Song · Empire of the Sun
“Walking On A Dream” by Empire of the Sun
From the album Walking on a Dream (2008)
“Walking On A Dream” by Empire of the Sun appears on 19 radio countdowns from 13 stations between 2008 and 2026. It was first released in 2008 on the album Walking on a Dream. Its best result is #4 on the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2008. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #52 alternative song of 2016, #5,366 alternative song of all time and #422 of the '10s.
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"Walking on a Dream" was the lead single and title track of Empire of the Sun's 2008 debut album, released that August, and it's the Australian duo at their most blissed out: glossy electronic pop that floats rather than pounds. Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore wrote it with Jonathan "Donnie" Sloan, and Peter Mayes co-produced, recorded and mixed it.
At home it reached number ten, went double platinum, and won Single of the Year at the 2009 ARIA Music Awards, with Dance Work of the Year at the APRA Awards following a year later. It kept finding new ears: the 2011 film Hall Pass, the 2012 game Forza Horizon, and a 2016 Honda Civic commercial that finally carried it onto the US Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at 65. In 2025 it placed 24 in Triple J's Hottest 100 of Australian Songs.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
- #5,366 of all time
- #1,143 of the '00s
- #422 of the '10s
- #171 of 2008
- #245 of 2009
- #473 of 2010
- #52 of 2016
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 4 | Triple J Australia (national) | Triple J Hottest 100 of 2008 | 100 |
| 2009 | 11 | CD101 Columbus, OH | CD101 Top 101 Songs of 2009 | 101 |
| 2009 | 55 | The Current Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN | The Current Top 89 Songs of 2009 | 89 |
| 2010 | 43 | 90.5 WERG Erie, PA | WERG Top 90 of 2010 | 90 |
| 2016 | 28 | 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana | 91X Top 91 Songs of 2016 | 91 |
| 2016 | 30 | The Buzz Burlington, VT / Plattsburgh, NY / Montreal, QC | The Buzz Top 99 Songs of 2016 | 99 |
| 2016 | 22 | 96.5 The Buzz Kansas City, MO-KS | 96.5 The Buzz Top 96 Songs of 2016 | 96 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 73 | BBC Radio 6 Music | BBC 6 Music 100 Best Tracks Of The Last 10 Years | 100 |
| 2019 | 18 | ALT 98.7 | ALT 98.7 Top 98 ALT Songs of the Decade | 98 |
| 2022 | 211 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 2000s | 907 |
| 2022 | 364 | 101X | 101X 500 (2022) | 498 |
| 2023 | 530 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time | 909 |
| 2024 | 659 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs of the 21st Century | 1055 |
| 2024 | 697 | WXPN | WXPN The 885 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century (2024) | 885 |
| 2025 | 330 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 21st Century | 909 |
| 2025 | 559 | The Current | 893 Essential Songs of The Current: 2005 to Now | 893 |
| 2025 | 122 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 800 Mood Booster Songs | 800 |
| 2025 | 24 | Triple J | Triple J Hottest 100 of Australian Songs (2025) | 100 |
| 2026 | 394 | 101X | 101X 500 (2026) | 500 |
Also listed as: Walking on a Dream; Walking On a Dream.
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