The 50 most-played songs on Australian radio have been announced for 2022, and oh boy is it a rough list for Australian artists.
Local music has lost even more of the little ground it had on Australian radio, as the reveal of the 50 most-played songs from Aussie stations this year shows a worrying trend.
Of the top 50 tracks, just eight featured Australian artists. Eight. That’s only two more than the six entries Ed Sheeran alone got on the list. Our entire nation was almost beaten on home turf by one dude, it beggars belief.
Eight entries is also down from the similarly abysmal eleven Australian songs on 2021’s list, so it appears the problem is only getting worse. Compare this triple j’s most-played list for 2022, where a whopping 60% of their list was Australian artists.
Other than local artists really copping the short end of the radio wave, we can also see that “nostalgia-bait” is on the rise, with numerous interpolations, remixes and reworks of older pop songs making this year’s list.
Elton John’s modern reinterpretations of Rocketman and Tiny Dancer titled Cold Heart (with Dua Lipa) and Hold Me Closer (with Britney Spears) respectively both made the list, as did Supafly & De Funk’s remix of Earth, Wind, & Fire’s September titled Pleasure Love, Jolyon Petch’s reinterpretation of Fleetwood Mac’s Dreams, and a mashup of Britney Spears’ Toxic with Ginuwine’s Pony by ALETGO.
It appears there’s only one way to get locals back on our airwaves: we must make a soulless club remix of The Horses by Daryl Braithwaite.
The full top 50 list via Radio Monitoring is below:
- Harry Styles – As It Was
- Becky Hill & David Guette – Remember
- Latto – Big Energy
- Jax Jones feat. MNEK – Where Did You Go
- Lil Nas X – That’s What I Want
- Justin Bieber – Ghost
- Lizzo – About Damn Time
- Elton John feat. Dua Lipa – Cold Heart
- SUPER-HI & Neeka – Following The Sun
- Vance Joy – Clarity
- Lost Frequencies & Calum Scott – Where Are You Now
- Ed Sheeran feat. Budjera – 2step
- Acraze feat. Cherish – Do It To It
- Harry Styles – Late Night Talking
- Ed Sheeran – Overpass Graffiti
- The Kid LAROI feat. Justin Bieber – Stay
- R3HAB & Amy Shark – Sway My Way
- Ed Sheeran – Shivers
- Nicky Youre & Dazy – Sunroof
- Becky Hill & Topic – My Heart Goes (La Di Da)
- Adele – Oh My God
- GAYLE – abcdefu
- Dean Lewis – Hurtless
- Lizzo – 2 Be Loved (Am I Ready)
- Nial Horan & Anne-Marie – Everywhere
- The Kid LAROI – Thousand Miles
- Tate McRae – She’s All I Wanna Be
- Whitney Houston & Clean Bandit – How Will I Know
- David Guetta & Bebe Rexha – I’m Good (Blue)
- Shouse – Love Tonight
- Beyonce – Break My Soul
- Post Melone feat. Doja Cat – I Like You
- Various Artists – KIIS Mix
- Elton John & Britney Spears – Hold Me Closer
- Lewis Capaldi – Forget Me
- Ed Sheeran – Bad Habits
- LF SYSTEM – Afraid To Feel
- Glass Animals – Heat Waves
- Imagine Dragons – Enemy
- Coldplay & BTS – My Universe
- One Republic – I Ain’t Worried
- Jolyon Petch – Dreams
- Jack Harlow – First Class
- Camila Cabello feat. Ed Sheeran – Bam Bam
- Supafly & De Funk – Pleasure Love
- Joel Corry & Becky Hill – History
- Ed Sheeran – Celestial
- Rosa Linn – Snap
- GAYLE – ABC (Nicer)
- ALETGO, Britney Spears & Ginuwine – Toxic Pony
