12 things you didn’t know about triple j’s Hottest 100

The triple j Hottest 100 is an Australian cultural institution. It’s a tradition, a rite of passage, and the only thing anybody’s talking about at the end of every January.

When the year winds up and January rolls in, everyone is buzzing with anticipation to see who makes the cut in triple j’s Hottest 100 countdown and who nabs that coveted #1 spot.

So we’ve decided to take a look back at some of the coolest facts from the Hottest 100 over the years that you may not have known about the countdown you’ve been diligently voting in each year.

1. Most common song title

The most commonly appearing song title of the last 20 years has been ‘Run’. Aussies George were first with their 2001 single, followed by Snow Patrol (2004), Cog (2005), and San Cisco (2014). There were even three songs in the 2017 voting list with the title.

2. Shortest song title

In addition to having almost topped the 2015 countdown and eventually cracking the top spot in 2017, Kendrick Lamar made Hottest 100 history when his anthemic single ‘i’ made the 2014 countdown at #53. It was the shortest song title in Hottest 100 history until Catfish And The Bottlemen decided to release ‘7’ in 2016, making this a two-way tie for first.

3. Longest song title

Up the other end of the spectrum, Panic! At The Disco nabbed the longest title record in 2006 with their verbosely dubbed single, ‘The Only Difference Between Martyrdom And Suicide Is Press Coverage’.

Coming in at a close second place is Primitive Radio Gods’ ‘Standing Outside A Broken Phone Booth With Money In My Hand’, which placed at #36 in 1996, and features only eight characters less than Panic! At The Disco’s track.

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4. Originals & covers have appeared in the same list

Four times, in fact. In the 1989 All Time countdown, Prince’s ‘Kiss’ came in at #34, with Art Of Noise and Tom Jones’ cover version nabbing the #24 spot. In 1998, ‘Harpoon’ by Jebediah scored a #7 position while Something For Kate clocked in the same track at #85.

A few years later in 2004 ‘Take Me Out’ by Franz Ferdinand topped the list at #1 and the Scissor Sisters cover was voted in at #44. Then, in 2013, Daft Punk made #3 with ‘Get Lucky’, while San Cisco secured the #39 spot with their Like A Version cover.

5. The Verve gave us déjà vu

The same track has even made two separate countdowns. The Verve’s ‘The Drugs Don’t Work’ first made the countdown in 1997 at #22 and then appeared in the exact same position four years later thanks to a cover version by Ben Harper.

6. Longest song

Clocking in at more than six minutes, Muse’s ‘Knights Of Cydonia’ is the longest song to top the Hottest 100, but the longest songs ever to appear in the countdown are Green Day’s ‘Jesus Of Suburbia’ (2005) and Kanye West’s ‘Runaway’ (2010), which both clock in at 9:08 minutes (according to Spotify).

7. Shortest song

Spiderbait were the first Aussie band to top the Hottest 100 in 1996 with ‘Buy Me A Pony’, which came in at just 1:41 minutes. However, the shortest song ever to appear in a countdown is Frenzal Rhomb’s ‘Russell Crowe’s Band’, which clocks in at a mere 1:12 minutes.

8. The Hottest 100 isn’t just an Australian thing

Obviously, the Hottest 100 is an Australian institution, but it really is beloved all over the globe. Close to 100 countries register Hottest 100 parties each year, and 20 different countries have been represented in the countdown since its inception.

9. The Hottest 100 was created by an intern

Speaking of the countdown’s inception, did you know the Hottest 100 was created by a triple j intern? Overachiever Lawrie Zion was wrapping up his three-month internship when he decided to best Rolling Stone‘s very baby boomer-esque ‘Greatest Songs of the Rock’n’Roll era’ list with a fan-voted countdown.

10. Songs triple j never played have made the countdown

Some readers may recall how a few years back, Tone Deaf broke the story that Sia’s mega-hit ‘Chandelier’ made that year’s Hottest 100 without actually being played on triple j, but it wasn’t the first time this happened. Alanis Morissette, Green Day, U2, and Foo Fighters have all appeared in previous polls with songs the j didn’t play.

11. The genre gap is widening

While the early countdowns featured mostly alternative rock cuts, the script has been completely flipped in recent years. There wasn’t a single rock song in 2016’s top 10 and when we crunch the numbers, rock music is falling out of favour with Hottest 100 voters as EDM is swiftly rising.

12. Highest achievers

With 22 entries to their name, Foo Fighters have managed to match Powderfinger as the Hottest 100’s highest achievers. Meanwhile, in 2014 Chet Faker joined Powderfinger as one of only two acts to throw down a hat trick in a single Hottest 100.