Every year, January marks the start of a new chapter, hot summer days (and, sometimes, annoying summer rainfall), long days at the beach and BBQs with friends.
It also marks the annual triple j Hottest 100 countdown with the songs that Aussie’s loved the most over the past year being revealed by the beloved radio station.
From noon on Saturday, January 22, the official countdown begins and lasts until at least 8pm, giving you an entire days worth of some of the best tunes to have been released in the last 12 months.
On Sunday, January 23, from 10am local time, triple j’s Hottest 100 of 2001 countdown kicked off, providing a time machine for you nostalgia freaks who want to take a trip back to simpler times and songs such as Alex Lloyd’s Amazing, Avalanches’ Since I Left You and Rage Against The Machine’s Renegades Of Funk.
According to ABC, more than 7 million Australians engage with the Hottest 100 in some way with 2.8 million votes being cast in 2020 (resulting in Glass Animals’ Heat Waves taking out the top spot for 2021).
So, who did we see in the Hottest 100 this year?
The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber featured at number two with their hit song Stay — which debuted at number one in Australia and was The Kid LAROI’s first number one song on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.
Genesis Owusu was expected to nab a spot in at least the top 20, having swept the ARIA Awards in 2021 and enjoying huge success with his debut album Smiling with No Teeth however he only managed to reach number 75 with the track Gold Chains.
People also had very high hopes for The Wiggles, after their Like a Version rendition of Tame Impala’s Elephant blew everyone away in 2021.
Other artists heard during the countdown include Rüfüs Du Sol, Doja Cat, Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, Kanye West, Doja Cat, Spacey Jane, and Amyl and the Sniffers.
triple j once again teamed up with their The Hottest 100 charity partner, Lifeline who provide crucial services to those in crisis with a particular focus on suicide prevention. In 2021, suicide remained the biggest killer of young Australians, accounting for over one-third of all deaths among 15 to 24-year-olds.
The Wiggles Win triple j’s Hottest 100 2021
The Wiggles took out the top spot with their cover of the Tame Impala’s 2012 hit Elephant. It was a shock win for many fans, as the track was somewhat tongue in cheek, however it made a serious impact when it landed, perhaps speaking to our need for a bit of nostalgic escapism.
The iconic Australian children’s entertainers donned their colourful skivvies once again to record the track in March of last year, with the original lineup returning to the group to join with current members to put their own twist on the psych-rock tune.
The recently retired Emma ‘Yellow Wiggle’ Watkins covered the complex drum rhythms, joining current member Lachlan ‘Purple Wiggle’ Gillespie and Simon ‘Red Wiggle’ Pryce. OG and founding members Jeff ‘Purple Wiggle’ Fatt, Murray ‘Red Wiggle’ Cook, and Anthony ‘Blue Wiggle’ Feild reprised their much-loved roles, with the supergroup mixing Tame Impala’s original with their own hit Fruit Salad.
It was a bizzare but beautiful moment in a year plagued by disappointment, lockdowns, and, well, actual plague. Social media at the time went wild over the left-of-field move, spilling over into international press and a raft of internet memes.
We're so absolutely chuffed! Number 1 in @triplej's #Hottest100 in 2021! A big thank you to everyone who voted for us. We loved singing "Elephant" by @tameimpala and we're so glad you all loved it too! 💛💜💙❤🐘🎸 #TheWiggles pic.twitter.com/4tAF6GvCgY
— The Wiggles (@TheWiggles) January 22, 2022
The hit racked up over 3 million views on YouTube and 1.3 million plays on Spotfiy, making it one of the most popular tracks of the year and one of the most played songs to ever enter a Hottest 100 competition.
“We’re very honoured to be a part of it,” Anthony ‘Blue Wiggle’ Field told triple j in reaction to the win. “I think this is one of the biggest things to happen to us.”
“It’s bizarre, it’s just been this amazingly popular thing,” Lachlan ‘Purple Wiggle’ Gillespie told The Sydney Morning Herald in anticipation of the countdown. “In the end, it’s been a special experience for all of us.”
“It’s an absolute spin-out,” added Field, reacting to the idea last week. “It’s not something we ever thought would happen. But we really did do the song out of love.”
For a year filled with so much uncertainty, The Wiggles once again showed us the power of music for the hell of it, bringing some much-needed pure joy to the nation.
Read more stories from The Latch and subscribe to our email newsletter.
