We’re in the thick of Hottest 100 voting season, and as people are sharing what they’ve whittled their lists down to the predictions are coming in thick and fast. Almost entirely unsurprisingly, the frontrunner for the top spot this year is a band that needs absolutely no introduction whatsoever: The Wiggles.
If you cast your minds back to March 2021, when the world was pretty much exactly how it is now except a bit less fucked, you’ll remember a very special Like A Version was unleashed on us.
Blue Wiggle Anthony Field donned a big elephant headpiece, Yellow Wiggle Emma Watkins jumped on the skins, and a supergroup of old and new Wiggles powered through a cover of Tame Impala’s ‘Elephant’.
It’s jaunty, it’s glorious, and it’s absolutely deserving of charting high in the world’s largest musical democracy.
According to Warm Tunas — the Hottest 100 predictor who rarely gets it wrong — this particular Like A Version (that melds together the psychedelic treats of Kev Parker‘s mind with the everlasting hit of ‘Fruit Salad’) is ripe for taking out the top spot on January 22.
Huge stuff, especially for the one bloke who’s been quietly reminding everyone about the instantly iconic cover by tweeting about it every single day until the polls close and the votes are counted.
A reminder every day that @TheWiggles did this until they win @triplej Hottest 100.
Vote Here | https://t.co/Im8ue2kmq2#TheWigglesForHottest100pic.twitter.com/xbvGwgrToU
— The Wiggles For Triple J Hottest 100 (@WigglesTripleJ) January 6, 2022
The Wiggles will make all sorts of Hottest 100 history if they manage to snatch the crown this year. Not only will they be the first children’s group to top the countdown, but it’ll be the first Like A Version entry to win as well.
The last time a Triple J-recorded cover got anywhere near the number one spot was Denzel Curry‘s mammoth run at Rage Against The Machine’s ‘Bulls On Parade’ back in 2019, which came in at number 5.
It’s quite possible that a Wiggles win this year will also set the record for oldest musician to top the Hottest 100, with keyboardist and OG Purple Wiggle Jeff Fatt clocking in at 68-years-old.
Look, I’m not gonna say I called it back in March, but I’m also not not saying that.
