Triple J Hottest 100 2026: Start Time, Finish Time, How to Listen, and the Names Driving Predictions

If you’re planning your day around the triple j Hottest 100 in 2026, the biggest practical detail is the clock. The countdown runs as an all-day ritual: long enough to turn into a backyard soundtrack, a road-trip companion, or a group chat obsession, with the No. 1 moment landing in the evening in Australia. The other detail that matters just as much is the label confusion—people call it “Hottest 100 2026,” but it’s the Hottest 100 of 2025 being broadcast in January 2026.

The timing that shapes the whole day (and why it matters)

The Hottest 100 broadcast is built for momentum: it starts at lunchtime in Australia, climbs through the afternoon, and peaks at night when the top few tracks roll in. That structure is why “start time” and “finish time” questions spike every year—if you join late, you miss the slow-burn build; if you leave early, you miss the payoff.

Here’s the practical schedule most listeners plan around:

• Date (2026 broadcast): Saturday, 24 January 2026

• Start time: 12:00pm AEDT

• When No. 1 typically plays: around 7:30pm to 8:00pm AEDT

• When it usually wraps: shortly after the winner (often with an encore play of the top track), roughly around 8:00pm AEDT give or take a little on-air chatter

If you’re outside Australia and trying to sync up, AEDT is UTC+11. In Cairo (UTC+2) on that date, that translates to:

• Start: 3:00am Cairo

• No. 1 window: 10:30am–11:00am Cairo

• Wrap: roughly around 11:00am–12:00pm Cairo

It’s easy to overlook, but the “finish time” is never a hard stop—small variations happen because of presenter breaks, station segments, and the traditional encore for the winner.

Hottest 100 live: how to listen without missing the key moments

“Hottest 100 live” really just means listening in real time as the countdown airs. The simplest options are:

• Live radio broadcast (where triple j is available in your area)

• Digital/online listening through triple j’s official streaming options

If you’re jumping in and out during the day, the part that matters is the shape of the countdown: the first half is where surprises and cult favourites tend to surface; the back half is where predictions tighten and the likely winner becomes harder to ignore.

Mini timeline (Australia time) to plan the day:

• 12:00pm AEDT: Countdown begins

• Mid-afternoon: The list starts to feel “serious” as songs with broad support cluster closer together

• Early evening: The top 20 becomes a shared live event—texts, parties, and debates go into overdrive

• 7:30pm–8:00pm AEDT: The winner typically lands

• After the winner: Quick celebrations, recaps, and the winner’s encore play

Hottest 100 predictions: why Olivia Dean keeps coming up

Predictions are always a mix of fan heat, playlist gravity, and how widely a song travelled beyond its original scene. This year, one name has been consistently treated as the pace-setter in predictions: Olivia Dean, with “Man I Need” repeatedly talked about as a leading contender.

That doesn’t guarantee anything—Hottest 100 history is full of late surges and left-field outcomes—but it does explain why so many prediction lists are circling the same core ideas:

• A song that feels unavoidable across the year tends to stack votes efficiently

• A track that crosses listener “sub-groups” (genre fans, casual listeners, repeat voters) usually peaks higher than niche favourites

• The final stretch often rewards songs that people remember emotionally, not just the ones they streamed the most

The real test will be whether the frontrunners convert broad, quiet support—not just loud online enthusiasm—because the Hottest 100 is won by volume across thousands of individual ballots, not by whoever dominates the conversation for a week.

A quick note on “Hottest 100 Australian songs” vs the main countdown

You’ll see “Hottest 100 Australian songs” mentioned alongside the main event because it’s a separate themed countdown that ran as a special, while the January broadcast is the annual, all-songs poll for the past year’s releases. In 2026 talk, most people searching “triple j hottest 100 australian songs” are either mixing those up or trying to gauge how strong local representation might be in the main list.

Either way, the key takeaway for 2026 planning is simple: Saturday 24 January 2026, midday AEDT start, with the winner expected in the 7:30–8:00pm AEDT window—and if you want the full experience, treat it like an all-day build rather than a late-night check-in.