Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann. The show has had other names and other presenters, as detailed below.

The weekly number-ones are released by Musikmarkt and go TV.

Presently four charts are published:

Note that online versions of the chart at charts.orf.at and austriancharts.at still list 75 top positions and are known by various outlets and presentations as Ö3 Austria Top 75, but charts.orf.at still labels itself as "Ö3 Austria Top 40" and broadcast versions only quote the top 40 with the rest of the positions 41 to 75 considered as "bubbling under".

Between 1968 and 2007, the names of the show were Disc Parade, Die Großen 10 von Ö3, Pop Shop, Hit wähl mit, Die Großen 10, Ö3 Top-30 and Ö3 Austria Top 40.

Austria (ⁱ/ˈɒstriə/ or /ˈɔːstriə/; German: Österreich [ˈøːstɐˌʁaɪç] ( listen)), officially the Republic of Austria (German:  Republik Österreich (help·info)), is a landlocked country of roughly 8.47 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Hungary and Slovakia to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. The territory of Austria covers 83,855 square kilometres (32,377 sq mi) and has a temperate and alpine climate. Austria's terrain is highly mountainous due to the presence of the Alps; only 32% of the country is below 500 metres (1,640 ft), and its highest point is 3,798 metres (12,461 ft). The majority of the population speak local Austro-Bavarian dialects of German as their native language, and German in its standard form is the country's official language. Other local official languages are Burgenland Croatian, Hungarian and Slovene.

The origins of modern-day Austria date back to the time of the Habsburg dynasty when the vast majority of the country was a part of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. During the 17th and 18th centuries, Austria became one of the great powers of Europe and, in response to the coronation of Napoleon I as the Emperor of the French, the Austrian Empire was officially proclaimed in 1804. In 1867, the Austrian Empire was reformed into Austria-Hungary.

Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album ...Baby One More Time in 1999, which became the best-selling album by a teenage solo artist. During her first decade in the music industry, she became a prominent figure in mainstream popular music and popular culture, followed by a much-publicized personal life. Her first two albums established her as a pop icon and broke sales records, while title tracks "...Baby One More Time" and "Oops!... I Did It Again" became international number-one hits. Spears was credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s, and became the 'best-selling teen aged artist of all time' before she turned 20, garnering her the honorific title of "Princess of Pop".

Gabriella Lucia Cilmi ( /ˈtʃɪlmi/ CHIL-mee; born 10 October 1991) is an Australian singer-songwriter. In 2008, Cilmi was awarded six ARIA awards including Single of the Year and Best Female Artist. Her debut album, Lessons to Be Learned was released in 2008, and was a moderate international success. Then, she recorded in 2010 her second album, Ten. As of January 2012, a new album is planned for 2012 spring, and a teaser of the album is available on YouTube with the song "Vicious Love"

Cilmi had enjoyed success since 2008, mainly with her hit singles, "Sweet About Me" and "On a Mission" (Ten).

Cilmi was born in the Melbourne suburb of Dandenong. Of Italian-Albanian(Arbereshe) heritage, she moved to London with her family when she was 15, where she currently lives with her parents Paula and Joe (whose origins are in Crotone, Calabria, Italy) and her brother Joseph.

At an early age, Cilmi developed an interest in a wide range of pop music acts, including Nina Simone, Led Zeppelin, Janis Joplin, The Sweet, T. Rex and Cat Stevens. She has also cited Suzi Quatro as a particular influence. Despite her natural aptitude and vocal talent, Cilmi was told that she lacked the discipline necessary to pursue a singing career. Idolising Janis Joplin, during this time she sang with a band (Foucault) cover songs by Led Zeppelin, Jet, Silverchair and others. Cilmi recorded original songs with writer/producers Barbara and Adrian Hannan of The SongStore.

Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American recording artist, actress, producer, and model. In 2009, the Guinness World Records cited her as the most-awarded female act of all-time. Houston was one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold over 170 million albums, singles and videos worldwide. She released seven studio albums and three movie soundtrack albums, all of which have diamond, multi-platinum, platinum or gold certification. Houston's crossover appeal on the popular music charts, as well as her prominence on MTV, starting with her video for "How Will I Know", influenced several African American female artists to follow in her footsteps.

Houston is the only artist to chart seven consecutive No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hits. She is the second artist behind Elton John and the only female artist to have two number-one Billboard 200 Album awards (formerly "Top Pop Album") on the Billboard magazine year-end charts. Houston's 1985 debut album Whitney Houston became the best-selling debut album by a female act at the time of its release. The album was named Rolling Stone's best album of 1986, and was ranked at number 254 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Her second studio album Whitney (1987) became the first album by a female artist to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 albums chart.