The triple j Hottest 100 is an Australian institution, and this Saturday's countdown will be a future time capsule of the greatest tunes of 2022.
It's also going to be a thriller — voting in the annual poll closed on Monday, and it's been a tight race, with the national broadcaster reporting in recent weeks that fewer than 125 votes separated #1 and #2.
This year's countdown also has the potential to see some long-standing Hottest 100 records broken, though not without their share of controversy.
Here are some records to keep an eye on as triple j counts down the Hottest 100 (and simultaneously raises money for the Australian Conservation Foundation).
Who has the most entries (or appearances) ever?
The record for the act with the most entries in Hottest 100 history is jointly held by two bands – Powderfinger and Foo Fighters.
Powderfinger reached 22 songs in 2009 when their track All Of The Dreamers lobbed in at #49, while Foo Fighters caught up in 2014, with Something From Nothing giving Dave Grohl's band its 22nd entry.
The two bands have since dropped off the triple j playlists, paving the way for a challenger in the form of Adelaide hip hop icons Hilltop Hoods.
Hilltop Hoods, with 21 entries overall, are a good chance to equal or even break the record, with two songs listed in this year's voting guide.
But depending on how you want to look at it, Hilltop Hoods may already be equal to Powderfinger and Foo Fighters.
Entries vs appearances
In 2017, Hilltop Hoods were featured artists on the Thundamentals track 21 Grams, which reached #61. If this was counted for Hilltop Hoods, they would be on 22 songs.
But triple j Hottest 100 Tally Room host Dave Ruby Howe says that track was counted as a Thundamentals track — not Hilltop Hoods — as it was released by Thundamentals under that band's name.
He says triple j goes by how songs are credited upon release, which often comes down to decisions made by artists' managers, not triple j.
For example, collaborations such as the track Otis (#33 in 2011) by Kanye West & Jay-Z featuring Otis Redding counts towards Kanye West's and Jay-Z's individual tallies as the artists who released the song, but not the late great Redding who is only listed as "featuring".
Ruby Howe says the delineation is a way "to make it as easy to follow as possible".
"An entry would be classed as a song that an artist has released themselves," he says.
"So Hilltop Hoods have 21 'entries' — 21 songs they've put out themselves since 2003 when they first charted — but they do have 22 'appearances' if you count it that way because they featured on a track by Thundamentals.
"I prefer just to keep it a bit cleaner and just say 'entries', because if you're doing features [and remixes] and counting that to an overall tally, it's a little too generous perhaps, not to diminish any artist's contribution to a song that they've featured on, but there are certain songs out there which have pretty minimal engagement from that (featured artist)."
Ruby Howe highlighted Kanye West's featured slot on Busta Rhymes's Thank You, which he described as saying "three or four words for about 10 seconds" as an example where it might be too generous.
A counterproposal from a super-fan
Hottest 100 unofficial historian and aficionado Patrick Avenell says he'd like to see triple j change the stat to something more inclusive and in line with the way other charts work, such as Billboard and ARIA, which count "featured" appearances towards an artist's tally of hits.
"You have the situation of Somebody That I Used To Know (#1 in 2011), which is listed as Gotye featuring Kimbra, but that only counts for Gotye."
He says the delineation between whether a track says "featured" or "and" between artists' names, or that doesn't count towards the remixer, is "a distinction without a difference".
"The fundamental principle guiding the way I [record them] is that I want to be as inclusive as possible and I want it to be consistent, so instead of looking for reasons to not count it, I'm looking for reasons to count it.
"So I want 21 Grams to count for Hilltop Hoods because I want them to have an extra entry — I don't want to be taking something away.
"Sam Smith has appeared twice [as a featured artist] on Disclosure tracks — I think it's good that Sam Smith's been in the Hottest 100, I think it's good Rihanna's been in the Hottest 100.
"I think if you start drawing a line where it says 'featured', you start cutting off those people.
"And it does tend to be female artists that get the 'feature' slot — you do tend to be taking away more female, or in Sam Smith's case non-binary, artists than you do male artists."
What does it all mean for this year?
When it comes to entries, Hilltop Hoods have the potential to join Powderfinger and Foo Fighters at the top of the leaderboard on 22, or even eclipse them (they have two songs in the voting guide).
As for appearances as a named act, Hilltop Hoods have the opportunity to become outright leaders, but Sydney producer Flume also has a chance to move to the front of the class in this category.
With his 14 official entries and four remixes, plus seven songs in this year's voting guide, Flume could leapfrog everyone after Saturday's countdown and top the table for most appearances (but not most entries).
Here are some less controversial records that are in the firing line this year.
Most entries in a year
One of the longest-standing records in an annual Hottest 100 is Wolfmother's remarkable six songs in the 2005 poll.
Plenty of artists have had five songs in a single countdown — Queens Of The Stone Age, The White Stripes, Powderfinger, Hilltop Hoods, Violent Soho, Billie Eilish, Lime Cordiale, Doja Cat and Olivia Rodrigo have all achieved the feat.
But could this be the year when an act equals or betters Wolfmother's Big Six?
Flume, Spacey Jane and Gang Of Youths all have seven songs in the voting guide.
Hottest 100 longevity
Saturday's countdown will be the 30th annual Hottest 100, and while there are acts that featured in the 1993 poll still pumping out records, most of them aren't getting played on triple j these days (hello Smashing Pumpkins and Dave Graney).
At present, the longest span between first appearance and most recent appearance is 29 countdowns — a record held by Paul Kelly.
Kelly collaborated with Christine Anu on the track Last Train (#61 in 1993) and then turned up in last year's countdown featuring on Ziggy Ramo's version of Little Things, which snuck in at #99.
Other 1993 entrants with long Hottest 100 spans are Zack de la Rocha of Rage Against The Machine (who appeared on a Run The Jewels song in 2014), Tim Rogers of You Am I (featuring on a Bamboos track in 2012), Robert Smith of The Cure (guesting with Crystal Castles in 2010), and Damon Albarn of Blur back in 2010 with his post-Blur band Gorillaz.
Albarn is a chance to break Kelly's longevity record — there are two Gorillaz tracks in the voting guide this year.
Should Gorillaz fail to make the grade and deny Albarn a 30-countdown Hottest 100 span, then Daniel Johns of Silverchair could equal Kelly's record.
Silverchair were in the 1994 countdown (Tomorrow at #5), and Johns has two songs in this year's voting guide, which would potentially give him a 29-year span between first entry and most recent entry.
Most top-10 appearances in consecutive years
The holder of this record is Billie Eilish, who last year scored her fourth consecutive top 10 placing in the annual countdown.
With two songs in the voting guide (TV and The 30th), could Eilish go top 10 again and stretch her record to five?
If Eilish appears anywhere in Saturday's countdown, she'll also strengthen her lead as the woman with the most Hottest 100 appearances — she's currently on 14, ahead of Lorde on 13 (counting her guest spot on Disclosure's Magnets in 2015) and Stephanie Ashworth from Something For Kate on 13 (Ashworth wasn't in Something For Kate for their first Hottest 100 entry in 1997).
The longest streak
The Living End managed to chart in 10 consecutive countdowns from 1997 to 2006.
They will continue to hold that record this year, but Peking Duk are closing in with their streak beginning in 2014.
If either of their two songs in the voting guide get a guernsey on Saturday, it will give Peking Duk an appearance in nine consecutive countdowns, setting them up for a record-equalling 10 next year.
