INXS Top Triple J’s Inaugural ‘Hottest 100 of Australian Songs’ Poll

The dust has settled on Australian youth broadcaster triple j’s latest countdown, with INXS topping their Hottest 100 of Australian Songs poll.

Unveiled on Saturday (July 26), the event was a variation from the station’s normal countdowns, which have been held annually since 1993 as a way to determine the listener base’s favorite track of the previous calendar year.

Other one-off events have taken place over the years, with their most recent occurring in 2023 when the station counted down the listener-voted poll of the best performances from their regular Like a Version series.

However, while January’s 2024 countdown revealed that listeners loved Chappell Roan’s “Good Luck, Babe!” the most, it also resulted in the lowest showing for local artists in 29 years. With triple j also celebrating their 50th anniversary that same month, it was announced in June that a new poll would take place focusing solely on Australian artists.

Topping the list of homegrown favorites was INXS’ 1987 track “Never Tear Us Apart,” taken from their Kick album, which gave the Sydney group a career-best when it peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 upon its release.

While the record spawned four charting singles – including “Need You Tonight,” “Devil Inside,” and “New Sensation” which hit the top three spots on Billboard’s Hot 100, respectively – “Never Tear Us Apart” was the record’s least-successful, hitting a still-impressive No. 7.

The band’s appearance in the poll was the first time they appeared in a Hottest 100 countdown, ultimately placing twice alongside the aforementioned “Need You Tonight” at No. 59.

The remainder of the top ten featured South Australian hip-hop pioneers the Hilltop Hoods at No. 2 with “The Nosebleed Section,” and sibling duo The Veronicas at No. 3 with “Untouched,” which had previously peaked at No. 17 on the Hot 100 in 2009.

Missy Higgins’ “Scar” and Crowded House’s “Don’t Dream It’s Over” (No. 2 on the Hot 100 in 1987) rounded out the top five. Meanwhile Powderfinger’s “My Happiness” (which had previously topped the station’s annual poll in 2000) followed at #6, before back-to-back placings by pub-rock stalwarts Cold Chisel were joined by Paul Kelly’s perennial seasonal anthem “How to Make Gravy.”

The top ten was capped off by Gotye’s 2011 chart-topper “Somebody That I Used to Know,” while the only other track in the countdown to have previously topped the Hot 100 was Men at Work’s 1981 single “Down Under,” which reached No. 21.

The final tally was the result of 2.6 million votes, with the average year of songs featured being 1999. 

triple j’s sister station, Double J, are presently in the process of counting down the songs that placed in the 200 – 101 positions throughout the coming week, before an additional airing of those songs takes place on Saturday (Aug. 2).

The full list of triple j’s Hottest 100 of Australian Songs can be found via the station’s website.