Triple J Hottest 100, 2021 Explained

Year:	2021
Date Of Countdown:	22 January 2022
Charity Partner:	Lifeline
Winning Song:	The Wiggles "Elephant" (Like a Version)
Most Entries:	Olivia Rodrigo Doja Cat (5 tracks each)
Prev:	2020
Next:	2022

The 2021 Triple J Hottest 100 was announced on 22 January 2022.^[1] It was the 29th annual countdown of the most popular songs of the year, as voted for by listeners of Australian radio station triple j.

Australian children's music group the Wiggles was voted into first place with their Like a Version cover of Tame Impala's "Elephant", making it the first Like a Version to place first in a Hottest 100. Olivia Rodrigo and Doja Cat achieved the most entries in the countdown, with both scoring five.^[2]

On 18 March 2022, triple j confirmed that a compilation album would no longer be released in conjunction with the annual countdown.^[3]

Background

The triple j Hottest 100 allows members of the public to vote online for their top ten songs of the year, which are then used to calculate the year's 100 most popular songs. Any song initially released between 1 December 2020 and 30 November 2021 was eligible for the 2021 triple j Hottest 100.

Voting opened on 14 December 2021.

Projections

Prior to the countdown, four favourites emerged. Various music blogs and bookmakers placed "Stay" by Australian rapper the Kid Laroi and Canadian musician Justin Bieber; "Good 4 U" by American singer Olivia Rodrigo; "The Angel of 8th Ave." by Australian rock band Gang of Youths; and Australian children's music group the Wiggles' Like a Version cover of "Elephant" by Tame Impala as the songs most likely to take first place.^[4] ^[5]

Full list

Note: Australian artists

	Song	Artist	Country of origin
1	Elephant (Like a Version)		Australia
2			Australia/Canada
3			Australia
4			United States
5			United States
6			Australia
7			United States
8			United States
9			Australia
10		Lil Nas X	United States
11			Australia
12	Lunchtime	Spacey Jane	Australia
13		Olivia Rodrigo	United States
14			Australia/United Kingdom
15			Australia
16			United Kingdom
17		Tom Cardy	Australia
18	Love Signs		Australia
19		Rüfüs Du Sol	Australia
20	Touch Back Down		Australia
21	Sunscreen		Australia
22		SZA	United States
23	I Don't Wanna Talk (I Just Wanna Dance)		United Kingdom
24			Canada/Indonesia
25		Rüfüs Du Sol	Australia
26			New Zealand
27	Rose Pink Cadillac		Australia
28	Hertz		Australia
29		Lil Nas X	United States
30	Here Comes the Sun (Like a Version)	Spacey Jane	Australia
31		Doja Cat	United States
32	If You Ever Leave, I'm Coming with You		United Kingdom
33		Olivia Rodrigo	United States
34		Doja Cat	United States
35	Josh		Australia
36			United States
37		Doja Cat	United States
38	Masterpiece		Australia
39	Stacking Chairs		Australia
40			Norway
41	What's Not to Like	Lime Cordiale and Idris Elba	Australia/United Kingdom
42	Chemicals		Australia
43			United Kingdom
44			United States
45			United Kingdom
46			Australia
47			United States
48			United States
49	Up		Australia
50		Kanye West	United States
51	Night Light		Australia
52			United States
53			Canada
54	Breathe / Comfortably Numb / Money (Like a Version)	Ocean Alley	Australia
55	Valhalla		Australia
56		King Stingray	Australia
57	The Man Himself	Gang of Youths	Australia
58	Kitchen		Australia
59			United States
60		Olivia Rodrigo	United States
61			Australia
62		Lorde	New Zealand
63			United States
64	Queen		Australia/United States
65			Australia
66	A Girl Like You (Like a Version)		Australia
67		Olivia Rodrigo	United States
68	Treat You Right	The Jungle Giants	Australia
69	Clarkson		Australia
70	Like Love		Australia
71			United States
72	Temper		Australia
73			United States
74			Australia
75			Ghana/Australia
76	Our Paradise		Australia
77			United States
78		SZA	United States
79			United Kingdom
80		Billie Eilish	United States
81		Lorde	New Zealand
82			United States
83		Doja Cat and the Weeknd	United States/Canada
84	Wine		Australia
85	Lie to Me Again		Australia
86	Just Feels Tight		Australia
87	The Aftergone		Australia
88	My Mind	Baker Boy featuring G Flip	Australia
89	Keep Moving		United Kingdom
90	Waiting for Nothing	Hayden James featuring Yaeger	Australia/Sweden
91	Bones		Australia
92	Blueprint		Australia
93			United States
94	Sunday Suit		Australia
95	U&Me		United Kingdom
96	House of Holy		Australia
97		Kanye West	United States
98	Sweetness	Adam Newling	Australia
99			Australia
100	How You Been	Holy Holy	Australia

101-200 List

On 21 January, Triple J announced the songs that made the #101-200 positions. ^[6]

	Song	Artist	Country of origin
101	Time I Love To Waste	May-a	Australia
102	Henny & Reefer	Chillinit	Australia
103	Holiday	Confidence Man	Australia
104	Time After Time (Like a Version)	Triple One	Australia
105	Pride Is the Devil	J. Cole & Lil Baby	United States
106	Too Many Feelings	Ruel	Australia
107	Thot Shit	Megan Thee Stallion	United States
108	Easy Love	Pacific Avenue	Australia
109	River	Pnau & Ladyhawke	Australia/New Zealand
110	Week On Repeat	Beddy Rays	Australia
111	Rather Be With You	Hayden James featuring Crooked Colours	Australia
112	Tend the Garden	Gang of Youths	Australia
113	Neon Cheap	Methyl Ethel	Australia
114	Off the Grid	Kanye West	United States
115	Love Tonight (David Guetta remix)	Shouse	Australia/France
116	We Are Midnight	DMA's	Australia
117	Ahhhh!	Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers	Australia
118	Wet Dream	Wet Leg	United Kingdom
119	Acting Like That	Yungblud featuring Machine Gun Kelly	United Kingdom/United States
120	Method to the Madness	The Wombats	United Kingdom
121	R U High	The Knocks featuring Mallrat	Australia
122	Life Goes On	Oliver Tree	United States
123	The Walls Are Way Too Thin	Holly Humberstone	United Kingdom
124	Stop For a Minute	Polish Club	Australia
125	Stranger Love	Pnau featuring Budjerah	Australia
126	Wake Up	Skegss	Australia
127	Deathwish	Stand Atlantic featuring Nothing,Nowhere	Australia/United States
128	Letting Go	Ziggy Alberts	Australia
129	Feels Good Now	The Vanns	Australia
130	Stolen Cars	Allday	Australia
131	Lumberjack	Tyler, the Creator	United States
132	Dead Butterflies	Architects	United Kingdom
133	One Right Now	Post Malone & The Weeknd	United States/Canada
134	Bush TV	Skegss	Australia
135	That Funny Feeling	Phoebe Bridgers	United States
136	Questions	Middle Kids	Australia
137	You Stupid Bitch	Girl in Red	Norway
138	Doesn't Matter	Benee	New Zealand
139	My Life	J. Cole, 21 Savage & Morray	United States
140	Good Ones	Charli XCX	United Kingdom
141	He Said She Said	Chvrches	United Kingdom
142	Knife Talk	Drake featuring 21 Savage & Project Pat	Canada/United States
143	Wait a While	Beddy Rays	Australia
144	Fair Trade	Drake featuring Travis Scott	Canada/United States
145	Heavy	Flight Facilities featuring Your Smith	Australia/United States
146	Sweet / I Thought You Wanted to Dance	Tyler, the Creator featuring Brent Faiyaz & Fana Hues	United States
147	Cherish	Gretta Ray	Australia
148	Lost Cause	Billie Eilish	United States
149	Scream	G Flip featuring Upsahl	Australia/United States
150	Colorado	Milky Chance	Germany
151	Believe What I Say	Kanye West	United States
152	NDA	Billie Eilish	United States
153	Security	Amyl and the Sniffers	Australia
154	Sexy Villain	Remi Wolf	United States
155	Move	Flight Facilities featuring Drama	Australia/United States
156	Amoeba	Clairo	United States
157	Papercuts	Machine Gun Kelly	United States
158	Moth to a Flame	Swedish House Mafia & The Weeknd	Sweden/Canada
159	Love Song	Angus & Julia Stone	Australia
160	Ride	Baker Boy featuring Yirrmal	Australia
161	Worst Day of My Life	Amy Shark	Australia
162	I Know You Do Ketamine	Candy Moore & Abbie Chatfield	Australia
163	Get You Down	Sam Fender	United Kingdom
164	Girls Want Girls	Drake featuring Lil Baby	Canada/United States
165	Breakfast	Sly Withers	Australia
166	Way 2 Sexy	Drake featuring Future & Young Thug	Canada/United States
167	Red Light	The Vanns	Australia
168	Marea (We've Lost Dancing)	Fred Again & The Blessed Madonna	United Kingdom/United States
169	Scarlett	Holly Humberstone	United Kingdom
170	It Ain't Over 'til It's Over (Like a Version)	Ruel	Australia
171	Muddy Evil Pain	The Rubens	Australia
172	Lights Up	Flight Facilities featuring Channel Tres	Australia/United States
173	Quiet On Set	Remi Wolf	United States
174	Happier	Olivia Rodrigo	United States
175	Futureproof	Nothing but Thieves	United Kingdom
176	I Don't Wanna Leave	Rüfüs Du Sol	Australia
177	King Brown	Barkaa	Australia
178	Most Hated Girl	Waax	Australia
179	The Divine Chord	The Avalanches featuring MGMT & Johnny Marr	Australia/United States/United Kingdom
180	Cure for Me	Aurora	Norway
181	Somethinggreater	Parcels	Australia
182	Foolproof	Hayden James, Gorgon City & Nat Dunn	Australia/United Kingdom
183	Symptomatic	Peach PRC	Australia
184	Waiting Game	G Flip featuring Renforshort	Australia/Canada
185	Stranded	Sumner	Australia
186	Addicted	Jorja Smith	United Kingdom
187	Typhoons	Royal Blood	United Kingdom
188	Changes (Like a Version)	JK-47	Australia
189	Don't You (Forget About Me) (Like a Version)	Boy & Bear	Australia
190	Better in Blak (Like a Version)	Beddy Rays	Australia
191	Clockwork	Northlane	Australia
192	Get High	Chet Faker	Australia
193	Say It	Choomba featuring LP Giobbi & Blush'ko	Australia/United States
194	Charmander	Aminé	United States
195	Addict	Hope D	Australia
196	Juno	Running Touch	Australia
197	My Ways	Sycco	Australia
198	Backseat	Fergus James	Australia
199	Unison	Gang of Youths	Australia
200	Good Girls	Chvrches	United Kingdom

Countries represented

Country
Australia	55
United States	32
United Kingdom	10
Canada	4
New Zealand	3
Sweden	1
Ghana	1
Norway	1
Indonesia	1

Artists with multiple entries

	Artist	Tracks
5	Olivia Rodrigo	4, 13, 33, 60, 67
5	Doja Cat	7, 31, 34, 37, 83
4	Kanye West	44, 50, 82, 97
3	Spacey Jane	3, 12, 30
	SZA	7, 22, 78
	Lil Nas X	8, 10, 29
		9, 19, 25
	Lorde	26, 62, 81
2		5, 80
	Gang of Youths	6, 57
	Tom Cardy	11, 17
	Lime Cordiale	14, 41
	Idris Elba	14, 41
		18, 68
	Ocean Alley	20, 54
	King Stingray	46, 56
	Cardi B	52, 73
	The Weeknd	53, 83
	G Flip	64, 88
	Holy Holy	87, 100

Notes

The Wiggles' cover of "Elephant" became the first Like a Version, and the first cover version of any kind, to reach number 1.
- It also marked the first debut appearance at number 1 since Denis Leary's "Asshole" in 1993, as The Wiggles had not appeared in any previous countdowns.
- Original Wiggle Jeff Fatt became the oldest person (at the age of 68 during the countdown), and the first of Asian descent, to appear on a number-one track.
- The Wiggles are also the first winning artist since The Rubens in 2015 to only feature once in the countdown.
By reaching number 2 with "Stay", The Kid Laroi became the highest ranking artist of Indigenous Australian descent in Hottest 100 history, overtaking Thelma Plum's number 9 placing from 2019.
- The track also marked the first ever appearance of pop star Justin Bieber in the Hottest 100, following triple j's threat to disqualify him from being eligible in 2015.^[7]
Peking Duk made their eighth consecutive appearance, with at least one track featured in every annual countdown since 2014.
Billie Eilish became the first artist to feature in the top 10 of an annual countdown for four years in a row (2018-2021). The previous record was three consecutive years, held by Powderfinger (1998–2000), The White Stripes (2003–2005), and Chet Faker (2013–2015).
32 tracks by artists from the United States featured, the highest since 2006.
The only artist to appear in both the 2022 countdown and the original 1993 list is Paul Kelly.
A record six previous winners of the Hottest 100 appeared in this years countdown – Vance Joy (2013), The Rubens (2015), Kendrick Lamar (2017), Ocean Alley (2018), Billie Eilish (2019) & Glass Animals (2020). Beating the record of five set in the 2017 countdown.

Top 10 albums of 2021

The annual triple j album poll was held across November and December and was announced on 12 December 2021.