Overview
In 1993, for the first time ever, Triple J asked Australian music lovers to pick their their favourite songs from the year prior. The ABC radio station had run Hottest 100s before, but focusing on all-time faves. With a small but significant tweak, an annual national icon was born — and it's still going three decades later.
Over the last 30 years, Triple J listeners have voted en masse. They've had strong thoughts about which tunes were the best of the best, whether picking their choices via pen and paper back in the poll's early days, or with a few quick clicks today. And, they've chosen thousands of songs as the cream of the crop over that period — and more in the broadcaster's other Hottest 100s, including the Hottest 100 of All Time countdowns, the 2011 Hottest 100 of Australian Albums, the Hottest 100 of the Decade (which focused on the 2010s) and the upcoming Hottest 100 of Like a Version.
That's a hefty amount of tracks, and quite the playlist. It's also exactly what'll be pumping 24/7 on Triple J Hottest. The broadcaster is launching another new station to sit alongside Triple J, Double J and Triple J Unearthed, this time only giving tunes that've ranked in a Hottest 100 sometime a spin.
Denis Leary's 'Asshole', which came in at number one back in 1993? Yes, that's eligible for the playlist. 2022 winner 'Elephant' by The Wiggles? That is as well. Tracks that catapulted their artists to bigger fame, songs you've completely forgotten existed, all-time classics, novelty tunes: if it ranked in a Hottest 100, as all of the above have, then it'll get a whirl.
Just looking at the top tens from the past three decades, there's a wealth of tunes in store. Think: Rage Against the Machine's 'Killing in the Name', Silverchair's 'Tomorrow', both '(He'll Never Be An) Ol' Man River' and 'Greg! The Stop Sign!!' by TISM, Coolio's 'Gangsta's Paradise' and '! (The Song Formerly Known As)' by Regurgitator, plus Weezer's 'Island in the Sun', Spiderbait's 'Black Betty' cover, so many songs by Powderfinger and Flume, 'Lonely Boy' by The Black Keys, and even 'Chandelier' by Sia. Kendrick Lamar's 'Humble' and 'King Kunta', Childish Gambino's 'Red Bone' and 'This Is America', Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion's 'WAP': they're just some of the other songs that've enjoyed some Hottest 100 love, and will now hit Triple J Hottest.
Launching at 9.30am AEST on Monday, July 17 — meaning that it can include the picks from the Hottest 100 of Like a Version, which airs on Triple J and Double J from 12pm on Saturday, July 15 — Triple J Hottest will also feature archival interviews with Hottest 100-ranking acts, a heap of Hottest 100 history, and other relevant stories about the poll.
It's a digital-only station, so you'll be listening 24 hours a day, seven days a week either via the Js' website, the Triple J app or the ABC listen app.
And yes, obviously this station will add 100 new tracks to its rotation every year — another perk for tunes that make each year's Hottest 100.
Triple J Hottest launches at 9.30am AEST on Monday, July 17 — head to the Triple J website for further details.
Top image: Flume, M Drummond.