Chappell Roan has well and truly made her presence felt in Australia, with her sleeper hit “Good Luck, Babe!” effortlessly topping triple j’s Hottest 100 poll for 2024.
When Roan was announced as the winning song on the evening of Saturday, Jan. 25, the 26-year-old became only the third solo female artist to top the countdown (after Billie Eilish in 2019 and Doja Cat in 2023), and achieved the feat with most votes ever cast for a song in the No. 1 spot.
The result is hardly surprising, of course. It’s become a massive hit for Roan on a global scale, earning her six nominations at this year’s Grammy Awards, including Best Pop Solo Performance, Record of the Year, and Song of the Year for the track, alongside the coveted Best New Artist trophy. Meanwhile, it peaked atop Billboard’s Pop Airplay chart, and reached No. 4 on the Hot 100. In Australia, it matched that feat, and currently sits at No. 12 – one placing higher than its appearance on ARIA’s 2024 End of Year chart.
Roan’s impressive result was followed by Australia’s own Royel Otis, who achieved the silver medal position thanks to their cover of Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s “Murder on the Dancefloor”, performed as part of triple j’s own Like a Version cover series. The performance has truly helped put the Sydney duo on the map, with the track reaching No. 35 in Australia, and topping Billboard’s Alternative Airplay chart – the first Like a Version cover to do so.
Billie Eilish finished in third position with “Birds of a Feather”, taking out a new record in the process. Eilish, along with fellow pop icon Charli XCX, both managed a record-breaking eight appearances in the countdown, including their own collaboration as part of Charli XCX’s “Guess” remix at No. 6. The new record comes only one year after Australia’s G Flip broke the record in 2023, with their seven songs overtaking an 18-year record set by Wolfmother in 2005, and matched by Spacey Jane in 2022.
Eilish’s strong showing also sees her become the artist with the most historical appearances in the annual poll, with 25 songs since her debut in 2017. She steals the crown from Adelaide hip-hop favorites Hilltop Hoods, whose 24 all-time entries have been achieved between 2003 and 2023.
The top five was rounded out by Lola Young’s “Messy” at No. 4, and Gracie Abrams’ “That’s So True” at No. 5. Meanwhile, Billie Eilish and Charli XCX’s “Guess” at No. 6, while Dom Dolla’s “Girls”, Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us”, G Flip’s Like a Version cover of Taylor Swift’s “Cruel Summer”, and Fred again.. and Baby Keem’s “leavemealone” capped off this year’s top ten.
Despite her ubiquitous appearance within the world of popular music, the perennial Swift also made her own debut appearance in the countdown this year, showing up as a featured artist on Abrams’ “Us.” at No. 71. Famously, Swift had been barred from the countdown in 2014 after a BuzzFeed-led campaign to get “Shake it Off” in the poll was supported by KFC, with triple j saying it was “not legit for other media to try and troll the poll”. The station later said “Shake it Off” would have reached No. 12 had it not been dropped, ultimately leading to unconfirmed rumors Swift had been banned from ever appearing in the countdown.
The 2024 edition of triple j’s Hottest 100 also left a sour taste in the mouth of Australian music-lovers, with the full countdown featuring the lowest number of homegrown artists in almost three decades. With only 29 Australian artists appearing across the full list of songs, it’s the worst showing for Aussies since the 1996 countdown. Only the debut poll in 1993 and its 1994 follow-up are worse, with 24 and 26 Australian artists, respectively.
This year’s countdown was the result of almost 2.5 million votes cast by the listeners of the station, making it an increase on last year’s 2.335 million showing, but far less than 2019’s record of 3.21 million responses.
All told, 26 artists made their triple j Hottest 100 debuts over the weekend, including Abrams, Shaboozey, Doechii, BABYMETAL, and Tommy Richman.
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