No matter if you still listen to Triple J or thought that music reached its peak in 2009, 1999 or 1989 – this year’s edition of the Hottest 100 countdown is, as always, still a big deal.
This year’s countdown brings a heated contest between Australian and foreign artists with a pretty competitive top 10 list of songs in our market, and many expect Tones And I who has been the breakout sensation for music in 2019. If you haven’t heard her hit ‘Dance Monkey,’ you’ve been living on Mars, or fall into the over 30 age demographic that Triple J usually doesn’t cater for.
Will the mainstream appeal of ‘Dance Monkey’ come to haunt Tones And I as the Triple J listener, who typically likes to keep it pure (see – Taylor Swift scandal of 2014), deny her top billing in the countdown?
There is also a very realistic chance that we’ll bare witness to the first-ever ‘Like a Version’ winner, in the form of the Rage Against the Machine classic ‘Bulls on Parade,’ covered by Denzel Curry.
This excellent version of the RATM classic has been, at stages, favourite in the betting and according to some Hottest 100 predictions’ will be top of the pops by the end of Saturday’s countdown.
The likes of Billie Eilish, G-Flip and Thelma Plum are also in contention, while the Chats with ‘Pub Feed’ could pull off a massive upset with a novelty hit winning the whole damn thing (the first-ever Hottest 100 winner was a novelty hit after all).
We break down our predictions in our preview.
At time of publish, it’s a three-way race between Bad Guy by Billie Eilish, Denzel Curry’s Like a Version Cover of Bulls On Parade and Dance Monkey.
No matter if you like the song or not, you’ve got to think like a punter and assess the trends.
Five of the past six winners of the Hottest 100 have been local artists, which puts Tones And I in pole position to take this home.
Dance Monkey has dominated everywhere in the past year.
It broke the record for most weeks on top of the ARIA charts, was top of the charts in over 30 different countries, and Tones And I even sang it at the AFL Grand Final this year alongside with Dean Lewis, who is absent from this year’s countdown due to the fact he didn’t have a girlfriend to break up with and ultimately, having no material to write songs about.
But back to Tones And I…
Tones And I is a female, solo, Australian artist who’s song “Dance Monkey” has been everywhere this year and ticks a lot of boxes for a worthy Triple J Hottest 100 winner.
Our bookies have livened things up for the Hottest 100 market with a head-to-head market between certain songs most likely to finish in the top 10.
If we are backing Tones and I to finish number 1, then we are backing her to beat Denzel Curry in this market at the $1.90 price.
Think of it like backing a song at the line.
Credit where credit is due, this Like A Version is a dead set banger and regardless of where it polls, Curry has done the song justice.
Billie Eilish’s song ‘Bad Guy’ has been everywhere this year, but I feel it’s kind of past its peak and will have a good life being used in ads and movie soundtracks.
The song will poll highly, but with Denzel Curry’s cover of Bulls On Parade being market leader and even being predicted by some to actually win – the Like A Version should win this head-to-head contest.
It’s a battle between two Aussie artists in this market, as Flume and Thelma Plum square off for a higher place.
Flume has been a Triple J staple of recent years but the song ‘Rushing Back’ is only a recent release and while it will poll high, I just think that the time for people to have Thelma Plum’s song in their minds when casting a vote should have her ultimately beat Flume in a close one.
Aussie hip-hop royalty and an absolute staple of Hottest 100’s since the Nosebleed Section back in 2004, the Hilltop Hoods are up against US artist Post Malone.
If there’s one thing I do know, it’s that Hilltop Hoods fans are very passionate and will vote in numbers to get their boys up in the Countdown and there’s every chance it could come close to the top 10.
Happy to take the outsider at the $2.25 in this market.
With Tones And I expected to dominate this year’s Hottest 100, we’ve even put up a head-to-head market between two of her songs (that aren’t Dance Monkey)
There’s every chance that back-to-back Tones And I tracks could feature in this year’s countdown and for what it’s worth, I’m going with her first single from her debut EP – Johnny Run Away.
For reasons of value – $2 compared to the Never Seen the Rain at $1.75 and that I reckon it’s a better song.
If there’s one song that really speaks to punters, it’s this one.
The Chats; the amazing artists that brought you the hit ‘Smoko’ have come up with this amazing tune, ‘Pub Feed,’ and it’s every chance of sneaking into the top 10.
How can anyone not like this song and what it stands for?
It would be a tremendous result for it to crack the top 10 and happy to take it at $1.90.
This market makes for some interesting reading with plenty of outstanding contenders that could possibly sneak into the final five of the Countdown, so picking a winner that’s not Dance Monkey could be hard.
Based purely on the method of seeing what votes people have shared on social media, I think Better in Blak – Thelma Plum finishing fifth in the Hottest 100 and at $2.10 makes for good value.
The top song in the Hottest 100 should be a two-way contest between Dance Monkey and the Like A Version of Bulls on Parade.
This leaves third spot up for grabs.
Bad Guy by Billie Elish is at $1.15 to finish in the top three but you have to remember, the Triple J voters like to back Aussie artists and Mallrat is just that and a good bet to sneak in at $1.75