Triple J's Hottest 100 Australian Songs divides fans with iconic number one pick: 'Your ears are painted on'

Daily Mail​

26-07-2025

Triple J 's Hottest 100 Australian Songs wrapped with an iconic hit on Saturday night, but not everyone was happy to hear the Down Under classic take the crown.
Never Tear Us Apart by INXS took the number one spot, beating out The Nosebleed Section by Hilltop Hoods and Untouched by The Veronicas.
While most took to social media to praise the 1987 single, a few others seemed to think there were more deserving Aussie artists who didn't get a spot on the list.
'NOLLSY WAS ROBBED AGAIN,' one person raged, referencing singer-songwriter Shannon Noll who shot to fame as runner-up on Australian Idol in 2003.
'How is there no Sia in the top 100? Chandelier? Soon We'll Be Found?' said another.
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A third pointed out 'genre defining song' (I'm) Stranded by The Saints and Wide Open Road by The Triffids as 'an iconic aural representation of our country'.
'Neither got in the top 100 Australian songs. Australia, your ears are officially painted on,' they added.
'Well, it's been fun... somewhat. Goodnight,' commented another.
While there were some naysayers online, the majority of X users appeared to agree INXS, fronted by the late Michael Hutchence in its heyday, deserved the win.
'I can ABSOLUTELY live with this. What a f***ing great song. We made it guys! Thanks for an awesome day, it's gone down as one of the great ones,' wrote one.
'COP THAT YOU GEN Z D***HEADS! INXS! GREATEST EVER,' commented another passionate listener.
A third added: 'Rest in peace, Michael. Cheers to the excellentness [sic] of Australian music.'
'Never Tear Us Apart by INXS is just amazing... no way to really describe it. Poetic and [the] music is fire,' someone else noted.
'R.I.P. Michael. I wish you could hear that Australia loved this song so much still!' they added.
Never Tear Us Apart, as the most popular pick of 2.64 million votes, officially emerged as the best Australian song of all time on Saturday night.
It comes after INXS shot back onto the music charts in May, more than a decade after the iconic Australian band broke up.
The group stormed the UK charts thanks to the 40th Anniversary re-release of their breakthrough, fifth studio album Listen Like Thieves.
Originally released in October 1985, the album was the first by the band to make its mark on a global scale.
Listen Like Thieves boasted a number of successful singles, including the title track and Kiss the Dirt (Falling Down the Mountain).
This Time was also a hit, as well as What You Need, which peaked at No.2 in Australia and No.5 on Billboard's Hot 100 at the time of its release.
The Listen Like Thieves re-release topped four separate rankings in the UK earlier this year, most of which did not exist when the record was originally released.
While most took to social media to praise the 1987 single, a few others seemed to think there were more deserving Aussie artists who didn't get a spot on the list
It immediately became INXS' highest-ever peak on the Official Album Sales chart, debuting at No.16.
The band had been together for 35 years when drummer Jon Farriss made the announcement INXS would no longer be touring together in November 2012.
They were supporting Matchbox Twenty at Perth Arena when the announcement was made.
'We've done the album like a live show and what is there is there,' frontman Michael Hutchence told Rolling Stone in 1985.
'We want to present this record as a band—the idea of six people playing together and using traditional sounds.'
Never-before-heard INXS demos, featuring vocals from the late frontman, were released to mark the milestone 40th anniversary.
The extra tracks were released on May 9 as part of the reissue of the rockers' 1985 album, which reached number one in Australia.
Among the unreleased songs was a candid studio moment where Michael's charismatic voice echoed through early takes of their '80s hit track This Time.
The anniversary edition reignited nostalgia and appreciation for INXS' enduring legacy, under the guidance of executive music producer Giles Martin.
INXS continued to perform with lead singer Michael Hutchence until his tragic death in Sydney in 1997 aged 37, where he committed suicide in a hotel room.
Michael died at Sydney's Ritz Carlton, now known as the Intercontinental Hotel Double Bay, while depressed and under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
A post-mortem examination found alcohol, cocaine, codeine, Prozac, Valium and other prescribed benzodiazepines—or 'benzos'—in Michael's urine and blood.
In late 1995, Michael told British music magazine Vox: 'I don't wanna be a f***ing cliche. I don't need to be dropping off in a hotel bath.
'I've come close, though. I'm surprised I've survived and so are a lot of my friends.'
The Australian group was one of the world's most successful rock bands in the late '80s.
Following their formation in 1977, they stormed the charts with songs including Need You Tonight, Good Times, New Sensation and Kick.
They are one of Australia's highest-selling bands of all time, with over 50 million albums sold worldwide.
Their 2011 greatest hits album has spent a record 623 weeks on the ARIA top 100 albums chart.
Its success followed the release of the 2014 Channel Seven mini-series about the band called Never Tear Us Apart.