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)
2006 37 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2008 37 weeks
This originally came from Kate Miller’s second album Curiouser from the previous year, however it was chosen as the bumper music to this year’s season of Neighbours which allowed it to become a massive surprise hit for the quirky singer. In fact, this song was so big that the album was given a second wind as it was only a minor success for the singer upon its initial release and became a massive success this year.
2009 37 weeks
This was the one and only hit from the Plain white T’s, an American band who originally released this track the previous year to deafening silence only for it to pick up momentum this year for whatever reason. I guess it was popular due to the indie sphere becoming more mainstream now that the digital storefront was supporting music that wasn’t centred around reality TV.
2007 37 weeks
It took a while for these guys to find an audience with their debut album Yourself or someone like you, however once they did, they managed to achieve one of the biggest albums of the decade with how much radio latched onto their songs. This was the only song from the album to have that airplay translate to sales here in Australia, although admittedly even in their native America they didn’t sell any copies of their singles because they weren’t released as singles there.
1997 37 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2007 37 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2008 37 weeks
This was the first big hit that Lil Wayne had here in Australia (I don’t count his verse on “Soldier” as I never heard that on the radio back in the day) it was a collaboration with multi-instrumentalist Kevin Rudolf which was such a success for them that it convinced him to become a rock star which even his diehard fans will tell you was a terrible idea. Kevin also had success here with the likes of Brian McFadden and Jay Sean.
2008 37 weeks
This was the debut single for a band who was promised so much success both critically and commercially and yet seemed to have gotten nowhere once they released their second album. Their first album was showered with praise and success (rightfully so in my opinion) thanks to Ella Hooper’s powerful vocals as well as the catchy instrumentation of the band.
1999 37 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2008 37 weeks
This will be the only appearance from one of Michael Bublé’s singles on this site, although I do remember hearing this on the radio more so than any of his other songs, so I have no problem believing this was a hit when the likes of “Sway” or “Everything” weren’t. Naturally his audience was more inclined to buy his albums which is perhaps why even in the age of digital downloads, he hasn’t had any other hits.
2009 37 weeks
This was originally released the previous year to deafening silence for the Script even in their native UK, although the failure of this track over there was likely due to them already having a massive hit with “The man who can’t be moved” over there. It was given a second chance here in Australia for some reason which eventually allowed it to crossover to America the following year.
2009 37 weeks
This was the second single from P!nk’s album Funhouse, it has a double meaning to it as on the one hand it can be taken literally to be about her sobering up from a bad night out and coming to terms with her drug addiction. On the other hand, and what the song is really about is that it’s her sobering up with how toxic her relationship is with her husband (even if it turns out it wasn’t that toxic) and how she needs to get away from him.
2008 37 weeks
This was released three years prior throughout Europe to deafening silence, in fact I’m not even sure how this managed to become popular here in Australia other than it being an incessantly catchy EDM track from a talented vocalist that was never given her proper due back in the day. It nothing else, this being a massive hit here must have been some form of consolation for the singer in question.
1998 37 weeks
Even though this appeared on the Use your illusions albums, this was released as a single due to a performance the band gave at a Freddie Mercury memorial concert which helped this become a huge success for the band a year after the album’s release. It seems curious that they would choose their Bob Dylan cover to perform at the concert, although I guess it’s not like they covered any of Queen’s discography by this point.
1992 37 weeks
Well, I told you that Alannah Myles managed to have massive success here in Australia with both of the lead single from her debut album, although this had a very slow rise to its success here given how it was initially a flop for her much like it was throughout the rest of the world. I’m not sure why as this is catchier than her earlier track, I guess because it’s happier compared to “Black velvet” which is more sombre.
1989 37 weeks
It’s easy to forget given how he’s an Oscar winning actor, however Jared Leto managed to score a huge sleeper hit back in the day with his band 30 seconds to mars with this emo track. It’s another example of an emo track making it big with the digital crowd as it was a huge bomb on our physical charts.
2006 37 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2008 37 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2008 37 weeks
This is meant to be the big showstopper of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s adaptation of Phantom of the opera, although curiously he replaces Michael Crawford on this single for Cliff Richard likely to try and have it become a mainstream success which it admittedly was in the UK for him and Sarah Brightman. Sarah of course got her big break with this duet as well as her performance as Christine Daae in the show.
1986 37 weeks
If you can believe it, famous Hollywood composer Danny Elfman began his career as the lead singer of the new wave band Oingo boingo who’s best known for their theme song to the 80’s classic Weird science (a film that holds up fairly well despite its problematic premise of making a real-life woman out of a barbie doll.) Here in Australia, this was the big hit they had albeit only after months of charting in the lower half of our charts.
1986 37 weeks
It’s easy to see this as a dance remix of a Doors classics as this came out during a time where dance remixes of the strangest things were becoming hits here in Australia. Alas this is merely a dance track that happens to share its name with a classic 60’s track made by an Italian duo that finally got their big break when this became a sleeper hit here in Australia.
1994 37 weeks
Many consider this to be the sell-out of the century as Steven Tyler and company, while known for their sentimental side, are best known for their often-aggressive rock and roll numbers. Here we have their theme to the Bruce Willis flick Armageddon which happens to star Steven’s daughter Liv Tyler, thus explaining why they contributed to the films soundtrack to begin with.
1998 36 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2006 36 weeks
This served both as the lead single to Celine Dion’s album Falling into you (well in America at least, it was the second single here in Australia after the title track) as well as the theme to the Michelle Pfeiffer flick Up close and personal. It also came with a B-side “The power of a dream” which Dion performed at the summer Olympics this year at Atlanta, which no doubt boosted the sales of this track.
1996 36 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2007 36 weeks
Now normally I’m not the biggest fan of country music, in fact when it comes to either loving or hating the genre, I’m more towards the hate camp even if I don’t hate a lot of country songs out there. With that said, I have to say that I adore this collaboration between Kenny and Dolly, the two have amazing chemistry and it rightfully allowed the song to linger on the charts for quite some time here in Australia.
1983 36 weeks
They were often described as the Abba of the 90’s, although I can only see that connection superficially as last I checked, Abba never once resorted to incorporating reggae music into their sound which they easily could’ve done in their heyday. I feel this is how Ace of base were able to craft an identity of their own which led them to being even more successful in America than their predecessors ever were.
1993 36 weeks
Much like the rest of their catalogue that wasn’t their two Billboard chart toppers, this second single from Savage Garden has production I would firmly describe as well, savage. The lyrical content is also poignant as it depicts the observations Darren Hayes has made over a young woman who seems to have shut herself off from the world for various reasons.
1996 36 weeks
This was a bit of a comeback for Guy Sebastian given how he hadn’t bothered the charts in three years prior to scoring a massive number one hit with this track, indeed this was such a comeback that he would stick around for most of the following decade albeit only in Australia and NZ.
2009 36 weeks
There were a lot of post grunge songs to become hits this year, one of the more prominent tracks comes to us from Lifehouse who managed to have the biggest hit of the year in their native America despite this failing to reach number one on Billboard. This is the second time this has happened as the previous year had “Breathe” by Faith Hill claim the top spot despite that also failing to reach number one.
2001 36 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2006 36 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2008 36 weeks
It gives me great joy to know that one of the biggest hits of the decade in Australia was an honest to God pub rock anthem, true the Choirboys had been hustling in the industry for four years at this point, but their determination paid off with a track that’s still fondly remembered by Australian audiences to this day. This even saw moderate crossover success in NZ, proving how much wide appeal these guys had.
1987 36 weeks
To think there was a time where this ballad wasn’t a meme and instead a genuine hit single for Vanessa Carlton, nowadays it’s become a meme due to it being ridiculed in the film White chicks and people struggling to take it seriously since that movie came out. I guess this is why there haven’t been a lot of heartfelt piano ballads from female singer/songwriters to make it big in recent years which is a shame.
2002 36 weeks
This was the debut single for Joanne, an Australian singer who discovered an obscure track from Bluezone who is nowadays best known as the band that launched Lisa Stansfield into the spotlight. In order to honour the original (given how there was another version by someone known as Redzone around this time) Joanne credited herself as a featured artist with Bluezone as the main artist.
1998 36 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2007 36 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2008 36 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2007 36 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2006 36 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2008 36 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2007 36 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2006 36 weeks
Although “Who will save your soul” was the song that finally got Jewel some much needed attention after over a year living poverty (I’m not even exaggerating when I say that) it was this second single that brought her mainstream success here in Australia likely due to it being her least pretentious song from the album. Unlike the other tracks which are meant to be critiques of the world around her, here she’s trying to get with someone who feels is her soulmate which I guess is cute.
1997 36 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2006 36 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2009 36 weeks
This is one of those songs like “Sweet dreams” from the Eurythmics that’s meant to be hypnotic in its sound to make up for how repetitive it is when you look at it objectively, while it doesn’t have that magic with me, it does with most people as it was not only a massive hit for the British group Starsailor back in the day, but also remains a critical darling in the music scene to this day.
2004 36 weeks
This was the second of only three hits that Ne-yo managed to achieve here in Australia, likely because of how catchy the song is compared to most of his other tracks which were RNB ballads. He of course had much more success over in NZ and especially his native America, and to be fair he did have other hits here as a featured artist for the likes of Pitbull and Rihanna.
2008 36 weeks
This was originally a massive hit for Colbie Caillat worldwide the previous year, although for whatever reason, we Aussies weren’t interested in this ballad about how much in love she was upon its initial release. We gave it a second chance this year where it became a massive success, much like Soulja boy from earlier on this list, it appears we were simply slow in allowing internet songs to make it big here.
2008 36 weeks
It’s strange that Lily Allen wouldn’t have any success in Australia prior to the two big hits she had this year, especially considering how “Smile” was a big hit for her in NZ and yet neither of these entries were as such over there. This had a bit of a long climb to its success as she didn’t originally shoot a video for it until early this year despite it being released at the end of the previous year.
2008 36 weeks
This was the last hit that Beyonce had from her I am Sasha fierce album, it’s also one of the last songs she had a hit with that is a love song as she had become a full feminist by this point in her career to appeal to the rising fourth wave of the moment. Even though it was a massive hit internationally, it wasn’t as big in her native America likely due to it feeling out of place with her new brand.
2009 36 weeks
This was a huge hit for Eternal months after it had already left the charts in NZ and their native UK, I guess we Aussies thought we were done with the trio from earlier in the decade but changed our minds when we realised how insanely catchy this track was from them. This is also the only hit single to have Bebe Winans on a track, I thought I’d bring that up since I’ve heard of him from different sources.
1997 36 weeks
Even though the album Automatic for the people was already a huge success here in Australia by the time R.E.M released this ballad, this song regardless became a huge success here and boosted the sales of the album and made it even bigger than it already was. This remains their biggest hit in Australia likely due to the pain that Michael Stipe displays on the track which made audiences sympathise with him.
1993 36 weeks
We have another double entry for this list, this time it’s the lead single from Lauryn Hill’s solo debut as well as her cover of the Frankie Valli classic which were both needed to have her crossover to Australia despite her already having success earlier in the decade as the main rapper/vocalist from the Fugees. This no doubt helped her album become a huge success here as that too wasn’t a hit upon its initial release down under.
1998 36 weeks
I feel that Beth Ditto was the Caucasian equivalent of Lizzo as she was an LGBT performer who was so comfortable with her appearance that it became an endearing factor of her image, and like Lizzo, she never felt the need to put anyone down in order to make herself feel good unlike some other performers throughout the 2010’s. It’s a shame her band only had one hit, although it was one more hit they had here than their native America.
2009 36 weeks
This was the other big hit that Tone Loc had in Australia, and indeed it relies on the nostalgia people have of the Kinks classic of the same name as while it isn’t a cover of that track, it does heavily sample the instrumentation which is a trend that would become all too common in hip hop throughout the following decade. As I said earlier, he would go on to become a popular voice actor in children’s media.
1989 36 weeks
These guys were pretty huge on the airwaves throughout the decade here in Australia, so much so that it’s less of a surprise that this is on here and more that none of their other tracks from the 00’s are as they were very likely flops due to having their success eaten up by illegal downloads which wasn’t the case for this track.
2008 36 weeks
This was a huge sleeper hit here in Australia back in the day, although like many RNB ballads, it had a bit of a delayed released here which is odd considering that’s usually a sign of a song doing much better than in NZ as we’ve discovered throughout this site. This remains Blackstreet’s only notable hit down under, although they were naturally more successful internationally throughout the 90’s.
1996 36 weeks
This is another song whose success was largely due to the digital charts, although Linkin Park weren’t that negatively affected by piracy throughout the decade here in Australia as their multiple appearances on this site can attest to. In any case, we have this third single from their third album which continued their trajectory towards more mainstream rock compared to their nu metal roots from their earlier work.
2007 36 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2008 36 weeks
Even as late as the end of the decade, we still had novelty songs like this charting here in Australia even if this one and only hit that Paul Evans had only appeared on the lower half of our charts. I guess there was still enough love for those comedic tracks that dominated the first half of the decade as it was coming to an end for this to be a success with us Aussies.
1979 36 weeks
I guess it was about time I featured a Powderfinger track on this site, they were indeed one of the biggest bands of the decade here in Australia and no doubt would’ve had other appearances on here had digital downloads been legal during the first half of the decade. As such, we have their lead single to their third album of the decade which was more of a sombre ballad compared to their earlier work.
2007 36 weeks
This is one of two entries from Korn to feature on my list, it was initially a flop for the band despite it being released around the time of their magnum opus Follow the leader here in Australia but rebounded on our charts when the second single from the album became a surprise hit for the band months later.
1998 36 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2007 36 weeks
This was somewhat overshadowed back in the day given how it was released around the time John Butler trio won a bunch of ARIAs for their album Grand national, this meant that this had to compete with a live performance of their earlier entry on this list which was released as a digital single.
2007 36 weeks
Of the eight albums I’ve featured from Michael Bublé on this site, three of them managed to spawn a hit for him here in Australia as this was the big hit he had from Call me irresponsible which likely would’ve been even bigger were it not for the competition from rock tracks upon its release.
2007 36 weeks
It’s a bit surprising to see a British teen pop group score a sleeper hit here in Australia given how ubiquitous the 90’s was when it came to this type of music, although it’s worth noting that the genre didn’t take off here until the success of the Spice girls which happened when this song was initially released. I guess had it come out just a few months later, it would’ve been as popular as a track from Steps here.
1996 36 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2008 36 weeks
Yep, this comedy routine wound up being the biggest hit single of the year in Australia. Bear in mind this was back in the day where comedy tracks were considered to be singles and thus were able to chart along the likes of everything else that will appear on this list. As for Austen Tayshus himself, this was the only notable success he managed to achieve throughout his career as far as the Australian charts are concerned.
1983 35 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2007 35 weeks
Oh, rick rolling, why did you have to ruin this otherwise cute and innocent song from one of the more impressive vocalists to emerge from the 80’s? Nowadays people think this is one of the worst songs of all time due to that immature meme from the late 00’s, however back in the day it was the biggest song of the decade in Australia thanks to how many demographics it managed to appeal to back then.
1987 35 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2006 35 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2006 35 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2005 35 weeks
This is the last hit that Jessica Simpson had in her career, mainly because this cover of the Nancy Sinatra classic serves as the theme song to the theatrical adaptation of the Dukes of hazard which was a critical failure due to its outdated depictions of the redneck culture. She happens to star in the film as Daisy Duke which earned her a Razzie for worst actress due to how bad her performance was.
2005 35 weeks
There were no signs of the Black-Eyed Peas slowing down exiting the 00’s as this was their third huge hit in a row in most parts of the world, it’s also considered to be one of their best songs as it’s mostly a tender duet between Fergie and the other members as opposed to her being snarky towards them on their other tracks where she was the focal point of the group.
2009 35 weeks
If you’re not a fan of this track then fear not, neither were the presenters of Countdown back in the day as they hilariously referred to this song as “glad to be dead” whenever they found themselves talking about it. As much as I’d like to talk about Patrick Hernandez, the real story to be found here is that this song has backing vocals from the future queen of pop herself Madonna, technically making this her first chart topper in several countries.
1979 35 weeks
This was the big hit off of Shania Twain’s biggest album Come on over in Australia, admittedly this is mainly due to how long this ballad about Shania being there for the love of her life stuck around on our charts upon its initial release more than anything. I’m guessing this ballad was what encouraged her to release a pop version of her album.
1998 35 weeks
This was originally a hit for Brenton Wood in 1967, so it makes sense that Peter Andre would make this his debut single given how he clearly wanted to make a name for himself in the music industry following his loss in a dance competition to Wade Robson and thus him missing out on the chance to meet MJ. I guess Peter got the last laugh as he managed to achieve quite a number of hits worldwide.
1992 35 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2007 35 weeks
This is one of those EDM tracks that managed to become a success thanks to its video blowing up on YouTube, this was a popular phenomenon during the website’s early years as we’ve already seen many tracks on these lists to make it big this way that never would’ve touched the charts had they been released prior to its launch.
2008 35 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2008 35 weeks
In keeping with tradition of having a theme song to the FIFA world cup, French producer Bob Sinclar released this track which was sung in the persona of the mascot of the games Goleo IV (even though the cartoon lion is nowhere to be found in the video.) It was a massive worldwide success for him and led to his earlier entry on this list being an even bigger success here in Australia.
2006 35 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2008 35 weeks
Now that the world seemed to have been reunited with what it considered to be the in trends of the moment, we have one of many tracks that became a success in Australia this year that likely wouldn’t have had it been released earlier in the decade. Indeed, this was a minor hit in NZ several months prior to it becoming a huge success here to give you an idea of how the times were changing.
1997 35 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2006 35 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2007 35 weeks
Johnny Logan set up a record with this ballad as it allowed him to become the first artist to win Eurovision more than once for a particular country, in this case it was for his native Ireland who likely were as surprised as everyone else when he took home to top prize for the second time this decade following his earlier victory “What’s another year.” It appears we Aussies finally understood what made him so special as this became a huge success for him down under.
1987 35 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2009 35 weeks
This was a hit single twice throughout most parts of the world, although this time we’re going to be looking at the remix to one of the more popular tracks to come out of the 70’s seventeen years after its initial release. Given that this decade was filled with remixes of older songs, it makes sense that this was among the more successful tracks here in Australia given it was good for nostalgia and the dance floors.
1992 35 weeks
This was the first big hit that Pitbull had in his career, he had previously attempted to make it big with the Crunk scene earlier in the decade to little avail, so he decided to reinvent himself as a club artist where he had much more longevity in the mainstream. This is another artist that I’m not particularly a fan of, mainly for the reasons most people aren’t as he never struck me as an interesting rapper.
2009 35 weeks
This was the only song to ever be released under this pseudonym, I’m not even exaggerating here, the French trio Stardust only ever released this one song before going their separate ways onto other projects. As EDM was the genre of choice in Australia, this was of course a massive success here regardless of who was responsible for its existence.
1998 35 weeks
This was the breakthrough single for Marty Rhone, a pop star who was all set to break through earlier in the decade before he was drafted into the Vietnam war much like fellow pop star Normie Rowe from the previous decade. When he was discharged from the army, Marty resumed his music career which was given a second wind thanks to Countdown promoting his music.
1975 35 weeks
Well, here’s a song that’s become more popular than the film it was written for, this is mainly because this was the biggest hit of the decade over in America which should give you an idea of what type of music was making it big on Billboard in lieu of all the Australian artists I’ve featured on these lists so far. If you didn’t already know, Debby is indeed the daughter of Pat Boone, a man who the less said about on this site the better.
1977 35 weeks
Given how the two lead singles to her first official album were back-to-back success for her, I think it’s safe to say that her not winning the fourth season of Australian idol wasn’t a detractor for her popularity anymore given how much more popular she became than Damien Leith even by this point of her career. Of course, the best was still yet to come as it turns out she’s also a gifted actress which led to her acting career taking off in the 2010’s.
2008 35 weeks
There were no signs of David Guetta slowing down entering the decade as he managed to score a third hit in a row from his breakthrough album, this time he recruits Kid Cudi who was fresh off the success he had with his own breakthrough “Day n night” from 2009 which is perhaps how he managed to maintain his winning streak across the world.
2009 35 weeks
This was the third hit in a row from Vanessa Amorosi, it was an instant success likely due to it being about making the most of what you have as life is fleeting and can end at any moment. This was a hit around the time that her earlier entry saw an international release, although that song was only a success in NZ likely due to rumours that she would perform it at the 2000 Olympics (which she did at the closing ceremony.)
2000 35 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2005 35 weeks
There were no signs of Shannon Noll slowing down from his second album as he managed to have a huge hit with the title track from said album, in fact it looked like he had finally overtaken Guy Sebastian in the mainstream given how he would only have one hit to his name this year (which we’ve already looked at) from an album that wasn’t anywhere near as successful as what Lift was.
2005 35 weeks
You may recognise this woman as one third of the popular German trio the Silver convention who were scoring massive worldwide success from around this time, although in Australia this was the biggest hit any of the members were able to achieve likely due to how she screams throughout the track. I’ll be honest, I crack myself laughing whenever I find myself listening to this track due to how random her screeching is.
1976 35 weeks
