Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
ABC News
ABC News
Entertainment
By Yasmin Jeffery and Paul Donoughue

Billie Eilish makes history by topping triple j's Hottest 100

American singer Billie Eilish has won this year's triple j Hottest 100 with her song Bad Guy, becoming the first female solo artist to take the number one spot in the countdown's history.

While there was a lot of speculation that a cover of the 1996 Rage Against The Machine song Bulls On Parade by US rapper Denzel Curry might win the night, it landed instead at number five.

Number two was Flume's Rushing Back (feat Vera Blue), three was Charlie by Mallrat, and four was Dance Monkey by Tones and I.

Eilish, 18, is also the youngest Hottest 100 winner.

"I love performing it, I'm not tired of it," she told triple j shortly after the win was announced. "I remember when we made it I was talking about it for months and months."

This was a strong year for female solo artists

Five female solo artists made it into the top 10, which is historically dominated by male acts.

Aside from Eilish, Mallrat and Tones and I, there was G Flip — Melbourne musician Georgia Flipo — whose song Drink Too Much hit number six, and Thelma Plum, whose Better In Blak was number nine.

It's symbolic of a slow, subtle change happening within the Australian music business, which has long lacked gender equality everywhere from its boardrooms to its festival line-ups.

Vicki Gordon, founding executive director of the Australian Women in Music Awards, told the ABC the top of the industry remained a "boy's club", but there was agitation for change at a grassroots level.

She said more women being played on the radio — and they remain significantly outnumbered on Australian playlists — would help the industry evolve.

"You've heard the saying you cannot be what you cannot see," she said.

"If women are not represented on commercial radio, or even community radio, regardless of their extraordinary talents and their expertise, they will not be exposed to the public and therefore they do not exist in the culture," Ms Gordon said.

Look back over all the action on the live blog and see what songs placed where.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.