So Fresh is an Australian compilation album series. It began in 2000, as a joint venture from Sony, BMG (later merged into Sony) and Universal,[3] replacing the prior Hit Machine series, which ran from 1993 to 2000. Since 2000, So Fresh albums have been released four times per year, named after each season (Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring), consisting of current hit songs from artists signed to Sony, BMG or Universal.
So Fresh albums have been highly successful in Australia. Every edition from Spring 2000 to Winter 2016 was certified at least platinum (for over 70,000 copies shipped or sold),[a] and every year from 2001–2011, 2014–2015 and 2017–2022, the year's highest selling compilation in Australia has been a So Fresh album.[4] As of Summer 2024, all 94 seasonal So Fresh albums have reached number one on the ARIA Compilations Chart.[a]
Various other So Fresh spin-off albums have also been released, including an annual Christmas compilation each year from 2002 to 2019, and several DVD releases. From September 2003[5] until approximately November 2006,[6]So Fresh also ran a weekly TV show on the Nine Network, featuring "music clips, interviews [and] the ARIA top 10", hosted by Jules Lund (replaced by David Whitehill circa early 2004[7]) and Elysia Pratt.[5]
Discography
Main series
Typically, So Fresh's Autumn, Winter and Spring releases are a single CD, while the Summer releases are a two-CD set, mixing current hits with the "biggest hits" or "best" of the past year. From Autumn 2008[8] to Autumn 2016,[9] the Autumn, Winter and Spring releases included a "bonus DVD" with music videos for selected songs from the CD (from Winter 2014 onwards, separate CD-only versions were also released[10]). Since Summer 2015, the Summer albums have been released in both double-disc versions, and single-disc versions without the "best of".[11]
^The double-disc So Fresh: The Hits of Summer 2015 + The Best of 2014 and single-disc So Fresh: The Hits of Summer 2015 charted separately on the ARIA Compilations Chart in their first week, with the former debuting at number one and the latter at number two. Only one entry for them appeared on the chart from the following week[139] onwards, suggesting their sales were likely combined thereafter.
^Peak position on the ARIA Dance Albums Chart (which does allow various-artists compilations).
^The first So Fresh: Dance was not included on the ARIA Dance Albums Chart.
^ ab"News - So Fresh On TV". Sony BMG Music Entertainment. 3 September 2003. Archived from the original on 16 September 2007. Retrieved 14 September 2021. The success of the So Fresh compilation has initiated a brand new weekly TV program commencing this week on Network Nine. So Fresh will feature music clips interviews, the ARIA Top Ten and more in its one hour Saturday morning show. [...] The program will air at 10am on Saturday mornings from the 6th September. So Fresh will be produced by Crackerjack and presented by hosts Jules Lund and Elysia Platt [sic].
^So Fresh last appears in Channel 9 and Torres News' TV guides in November 2006, and the TV show page is no longer linked on So Fresh's homepage in February 2007:
"So Fresh". So Fresh. Archived from the original on 7 February 2007. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
^David Whitehill appears on the So Fresh website's "Hosts" page in a snapshot from February 2004 and onwards, while Jules Lund was shown in December 2003. Whitehill is only named as "Dave", but his full name is shown in the following TV guide and his own biography:
"Grand Hotel TV Guide". Torres News. No. 687. Thursday Island, Queensland, Australia. 28 December 2005. p. 6. Retrieved 14 September 2021 – via Trove. So Fresh Hits Of 2005 (PG) — Celebrate with hosts David Whitehill and Elysia Pratt as they play the hits of 2005 and welcome in 2006.
"David Whitehill - Bio". David Whitehill. Archived from the original on 21 August 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2021. David then moved on to host the hugely successful and nationally broadcast music show So Fresh.
^ ab"So Fresh: Hits Of Summer 2015 + The Best Of 2014 by Various:, Various, CD". Sanity. 28 November 2014. Archived from the original on 11 May 2015. Retrieved 12 September 2021. For the first time ever, the Summer release, which is the most successful release in the So Fresh range, comes with a single disc option featuring the biggest hits for this Summer, along with the deluxe 2CD offering which gives fans even more hits as well as a careful selection of some of the best and biggest hits of the year!
^"Sofresh - Also Available". So Fresh. Archived from the original on 17 December 2001. Retrieved 14 September 2021. The DVD is shown in the "Also Available" section in December 2001, but not in the previous snapshot from October 2001.
