British pop sensation Olivia Dean has taken out the number one spot in Australia’s largest music poll, Triple J’s Hottest 100, with her single Man I Need.

The breezy neo-soul hit, which has spent more than nine weeks atop the Aria singles chart, was widely tipped as the favourite to win the 2025 vote, in which 2.1m votes were cast. Dean finished ahead of Australian artist Keli Holiday, whose TikTok-fuelled earworm Dancing2 claimed No 2.

The top five was completed by British singer Raye’s worldwide hit Where Is My Husband! at No 5, Playlunch’s “bogan funk” anthem Keith (which came with its own strong language warning) at No 4 and Tame Impala’s Dracula at No 3.

While Dean’s victory came as little surprise, with a total of four songs in the countdown, the standout story from this year’s countdown was the strong performance of Australian artists. The 2024 Hottest 100 featured just 29 songs from Australian acts, the lowest result since 1996 – a tally that was surpassed around the halfway point of this year’s countdown.

Overall, 53 songs with Australian artists as the main credited act made the list, not including Amyl & The Sniffers’ guest appearance on UK electronic dynamo Fred Again…’s You’re A Star.

Fremantle band Spacey Jane scored the most entries for an Australian artist with five in total, followed by Ocean Alley, Tame Impala, Ninajirachi and Royel Otis with four each.

In December, Triple J reported that 55% of the music played on the station in 2025 was by Australian artists, comfortably above its mandated 40% quota, while 19 of its top 30 most-played artists for the year were Australian. For the first time, this year’s voting page also included an option to search by Australian artists only, which may have boosted local representation.

Dean’s win is the third win in a row for a solo female artist, following Chappell Roan in 2024 and Doja Cat in 2023.

In a pop era dominated by solo artists, one standout theme was the relatively strong showing of Australian indie-rock and indie-pop bands, led by the likes of Spacey Jane, Royel Otis, Ocean Alley and The Rions. Electronic and dance music were also well represented across the countdown, from internationally renowned acts such as Kettama and Fred Again… to major Australian club draws Fisher and Dom Dolla. DJ and producer Ninajirachi led the tally for Australian electronic talent, with four entries.

Heavy music and metal, by contrast, were almost entirely absent, with masked UK hard rockers Sleep Token creeping in at No 95 with Caramel.

While the countdown overall had significant crossover with Triple J’s most-played artists of 2025, TikTok virality also played a clear role in shaping the countdown. International acts Addison Rae, Doechii, Raye and Olivia Dean are hugely popular on the platform, while Australian artist Peach PRC boasts 2.2 million TikTok followers and placed at No 82 with Miss Erotica.

The broadcast itself included many good-natured moments, from listeners calling in around the country to interviews with musicians. Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker reported from a BBQ while wearing a Ninajirachi t-shirt gifted by Australian DJ Nina Las Vegas (and later jumped into Spacey Jane’s Zoom call after the band placed at No 6 with Whateverrrr), while Lily Allen called in from a holiday in Mexico to marvel at her recent career resurgence, with Pussy Palace and West End Girl reaching No 38 and No 88 respectively.

Along the way, Triple J raised over $500,000 for its charity partner We Are Mobilise, which supports Australians experiencing homelessness.

And having clearly built an adoring fan base in Australia, Olivia Dean will celebrate her win on an arena-sized headline tour in October – with shows sold out long before the countdown began.