creators called it.
2005 13 weeks
This was the final hit to come from Toni Braxton anywhere in the world, likely due to it being a song where she chastised the wife of one of her exes about how he wasn’t good enough for her. Needless to say, this left a bad taste in people’s mouths given how she was previously known for sweet ballads such as “Breathe again” and “Unbreak my heart,” although it is a bop provided you ignore the lyrics.
2000 13 weeks
This was the only song that the 12th man released in his catalogue, here he samples the Nine news cricket theme and recruits someone by the name of MCG Hammer (get it, Melbourne cricket ground Hammer?) to rap over the beat while he does his usual impersonations of cricket commentators throughout the track. It was a surprise hit for him and likely resulted in his comedy albums finding success throughout the 90’s.
1992 13 weeks
There are two songs from Kylie Minogue with this title, although this song was the only one that was released as a single given how her other song came from her debut album back in the late 80’s. Both of them have the same theme of falling in love at first sight, although given how she clarified that she believed in it back in the day, this was more her simply expressing the feeling she had of experiencing it once more.
2002 13 weeks
There were no signs of Kylie’s popularity slowing down going into her second album, that is unless you’re from America where it was such a failure that she wouldn’t be able to release anything over there for over ten years due to being dropped from her American label. I guess the hits from her second album were more of the same from her first, hence why they got fed up with her when the rest of the world didn’t.
1989 13 weeks
This is another song that was pulled from shelves due to Sony wanting to ensure that this year was all about Australian idol contestants, it was an EDM song from a British duo which had nothing to do with the program and yet they were fiddling with this song’s success regardless. It was the duo’s only noticeable hit here in Australia despite the pair being active for over a decade when they crossed over this year.
2004 13 weeks
It looked like the album cycle for Achtung baby had come to an end when this single was released, however that wasn’t the case as the song became a surprise hit here in Australia during the summer of 1992/1993 which kept the album going for over a year after its initial release. It was the final single from the album as they went back to the studio to record Zooropa after this.
1992 13 weeks
Well, here’s the other half of Duran Duran scoring their big hit this year with the song I mentioned earlier on this list, although it’s worth noting that they didn’t achieve the same level of success as the Power station did given they had replaced Simon with Robert Palmer on their songs. Still, this was a decently big hit for its time, although this was the last hit any of the members would have here.
1985 13 weeks
This was the only other hit that Joan Jett managed to score in Australia, I’m guessing because it was a cover of the Tommy James classic of the same name which was also a huge hit here back in the late 60’s. One thing interesting about this track is that Joan doesn’t change the pronouns in the sex jam, leading to a long-standing rumour that this was her way of confessing she was in fact a lesbian.
1982 13 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2009 13 weeks
Well, you know that Sesame Street was a phenomenon by this point in time when there’s a popular hit single that remixed the theme song that the show uses to open up every episode. It became a huge worldwide success for the British EDM group likely due to the nostalgia people have for the show, although it hasn’t received any love since its initial release this year.
1992 13 weeks
This was a one-off project for INXS lead singer Michael Hutchence, I’m guessing he wanted to make a name for himself away from his band, so he released this in an attempt to do so following the failure of his solo single “Room for the memory” two years prior. It was a huge success for him both here and NZ, although he would dissolve the project and return to making music with INXS the following year.
1989 13 weeks
We have another appearance from the Bay city rollers on this list, I’ve run out of things to say about them without coming off as mean so I’ll leave my commentary at that.
1976 13 weeks
Well, this was a bit of a surprise hit for Paula Abdul, even in her native America she hadn’t had any success since her sophomore album from earlier in the decade and yet here she is scoring a hit in Australia with something that sounds like it belongs in the world music genre.
1995 13 weeks
So, I feel there was a bit of a minor controversy with this song, mainly because Baby animals had a song from around this time known as “One word” which had a similar chorus to this track (lyric wise that is as the two songs have different tempos.) Naturally this was the big hit as U2 were on top of the world by this stage, although Baby animals had the bigger album which I guess was their consolation from us.
1992 13 weeks
U2 where on a roll with their album Zooropa as this managed to become a hit for them worldwide likely due to Bono returning as the main vocalist on this track compared to their previous two singles which had the Edge on vocals.
1994 13 weeks
Although this wasn’t a huge hit here in Australia like their previous material was, it nonetheless a success for them largely thanks to how inescapable they were with their first two albums with their third album continuing their winner streak in the mainstream. A big complaint for their third album was their sound changing for the worse according to fans, it was certainly different, but I don’t agree with it being for the worse.
1996 13 weeks
I’m guessing the world wasn’t as on board with MJ’s environmental songs back in the day as they were with the rest of his catalogue given how this was the only song of his in that vein to become a massive success here in Australia. It was the third single from his double album History past present and future which has largely been overshadowed by the other tracks on the album over the years.
1995 13 weeks
While this isn’t a Stock Aitken and Waterman track like all of Kylie’s previous efforts, two out of the three men did produce this track, meaning that it was in the same ballpark as her earlier catalogue even if the trio were officially no more by this point in time. The song and album it came from has largely been forgotten over the years due to how much of a commercial failure said album was back in the day.
1991 13 weeks
I haven’t seen the Goonies (nor do I plan on doing so) so I have no idea how accurately this theme song reflects the film as it appears that fans feel it’s a terrible theme due to how wacky Cyndi makes it out to be in the song and especially the video. It’s one of two songs in her catalogue that she seems to have regretted making as it hardly ever appears on her greatest hits compilations despite its initial success.
1985 13 weeks
Following the success of their earlier entry on this list, we Aussies were finally willing to let these guys compete in the first round of the boy band wars which meant they were able to find moderate success with this second single from their breakthrough album here. It was a bittersweet victory as Robbie Williams would leave the band soon after this newfound success.
1995 13 weeks
Although it’s tempting to call this a cover, it’s only a tribute to the Bay city rollers song of the same name at best as the only similarity it has to that classic aside from its name is that the two songs share the same chorus. The rest of this track is little more than titillation for Madonna’s fanbase which was enough for it to be a sleeper hit here in Australia a year after the album’s release.
1993 13 weeks
If you can believe it, this is the first of TWO hit singles that Hampton the Hampster achieved in Australia this year, that’s right, a song that many believe to be the first viral clip on the internet was a genuine hit here back in the day. For those who don’t know, this was a character created by a Canadian art student to immortalise her pet hamster which of course led to viral success worldwide.
2001 13 weeks
There were no signs of Wham slowing down here in Australia as this third single from their debut album Fantastic managed to be a huge hit for them here, this even somewhat made up for the dip in success that “Wham rap” had for them (don’t worry it’s still to come on this list) which just proves that their brand of hip hop was somewhat divisive amongst us Aussies back in the day.
1983 13 weeks
I’m really confused about this track, namely because this comes from the album where Prince decided to “emancipate” himself of his identity by presenting himself as an unpronounceable symbol of love (which the UK press hilariously referred to him as “the artist formerly known as Prince.”) I guess the gimmick of him being referred to his dead name (for a lack of a better term) was enough to make it a hit here in Australia.
1992 13 weeks
I’m sort of cheating with this entry as this is by all accounts what I would consider to be a “fan single,” however it racked up quite impressive sales during the short amount of time it was available as a single here in Australia, hence why I’m including it on here despite having a pitiful chart run.
2002 13 weeks
There are a ton of versions of this song floating around the internet, as such it’s hard to determine which one of them is the original version given how they all have a different beat and melody to each other. Whatever the case, this is the one and only hit from Culture club frontman Boy George who took the original track from American band Bread and made it his own this year.
1987 13 weeks
This was the song that saved Ricky’s earlier entry on this list from being a flop here in Australia, although I should point out that while the AMR charts considered these to be two separate entries, ARIA bundled them together presumably to save up space on their charts to allow for one more song to chart on their charts. As I said earlier, this was the official theme to the FIFA world cup hence its success.
1998 12 weeks
Surprised to see this meme fest so low on this list? The reason why isn’t because it wasn’t popular here in Australia, but rather because it was one of the many victims of Sony tampering with their release schedule and audiences rushing to buy the song upon its initial release and not allowing it to stick around to accurately reflect its popularity here. At least the response track this inspired was also a huge hit here.
2004 12 weeks
Well, we had “Beat it” from MJ the previous year, now let’s look at the Weird al parody that put him on the map by ripping off that classic from the king of pop (which his permission of course.) This was a surprise chart topper for the comedian here in Australia, likely due to how instantly funny we felt this song was, although it was one of the weaker chart toppers here due to how quickly it fell on our charts.
1984 12 weeks
This was the victory single for by far the least popular winner of Australian idol, it was a hit as expected, however I doubt anyone even remembers who Natalie Gauci is considering she didn’t even release a studio album following her win on the show.
2007 12 weeks
This was the highest charting song that Metallica had from their Reload album in Australia, it goes to show that as much as their fans hated this phase of their career, audiences clearly loved them due to how big they were.
1998 12 weeks
This was the last hit that MJ had in his lifetime, it feels odd that it would come from a remix album given how historians will tell you that he only released one studio album this decade. His popularity in the new millennium was non-existent due to the media frenzy he experienced throughout the 90’s, between his failed marriage with Lisa Marie Presley and his bizarre sleepover parties he had with young boys.
1997 12 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2009 12 weeks
This was the only hit single that Nine-inch nails were able to score here in Australia, even then it was pulled from shelves after a few months likely due to it being one of the more controversial songs of the decade due to its lyrics and music video. I guess you can make the argument that it was to promote the album, however between the animal torture in the video (which was fake by I digress) and the lyrics “I want to f**k you like an animal,” it was a very disturbing song in the mainstream.
1994 12 weeks
We have our first new entry on this list, yeah, I’ve decided to include songs that nearly made the cut on my official lists here but didn’t due to all of the “fan singles” that pushed them aside on both ARIA and AMR back in the day. Anyways we have this single from the 2000 Olympics that the 12th man released which went over really well with his fellow Aussies upon its initial release.
2000 12 weeks
This was the last hit that Wham had together before they officially went their separate ways so that George Michael could pursue a solo career and Andrew Ridgely could become a race car driver (no really, he gave up music for that.) Reportedly this was a song inspired by their Chinese tour which should give you an indication of how out of control their popularity was around this time.
1986 12 weeks
This was another song that was impacted by Sony tampering with the release schedule, trust me, this one and only hit from the Hoobastank was inescapable here in Australia as I’m sure it was throughout the rest of the world back in the day. I’m not sure why this was the song to catch on worldwide as the rest of their catalogue would’ve fitted in nicely with the rock scene equally as well as this did.
2004 12 weeks
This was the lead single of East 17’s second album Steam, an album that didn’t do so well despite spawning this and their Christmas song “Stay another day” which became their sole UK chart topper. I guess these guys won the first round of the 90’s boy band wars purely through the strength of their debut album as that spawned four giant hits here as well as the album being big in of itself.
1994 12 weeks
Well, it’s about time I feature the Oscar winning ballad that Madonna sung in the theatrical adaptation of Evita on this site, indeed this was the lead single from the soundtrack given how the song was written specifically for the film in order to win that academy award for her and Andrew Lloyd Webber. It’s largely been overshadowed these days due to the success of her rendition of “Don’t cry for me Argentina.”
1996 12 weeks
This is one of the earliest chart toppers here in Australia that would quickly fall down the charts shortly after its release, this of course goes to show how much hype there was for George Michael’s third solo album even if this failed to live up to that hype with us Aussies. Fortunately, the album lived up to that hype given how popular his two earlier entries on this list were here.
1996 12 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2006 12 weeks
We haven’t seen a lot of nepotism on this site so far, so let’s rectify that by looking at the one and only hit from the daughter of a record label founder Kate Alexa. There’s not much to say about the song itself, it’s your typical teen pop that was still thriving from around this time here in Australia. The real meat of this song’s success is that Kate is the daughter of Michael Gudinski who founded Mushroom records which is THE record label of choice here in Australia.
2006 12 weeks
We have one final entry to feature from Hanson on this site of mine, this being the fifth single from their debut album which suffered somewhat in my ranking due to how well the album was selling by the time it was chosen as a single. Had it been more of a hit back in the day, “Weird” would also be featuring on this list as it very nearly cracked our top ten this year.
1998 12 weeks
How on earth did this ever get radio play? I think we all know what MF stands for, so the fact that part of the title of this song had to be censored in order for it to reach the airwaves is quite the conundrum if you ask me. None of this was much of an issue for the song becoming a hit here in Australia (if anything I think it boosted its popularity) hence why this was able to make it on this list.
1992 12 weeks
