The Macarthur region can boast it has produced the hottest band in the world right now.
That’s because Hoops, a song by The Rubens, who come from Menangle, was yesterday voted number one in Triple J’s Hottest 100 countdown, run every year on Australia Day.
People from across the world cast their votes every year, making this an international music competition without equal.
This year saw the highest ever number of voters in the countdown’s history, with 2,094,000 ballots cast by 298,851 people in 172 countries.
In winning number one, The Rubens pushed Kendrick Lamar’s King Kunta into second place in the Triple J poll.
Australian artists made up 54 per cent of those in the countdown, with 26 Hottest 100 debutants on the list.
But it was Hoops by Menangle musicians Sam Margin (guitar/lead vocals), Elliott Margin (keys/vocals) Zaac Margin (lead guitar), Scott Baldwin (drums) and Will Zeglis (bass) who ended up getting the most votes to win number one spot.
“We honestly don’t believe it,’’ said the boys after their win.
“Thank you everyone who voted! Goodness gracious, you make us feel special,’’ they posted on their Facebook and Twitter accounts.
A blues, soul and rock band, the Rubens’ self-titled album The Rubens gained them domestic success with it reaching No. 3 on the ARIA charts and being nominated for a J Award for Album of the Year.
In 2011, their debut single, Lay It Down, was voted the 57th-most-popular song in the Triple J Hottest 100. Their next single, My Gun, was nominated for Best Music Video in the 2012 ARIA Awards and was also voted 10th-most popular song in the Triple J Hottest 100.
The album, Hoops, was released in August 2015.
The follow-up single from the album, the title track Hoops, reached number 25 on the ARIA Singles Chart before going on to gain enough votes to be number one yesterday on Triple J.
