For its second year, the popular Triple J Hottest 100 countdown will not be held on the contentious Australia Day, January 26, as it has done since 1998. This long weekend, the national youth radio station’s annual highlight will be held on the 27 January.
The move away from Australia Day began as to the Change The Date campaign. Triple J Content Director, Ollie Wards, who is currently on a 12-month sabbatical, led the consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community members and the Triple J audience in 2017/2018.
He told NITV that a lot of thought went into the decision last year and in 2019, the station is solely focused on the upcoming countdown.
"It was a big discussion around last year’s countdown," he said. "A lot of work went into the consultations, decision and communication with the audience about it."
by the decision to change the date of the countdown was a success with a record number of votes tallied and a three-fold increase in listeners streaming the event on the day. Triple J listeners also raised $250,000 for , an Indigenous mentoring organisation, in the lead up to the event.
Voting for this year’s countdown has now closed with the anticipation on many successful Indigenous who made their mark in 2018 to secure some of the top spots.
20-year-old hit the neo-RnB/Soul scene like a superstar this past year, capturing the attention of artists like the great Jill Scott who shared her approval of the newcomer , cheekily referring to the artist as her "love-child" with Erykah Badu.
Kaiit has Triple J Roots N’All presenter , as well as popular music artist in her corner as one of her Top 10 picks with her track ‘OG Luv Kush Pt II’. She sits alongside fellow Melbourne-based Wiradjuri/Filipino artist Mojo Juju, whose third album ‘Native Tongue’ had highlight the state of race politics in present day Australia and her own Aboriginal identity.
Alice Matthews, the latest recruit to the Triple J Breakfast show, following the departure of Gamilaroi journalist Brooke Boney, picked Thelma Plum for the Number One spot with ‘Clumsy Love’. The presenter wrote on the Triple J , ‘I went with 'Clumsy Love' because it's occupied my ear-space since I first heard it and it's repeatedly been my go-to track ... I love that Thelma Plum can make a song so much sweeter than the experience it's based on.’
Longtime host of the Triple J Hip Hop Show, Hau Latukefu included up-and-comer to the rap scene Kobie Dee in his Top 10, alongside Bowraville rapper, Tasman Keith with his latest track ‘My Pelopolees’.
Rapper Tasman Keith's latest track 'My Pelopolees' is an homage to his family and hometown of Bowraville and a contender in this years Triple J Hottest 100 Source: Supplied by Danyal Syed
Hitting the Top 10 list of many presenters, artists, such as popular hip hop group , and no doubt listeners alike, is runaway success Baker Boy, who has two tracks in the running to crack the 100 spot including ‘Black Magic (ft. Dallas Woods)'.
If airplay and sell out shows are anything to go by, Australia's most popular Indigenous artists are likely to be celebrated this Sunday. Tune in this weekend to find out.
The triple j Hottest 100 is played on FM radio, digital radio, the and the triple j app (for and ). You can also follow along on social media via , and .
