For most listeners of radio station Triple J, which broadcast a countdown of the most popular songs to hit the airwaves in 2011, it was the result they were expecting
ARIA award winner Gotye’s hit song, Somebody That I Used to Know, which last year became the longest-running Australian number one single in 14 years, was a short-priced favourite at $1.11 to take out top spot.
‘Any Other Song’ in the Triple J Hottest 100 was priced at around $5.
Taken from his third studio album Making Mirrors, ARIA award winner Gotye’s Somebody I Used to Know features the vocals of New Zealand singer Kimbra, and is believed that the song was about a specific breakup. Though, he claims it was “definitely drawn from various experiences I’ve had in relationships breaking up, and in the parts of the more reflective parts of the song, in the aftermath and the memory of those different relationships and what they were and how they broke up and what’s going on in everyone’s minds. Yeah, so it’s an amalgam of different feelings but not completely made up as such.”
The runner up song was Lonely Boy, by The Black Keys, and in third place was Lonely Boy by former Australian Idol contestant, Matt Corby, which was expected to upset the field, with his song being backed from $67 to £14.
Boy and Bear, who claimed fifth spot last year with Fall at Your Feet, came in at number four, despite being second favourites this year at $9 with their song Feeding Line. The song had not crossed over to commercial radio, having only been played on Triple J, an alternative youth station, which is part of the government-owned ABC network. This result may change that.
Somebody That I Used to Know had become a “dominate favourite” thanks to the air time it has received on Triple J, as well as commercial radio stations, said Sportingbet Australia’s Bill Richmond.
“There are a number of songs that have had great play on Triple J, but the ones that have won in previous years have had that cross-over to all the commercial stations as well, which gets a wider audience voting, rather than that hardcore Triple J audience,” Richmond said.
He said the odds on Gotye’s smash-hit single winning were the shortest in the countdown’s history.
“It’s as short as anything you’ll ever see in a market like this,” he said.
“We put it up at $1.35, which we thought was pretty short, but punters certainly saw the value and backed it very heavily.
“Even this week, when we shortened it to $1.15 punters were still happy to back it, which just shows what a clear cut favourite it really is.”
Brother and sister team, Angus and Julia Stone took out the Hottest 100 last year for their hit Big Jet Plane.
Australia’s Top 10 songs for 2011 (As voted by triple J listener’s)
1: Gotye – Somebody That I Used To Know (Featuring Kimbra)
2: The Black Keys – Lonely Boy
3: Matt Corby – Brother
4: Boy & Bear – Feeding Line
5: M83 – Midnight City
6: Lana Del Rey – Video Games
7: San Cisco – Awkward
8: 360 – Boys Like You (Ft. Gossling)
9: The Jezabels – Endless Summer
10: Hilltop Hoods – I Love It’ (Ft. Sia)
11: Calvin Harris – Feel So Close
12: Architecture In Helsinki – Contact High
13: Florence + The Machine – Shake It Out
14: Foster The People – Call It What You Want
15: Foster The People – Helena Beat
16: Grouplove – Tongue Tied
17: Seeker Lover Keeper – Even Though I’m A Woman
18: The Wombats – Jump Into The Fog
19: Nero – Promises
20: Bluejuice – Act Yr Age
21: Skrillex – Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites
22: Snakadaktal – Air
23: Emma Louise – Jungle
24: The Wombats – 1996
25: Kimbra – Cameo Lover
26: The Wombats – Techno Fan
27: Example – Changed The Way You Kiss Me
28: Owl Eyes – Pumped Up Kicks (Like A Version)
29: Drapht – Sing It (The Life Of Riley)
30: Calvin Harris – Bounce (Ft. Kelis)
31: Ball Park Music – It’s Nice To Be Alive
32: Noah And The Whale – L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N
33: Jay-Z & Kanye West – Otis (Ft. Otis Redding)
34: Gotye – I Feel Better
35: Illy – Cigarettes
36: Florence + The Machine – No Light, No Light
37: 360 – Killer
38: Ball Park Music – All I Want Is You
39: Benny Benassi – Cinema (Skrillex Remix)
40: Foster The People – Houdini
41: The Strokes – Under Cover Of Darkness
42: Florence + The Machine – What The Water Gave Me
43: Grouplove – Itchin’ On A Photograph
44: Hermitude – Speak Of The Devil
45: The Kooks – Junk Of The Heart (Happy)
46: Active Child – Hanging On
47: Sparkadia – Mary
48: Art Vs Science – A.I.M. Fire!
49: Boy & Bear – Milk & Sticks
50: Boy & Bear – Part Time Believer
51: The Drums – Money
52: Kimbra – Good Intent
53: Bon Iver – Holocene
54: The Grates – Turn Me On
55: Architecture In Helsinki – Escapee
56: Sparkadia – China
57: The Rubens – Lay It Down
58: Lykke Li – I Follow Rivers
59: Washington – Holy Moses
60: Joe Goddard – Gabriel
61: Radiohead – Lotus Flower
62: Stonefield – Black Water Rising
63: Foo Fighters – Rope
64: Owl Eyes – Raiders
65: Kasabian – Re-Wired
66: Bon Iver – Perth
67: New Navy – Zimbabwe
68: Arctic Monkeys – Don’t Sit Down Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair
69: Bon Iver – Calgary
70: Jebediah – She’s Like A Comet
71: Luke Million – Arnold
72: Flight Facilities – Foreign Language
73: Skrillex – First Of The Year (Equinox)
74: Drapht – Bali Party (Ft. Nfa)
75: Skream & Example – Shot Yourself In The Foot Again
76: Redcoats – Dreamshaker
77: Metronomy – The Look
78: Husky – History’s Door
79: SBTRKT – Wildfire {Ft. Little Dragon}
80: Pnau – The Truth
81: Busby Marou – Biding My Time
82: Little Dragon – Ritual Union
83: The Kills – Future Starts Slow
84: 360 – Throw It Away (Ft. Josh Pyke)
85: Cosmo Jarvis – Gay Pirates
86: Seeker Lover Keeper – Light All My Lights
87: Gotye – In Your Light
88: Bombay Bicycle Club – Shuffle
89: Beirut – Santa Fe
90: Beastie Boys – Make Some Noise
91: City and Colour – Fragile Bird
92: James Blake – The Wilhelm Scream
93: Kimbra – Two Way Street
94: The Wombats – Our Perfect Disease
95: Grouplove – Naked Kids
96: The Strokes – Machu Picchu
97: Foo Fighters – Arlandria
98: Jay-Z & Kanye West – Niggas in Paris
99: The Beards – You Should Consider Having Sex With A Bearded Man (triple j recording)
100: Mr Little Jeans – The Suburbs
