The 2017 Triple J Hottest 100 was announced on 27 January 2018. It was the 25th countdown of the most popular songs of the year, as chosen by listeners of Australian radio station Triple J. A record-breaking number of votes were cast (2.386 million).
Kendrick Lamar's "Humble" was voted into first place, making him the first person of colour ever to top a Hottest 100. It was also the first track by a non-Australian artist, and the first hip hop song, to win since 2012's "Thrift Shop". Lamar achieved four tracks in the countdown, as did Gang of Youths (a record-equaling three of which were in the top 10), Lorde, and The Jungle Giants.
Historically, the countdown has been announced on Australia Day (26 January), but the 2017 countdown occurred on the fourth Saturday of January (27 January), due to opposition to Australia Day's celebratory commemoration of British settlement. This is the first Hottest 100 countdown to occur on a different day since the 2003 countdown.
Background The Triple J Hottest 100 lets members of the public vote online for their top ten songs of the year, with these votes used to identify the year's 100 most popular songs. Any song that premiered between December 2016 and November 2017 was eligible for 2017's Hottest 100. Voting opened 12 December 2017, shortly after the end of the eligibility period.
Several presenters made their votes public. The artists most often voted for by Triple J presenters were: Kendrick Lamar, Lorde, Gang of Youths, and Baker Boy. On 12 December bookmakers Sportsbet, Ladbrokes and CrownBet placed Kendrick Lamar's "Humble" as the most likely song to take out first place, followed by Lorde's "Green Light" and Gang of Youths' "The Deepest Sighs, the Frankest Shadows". Social media measurement projects 100 Warm Tunas and The Bean Counter's 100 also predicted that "Humble" will be voted No. 1 by a significant margin. The previous highest appearance in a Hottest 100 for both Lamar and Lorde is No. 2, with "King Kunta" in 2015 and "Royals" in 2013 respectively.
The station reported that 1.5 million votes had been cast five days before voting closed (17 January 2018), more than any other year at that point in the voting period. Once voting closed, they announced on 23 January that a total of 2,386,133 votes had been cast, breaking the prior year's record for most votes in a Hottest 100 by 5.8%.
Announcement date
In mid-2016, support grew for a campaign calling on Triple J to change the date of the Hottest 100. Calls were led by Indigenous Australian activists and supporters, many of whom regard Australia Day as "Invasion Day". Australian hip hop duo A.B. Original and their anti-Australia Day single "January 26" were instrumental in drawing support to the cause. Responding to the campaign in September 2016, Triple J established a review over whether the date of the Hottest 100 should be changed.
The review of the date continued into 2017, including consultation with Reconciliation Australia, the National Congress of Australia's First Peoples, and the National Australia Day Council, while 2016's Hottest 100 was held on Australia Day without change. In August 2017, Triple J launched a survey asking for public opinion on whether the date should be changed. Shortly after the survey began, former Triple J presenters Matt Okine and Kyran Wheatley came out in support of a date change.
On 27 November 2017, Triple J announced plans to move the Hottest 100 to the fourth weekend of January. This followed analysis led by Rebecca Huntley and Daniel Stone, of the aforementioned survey, which attracted 64,990 responses, indicating that 60% of listeners supported moving the date.
Reactions The announcement was welcomed by many musicians and the Australian Greens. Within the Liberal Party, however, Communications Minister Mitch Fifield was reportedly "bewildered" by the choice, one that MP Alex Hawke described as "disappointing" and "pathetic". As the minister responsible for the government-funded Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), which Triple J is part of, Fifield wrote to the ABC's board of directors on 28 November asking them to return the Hottest 100 to Australia Day.
Some organisations offered alternatives to Triple J's Hottest 100 in response to the date change. These include nationwide rock radio station Triple M broadcasting an Ozzest 100 countdown of only Australian songs on 26 January, and Senator Cory Bernardi's Australian Conservatives publishing an AC100 playlist of Australian music on Spotify.
Full list Note: Australian artists # Song Artist Country of origin 1 Humble Kendrick Lamar United States 2 Let Me Down Easy Gang of Youths Australia 3 Chateau Angus & Julia Stone Australia 4 Ubu Methyl Ethel Australia 5 The Deepest Sighs, the Frankest Shadows Gang of Youths Australia 6 Green Light Lorde New Zealand 7 Go Bang Pnau Australia 8 Sally Thundamentals featuring Mataya Australia 9 Lay It on Me Vance Joy Australia 10 What Can I Do If the Fire Goes Out? Gang of Youths Australia 11 Sweet Brockhampton United States 12 Fake Magic Peking Duk and AlunaGeorge Australia/United Kingdom 13 Young Dumb & Broke Khalid United States 14 Homemade Dynamite Lorde New Zealand 15 Regular Touch Vera Blue Australia 16 Feel the Way I Do The Jungle Giants Australia 17 Marryuna Baker Boy featuring Yirrmal Australia 18 Exactly How You Are Ball Park Music Australia 19 The Man The Killers United States 20 Let You Down Peking Duk featuring Icona Pop Australia/Sweden 21 Birthdays The Smith Street Band Australia 22 Lemon to a Knife Fight The Wombats United Kingdom 23 Not Worth Hiding Alex the Astronaut Australia 24 Rockstar Post Malone featuring 21 Savage United States 25 Weekends Amy Shark Australia 26 Feel It Still Portugal. The Man United States 27 Be About You Winston Surfshirt Australia 28 Mystik Tash Sultana Australia 29 Mended Vera Blue Australia 30 Low Blows Meg Mac Australia 31 Lay Down Touch Sensitive Australia 32 Numb Hayden James featuring Graace Australia 33 Slow Mover Angie McMahon Australia 34 DNA Kendrick Lamar United States 35 Passionfruit Drake Canada 36 I Haven't Been Taking Care of Myself Alex Lahey Australia 37 Slide Calvin Harris featuring Frank Ocean and Migos United Kingdom/United States 38 Bellyache Billie Eilish United States 39 Got on My Skateboard Skegss Australia 40 True Lovers Holy Holy Australia 41 Blood (Like a Version) Gang of Youths Australia 42 Cola CamelPhat and Elderbrook United Kingdom 43 Murder to the Mind Tash Sultana Australia 44 In Motion Allday featuring Japanese Wallpaper Australia 45 Every Day's the Weekend Alex Lahey Australia 46 Better Mallrat Australia 47 Want You Back Haim United States 48 The Comedown Ocean Alley Australia 49 Passiona The Smith Street Band Australia 50 On Your Way Down The Jungle Giants Australia 51 Man's Not Hot Big Shaq United Kingdom 52 Glorious Macklemore featuring Skylar Grey United States 53 Moments Bliss n Eso featuring Gavin James Australia/Ireland 54 Homely Feeling Hockey Dad Australia 55 6 Pack Dune Rats Australia 56 Watch Me Read You Odette Australia 57 Bad Dream The Jungle Giants Australia 58 The Opener Camp Cope Australia 59 Used to Be in Love The Jungle Giants Australia 60 Boys Charli XCX United Kingdom 61 21 Grams Thundamentals featuring Hilltop Hoods Australia 62 Saved Khalid United States 63 Life Goes On E^ST Australia 64 Fool's Gold Jack River Australia 65 Everything Now Arcade Fire Canada 66 Lemon N.E.R.D and Rihanna United States/Barbados 67 Shred for Summer DZ Deathrays Australia 68 Golden Kingswood Australia 69 I Love You, Will You Marry Me Yungblud United Kingdom 70 Amsterdam Nothing But Thieves United Kingdom 71 Perfect Places Lorde New Zealand 72 In Cold Blood alt-J United Kingdom 73 Nuclear Fusion King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard Australia 74 XO Tour Llif3 Lil Uzi Vert United States 75 Braindead Dune Rats Australia 76 Cloud 9 Baker Boy featuring Kian Australia 77 Million Man The Rubens Australia 78 Electric Feel (Like a Version) Tash Sultana Australia 79 Hey, Did I Do You Wrong? San Cisco Australia 80 Say Something Loving The xx United Kingdom 81 Liability Lorde New Zealand 82 1-800-273-8255 Logic featuring Alessia Cara and Khalid United States/Canada 83 Blood Brothers Amy Shark Australia 84 Oceans Vallis Alps Australia 85 Does This Last Boo Seeka Australia 86 Maybe It's My First Time Meg Mac Australia 87 The Way You Used to Do Queens of the Stone Age United States 88 Edge of Town (Like a Version) Paul Dempsey Australia 89 Dawning DMA's Australia 90 Hyperreal Flume featuring Kučka Australia 91 Big for Your Boots Stormzy United Kingdom 92 Love Kendrick Lamar featuring Zacari United States 93 Do What You Want The Presets Australia 94 Second Hand Car Kim Churchill Australia 95 Mask Off Future United States 96 Chasin' Cub Sport Australia 97 Loyalty Kendrick Lamar featuring Rihanna United States/Barbados 98 Snow Angus & Julia Stone Australia 99 Arty Boy Flight Facilities featuring Emma Louise Australia 100 Don't Leave Snakehips and MØ United Kingdom/Denmark
#101–#200 List
On 28 January 2018, Triple J broadcast the second 100 songs of the countdown.