Yesterday we reported that a fleeting hashtag initiated by Buzzfeed, #Tay4hottest100, a social media experiment encouraging sabotage on Triple J’s Hottest 100, had seen an unexpected surge in popularity – Sportsbet’s odds placed Tay’s true 2014 banger, ‘Shake It Off’ in fourth place.
So what’s gone down in the past 24 hours, a veritable age for the lifespan of a viral hashtag that will be forgotten next week? Quite a lot.
First thing’s first: Sportsbet has upped the ante. Well done, internet, “Shake It Off” has the second best odds on Sportsbet after “High” by Peking Duck. You’ve done good.
“Please, for the love of God, remove all votes for this song,” the petition pleads.
But need people like the dude below clutch their fedoras to their chests, plotting hottest 100 infiltration plans of their own? (Side note. Tend to agree with half of this tweet purely because of intense appreciation of Willow. ICYMI.)
Guys, the song literally has the line ‘haters gonna hate’ in the chorus. It’s just awful. Willow Smith writes better songs. #Tay4Hottest100
— Wes (@notanindividual) January 14, 2015
To be honest, despite the Sportsbet odds, it just seems wildly unlikely that “Shake It Off” will place significantly in the Hottest 100 on Australia. There’s two reasons behind this theory.
1. Voting has been opened since December 15, well before the idea of supporting a Swifty movement was but a seedling in the mind of Buzfeed. Even though it’s grown into a whole fucking forest now, voting closes on January 18, so those jumping on the #Tay4Hottest100 have only 4 days of voting power. It could do some serious damage, sure, but those 4 days make up only around 11% of the voting period.
2. Let’s look at the voting rules stated by Triple J. While voting for “Shake It Off” is allowed – it was released in 2014, and despite not being played on the J’s, voters can add an unlisted song on the voting page. However, Triple J has stated in their rules:
“Play fair! triple j reserves the right to remove artists from the list who have benefited from competitions or commercial campaigns that incentivise fans to vote for them.”
Of course, nullifying votes for Tay would be a total burn of a dick move for Triple J, and it’s unlikely they’d willingly initiate that kind of backlash. But who knows?
Anyway. You can vote however you choose in the triple J Hottest here.
In the meantime, this:
If you listen closely triple j is always quietly playing Taylor Swift under every song. #Tay4Hottest100
— Brendan Maclean (@macleanbrendan) January 15, 2015
