For the last three decades, Australians across the country have weighed in on their favourite Aussie and indie tracks of the year for the Triple J Hottest 100. This year, a record-breaking 2.5 million votes were submitted, and 10 per cent of the top 100 tracks were by First Nations artists – that's a total of ten tracks from First Nations artists, which smashed the previous record of six.
Electronic golden boy Flume topped the list with his track 'Say Nothing' featuring May-A. This is Flume's second time topping the list, after bagging the coveted spot in 2016 with his track 'Never Be Like You' featuring Kai. He's the only artist in the list's history to rank a song in every position of the top five, and he's also now just one track away from tying with Tame Impala for the most Hottest 100 song tallies, with Kevin Parker and co sitting at an impressive 18 inclusions.
Viral TikTok track 'B.O.T.A. (Baddest Of Them All)' by Eliza Rose and Interplanetary Criminal came in second, followed by Spacey Jane's 'Hardlight', Steve Lacy's 'Bad Habit' and Spacey Jane's 'It's Been A Long Day'.
Not all listeners were pleased and many took to social media to decry the results. Many listeners took issue with mainstream artists like Drake, Beyoncé and Machine Gun Kelly making the list, as the Hottest 100 is meant to be about highlighting Aussie and independent artists. Drake and Beyoncé both earned two appearances on the list, while Machine Gun Kelly came in at number 69 for his track 'Maybe' featuring Bring Me the Horizon. That said, the list is created by democratic vote, so if you count yourself among those displeased with the results, make sure to vote again next year!