The Hottest 100 has a new home.

You heard right, our biggest music celebration of the year has a new date! On Saturday 27 January 2018 we’ll be counting down the Hottest 100 songs of the year, as voted by you. Then, we’ll back it up on Sunday with the songs that just missed out, the Hottest 200.

Welcome to the Hottest 100 Weekend. It’s the countdown you love, made bigger!

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triple j is making this move after hearing directly from you. Heaps of you took part in our online survey as part of our review of the date of the Hottest 100. (You can read more about that process below.) You told us how much you love the countdown and most of you are up for a new day. We all agreed that the Hottest 100 shouldn’t be part of a debate about the day it’s on. The only debate should be about the songs (“Ya joking shoulda been higher”).

triple j will be freed up to celebrate Australia Day as its own event too. We have some new programming planned for 26 January (more on that later).

So, get your crew together and make sure you keep the 4th weekend in January free, ‘cause the Hottest 100 Weekend is gonna be huge.

We’re sure you’ve got tonnes of questions, so let’s answer them.

What are the key dates for my diary?

Tues 12 Dec 2017: Voting opens

Mon 22 Jan 2018: Voting closes

Fri 26 Jan 2018: Australia Day

Sat 27 Jan 2018: Hottest 100

Sun 28 Jan 2018: Hottest 200

Why did you choose the fourth weekend of January?

We went with the fourth weekend of January because we wanted to keep all the best bits you love about the Hottest 100 – the music and being with your mates on a day that most people have off – and still host it at the same time in summer you’re used to. It also means we can follow up that weekend with the 200-101 countdown.

Hasn’t the Hottest 100 always been on 26 January?

No, the Hottest 100 has been held on a few different dates in the past so it’s not the first time it’s moved around. The first ever countdown was held on 5 March, 1989 and the countdown didn’t regularly match up with 26 January until 1998. In fact, the 2004 countdown was on 25 January. So, the date of the countdown has moved around and though the Hottest 100 has mostly been held on Australia Day, it’s not about Australia Day.

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Whatsapp triple j intern Lawrie Zion, who came up with the idea for the countdown.

Why is the Hottest 100 moving?

It’s fair to say there’s been increasing debate around 26 January and there are a lot of perspectives on what it means to different Australians. As the public broadcaster representing all Australians, triple j and the ABC doesn’t take a view in the discussions.

However, in recent years the Hottest 100 has become a symbol in the debate about Australia Day. The Hottest 100 wasn’t created as an Australia Day celebration. It was created to celebrate your favourite songs of the past year. It should be an event that everyone can enjoy together – for both the musicians whose songs make it in and for everyone listening in Australia and around the world. This is really important to us.

Whether you’re listening in Busselton, Bundy, Alice or Aspen. From Coober Pedy to Caz’s pool, tuning in from a backyard BBQ or streaming from overseas, in the city or on the farm; everyone is invited to join the party.

What did people have to say about the date of the Hottest 100?

Your voice in this decision is as important as ours – you are the ones who listen, vote, and tune in so we wanted to hear from you. We’ve learnt all the way through that this is a complex issue and there have been a lot of different perspectives on what triple j should do. When we asked how you felt about triple j’s Hottest 100 being held on January 26, we received tens of thousands of responses to our questionnaire – 64,990 responses to be precise.

An independent research company analysed a representative sample of these answers, from people of all walks of life, so we could better understand what you thought about the date of the Hottest 100.

We learnt that the majority of you (60%) were in favour of moving the Hottest 100 to a different date.

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To validate this result, we did a second online survey with 759 18-30 year olds who had listened to triple j at some point, using the same independent research company. Again, the majority (55%) were in favour of moving the date, 24% were against moving the date, and 22% didn’t care.

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We expected a lot of different opinions, this is a complicated issue with no one correct answer. However, it came across loud and clear that we all agreed it is the music that makes the Hottest 100 special. Celebrating our favourite songs of the year with our mates and the rest of the country is what’s most important for the Hottest 100.

Ultimately, our research and your feedback shows that most of you are behind a move for the Hottest 100. For those that don’t want the date to move, we have heard you. We’ve listened closely to how all of you felt about the Hottest 100 and responded with what’s the right choice, right now, that reflects the variety of complicated views. And it’s a move backed up by more than those survey results.



Who else did you speak to?

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.

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.

So, what will triple j be doing on Australia Day, 26 January?

Highlighting the diversity of Australia. We’ll be broadcasting a bunch of special programming that covers some of the day’s biggest events, like the Young Australian of the Year, citizenship ceremonies, the Australia vs England One Day Series, Yabun Festival, and much more. Plus, we’ll be spinning nothing but homegrown music all day long, including the best live Australian music.

This way, both the Hottest 100 and Australia Day get the coverage they deserve as separate events.

What about future years?

For now, we’re focussing on the 2018 Hottest 100 Weekend and our new Australia Day coverage across the fourth weekend of January. It is just one day’s move, but it’s a big change for everyone to get used to. In 2019 the Hottest 100 Weekend will again be the fourth weekend of January.

Will you continue to work with AIME?

Yep. As we’ve done since 2015, we’re partnering with AIME (Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience) to raise funds to help support Indigenous kids through high school and into university, training and employment. Last Hottest 100, you helped raise a quarter of a million dollars, which meant AIME could increase its program to 7,000 students. Stay tuned, we’ll be announcing more details about our 2018 partnership soon.

So, what is this year’s #1 song going to be?

Well, that’s over to you! Start getting your playlists sorted; voting for the 2018 Hottest 100 countdown opens Tuesday 12 December.