Update: Winner of the triple J Hottest 100 of 2018 has been announced
Update: Hottest 100 of 2018 has begun – Live updates are here
UPDATE: Hottest 100 Voting Closes: Here Are The Songs Leading The Votes So Far
ORIGINAL STORY: “The internet’s most accurate prediction of triple j’s Hottest 100”, 100 Warm Tunas, is back for another year.
The Hottest 100 vote-tracking algorithm created by 23-year-old Sydney software engineer Nick Whyte is now in its third year, after accurately predicting eight of the top 10 songs which appeared in both the 2016 and 2017 Hottest 100s.
With voting now open for the Hottest 100 of 2018, Whyte has thrown his tuna net into the depths of the internet again, using his algorithm to analyse screenshots of Hottest 100 votes which have been posted to Instagram.
At the time of writing, 100 Warm Tunas has collected around 7,000 votes since launching on Tuesday, with songs by Childish Gambino, Ocean Alley, Amy Shark, DZ Deathrays and Dean Lewis sitting in the top five.
“Looking at the early figures, there’s no doubt that ‘This Is America’ by Childish Gambino will rank high,” Whyte tells Music Feeds. “Additionally, I’m expecting Amy Shark’s ‘I Said Hi’ to appear somewhere in the top five.”
While Whyte’s system is scouring a number of public hashtags (#hottest100, #triplejhottest100, #triplejhottest1002018, #hottest1002018 and #triplej), this year music fans with private Instagram accounts can also submit their votes to 100 Warm Tunas by sending a direct message on Instagram.
“This will allow us to collect more votes since Instagram users who want to vote but either have a private Instagram account or do not wish to post publicly now have an opportunity to share their votes,” Whyte says.
This year’s 100 Warm Tunas will be “the most accurate yet”, Whyte says, thanks to an improved image recognition process and “knowledge, data and research from the previous years”.
Whyte says he is also considering expanding his vote tracking to Twitter this year, which could lead to “a more meaningful distribution of data and hopefully eliminate the bias of the ‘Instagram demographic'”.
So after two years in the game, why is Whyte still so passionate about tracking Australia’s Hottest 100 votes?
“I’d honestly say I love the data analysis side of the project,” he says. “It’s really awesome to be able to work with such large-scale data and see how predictions can be made using it.
“I think this project really brings two of my interests together; programming and music. So this is a pretty big driver of what motivates me.”
You can follow Whyte’s process at the 100 Warm Tunas website, and check out his self-updating Spotify playlist of the most-voted songs.
Kendrick Lamar claimed first place in the Hottest 100 of 2017 with his huge hit ‘HUMBLE.’, after 2.35 million votes were cast in last year’s countdown.
The Hottest 100 of 2018 will be broadcast on Sunday, 27th January 2019, with the Hottest 200 to follow on Monday, 28th January.
RELATED: Hottest 100 Of 1998 To Be Replayed On Double J
