Song · Silverchair
“Freak” by Silverchair
From the album Freak Show (1996)
“Freak” by Silverchair appears on 5 radio countdowns from 3 stations between 1997 and 2025. It was first released in 1996 on the album Freak Show. Its best result is #13 on the Triple J Hottest 100 of 1997. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #88 alternative song of 1997.
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"Freak" was the first single from Freak Show, Silverchair's second album, and it comes out swinging. Daniel Johns wrote it alone, words and music, and it's all sludgy, lurching riff and a sneering, stop-start chorus, with Nick Launay producing and recording it for Murmur and Andy Wallace mixing it to a hard grunge sheen.
It went to No. 1 on the ARIA singles chart, the band's second chart-topper at home after "Tomorrow" in 1994, and they wouldn't have another until "Straight Lines" in 2007. In America it reached 25 on Mainstream Rock and 29 on Modern Rock Tracks. One of the single's B-sides was a cover of Radio Birdman's "New Race", and the song has held up: the Guardian ranked it 21st among the band's best in 2022, and Triple J listeners voted it into their Hottest 100 of Australian Songs in 2025.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 43 | 107.7 The End Seattle, WA | The End Top 107 Songs of 1997 | 107 |
| 1997 | 34 | X103.9 Riverside-San Bernardino, CA | X103.9 Top 103.9 Songs of 1997 | 104 |
| 1997 | 13 | Triple J Australia (national) | Triple J Hottest 100 of 1997 | 100 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 78 | Triple J | Triple J Hottest 100 of the Past 20 Years (2013) | 100 |
| 2025 | 72 | Triple J | Triple J Hottest 100 of Australian Songs (2025) | 100 |
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