Triple J’s Hottest 100 is probably Australia’s most competitive publicly voted poll when it comes to music, and each year hundreds of bands around the country try to enlist their fans to get a spot somewhere in the coveted top 100.
But a live music venue in Sydney, the well known Annandale Hotel, has thrown a curve ball into proceedings by offering up a $15,000 bar tab to the public should the local Newtown band Sticky Fingers take out the top spot in this year’s Hottest 100, which last year went to Gotye’s (then not so) world-conquering duet with Kimbra – ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’.
Throwing down a cool $500, the management at the pub shopped around to various betting agencies before striking a deal with Sporting Bet who were the only agency game enough to take them up on their deal.
They’ve offered the Annandale team 31 – 1 odds on the bet, which will see them collect the $15,000 if Sticky Fingers’ breakout hit single “Caress Your Soul” takes out the number one position in this year’s competition.
All the winnings will be going on the bar and the five-piece might just do a special one off performance at the Annandale, their home away from home, to celebrate – besides it’s certainly wouldn’t hurt publicity for their forthcoming Dann Hume-produced debut album.
“We encourage everyone to jump on board and support one of this countries[sic] hardest working independent bands,” said Annandale management. “Get everyone you know to vote “Caress Your Soul”, and get down to the pub come Australia Day and cheer the lads on!”
As FasterLouder points out, the Sticky Fingers single was the 44th most played song on Triple J in 2012, more than Tame Impala’s duel hits, ‘Elephant’ and ‘It Feels Like We Only Go Backwards’.
But they’ll be facing stiff competition from the likes of Flume, Django Django, and Loon Lake, who all had singles reach into the top 11 most played tracks on the station in 2012.
Adding to that, there are a number of late entrants into the field that could find themselves in the podium position, such as Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ inescapable hip-hop hit, ‘Thrift Shop’.
So will bribing the voting public with $15,000 worth of booze be enough to see Sticky Fingers take out the poll against the odds? Guess we’ll find out come January 26th just how cheap Australia really is.
Voting for Triple J’s Hottest 100 closes on Sunday 20th January and the winners will be announced live to air on the station on Australia Day.
