It’s Official: Triple J’s “Hottest 100” Is Moving Away from Australia Day

Save the (new) date.

For the past few years, Triple J has faced increasing pressure to move their iconic Hottest 100 countdown from January 26, aka Australia Day.

In 2018, they’ll finally take the plunge.

From this point forward, Triple J will air the Hottest 100 on the fourth Saturday of January. Next year, that’s January 27. On Sunday, January 28, they will play the Hottest 200 (basically, the next 100 songs).

In 2019, Australia Day happens to fall on the fourth Saturday of January, so the public holiday and the Hottest 100 will sync up in that instance. However, it will be the last Hottest 100 held on Australia Day for more than a decade.

“Over the past 12 months, we’ve been speaking to heaps of different people who would be affected by this decision, including musicians, community leaders, representative groups, triple j staff, ABC groups, and a wide range of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander media, language groups, and many of the Indigenous artists featured on triple j,” the station wrote online.

“There were a lot of different perspectives about 26 January, and different ways to approach Australia Day. But when it came to the Hottest 100, it was clear most people want the Hottest 100 to be on its own day when everyone can celebrate together.”

 

Here’s what’s happening with next year’s #Hottest100. We're sure you've got lots of questions. Link in bio for more info 📲

A post shared by triple j (@triple_j) on Nov 26, 2017 at 8:38pm PST

For some, the celebration of Australia Day on January 26 is considered culturally insensitive, as it marks the start of the British invasion of Australia in 1788.

Triple J came close to changing the date late last year in response to the outcry, with the station’s content director Ollie Wards saying, “sometimes the majority has to stand up for the minority”, referring to the fact that Australia Day is a day of mourning for the Indigenous community.

However, the station stayed put for the 2017 countdown (though, A.B. Original’s protest song “January 26” managed to place as high as 16 on the yearly poll).

Language warning.

After conducting a survey of listeners—64,990 to be precise—they found that 60 per cent were in favour of moving the Hottest 100 to a different date.

The station is now planning a different programming event for January 26, “highlighting the diversity of Australia”.

Voting for the Hottest 100 kicks off December 12 and closes January 22.

Read all about Triple J’s decision here.

Photo: Triple J