Another countdown is over, but this year sure did throw up a few surprises. The highest number of votes yet, two thirds of the countdown made up of Aussie songs, and an unprecedented showing by the emerging acts on triple j Unearthed.
There were plenty of other interesting bits of trivia that cropped up throughout the day, too, and we’ve compiled a list of some of the new records set and the impressive performances given in this year’s countdown.
From the new longest time between entries and a new highest placing for a Like A Version cover, to the first Unearthed artist to crack the top three, here are our Hottest 100 facts, records and results for the year that was.
Hail to the king of 2016
Facts For The Day
The Avalanches vs. Paul Kelly
With The Avalanches coming in at #91 with ‘Subways’, they set the record for longest gap between appearances. After last appearing in 2001 with ‘Since I Left You’ and ‘Radio’, it’s been a 15 year gap for the Melbourne musos. However, this record was beaten later in the countdown, due to Paul Kelly making an appearance on A.B. Original’s Like A Version performance of ‘Dumb Things’. This appearance, his first since 2000’s ‘Every Fucking City’, was his first in 16 years.
Those Guys Again
Radiohead made it in at #79 with ‘Burn The Witch’. They’ve been making steady appearances in Hottest 100 countdowns since the first one back in 1993, one of the few artists from that countdown still making an appearance.
The 1000th Aussie Song
When L D R U made it into the countdown with ‘Next To You’, it became the 1,000th Australian song to make a Hottest 100 countdown.
Paul Kelly makes a well-deserved return
Bey Makes Her ‘Debut’
At #66, Beyoncé made the countdown for, as triple j put it, ‘the first time’. Beyoncé actually made it into the countdown a few spots earlier at #84 as a guest on Frank Ocean’s ‘Pink + White’.
Guy Finally Sneaks In
By featuring as a guest vocalist on Paces’ Like A Version performance of L D R U’s ‘Keeping Score,’ Guy Sebastian has managed to beat Shannon Noll (again) into a Hottest 100 countdown, and also become the first Australian Idol winner to feature in a countdown.
A National First
Mura Masa’s appearance at #13 with ‘Love$ick’ means that this is the first time we’ve seen an artist in a Hottest 100 countdown from Guernsey, a Crown dependency located in the English Channel.
Climbing The Hill Again
Hilltop Hoods appearing at #4 with ‘1955’ mean that they almost matched their highest position of #3, which they’ve reached a total of 3 times before.
Hilltops are always in the mix it seems
A Record-Setting Top 3
The top 3 is the first Australian top 3 since the 2014 countdown, but is amazingly the first top 3 with artists that came up through the triple j Unearthed ranks. This is an absolutely amazing achievement for independent Australian music, not to mention Unearthed.
Got Enough Tracks There?
Violent Soho appeared the most in the countdown, with 5 entries, Flume reaching 4 entries and topping the countdown, while The Amity Affliction, The Avalanches, Catfish And The Bottlemen, Glass Animals, SAFIA, and Sticky Fingers all appeared 3 times.
Doubling Up
Likewise, 23 other artists have appeared twice, with A.B. Original, Broods, Chance The Rapper, Childish Gambino, Daft Punk, Dan Sultan, DMA’s, DOPE LEMON, Drake, Dune Rats, Frank Ocean, Glass Animals, Hilltop Hoods, Illy, Kanye West, Montaigne, Nick Littlemore, Rihanna, RÜFÜS, Tash Sultana, Vera Blue, and The Weeknd all featuring in the countdown twice.
1/20 songs in the countdown was by Violent Soho
Australia All Over
100 songs from 10 countries, including 66 from Australia, 16 from the USA, 5 from England, 4 from Canada, 3 from Wales, 2 from New Zealand, and 1 each from Sweden, Norway, Guernsey, and Germany. If we expand that a bit though, we see entries from 3 more countries, including Rihanna from Barbados, Wizkid from Nigeria, and Kyla from the Philippines.
Like A Version Breakthrough
We managed to see 4 covers coming from triple j’s Like A Version sessions, with the highest one, DMA’s’ ‘Believe’ at #6, reaching a new high for Like A Versions.
Unearthed Dominates
We saw 26 feature artists from triple j’s Unearthed initiative, with 4 extra artists featuring on songs, bringing that to a huge total of 30 tracks. The countdown also saw the very first Unearthed top 3, which just goes to show how much Australian are loving independent music and supporting Aussie musicians.
Sad that it’s all over? Give the whole countdown another spin (or ten) with our playlist below.
