Hottest 100 of the Decade: Aussies set to dominate inaugural countdown

Triple J will today unveil its listeners' favourite songs of the past decade, just weeks after a record-breaking Hottest 100 countdown and sweeping changes were made to the broadcaster's lineup.

Station boss Ollie Wards said the inaugural Hottest 100 of the Decade is part music countdown, part "time capsule".

"It's such an amazing chance to look back," he said. "We'll more than likely do it again in 10 years."

Triple J content director Ollie Wards.Credit:ABC / Daniel Boud

Half of the songs set to appear in Saturday's countdown are from Australian artists. Kanye West, Alt-J, Ball Park Music, Gotye, Tame Impala, Rufus Du Sol, Arctic Monkeys and Gang of Youths are tipped to make the top 10, according to prediction website 100 Warm Tunas. The website says Covered In Chrome, by Australian indie act Violent Soho, will likely take out the top spot.

More than 1.8 million people voted in the music countdown, which covers the years 2010 to 2019. Almost 48 per cent of those who voted were aged between 18 and 24.

According to Triple J listeners, 2012 was the "hottest" 12 months for music in the last decade, with more songs in the countdown released that year than any other. Hits such as Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' Thrift Shop, Little Talks by Of Monsters and Men and Alt-J's Breezeblocks were all released in 2012.

Nine songs set to feature in the Hottest 100 of the Decade have also never appeared in a regular Hottest 100 countdown.

"It's correcting history in a way," Wards said.

The countdown comes as Triple J celebrates a record five-city audience. The youth broadcaster says it now reaches 2.25 million people across the major cities, up from 2.09 million at the end of 2019 (which was also a record high).

The jump in cumulative audience comes off the back of sweeping changes made to Triple J's slate of high-profile presenters. In November, longtime Hack presenter Tom Tilley departed after eight years in the role. Breakfast duo Ben Harvey and Liam Stapleton also left the station to take up an opportunity in Adelaide with commercial broadcaster Nova. The lunchtime and mornings presenters also left the station.

Broadcasters Sally Coleman and Erica Mallett have stepped into the breakfast timeslot, while journalist Avani Dias is now the host of Hack. Comedian Dave Woodhead, who has starred in the ABC TV series Black Comedy, is the new lunchtime host – with Lucy Smith picking up the headphones for mornings.

Wards said Triple J listeners are now tuning into the station for an average seven hours and 10 minutes a week, up from about six-and-a-half hours last year. The challenge now will be to maintain and possibly even build on those figures.

"It's an all-new presenter lineup from 6am to 6pm weekdays," Wards said. "It's a seismic shift in radio land that you don't see on any brand very often – let alone Triple J. Diversity has come with that.

"We do have a massively diverse audience in Australia. The only way we're able to engage with more and more people is to have a presenter lineup that reflects that. And it's working."

The inaugural Hottest 100 of the Decade will be broadcast on Triple J from midday on Saturday, March 14.

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