When triple j yesterday counted down the top songs of 2022, two trends emerged.
1. Songs from artists that first debuted in the Hottest 100 10-plus years ago.
2. Songs that included a sample or interpolation of hits from 10-plus years ago
You may have noticed a few of them yourself. Here’s a reminder.
Hottest 100 favourites
The winner of the hottest 100 for 2022 was Australian electronic producer Flume with Say Nothing featuring MAY-A, but Flume is no stranger to the countdown.
He first appeared in the Hottest 100 more than a decade ago with Holdin’ On in 2012. That song made it to number four. Flume also appeared in the countdown in 2012, charted twice in 2016 — including the winning entry that year with Never Be Like You, featuring Kai — returning to the countdown in 2019 and 2020, before taking out the competition most recently.
Flume and MAY-A joined triple j on the line from LA and Berlin respectively after the countdown.
“Very f****** happy,” Flume said when Breakfast hosts Bryce Mills and Concetta Caristo congratulated him and MAY-A on their win immediately after the song played out on the radio.
“Just so happy right now,” Flume went on.
“I did not expect this … I’m shocked.”
Flume found the whole experience “surreal”.
“It nuts, you know, I grew up listening to the Hottest 100. It’s kinda been a part of my life and childhood.”
“Yeah, it’s a lot”, MAY-A confirmed.
Other artists who have featured in the Hottest 100 before include Australian alternative rock band Gang of Youths. The band has been charting in the annual countdown since 2015.
They landed in the top 10 in the latest Hottest 100 with In the Wake of Your Leave at number nine. It’s the third time they’ve cracked the top 10 and in 2017 they came in at number two with Let Me Down Easy, with three other songs that year in the race. They’ve also appeared in 2016 and 2021.
English virtual band Gorillaz have been popping up in the Hottest 100 for even longer – making their debut all the way back in 2001 with the songs Clint Eastwood and 19-2000.
More than two decades later they reappeared in the most recent countdown with New Gold featuring Tame Impala and Bootie Brown.
Arctic Monkeys appeared twice in the Hottest 100 of 2022 – in 79th position with Body Paint and at 77 with There’d Better Be A Mirrorball.
Their first single to be featured was I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor, which was 50 in 2005 – although they had quite different haircuts then.
American rock band Paramore made their Hottest 100 debut at 45 with This Is Why in 2022. It’s the first track they’ve released since 2017, but they’ve been staples of the pop-punk-emo scene since 2004.
While the legendary Australian rock band Men at Work hasn’t appeared in a Hottest 100, the countdown beginning in 1988 (Down Under was a hit in 1981), Men at Work’s Colin Hay joins in on the last verse of Lime Cordiale’s Colin, which was in the 2022 Hottest 100 at 34.
Florence + The Machine came in at 91 with Free.
They’ve had many previous entries, including multiple songs in 2009.
And of course, Australian rap group Hilltop Hoods made Hottest 100 history with the most countdown entries ever after landing two songs in the 2022 countdown, Show Business featuring Eamon at number 71 and A Whole Day’s Night’ featuring Montaigne and Tom Thum at 54.
They’ve had 23 tracks appear in the Hottest 100, after first appearing in 2003.
Songs that sound familiar
The Wiggles took out the 2021 Hottest 100 with a Like a Version song.
Their rendition of Tame Impala’s 2012 track Elephant was not only a fan favourite, but they made history on a number of levels, including being the first cover to top the annual countdown.
There were several Like a Versions in the 2022 countdown, including Coldplay’s Yellow by King Stingray at 43.
Also in 2022, American rapper Jack Harlow came in at number 12 with First Class, which includes an interpolation of singer Fergie’s Glamorous from 2007.
The Fresh Prince of Arnhem Land Baker Boy joined Bernard Fanning to put a new spin on Fanning’s 2013 track Wish You Well. It charted at 31 in the Hottest 100.
American rapper Yung Gravy entered the countdown at 97 with Betty (Get Money) in his Hottest 100 debut with a song that samples Rick Astley’s Never Gonna Give You Up. But Astley has filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit, saying it’s an unauthorised imitation of his vocals.
For even more of a nostalgic fix, Double J is today counting down the Hottest 100 songs of 2002 . Listen here or on the triple j website/app or ABC listen app.