It’s that time of the year to celebrate musical democracy or feel out of touch with today’s youth as we gather around the radio and cry out “…shoulda finished higher!” as Triple J’s Hottest 100 for 2022 is countdown this Saturday, January 28th from Midday AEDT.
Our votes have been cast, people have shared them across their respective social platforms and the anticipation as to who might take out the honors this year is killing us inside.
This year’s edition of the Hottest 100 could be one of the closest we’ve had in years with themusic.com.au reporting that songs 1 and 2 have only a handful of votes separated between them –with only 125 between the respective placings as of January 10.
Avid Hottest 100 listeners may remember that the 2007 Hottest 100 winner Knights of Cydonia by Muse pipped Silverchair’s Straight Lines by only 13 votes for the top place.
2022 is set to be an epic hottest 100 with the likes of Spacey Jane, Gang of Youths, Flume, Lime Cordiale, and even Taylor Swift and Beyonce all set to feature.
We here at Neds have a number of markets ahead of the countdown and you can find our best bets below in our 2022 Triple J Hottest 100 Tips and Preview
Along with the likes of Ball Park Music and Flume, Gang of Youths are an absolute staple of recent Hottest 100 countdowns.
Just about every song they released in 2021 made the Hottest 100 or 200 countdowns, and their tune “angel of 8th avenue” finished sixth last year.
You can always bank on Gang of Youths to get in the top 10 and with a highly competitive field, this rocking tune which was released early enough to get in voters’ minds could be the one that finally gives the Sydney band top gong in the Hottest 100.
At the time of publishing, In the wake of your leave was a solid $5 value bet, with Say Nothing by Flume ft. MAY-A the favourite at $1.75
Club track with very early 2000s So Fresh vibes/TikTok favourite B.O.T.A. [Baddest Of Them All] (Eliza Rose & Interplanetary Criminal) second at $3.75.
Flume and his laptop have had their time in the sun, Ella Rose’s track is a banger and basically owned the TikTok crowd, but when a solid Aussie band like Gang of Youths is paying $5 with the prospect of a close count, it’s a good value bet for a good value song.
Top 3 placing in the Hottest 100 is a competitive but short-priced field.
If there’s one thing you can rely on it’s that your Triple J crowd likes Spacey Jane and backing Aussie artists.
Fremantle band Spacey Jane has become Hottest 100 regulars in recent years and their track “Lots of Nothing” finished third last year only to be pipped by The Kid Laroi and The Wiggles doing a Like a Version of Tame Impala’s Elephant in the top spot.
Streaming stats has over five million listens of their track Hardlight which should put the Freo band in a good place to sneak back-to-back top-three finishes.
This collaboration is a strong trifecta of Blur’s Damon Albarn’s side hustle, Kevin Parker from Tame Impala and Bootie Brown make for a strong contender to get in the top five.
Given that Alban and Brown made the Gorillaz collab. “Dare” which finished 5th back in 2005, those in their mid-30s who still vote in the Hottest 100, and the many shared votes on the Triple J and Warm Tuna’s websites have New Gold ranking frequently on people’s lists.
This song was always going to be received well by the Triple J crowd and should be a good chance to sneak into a top-five finish – just like Dare did 16 years ago.
The US Emo-pop-punk band Paramore’s first single since 2017 has struck a chord with the Triple J audience since being released in late September, and there’s a good reason.
“This is Why” has an incredibly catchy tune but still sounds very on-brand for US rockers.
With the emo renaissance in full swing, and a high amount of shares, streams, and airtime on the J’s in recent months during voting season, it could very much be a late bolter for a top 10 finish and a great value for a $2.50 bet.