This year, its 22nd, triple j’s Hottest 100 songs of 2014 became more defined by what wasn’t on the chart than what was.
The well publicised and, ultimately, failed attempt to win Taylor Swift a place on the 100 by her fans did much to lift the annual Australia Day Countdown’s profile both here (as if it needed it) and around the world.
This year, a record 2,099,707 votes were cast (not counting those for Ms Swift) by 258,762 music fans from 188 different countries, with a near equal split between male (52%) and female (48%) voters, as well as over 3,829 Hottest 100 parties held in 80 countries around the world, making triple j’s Hottest 100 the world’s biggest music poll.
A number of Australian artists were strong contenders for the top spot, but in the end it was independent Melbourne musician Chet Faker’s track ‘Talk Is Cheap’ which received the most votes from triple j listeners.
Why did triple j refuse to allow Taylor Swift on their Hottest 100 even though she’s one of the world’s hottest artists? There are a number of reasons (some reasonable and others not so much) which you can check out here. Chief among them is the fact that triple j has never played Taylor Swift and unless she decides to change her musical genre (or the j’s change their format) probably never will.
triple j’s Music Director Richard Kingsmill says of Chet Faker’s song, “Talk Is Cheap dropped right at the start of 2014. By year’s end, it was still sounding as fresh as the first day we played it. Chet played and produced the whole album himself (bar one guitar solo). The way the sax starts the song is just magical and sucks you right in. The song sounds simple, until you hear all the instruments and voices at work. You’re kept there right until the end, when Chet Faker’s layered vocals bring the song to a fitting close.”
Breaking down the list further, this countdown saw the most number of Aussies ever make it in to the countdown – 59 tracks were by Australian artists, smashing the previous record of 52 Australian artists in 1999 and 2007. A further 15 songs came from the US, with UK artists hot on their heels with 14 songs. The rest of the Hottest 100 saw representations from New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Iceland, France and Canada.
There were plenty of fresh faces in there too, with 35 artists making their debut in the Hottest 100, including Meg Mac, Peking Duk, DMA’s, FKA twigs, Milky Chance, Banks, Future Islands, ZHU, Glass Animals and Asgeir. 41 tracks in the list came from solo artists, including Vance Joy, Lorde, Thelma Plum, Tkay Maidza and Briggs. There were plenty of guest appearances too, with 17 tracks having feature artists, from SBTRKT to Mark Ronson. There are always a handful of popular cover songs that make it in; this year saw 3 Like A Versions make it into the list, including Chet Faker’s cover of Sonia Dada’s 90s jam ‘Lover’ at #21.