Doja Cat tops Hottest 100, G Flip breaks countdown record

American singer Doja Cat has taken out triple j’s 2023 Hottest 100 with her song Paint the Town Red, making her the first female rapper and woman of colour to win the vote for hottest song of the year.

In a countdown so close that only one vote separated two songs in the top five, Australian singer G Flip came in second with The Worst Person Alive – and also broke the record for the number of songs featured in the charts.

Doja Cat has won the Hottest 100 for 2023.Credit: Getty

While announced in January 2024, the countdown is a poll of the most popular songs from 2023.

It was a huge night for G Flip, real name Georgia Claire Flipo. The Melbourne-based singer broke Hottest 100 records as they became the only artist to have seven tracks in the charts. Earlier in the day they joined an exclusive club, becoming one of only three artists to ever get six entries in a single Hottest 100 chart (Wolfmother set the bar in 2005, and Spacey Jane joined it in 2022).

“I’m just a bit overwhelmed,” they told hosts Bryce Mills and Concetta Caristo on the phone from the UK. “I never thought I’d get so high.”

G Flip broke a Hottest 100 record.Credit: Getty

“It means so much,” they said, overwhelmed and teary. “Thank you everyone for getting around me. It’s really cool. I just love the triple j Hottest 100.”

The top five songs constantly shifted in the final days of voting.

Australian music producer Dom Dolla had a remarkable evening, with two songs in the top five (Saving Up in third spot and Rhyme Dust, with DJ MK, in the fourth spot).

In fifth place was Prada, by Cassö, Raye and D-Block Europe. British producer Fred Again and Americans Olivia Rodrigo and SZA similarly dominated the countdown, each gaining four entries.

Billie Eilish was also among highest-ranked solo female artists with her song What Was I Made For, which came in at number seven. She became the first solo female artist to have won the Hottest 100 with Bad Guy in 2019.

Troye Sivan was widely predicted to take out the top award with his hit Rush – but the song came in at number eight. In his debut on the countdown, the South African-born, Perth-raised singer had three songs in the top 100.

But Sivan wasn’t the only upset on the forecasts. Earlier predictions from websites such as 100 Warm Tunas, which ranked songs based on posts on social media about voting, were discounted when Kylie Minogue’s Padam Padam, suggested by the site to rank 10th, came in at 48.

The Hottest 100 was full of surprises in 2023.Credit: Triple J

But the pop icon still made Hottest 100 history, smashing the record for the longest time between songs that made it onto the charts. Padam Padam broke a 26-year-long break in the charts – Minogue last appeared in 1997 with Did It Again.

Therapy by Budjerah, another favourite, arrived at number 19, with the top-rating artist breaking into the Hottest 100 for the first time.

“That’s pretty wild,” the Coodjinburra singer said from Los Angeles when he heard he ranked in the top 10. Having just left his studio in Los Angeles, the star was listening to the countdown with his mother and younger brother, pizza and Capri Sun in hand.

In addition to Budjerah, this year’s countdown featured 52 songs from Australian artists, including South Coast bands Pacific Avenue and The Terrys and rapper Genesis Owusu.

There were a few artist sandwiches throughout the mix, too: Troye Sivan and Olivia Rodrigo had their hits interspersed throughout songs 31-34, while G Flip took out the 22nd and 24th spots.

There were 109 F-bombs scattered throughout the countdown, which ran from midday to just before 7.30pm, but there were more throughout the broadcast, including from bandmates Old Mervs, whose track Sweetheart ranked 47.

“Hopefully you’ve got the delay thing where you can flick it [if we swear],” the pair joked on the phone from a car in the middle of a farm, after dropping several expletives in shock.

“We just wanna say, f---ing oath. We love ya,” they said to those who voted for them.

But the countdown was not only about enjoying good music: listeners raised money for Headspace, the youth mental health foundation. Hottest 100 T-shirts were sold online for $45, the price of one youth mentor session. Listeners raised hundreds of thousands for the charity.

The countdown is among the most popular days for the youth station, which has faced difficulty attracting younger listeners to its digital and radio offerings, but the annual broadcast attracts listeners from around the world.

2023 triple j Hottest 100 top 10

1. Paint the Town Red - Doja Cat
2. The Worst Person Alive - G Flip
3. Saving Up - Dom Dolla
4. Rhyme Dust - MK and Dom Dolla
5. Prada - Cassö, Raye and D-Block Europe
6. Adore U - Fred Again and Obongjayar
7. What Was I Made For - Billie Eilish
8. Rush - Troye Sivan
9. Lovin on Me - Jack Harlow
10. Chemical - Post Malone