Triple J Hottest 100, 2021

2021 Triple J Hottest 100
Countdown details
Date of countdown	22 January 2022
Charity partner	Lifeline
Countdown highlights
Winning song	The Wiggles "Elephant" (Like a Version)
Most entries	Olivia Rodrigo Doja Cat (5 tracks each)
Chronology
← Previous 2020 Next → 2022

The 2021 Triple J Hottest 100 was announced on 22 January 2022.^[1] It was the 29th annual countdown of the most popular songs of the year, as voted for by listeners of Australian radio station triple j.

Australian children's music group the Wiggles was voted into first place with their Like a Version cover of Tame Impala's "Elephant", making it the first Like a Version to place first in a Hottest 100. Olivia Rodrigo and Doja Cat achieved the most entries in the countdown, with both scoring five.^[2]

On 18 March 2022, triple j confirmed that a compilation album would no longer be released in conjunction with the annual countdown.^[3]

The triple j Hottest 100 allows members of the public to vote online for their top ten songs of the year, which are then used to calculate the year's 100 most popular songs. Any song initially released between 1 December 2020 and 30 November 2021 was eligible for the 2021 triple j Hottest 100.

Voting opened on 14 December 2021.

Prior to the countdown, four favourites emerged. Various music blogs and bookmakers placed "Stay" by Australian rapper the Kid Laroi and Canadian musician Justin Bieber; "Good 4 U" by American singer Olivia Rodrigo; "The Angel of 8th Ave." by Australian rock band Gang of Youths; and Australian children's music group the Wiggles' Like a Version cover of "Elephant" by Tame Impala as the songs most likely to take first place.^[4][5]

On 21 January, Triple J announced the songs that made the #101-200 positions. ^[6]

• The Wiggles' cover of "Elephant" became the first Like a Version, and the first cover version of any kind, to reach number 1.
  • It also marked the first debut appearance at number 1 since Denis Leary's "Asshole" in 1993, as The Wiggles had not appeared in any previous countdowns.
  • Original Wiggle Jeff Fatt became the oldest person (at the age of 68 during the countdown), and the first of Asian descent, to appear on a number-one track.
  • The Wiggles are also the first winning artist since The Rubens in 2015 to only feature once in the countdown.
• By reaching number 2 with "Stay", The Kid Laroi became the highest ranking artist of Indigenous Australian descent in Hottest 100 history, overtaking Thelma Plum's number 9 placing from 2019.
  • The track also marked the first ever appearance of pop star Justin Bieber in the Hottest 100, following triple j's threat to disqualify him from being eligible in 2015.^[7]
• Peking Duk made their eighth consecutive appearance, with at least one track featured in every annual countdown since 2014.
• Billie Eilish became the first artist to feature in the top 10 of an annual countdown for four years in a row (2018-2021). The previous record was three consecutive years, held by Powderfinger (1998–2000), The White Stripes (2003–2005), and Chet Faker (2013–2015).
• 32 tracks by artists from the United States featured, the highest since 2006.
• The only artist to appear in both the 2022 countdown and the original 1993 list is Paul Kelly.
• A record six previous winners of the Hottest 100 appeared in this years countdown – Vance Joy (2013), The Rubens (2015), Kendrick Lamar (2017), Ocean Alley (2018), Billie Eilish (2019) & Glass Animals (2020). Beating the record of five set in the 2017 countdown.

The annual triple j album poll was held across November and December and was announced on 12 December 2021.