Sydney, January 25 2021: ‘Music makes the people come together’. Who said that? That’s right, Madonna. And, as we know, anything this enduring cultural icon says instantly becomes gospel truth (and law, in our eyes).
To put it in more *Australian* terms, music and dating go together like meat pies and tomato sauce. Or Maccas fries and ice cream (try it, you’ll never go back). Sparking up a chat about your fave artist, going to watch a band on a first date or just sharing a Spotify playlist is always a sure fire way to make sure you and the person you’re chatting to are vibing on the same sonic wavelength. In fact, 2-in-5 of young Aussies say that having the same taste in music is one of the most important factors when it comes to dating.
As we approach one of Australia’s most important musical moments - triple j’s Hottest 100 countdown - we wanted to take a moment to rummage around Aussie’s chosen Tinder Anthems to see what songs Aussie daters are using on their profiles to sonically woo potential suitors. We’re calling it Tinder’s 100 Dating Anthems - the list of audio goodness facilitating swipes in Australia. And here are our six main take-outs:
The TikTok effect is real: The top five tracks in the 100 Dating Anthems are all viral earworms that have been doing the rounds on TikTok. From The Weeknd’s Blinding Lights (admit it, you’ve tried to learn the dance) to the wet cats of WAP, these are the same songs that have been blasting out of our phones during relentless scrolling sessions over the past year
It’s the US artists, for me: America! F*ck Yeah! Americana has reigned supreme on Aussie’s Tinder beats - with US artists dominating most of the 100 Dating Anthems. While the OG Hottest 100 champions tons of homegrown Aussie and NZ artists (hi BENEE!), very few make it into Tinder profiles (with exceptions of RUFUS, Lime Cordiale and Sticky Fingers)
Time to update your anthem: We asked and Gen-z Aussies voted, and they are most likely to match with someone if they have Billie Eilish or Harry Styles as their Anthem on Tinder. The only issue? Aussie aren’t practising what they preach, with Harry Styles's summer hit Watermelon Sugar sitting at a surprising #19 and Billie Eillish’s everything i wanted barely making the list ranking at #96.
Rap, WAP & Mac Domination: Rap artists abound on the 100 Dating Anthems list, with acts like Megan Thee Stallion & Cardi B serving body-oddy-oddy WAP realness and Drake, Roddy Rich and DaBaby taking top spots in the top ten. There’s also a sprinkling of nostalgia with the likes of Fleetwood Mac’s Dreams (no doubt after its meme-fuelled comeback of late 2020) and The Killers’ Mr Bridgside (?) which feels like heavy Millennial energy to us
Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi: National treasures are romantic in theory, but not in practice. You’ll notice icons from Johnny Farnham, to Nollsy and Daryl Braithwaite didn’t crack the top 100, despite Daryl coming in as the 7th artist Aussies are most likely to look out for on someone’s Tinder profile. No need to panic, The Veronica’s just made the cut with Untouched coming it at #59
The unexpected sounds of swipe: There were some artists we expected to see a few times on the list, from Drake holding five spots, The Weeknd with four and Juice WRLD at six. But the real surprise was Aussie daters love for country music with Luke Coombs holding three spots in the 100 Dating Anthems for Beer Never Broke My Heart (#33), Beautiful Crazy (#38) and When It Rains It Pours (#83). And TBH we aren’t mad about ABBA sliding into the top 100 with Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) sitting at #69
And if you’re in need of an ice-breaker? Check out these belters inspired by some of the top 100 tunes
Feeling sassy? ‘Certified freak, seven days a week’ (Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion - WAP)
Feeling moody? ‘I’m a sad girl, in this big world’ (BENEE - supalonely)
Feeling direct? ‘If I put it quite plainly, just gimme them babies’ (Ariana Grande - 34+35)
Feeling *mysterious*? ‘Have you any dreams you’d like to sell’ (Fleetwood Mac - Dreams)
So there you have it. While the nation awaits the reveal of its annual musical countdown and 1-in-5 gen-z’s judge their date by their hottest 100 submissions, the single gen-z’s of the national have shown us their songs to swipe to. The 100 must-know list of anthems sparking conversations and connections throughout Australia is available below, as well as some bite-sized playlists to swipe to:
Tinder’s TikTok-viral faves:
#1. Blinding Lights – The Weeknd
#2. WAP (feat. Megan Thee Stallion) – Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion
#3. The Box – Roddy Ricch
#6. Dreams – 2004 Remaster – Fleetwood Mac
#12. Roses - Imanbek Remix – SAINt JHN, Imanbek
#16. Toosie Slide – Drake
#35. Say So – Doja Cat
#40. Mood (feat. iann dior) – 24kGoldn, iann dior
#49. Don’t Start Now – Dua Lipa
#55. Supalonely – BENEE, Gus Dapperton
#90. 34+35 – Ariana Grande
Home-grown Tinder Anthems:
#14. The Less I Know The Better – Tame Impala
#18. Booster Seat – Spacey Jane
#28. Innerbloom – RÜFÜS DU SOL
#31. Robbery – Lime Cordiale
#44. How To Fly – Sticky Fingers
#53. Feeding The Family – Spacey Jane
#58. Good For You – Spacey Jane
#59. Untouched – The Veronicas
#64. Rum Rage – Sticky Fingers
#72. I Touch Myself (triple j Like A Version) – Lime Cordiale
#88. Confidence – Ocean Alley
#95. Inappropriate Behaviour – Lime Cordiale
2020 Dating #FEELS on Tinder:
#13. Wishing Well – Juice WRLD
#17. Good News – Mac Miller
#21. Mood Swings (feat. Lil Tjay) – Pop Smoke, Lil Tjay
#30. Laugh Now Cry Later (feat. Lil Durk) – Drake, Lil Durk
#47. Do I Wanna Know? – Arctic Monkeys
#52. Self Care – Mac Miller
#55. Supalonely – BENEE, Gus Dapperton
#65. Mood (feat. iann dior) – 24kGoldn, iann dior
#79. Intentions (feat. Quavo) – Justin Bieber, Quavo
#84. I Think I'm OKAY (with YUNGBLUD & Travis Barker) –Machine Gun Kelly, YUNGBLUD, Travis Barker
Americana Dating Anthems on Tinder:
#4. ROCKSTAR (feat. Roddy Ricch) – DaBaby, Roddy Rich
#5. Life is Good (feat. Drake) – Future, Drake
#7. Circles – Post Malone
#8. For the Night (feat. Lil Baby & DaBaby) – Pop Smoke, Lil Baby, DaBab
#45. Lemonade (feat. Gunna, Don Toliver & NAV) – Internet Money, Tory Lanez, DaBaby, Lil Wayne
#48. Lost – Frank Ocean
#89. Sunflower - Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse – Post Malone, Swae Lee
#91. Mr. Brightside – The Killers
#92. Feel Good Inc. – Gorillaz
Tinder Australia’s 100 Dating Anthems of 2020:
1. Blinding Lights – The Weeknd
2. WAP (feat. Megan Thee Stallion) – Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion
3. The Box – Roddy Ricch
4. ROCKSTAR (feat. Roddy Ricch) – DaBaby, Roddy Rich
5. Life is Good (feat. Drake) – Future, Drake
6. Dreams – 2004 Remaster – Fleetwood Mac
7. Circles – Post Malone
8. For the Night (feat. Lil Baby & DaBaby) – Pop Smoke, Lil Baby, DaBaby
9. SUGAR – BROCKHAMPTON
10. Godzilla (feat. Juice WRLD) – Eminem, Juice WRLD
11. Go Crazy – Chris Brown Young Thug
12. Roses - Imanbek Remix – SAINt JHN, Imanbek
13. Wishing Well – Juice WRLD
14. The Less I Know The Better – Tame Impala
15. WHATS POPPIN –Jack Harlow
16. Tootsie Slide – Drake
17. Good News – Mac Miller
18. Booster Seat – Spacey Jane
19. Watermelon Sugar – Harry Styles
20. Come & Go (with Marshmellow) – Juice WRLD, Marshmello
21. Mood Swings (feat. Lil Tjay) – Pop Smoke, Lil Tjay
22. Blueberry Faygo – Lil Mosey
23. HIGHEST IN THE ROOM – Travis Scott
24. Star Shopping – Lil Peep
25. Adore You – Harry Styles
26. hot girl bummer – blackbear
27. Chanel – Frank Ocean
28. Innerbloom – RÜFÜS DU SOL
29. What You Know Bout Love – Pop Smoke
30. Laugh Now Cry Later (feat. Lil Durk) – Drake, Lil Durk
31. Robbery – Lime Cordiale
32. ROXANNE – Arizona Zervas
33. Beer Never Broke My Heart – Luke Combs
34. After Hours – The Weeknd
35. Say So – Doja Cat
36. THE SCOTTS – THE SCOTTS, Travis Scott, Kid Cudi
37. Heat Waves – Glass Animals
38. Beautiful Crazy – Luke Combs
39. Chicago Freestyle (feat. Giveon) – Drake, Giveon
40. Mood (feat. iann dior) – 24kGoldn, iann dior
41. Dior – Pop Smoke
42. Righteous – Juice WRLD
43. SLOW DANCING IN THE DARK – Joji
44. How To Fly – Sticky Fingers
45. Lemonade (feat. Gunna, Don Toliver & NAV) – Internet Money, Tory Lanez, DaBaby, Lil Wayne
46. Lucid Dreams – Juice WRLD
47. Do I Wanna Know? – Arctic Monkeys
48. Lost – Frank Ocean
49. Don’t Start Now – Dua Lipa
50. WHATS POPPIN (feat. DaBaby, Tory Lanez & Lil Wayne) - Remix – Jack Harlow, Tory Lanez, DaBaby, Lil Wayne
51. Falling – Trevor Daniel
52. Self Care – Mac Miller
53. Feeding The Family – Spacey Jane
54. The Woo (feat. 50 Cent & Roddy Ricch) – Pop Smoke, 50 Cent, Roddy Ricch
55. Supalonely – BENEE, Gus Dapperton
56. No Role Modelz – J. Cole
57. BOP – DaBaby
58. Good For You – Spacey Jane
59. Untouched – The Veronicas
60. Sunday Best – Surfaces
61. Run – Joji
62. Nights – Frank Ocean
63. my ex’s best friend (with blackbear) – Machine Gun Kelly, blackbear
64. Rum Rage – Sticky Fingers
65. Mood (feat. iann dior) – 24kGoldn, iann dior
66. No Guidance (feat. Drake) – Chris Brown, Drake
67. positions – Ariana Grande
68. Martin & Gina – Polo G
69. Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) –ABBA
70. Rain – Aitch, AJ Tracey, Tay Keith
71. High Fashion (feat. Mustard) – Roddy Ricch, Mustard
72. I Touch Myself (triple j Like A Version) – Lime Cordiale
73. Ballin’ (with Roddy Ricch) – Mustard, Roddy Ricch
74. In Your Eyes – The Weeknd
75. Party Girl – StaySolidRocky
76. Blue World – Mac Miller
77. Robbery – Juice WRLD
78. The Take (feat. Chris Brown) – Tory Lanez, Chris Brown
79. Intentions (feat. Quavo) – Justin Bieber, Quavo
80. E-GIRLS ARE RUINING MY LIFE! – CORPSE, Savage Ga$p
81. EARFQUAKE – Tyler, The Creator
82. Pump It Up – Endor
83. When It Rains It Pours – Luke Combs
84. I Think I'm OKAY (with YUNGBLUD & Travis Barker) –Machine Gun Kelly, YUNGBLUD, Travis Barker
85. death bed (coffee for your head) (feat. beabadoobee) – Powfu, beabadoobee
86. MIDDLE CHILD – J. Cole
87. Heartless – The Weeknd
88. Confidence – Ocean Alley
89. Sunflower - Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse – Post Malone, Swae Lee
90. 34+35 – Ariana Grande
91. Mr. Brightside – The Killers
92. Feel Good Inc. – Gorillaz
93. Location (feat. Burna Boy) – Dave, Burna Boy
94. Tokyo Drifting (with Denzel Curry) – Glass Animals, Denzel Curry
95. Inappropriate Behaviour – Lime Cordiale
96. everything i wanted – Billie Eilish
97. Still Be Friends (feat. Tory Lanez & Tyga)
98. Papi Chulo – Octavian, Skepta
99. Money Trees – Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock
100. GOOBA – 6ix9ine
