Artist · chart history
Empire of the Sun
Band Sydney Australia Formed 2006
Empire of the Sun formed in 2006 in Sydney, Australia. Empire of the Sun has 39 chart appearances on 34 radio countdowns from 22 stations on RockLists, spanning 2008–2026. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “Walking On A Dream”, which appears on 19 lists with a best position of #4. The station that charted Empire of the Sun most often is Triple J (Australia (national)), with 6 appearances. The artist’s biggest year on year-end countdowns was 2016.
Empire of the Sun is what happens when two Sydney dreamers decide to build a spaceship out of synthesizers. Luke Steele came from the alternative rock band the Sleepy Jackson, Nick Littlemore from the electronic dance outfit Pnau, and together they made shimmering, starry-eyed synth-pop that owes as much to glam and new wave as to the dance floor.
Walking on a Dream, their 2008 debut, was the breakthrough: the title track floats along on a sunny, slinky groove and went top 10 in Australia, and "We Are the People" charted in Britain on a woozy, wide-eyed melody. The album went double platinum at home and gold in the UK, and at the ARIA Awards of 2009 it earned 11 nominations and won 7, Album of the Year among them.
They took their time after that. Ice on the Dune landed in June 2013 with the soaring "Alive", Two Vines followed in October 2016 with "High and Low", and Ask That God came in July 2024. On stage they go all in, with flamboyant costumes and sets built like a sci-fi opera, which is just about the only way this music could be played live.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs by Empire of the Sun on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walking On A Dream | 19 | #4 | – | 2016 | |
| 2 | High and Low | 10 | #19 | – | 2016 | |
| 3 | Alive | 5 | #13 | – | 2013 | |
| 4 | We Are the People | 3 | #64 | – | 2008 | |
| 5 | The Feeling You Get | 1 | #68 | – | 2024 | |
| 6 | Friends | 1 | #95 | – | 2017 |
Albums with charting songs
Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.
Year-end chart timeline
Combined year-end countdown points per year. Taller bars mean more songs placing higher across more stations.
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