Revealed: 40 Most Heard Songs on Australian Radio in 2021

The state of play for local artists at Australian radio is dire.

Only five domestic acts appear on Radiomonitor’s weighted list of the 40 most heard songs on Australian radio last year, which tracks radio airplay across metro and regional commercial stations, some community stations, and ABC’s youth network triple j.

The Kid Laroi’s “Without You” and “Stay” took out the No.1 and No.4 spots on the list, respectively. The latter is a collaboration with global pop powerhouse Justin Bieber.

A cover of the Fleetwood Mac smash “Dreams,” which sparked widespread controversy during last year’s ARIA Awards, appeared at No.4 on the list. Released by Kiwi-born and Melbourne-based DJ Jolyon Petch, it features the vocals of singer Reigan Derry who claimed in an Instagram post that her breathy chops were used without consent or credit.

Tones And I appeared at No.8 on the list with “Fly Away,” the lead single from her debut album “Welcome to the Madhouse.” At the 2021 ARIA Awards, the song was nominated for Song of the Year and Best Pop Release, and it won Most Performed Pop Work at this year’s APRA Awards. “Fly Away” was also the soundtrack to a Qantas campaign to Australians getting back in the skies post-pandemic that reached #1 on YouTube’s trending list shortly after the TVC’s release.

Vance Joy, who is in Australia to promote his new album “In Our Own Sweet Time,” released lead single “Missing Piece” in May 2021. It provided a hit and reached No.15 on the list. The love song made its television debut during Season 17 of U.S. medical drama “Grey’s Anatomy”. “Missing Piece” secured Joy more than five awards nominations at the ARIA Awards, APRA Awards and AIR Awards, and won him and director Annelise Hickey the gong for Best Video at the ARIAs.

Further down the list, at No.25, is Dean Lewis with “Falling Up.”

Of the six songs from Australian artists on last year’s Top 40, three are attributed to Sony Music, two to Universal Music, and one to Mushroom Group. But when it comes to the all-important market share, the major with the “world’s biggest” title was on top.

Universal claimed 37.8%, just ahead of Sony with 37.49%, both well ahead of Warner Music, which had 18.8% of the most heard songs on Australian radio in 2021. Among the independent labels, TMRW pulled ahead of Mushroom, with 3.15% compared to 2.76%.

40 Most Heard Songs on Aussie Radio in 2021:

1 – The Kid Laroi – “Without You”
2 – Ed Sheeran – “Bad Habits”
3 – Glass Animals – “Heat Waves”
4 – The Kid Laroi & Justin Bieber – “Stay”
5 – Banners – “Someone To You”
6 – Jolyon Petch – “Dreams”
7 – Tiësto – “The Business”
8 – Tones And I – “Fly Away”
9 – Sigala x James Arthur – “Lasting Lover”
10 – Jason Derulo x Nuka – “Love Not War (The Tampa Beat)”
11 – Doja Cat feat. SZA – “Kiss Me More”
12 – Elton John & Dua Lipa – “Cold Heart”
13 – Joel Corry x MNEK – “Head & Heart”
14 – 24kGoldn feat. iann dior – “Mood”
15 – Vance Joy – “Missing Piece”
16 – Olivia Rodrigo – “good 4 u”
17 – Dua Lipa – “We’re Good”
18 – ATB x Topic x A7S – “Your Love (9PM)”
19 – Joel Corry x RAYE x David Guetta – “Bed”
20 – Pink + Willow Sage Hart – “Cover Me In Sunshine”
21 – The Weeknd – “Save Your Tears”
22 – Tate McRae – “you broke me first”
23 – Tom Grennan – “Little Bit Of Love”
24 – Justin Bieber feat. Daniel Caesar And Giveon – “Peaches”
25 – Dean Lewis – “Falling Up”
26 – Dua Lipa – “Levitating”
27 – Ed Sheeran – “Shivers”
28 – Taylor Swift – “willow”
29 – Jason Derulo – “Take You Dancing”
30 – Justin Bieber – “Anyone”
31 – Lil Nas X – “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)”
32 – Ava Max – “My Head & My Heart”
33 – Justin Wellington feat. Small Jam – “Iko Iko (My Bestie)”
34 – Riton x Nightcrawlers feat. Mufasa & Hypeman – “Friday”
35 – Marshmello x Jonas Brothers – “Leave Before You Love Me”
36 – Miley Cyrus – “Midnight Sky”
37 – Justin Bieber – “Hold On”
38 – Topic feat. A7S – “Breaking Me”
39 – Pink – “All I Know So Far”
40 – The Weeknd – “Blinding Lights”