Flume tops triple j’s Hottest 100 for second time

By ERIN MODARO

2023’s triple j Hottest 100 countdown saw iconic Australian DJ Flume top the competition for a second time, only the second artist to ever have done so. Techno pop hit,  “Say Nothing” featuring MAYA played at around 8pm on January 28, as listeners across Australia shared their opinions on the quality, indie-ness and general vibes of the hottest 100 songs of 2022.

Triple j’s music director Nick Findlay labelled the number 1 hit as “a force to be reckoned with”.

This year’s countdown saw the Hilltop Hoods move to number 1 for the most songs featured, with “A Whole Day’s Night” [Ft. Montaigne/Tom Thum] coming in at number 54 and bringing their total songs in any countdown up to 23.

Fremantle based indie band Spacey Jane joined Powderfinger, Chet Faker, and Gang of Youths in landing 3 songs in the top ten. “Sitting Up” came at number 6, “It’s Been a Long Day” number 5 and the second place slot went to “Hardlight”.

Hitting the list five times was British DJ Fred Again, with his highest performing song “Delilah (pull me out of this)” reaching number 14. The EDM artist has been building anticipation ahead of his debut performance at Laneway Festival in early February, as well as a sold-out show at the Enmore Theatre on February 7.

Globally popular songs by Lizzo, and Joji also landed spots in the top 10, with global hits by Beyonce and Machine Gun Kelly also making an appearance in the countdown. Songs popularised by TikTok also had a prominent place in the top 100, with Jack Harlow’s “First Class” taking out number 12, and social media personality Peach PRC’s single “God is a Freak” ranked at number 16. 

Are young listeners abandoning triple j?

This year’s countdown didn’t escape a certain amount of criticism from listeners with a spectrum of complaints about a ‘loss of soul’, or too much obscurity in majority of the songs featured. 

As triple j faces issues connecting with its Gen Z audience, the indie music scene sometimes appears to be the butt of a joke more so than a ‘cool club’ for people cultured enough to listen to scream-o music unironically. In 2022, triple j recorded average listener drops of 2.5% across the board between late April and late June.

The best thing about Hottest 100 Day is getting to listen to 100 new songs I’ve never heard before with people who have also never heard them as we each politely nod along in the dawning knowledge our youth has passed & the ever looming spectre of death draws closer #Hottest100

— Heath (@LeastHesFunny_) January 27, 2023

The demographic of triple j listeners also seems to be ageing, with the radio station retaining much of its loyal Millennial and Gen X audience, but losing a portion of their target demographic of 18-24 year olds.

The fourth radio ratings survey of 2022, released in July, revealed that the triple j audience share of 18-24 year-olds dropped 3.6 percentage points from 8% to 4.4%. However, the final radio ratings survey of 2022, which accounts for September 25 2022 to December 3 2022, recorded a drop in the same demographic of only 0.4%, suggesting the decline in young listeners hasn’t kept momentum.

Last year the ABC was quick to note that triple j’s popularity is by no means drastically waning; it reached more regional audiences than ever in 2022, and remains the number one radio station on Facebook, Instagram, Spotify and YouTube, as well as building large chunk of followers on TikTok.

The Hottest 100 countdown is also engaging more people across Australia than ever before. In 2022, an estimated 9.5 million people tuned in, reaching 50% of Australians on January 2022, and breaking previous recored of listenership.

While the numbers aren’t out yet for 2023, its popularity across news stations, social media and chat on the street shows that the annual countdown is certainly still culturally relevant, and enjoyed by many Aussies every 4th weekend of January.