The Midway Report: Triple J’s Hottest 100 Of 2021

UPDATE 23/01/22, 8.10pm (AEDT)Here’s The Winner Of Triple J’s Hottest 100 Of 2021

Ladies, gentlemen, and variations thereof. It’s Hottest 100 Day!

The 29th annual triple j Hottest 100 is currently in full swing, with the nation’s biggest youth broadcaster taking you through the hottest songs of 2021 as voted by its listeners.

Whether you’re listening in from work, the comfort of your couch, or your mate’s pool, we’ve just hit the halfway point, meaning we’re well and truly getting into the pointy end of things.

50 big tunas down, 50 more to reel in. Are you pacing yourself? Let this be a reminder to go and drink a huge glass of water. Now let’s catch you up to speed!

Of the first 50, 30 acts were Australian – how bloody good is that!

Olivia Rodrigo, Lorde, Kanye West and Holy Holy have all charted twice already, with Rodrigo’s ‘brutal’ and ‘traitor’ coming in at #60 and #67 respectively, while Lorde saw ‘Mood Ring’ at #62 and ‘Stoned At The Nail Salon’ at #81. Kanye West’s ‘Praise God’ clocked in at #82, and ‘Moon’ hit #97. Holy Holy’s ‘The Aftergone (Feat. CLEWS)’ came in at #87, with their track ‘How You Been’ opening things up at #100.

There are a few things we already know about the countdown thanks to the good folks at triple j, so let’s dig into some stats for all of you trivia heads:

25 of the acts featured in the countdown will appear for the very first time – that’s a whopping 25% of acts who are brand new to the countdown.

The majority of tracks featured throughout the hottest 100 were released in August, 2021 – must have been something in the water that month.

You’ll be hearing the word ‘fuck’ quite a lot over the 100, with this countdown featuring the coveted swear 102 times, which is more than the last two countdowns combined.

Eight songs featured in the countdown were uploaded to triple j Unearthed this year, with local content being an obvious fav for fans.

And in some hall-of-fame type news, three new acts will have hit the 15-featured-songs mark across all countdowns.

There have been some great anecdotes from listeners featured throughout too (shout out to the group of friends on acid who texted in asking to “tell their side of the story”), but none top the triple j listener who is also a bride to be, who texted in saying she would walk down the aisle to whatever song played at 4PM. I’m very excited to announce that there won’t be a dry eye in the house as Cardi B‘s ‘Up’ plays in the background.

Who exactly will be number one? Only time will tell, but the statisticians/fortune tellers at Warm Tunas reckon The Wiggles are going to take out the coveted slot with their Like A Version cover of ‘Elephant’ by Tame Impala.

Sus the Hottest 100 first 50 in full below, and catch all the updates for the rest of the countdown over at our live updates page.

Triple J’s Hottest 100 of 2021 (First 50)

51.  The Rions – Night Light

52. Cardi B – Up

53. The Weeknd – Take My Breath

54. Ocean Alley – Breathe/Comfortably Numb/Money [Like A Version]

55. Skegss – Valhalla

56. King Stingray – Milkumana

57. Gang of Youths – the man himself

58. Ruby Fields – Kitchen

59. Machine Gun Kelly – love race [Feat. Kellin Quinn]

60. Olivia Rodrigo – brutal

61. Dom Dolla – Pump The Brakes

62. Lorde – Mood Ring

63. Lana Del Rey – Chemtrails Over The Country Club

64. G Flip – Queen [Feat. mxmtoon]

65. Luude – Down Under [Feat. Colin Hay]

66. Tame Impala – A Girl Like You [triple j Like A Version 2020]

67. Olivia Rodrigo – traitor

68. The Jungle Giants – Treat You Right

69. Sly Withers – Clarkson

70. The Amity Affliction – Like Love

71. Halsey – I Am Not A Woman, I’m A God

72. Vera Blue – Temper

73. Lizzo – Rumors [Feat. Cardi B]

74. Tones And I – Cloudy Day

75. Genesis Owusu – Gold Chains

76. The Terrys – Our Paradise

77. Tyler, The Creator – WUSYANAME [Feat. YoungBoy Never Broke Again/Ty Dolla $ign]

78. SZA – I Hate U

79. Dave – Clash [Feat. Stormzy]

80. Billie Eilish – Your Power

81. Lorde – Stoned At The Nail Salon

82. Kanye West – Praise God

83. Doja Cat & The Weeknd – You Right

84. Teenage Joans – Wine

85. The Buoys – Lie To Me Again

86. FISHER – Just Feels Tight

87. Holy Holy – The Aftergone [Feat. CLEWS]

88. Baker Boy – My Mind [Feat. G Flip]

89. Jungle – Keep Moving

90. Hayden James – Waiting For Nothing [Feat. Yaeger]

91. Telenova – Bones

92. Slowly Slowly – Blueprint

93. Baby Keem – family ties [with Kendrick Lamar]

94. Tyne-James Organ – Sunday Suit

95. alt-J – U&ME

96. Client Liaison – House Of Holy

97. Kanye West – Moon

98. Adam Newling – Sweetness

99. Ziggy Ramo – Little Things [Feat. Paul Kelly]

100. Holy Holy – How You Been

Must Read