Someone’s turning 50 this year.
No, it’s not me. It’s Australia’s fave youth broadcaster, triple j. And they’re celebrating this milestone in style, with a range of special events throughout the year.
One of them is the countdown of all countdowns. At the end of July 2025, we’ll find out which 100 Aussie songs are considered the hot stuff.
PART 230 OF “AM I EVER GONNA SEE YOUR FACE AGAIN?” A RANDOM COLLECTION OF UNKNOWINGLY OBVIOUS FACTS ABOUT THE AUSTRALIAN MUSIC SCENE
I was genuinely shocked to hear the news about triple j‘s age. That’s only 2 years younger than AC/DC and four years older than Kylie Minogue‘s start in the biz.
Founded in 1975 by the ABC (the Australian Broadcasting Corporation), the popular station has, naturally, gone through ups and downs over the years. Its vibe might have also been changing in that half a century, adjusting to new trends and audience expectations. It’s faced both praise and backlash on different fronts. And it has launched spin-off stations, Double J for more mature audiences and Unearthed for unsigned acts.
The truth is that everybody complains about how commercial it’s become, but everybody loves it, nevertheless. So, 50 years on, triple j is still one of the most influential broadcasters in the local music landscape with a drum logo that any Aussie will recognise in a heartbeat.
While it mostly appeals to younger listeners, even veterans like me pay attention to what’s currently on rotation. And from an Aussie artist’s perspective, if triple j plays your song, that’s the equivalent of “Hey, look Ma, I made it”, to a certain extent.
To celebrate its BIG 5-0 in 2025, triple j has played its best hand yet. The broadcaster is rolling out another countdown. And this time, it concentrates purely on the local scene, looking for the Hottest 100 of Australian Songs.
“They’ve been the playlist to our lives, defined the sound of the nation and echoed across generations, and now we get to champion all the tracks that have lasted a lifetime (or more),” reads the station’s release. And I have to agree that nostalgia is the right card to play here. Even I, a foreigner with a lively interest in the music from the Land Down Under, am already feeling hyped about July 26, 2025.
The format itself is actually not new, however.
Every year, towards the end of January, the broadcaster counts down the Hottest 100 songs of the previous year. It always makes for an interesting experience to get to know the Aussie tastes and preferences in that particular timeframe. The anticipation for the number 1 song to be revealed is always out of this world. The ranking has even been labelled “The world’s greatest music democracy” because triple j only delivers the “verdict”, decided by the people.
There’s one thing that differentiates this coming countdown from the original idea, though.
In the recurring January voting, songs from all over the world, released and played on triple j the year before, are considered. Meanwhile, the Hottest 100 this July specifically zooms in on the local scene. And yes, that’s awesome. But it’s SUCH. A. HUGE. UNDERTAKING. The question I had from the get-go, for example, was: Which songs qualify and why?
The broadcaster has clarified how it’s come up with the long list that you can choose your faves from. They argue that “Look, we’ll be honest, we can’t list every single song ever released by an Aussie artist in our longlist.” But, at the same time, they’re allowing you to manually add your suggestion if you can’t find it on their list.
Yes, you, reading this post, can have a say in it, too. You don’t have to be Aussie at all. The voting is open to anybody who registers on the triple j website. So if you feel like the legends from Cold Chisel deserve recognition with “Khe Sahn” or G Flip should get a spot in the countdown with one of the bangers from their awesome 2023 Drummer record, then go for it.
Among other things (i.e. what happens with the collabs with non-Aussie acts and the fact that Like A Versions are not eligible this time), the most important requirement a tune needs to meet is the cut-off date. It must have been released before triple j’s official 50th birthday – January 19, 2025.
And you know what that means? Thousands of songs to choose from – literally. So good luck with narrowing down your choices. It will take you hours, if not days. Guaranteed!
Interestingly, triple j presenters and many Aussie artists have already published their votes, and I love seeing how diverse the local music industry is. While there are always tunes cherished by the whole nation, I’ve seen industry peers champion less popular indie gems as well.
Okay, so let’s say you’ve submitted your picks before July 17, which is when the voting officially closes. What happens next?
On Saturday, July 26 (Aus timezone), the entire triple j network family will be counting down the Hottest 100 of Australian Songs. If you’re in Oz, then simply tune into the radio. As usual, there’ll be heaps of parties and listening events across the country, I’m sure. So the Christmas in July concept has a big competitor this year.
And if you’re overseas, you can join in on the fun from afar by firing up the triple j app. The broadcaster has also made a handy calculator available again, so you can easily check when the countdown starts in the country you’re in. Plus, the Aussie expat community is pretty tight-knit everywhere I’ve come across it. So, it’s very likely the party spirit will extend to other parts of the world.
Now, let’s also consider an undesirable yet pretty likely scenario. You started to build your shortlist but got distracted and never finished it. Or you just forgot to press the submit button. Don’t despair! Triple j has factored that in, too. The system will automatically accept the first 10 songs from your shortlist as your votes. Pretty cool, hey?
The cherry on top, however, is the Hottest Ticket again. If you’re feeling creative, triple j is keen to know “what Australian act you’d take an alien to see and why.” And if they like your answer, you’ll be entered into a draw to score tickets to triple j and Double J presented tours for an entire year. Not a bad trade-off for a 50-word paragraph, I’d say.
So if the music from the Land Down Under and rankings are your thing, this is your moment to – drumroll, please – influence what’s hot and what’s not in the Aussie scene this July.
On that note, I gotta go and sort out my shortlist. Because I already have about 20 songs on it. And I’ve only checked out the acts starting with… the letter “A”.
Here are some other events and initiatives championing Aussie music:
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