More than 2.6 million people voted in Triple J’s Hottest 100 of Australian Songs poll, anointing INXS as the Aussiest of Aussie bands for their classic anthem Never Tear Us Apart.

The full list spans decades, genres and regions. But there were some key standouts – and some burning questions – as the results rolled in on Saturday afternoon.

How did the mid-year, all-Australian Hottest 100 become another cultural moment?

Lachlan Macara, the head of Triple J, said the campaign began as a neat way to recognise 50 years of the station but soon grew into a chance for Australians from all walks of life “to share our feelings of our unique cultural worth”.

“Our audience really understands we really need to get behind Australian music at the moment”, Macara said. “If we want the next 50 years to sound as good as the last 50, we need to stay really fucking loud about how good it is.”

Linda Marigliano, a former Triple J presenter, said the station has tapped into something special with young Australians for decades, meeting them where they are, year after year, about “what’s important to them”. The all-Australian countdown created an “extra sense of ownership and … patriotism”, she said.

“You’re having these passionate arguments between people of different generations about songs from different generations.” she said. “I think that is what one of the most exciting things”.

The songs span decades but Triple J says the biggest voters were 18 to 29. Why?

Macara said Triple J wasn’t surprised the most votes in the Hottest 100 came from the 18 to 29 demographic, the station’s key listenership. But he said it was fascinating to see so many votes come in from people for songs that came out before they were born

“We know how big nostalgia is”, he said. “Classics are classics for a reason.”

Chris Cheney, the lead singer of The Living End – whose song Prisoner of Society came in at number 41 on Saturday – said the Australian Hottest 100 became a spectacle reminiscent of when the song came out in 1997, when “kids were ringing in” to radio stations demanding to hear it.

“It was a real movement. It harkened back to that [on Saturday] with people just calling in to the DJs from house parties,” he said.

Cheney said while the band never set out to write a classic, great songs brought people together around ideas everyone can relate to.

“You’re just trying to write songs that you like”, he said. “You’re not sure if it’s ever going to get further than the rehearsal room. But this, 25 years later, is extraordinary on a personal level.”

Why are Australians obsessed with INXS’ power ballad?

Marigliano said she was proud INXS topped the list, but thought the results would be different.

“I honestly thought Australians would choose more of a joke song,” she said. “I think there’s this part of me that when the Hottest 100 rolls around I always suspect that the No 1 song will be a big, boisterous crowd pleaser.

“One of the most beautifully written, elegant, heartbreaking, sombre hits comes in at No 1,” she mused of Never Tear Us Apart, “I can’t help but being proud of the elegant little dickheads that we are”.

Will there always be some disagreement when you put out a list like this?

The Hottest 100 was peppered with classic hits from Crowded House, Powderfinger, Paul Kelly and Silverchair. But some were surprised when The Veronicas’ pop anthem Untouched took third place.

Regardless, The Veronicas said on Sunday they were “blown away” by the ranking, saying Untouched represented a feeling of liberation for the duo that was reflected in Australian’s love for having fun.

“It’s been the greatest honour to see this song unite so many different people & scenes around the world, and especially back home in Australia”, the duo wrote.

Macara said it was hard not to get emotional seeing the country have a shared moment together centred on music, saying thousands of people were texting in as each song played on Saturday about how they had soundtracked parts of their lives.

One of those texts read: “I’m on the 246 bus from St Kilda to Abbotsford and loving that I can tell whose headphones are playing the hottest 100 as the headbanging is happening in unison.”

Should the annual Hottest 100 strive to be more Australian?

Macara said he hoped the momentum from the Australian Hottest 100 carried on into the coming countdown wrapping up the best songs of this year. But he said he was struck by the unifying experience of the weekend’s event.

He shared a text Triple J got on Saturday from a longtime listener:

Hi. I’m 70 years old. I still play loud rock’n’roll in a live band. I’ve been listening to Triple J all my life. My kids listen to Triple J. I just want to say that what you are doing today is so important. This music is brings (sic) generations together. And today we’re all listening to the same songs at the same time. Australian songs. It’s bringing people right across the country together That’s a rare and precious thing.

Marigliano said the Australian countdown could encourage people who may be out of the Triple J loop to dive back in and become champions of local acts.

“I think it definitely shines a light on how much we need to care about Australian artists”, Marigliano said. “Especially seeing so many legacy acts in the countdown, all these older songs, and you think, ‘Oh my God, was that the golden era? Do we not care as much any more?’

“We need to care. We need to champion young, strange artists”.

The fun continues this week on Double J: the station plans to unveil 20 songs a day that came in from 200th place to 101st, 10 each morning and 10 each afternoon.