NZ hits of 1998

Well I guess the world was due for another shake up in the music scene this year, after all Billboard foolishly didn't allow several staples of the decade to chart due to it's outdated rules that they corrected this year.

It appears the kiwis were equally in love with this dance remix of an early track from Run DMC's career, as such it was also the biggest hit of the year over there despite this never charting on Billboard or even sparking any buzz over in America.

This was a massive hit for the Backstreet boys in NZ much like it was internationally, again likely due to the single version being slightly different from the album version which was still a common phenomenon back in the day. I feel the video had something to do with it as well as it's a clever take on how their female audience tended to sexualise them and how it ends with them doing the same to some female executives.

I should point out that even though this is a cover of the Kool and the Gang classic from 1985 (which wasn't a hit in NZ funnily enough) that the original didn't have any rapping on it meaning that Pappa Bear did a rap cover of a non-rap song which I think is the only hit of this kind to be as such over the years. It allowed him to score a second hit in NZ later in the year with another cover of an 80's song.

This is technically the biggest hit of Will Smith's solo career in NZ, by all accounts it was "Men in black" but that was pulled from shelves over there the previous year in order to encourage the success of the soundtrack (it didn't work by the way.) This on the other hand was free to chart for as long as it did which is why it remains his biggest hit over there.

This is a song I'm surprised wasn't a hit here in Australia, I guess we Aussies only had room for one group like this at a time as this was released during the height of Aqua's dominance worldwide. It appears the kiwis allowed this to be bigger than anything released from Aqua given how this fellow Danish band didn't have any other success throughout their career over there.

Well just like in Australia, this battle between a boy both singers are fighting over proved to be more successful for Brandy and Monica than it did with the genders reversed for Paul McCartney and MJ from back in the early 80's in NZ. The different being that by this point, both women were among the most successful artists of the decade over there compared to here in Australia meaning this was another easy hit for them both there where it wasn't here.

The delayed success of this song in NZ is the best proof I have that this became a hit in the southern hemisphere not through the merits of the song itself but rather due to P.E teachers making kids do the strange dance from the music video. Why else would this be so successful in the southern hemisphere but only a modest success in their native UK?

While this wasn't as big a hit in NZ as it was in Australia (mainly due to it not clinging to the charts forever in a day over there) it was still a massive hit for N trance likely due to the kiwis having nostalgia for the Rod Stewart classic it samples as well as them finally opening up to EDM around this time.

Apparently, there was a theme to the Rugrats movie (shocking I know) the theme came from Blackstreet of all groups and featured a chorus from Mya who had still yet to have that big solo breakthrough despite being on another movie theme with "Ghetto supastar" with Pras from the Fugees. All of this was enough for the theme to the Nickelodeon theatrical film be a huge success in NZ and their native America.

I guess if I'm in the right mood, I can appreciate this as a campy teen pop track with Celtic influences peppered throughout its short runtime. I'm sure that was the appeal of the song back in the day when it became a massive worldwide hit for the Irish family group, although nowhere was it more successful than in NZ where this beat out most of the competition for the teen pop wars.

For what it's worth, the original from Carl Douglas was a massive success over in NZ before the launch of the RIANZ charts, so it's not like this was the only version of that classic that the kiwis would be familiar with. In fact, I get the feeling this was a hit over there the same way it was here in Australia, the kiwis having nostalgia for the original and being OK with the 90's hip hop replacing the verses of the original.

And the obvious sampling from Puff Daddy continues as he takes David Bowie's "Let's dance" and reworks it as another tribute to Biggie Smalls given how he has the rapper posthumously appear on this track along with Ma$e (again for a second time) and some other rappers that he simply credits as The family. It was a massive hit for everyone involved in NZ and their native America at the time.

There were a ton of female rappers from around this time, one of the lesser-known ones nowadays is Queen pen who was best known back in the day for being the occasional rapper for Blackstreet who were noticeable more successful in NZ than they were even in their native America at the time. Here she recruits Eric Williams from the group to provide a chorus for her to spit rhymes about the love of her life.

This was the third single in NZ from Five, so naturally it was the first big hit over there given how "When the lights go out" curiously underperformed for them over there for some reason. I'm guessing the kiwis didn't care about the similarities this had to Will Smith's earlier entry on this list, which is why it was almost as big a hit over there as that was.

I guess the kiwis were also more impressed with this reworking of the Hot Chocolate classic than its usage in the Full Monty this year, either that or we Aussies and Kiwis simply forgot to reward the original with success like the Brits did in favour of making this EDM rendition of the disco classic a hit in the southern hemisphere. I guess the fact that it only borrows the chorus from the original was a factor as well.

This was a little late to the party in NZ, in fact I'm willing to bet this was only a success over there due to it being one of the biggest hits of the decade here in Australia given how few songs from what has been dubbed the Lilith Fair crowd became hits over there during the 90's.

This was the biggest hit that Ma$e had on his own in NZ, although here he has the assistance of RNB girl group Total to provide him a smooth chorus to connect his verses about how he would treat the woman he's presumably singing to. He doesn't have much respect these days in the hip hop game mainly due to him playing second fiddle to Biggie Smalls in the east coast hip hop scene at the time.

Given how "Barbie girl" was quickly pulled from shelves over in NZ much faster than it was over here in Australia, this means that this second single from Aqua's debut album was by far their biggest hit even factoring in hard sales which is a sign that RIANZ felt this practice was harming their charts back in the day. I wonder if the band were big fans of the Indiana Jones franchise when they wrote this as it's very good for a fanfiction song.

Although "Because we want to" was a sleeper hit over in NZ this year, it was this second single from Billie Piper that would help her stand out from the countless British and European teen pop stars that seemed to be clogging up the mainstream worldwide as the decade was coming to an end. Billie is perhaps best known nowadays for her role as Rose in the Doctor Who franchise.

Well at least this RNB ballad managed to be a success in NZ on time, although I feel like I've said this for multiple entries over the last few lists as RNB in NZ was widely accepted since the start of the decade as opposed to Australia where it generally needed to be a success over there before it crossed over here.

Well, this isn't a rock and roll rendition of the Shocking blue classic made popular by Bananarama twelve years prior, instead this is a unique track which happens to share the name of those two songs from NZ rock band the Feelers which became a massive success over there following the release of their debut album.

Given how this was the fourth single from Five's debut album, it was slightly less successful over there than the third single despite being released around the same time as it was here in Australia where it was only the third single. I still don't fully understand the logic behind the slightly different album cycle the album had here in Australia compared to the rest of the world.

While this wasn't the first hit they had in NZ, this was the biggest hit from Jodeci members KCI and Jo Jo much like it was here in Australia. The duo was considered a two-man equivalent of Boyz II Men throughout the 90's, which is perhaps why they were able to score massive success even in a place like Australia with their ballads.

Well, this is certainly a surprise, Boyzone had virtually no success in NZ throughout the 90's and yet they found instant success with this ballad that was apparently commissioned for an Andrew Lloyd Weber show that never came to be. This had to be won over by us Aussies before it became a success here, hence why it appeared on that side of my site on the 1999 list instead of this year's.

Even though Lutricia McNeal is an American singer, she didn't have any success on the Billboard charts back in the day and had to achieve her success throughout Europe which she somehow managed to accomplish with her debut single. This success led to her having a hit in NZ with this cover of an obscure 70's ballad, indeed she would score other hits over there including one still to come on this list.

This was equally as popular in NZ as it was here in Australia for the Backstreet boys, meaning the kiwis were officially invested in the second round of the boy band wars of the 90's given how they sat out the first round from the first half of the decade. For some reason, this wasn't released as a single in their native America until the following year.

This was the solo debut single from Supergroove lead singer Che Fu, judging by the album art (which I apologise for its low quality as it's the best I could find on the internet) it appears to be the theme to a film that harkens back to the kung fu craze of the 70's. It could also just be a reference to the video which seems to be a parody of these trends, but I couldn't find out much about the track.

This was a huge hit over in NZ for Swedish singer Emilia, I'm not sure how this became such a big hit over there as this feels like something that should've been big here in Australia but wasn't for whatever reason. In any case, she scored a massive hit before fading into obscurity even throughout Europe.

Given how "I know where it's at" was a minor success in NZ from the previous year (it won't be appearing on this site I'm afraid) it makes sense that this second single from All Saints would be a huge success slightly sooner over there than it was over here. The trade-off of course was that it wasn't as big a hit over there due to the kiwis already being familiar with their brand of RNB whereas it being a surprise to us Aussies.

This was the biggest hit that Alanis Morissette had in NZ, I guess there might be some validity to the kiwis allowing successful albums to impact a songs popularity after all given how Jagged little pill's success didn't hamper the singles on that album too much here in Australia. She had one more hit in both countries with "Hands clean" right before her obvious replacement Avril Lavigne became a megastar.

We won't be having another look at "You make me wanna" on this site as that song was too much of a sleeper hit for Usher to make a second appearance on this site of mine. Fortunately, this second single from his breakthrough album was a huge hit for him over there likely due to it being his first Billboard chart topper, this was due to the song coming with a few well-known remixes that made it popular worldwide.

This is a remix of a track from Busta Rhymes that was originally a flop for the rapper worldwide, the remix became a surprise hit in the UK which of course was all the justification the kiwis needed to make this a number one hit over there given how he already had a hit over there with "Woo hah" two years prior.

This was also much bigger in NZ than it was here in Australia (even taking into account this was a number one hit on ARIA and not in AMR) I guess the kiwis really were more open to teen pop from the late 90's than us Aussies were which to be fair, we were fairly opened to around this time.

Given how the song this track remixes didn't even chart in NZ back in the day, I can only assume this was a success over there purely based on how much the loved the dance beats on here rather than them reminding them of "Life in a northern town" like it did for us Aussies back in the day. You'll also notice this was a success over there much sooner than it was over here despite being an EDM track.

This was a good time to be Ma$e as he was able to score a string of hits in NZ and his native America following the exposure Bad boy records received with the tragic loss of Biggie Smalls, here he scores his first hit in both countries as a lead artist following the success he had playing second fiddle to Puff Daddy and the late Notorious B.I.G on their entries I've featured on this site so far.

Well, I did mention this guy being able to score a second hit in NZ this year with another cover of an 80's track, this time he takes the Jermaine Jackson track and makes it his own by replacing Pia Zadora with someone named Van Der Toon which was all that needed to be done to allow this to win the kiwis over a second time for the part time singer.

Following the breakup of the Fugees from the previous year, Wyclef Jean decided to embark on a solo career the first of the three rappers which began with this hip hop ballad that became a massive success for him over in NZ. It took a while for us Aussies to give him a solo hit likely because we were on team Lauryn following the trio's breakup, however we eventually gave him one with "Two wrongs" in 2002.

While for the most part I outgrew many of the teen pop that made it big in the late 90's, this remains a huge guilty pleasure of mine due to how much innocent fun this remains from the Danish duo to this day. It appears that was the appeal of the track back in the day as it managed to outperform most of the other teen pop in Australia and NZ back then that proved to be bigger hits in the UK.

This song's success in NZ was inevitable given how it was a hip hop track from a well-established rapper made for a popular film at the time of its release, although it was curiously not as success there as it was here likely because the kiwis were mixed on the "Islands in the dreams" interpolation on the track. This was the biggest hit that Pras had on his own, although here he simply replaced Lauryn for Mya and Wyclef for Ol dirty bastard.

Well, this was certainly a surprise hit, we have this cover of the Bee gees classic from Ardijah a decade after their initial breakthrough with the likes of "Watching u" over in NZ. I mentioned on that list that they tried to crossover to Australia by touring the country throughout the 90's, although they gave up around this time and came back home where they picked up where they left off a decade prior.

*Apologies for the lack of album art for this entry, there doesn't seem to be one in existence. The song is "Love so right" from Ardijah if you couldn't tell from my commentary*

This was a straight cover of the Ben E King classic of the same name from the short lived American RNB group 4 the cause, this was another group that found success throughout Europe despite never having a hit on the Billboard charts this year, likely due to their fellow Americans not appreciating this cover as much as the rest of the world did. This did briefly chart in Australia the following year, suggesting we Aussies would make it a hit but changed our minds at some point.

Although this charted higher in NZ than it did here in Australia for the Spice girls, it didn't last as long on their charts which was the case for many of the returning entries on this list given how the NZ charts functioned differently to the Australian charts in the late 90's. Other than that, there's nothing new I can say about this song that I didn't already cover on the Australian side of this site.

It's a bit surprising that Janet Jackson didn't have much success with the Velvet rope over in NZ given how this single in particular managed to become one of the biggest hits of the decade everywhere else in the world, I guess the kiwis were already fed up with her spiritual vibes in her music by this point given how much bigger "Runaway" was over there earlier in the decade than in most parts of the world.

As far as fans are concerned, this was the last thing that the Spice girls released as they (including me) like to pretend that their third album never came to be instead of it crashing and burning the following year when it actually came out. This was just as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia despite it also managing to chart higher over there than it did over here as with most of these repeat entries.

Well at least this was a much bigger hit in NZ than it was here in Australia, in fact it was slightly bigger over there than Blue's (in my opinion) inferior cover from 2001 even though both versions topped the NZ charts back in the day. Naturally this was another chart topper this year that likely would've been higher on this list if there weren't so many minor hits that pushed it aside once it fell off from the top spot over there.

Although it did chart in NZ, "The rain" wasn't a huge hit over there for Missy Elliott which is strange because this second single from her was likely due to the presence of Da Brat who had a minor hit over there with "Funkdafied" from earlier in the decade. Both of these women also appeared on Lil Kim's posse cut from the previous year, so that's likely the real reason why this collaboration took off over there.

This was a massive hit for the American hip hop trio Something for the pain in NZ and their native America, mainly for the chorus which features fellow American RNB duo Trina and Tamara which connects the verses together about how awesome the love of the rappers is for their respective partners. Even though this was a big success for them, they called it quits not long after it fell off the charts.

This was another entry that was a pain in the backside to do research on, here we have the German duo Jonestown who scored their one and only hit anywhere in the world with this hip hop track which goes to show that the kiwis would allow anything from RNB and hip hop to become a success over there by this point in time so long as they knew about its existence.

This was the last hit that Coolio had in NZ, it was a lot more pop friendly compared to his other work which is perhaps why it was a hit but also largely forgotten in his catalogue in recent years.

The original version of this track which appeared on the Australian side of my site flopped hard in NZ for the Scottish band Texas, I guess it was too adult contemporary for the kiwis who were all about hip hop and EDM by this point in time. That seemed to be the mindset when they got members of the Wu Tang Clan of all groups to collaborate with them on this remix which finally gave them a hit over there.

This original track from Air supply was a fairly big hit for them in NZ back in the day, certainly more so than it was here in Australia which was an early sign of their international appeal despite them being far from the biggest Australian band of the 70's. NZ EDM duo Deep obsession decided to turn the ballad into a dance track which resulted in it being equally as successful nearly two decades later.

This was the only hit the Beastie boys ever had in the southern hemisphere, mainly for the wacky music video which easily could've made my weirdest videos of the 90's like had it been a hit here in Australia. I'm guessing this was a success more for the hype that the trio had with the video as opposed to Australia where their album was a success due to an (in my opinion) terrible dance remix of their debut single.

As it turns out, there was a TV show based on the British family trio which means that this song of theirs was in fact a theme to a TV show even if it was a hit almost a full year prior to when the show premiered. It was a huge success for the trio in NZ and their native UK as well as it being a minor sleeper hit here in Australia this year, likely due to it fitting in with all the teen pop from the time.

This was the second hit that Lutricia McNeal was able to score not just in NZ but throughout Europe, I'm not sure why she failed in her native America when she was doing so well throughout the rest of the world given how RNB was still a popular genre on Billboard this far into the 90's.

Like in Australia, Natalie Imbruglia is a two-hit wonder in NZ with this being her first big hit over there. Unlike here in Australia, her second hit didn't come until the new millennium when "Wrong impression" got her out of the one hit wonder bin over there. Neither of these songs came close to the success this and "Big mistake" achieved in Australia this year, suggesting that she wasn't as popular over there overall.

This was technically a hit twice in NZ, the first time was upon its initial release where this song from the Australian duo Bachelor girl managed to appeal to the kiwis in a way that many other adult contemporary ballads failed to do so around this time. It began dropping out of the charts before rebounding in the new year due to airplay becoming a factor of the charts and it having a strong radio presence over there.

Following the success of his earlier entry on this list, Che fu released this Double A-side of "Without a doubt" and "Machine talk" from his solo debut album which became a number one hit for the former lead vocalist for Supergroove. His popularity would continue to explode going into the 00's where he scored plenty of other hits.

I guess that episode of South part was so successful in NZ that this EDM track from Mouse T and Hot n Juicy managed to be an even bigger hit over there than it was over here, that or the kiwis likely didn't realise this became big through the show and just enjoyed this EDM track for what it was this year.

Given that her earlier entry wasn't anywhere near as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia, I'm a bit surprised that this third single from the Velvet rope managed to become a success over there which shoots down my theory that the kiwis had grown tired of her spiritual vibes in her music by this point in time. I guess these songs simply had much stronger competition over there than they did over here to make it seem like this was the case.

Following the success of their "theme" from earlier on this list, Cleopatra released this second single from their debut album which also proved to be a success for the British teen pop trio. It wasn't as big a hit in their native UK likely due to the Brits not having enough love for this track to have it be as big as all the other teen pop making it big over there.

It looks like Naughty by nature were able to get in one more big hit in NZ with this single from the Nothing to lose soundtrack, it appears that this was an excellent time for soundtrack singles given how this is the third hit to come from that film following Lil Kim and Coolio's entries. Sadly, this would be the last the kiwis would hear from the hip hop group, although we Aussies gave them a hit with "Holiday" in 2000.

At least this double entry from All Saints managed to be a success on time in NZ, although once again, the trade-off appears to be that it didn't do nearly as well over there as it did over here which seems to be a pattern when it comes to songs getting a delayed release here in Australia (particularly from the RNB genre.) I guess it could also be that the kiwis simply weren't as impressed with these covers as we Aussies were this year.

The original from Bill Withers was a song about how he was certain that his love for his partner would stand the test of time, here Will Smith takes the instrumental of that track and instead dedicates it to his son Trey about how he'll always be there for him which obviously touched the hearts of audiences around the world who made it an international success. Naturally this was recorded following his marriage to his second wide Jada Pinkett who isn't the mother of Trey.

Well, I suppose this was a shoe in for a repeat entry on this site given how it has everything that you would expect from late 90's hip hop, obvious sample of a classic track? Check. Theme song to a popular film at the time? Check. A popular rapper looking to boost his popularity outside of hip hop? Check.

If this sounds like a Boyz II Men track to anyone, that's because it was written by Nathan Morris who was the main vocalist of the quartet. I'm guessing he donated this track to RNB singer Uncle Sam who scored his one and only hit with this ballad before forever fading into obscurity, admittedly this wouldn't work well with the quartet's catalogue given how bitter the lyrics are on here.

This was also a huge hit for Aqua in NZ this year, likely due to it being chosen as the third single over there to promote the Gwyneth Paltrow flick Sliding doors which this served as the theme song to. It was slightly bigger over there than it was here in Australia likely due to it being a hit over their third single here "Lollipop" which wasn't a success over there and thus won't be making an appearance on this list.

This was the first big hit that Robbie Williams was able to score in NZ both solo and with Take that, although "Back for good" was a minor hit for the group over there earlier in the decade for what it's worth. Here we have the lead single to his second solo album which became a success likely for its music video which showed a quirkier side of the British singer that the kiwis appreciated.

Well, this is a song that I'm sure has never caused any controversies over the years, OK putting aside it's title, this song has been nothing but controversial in the mainstream from its lyrics to the video which is definitely not safe for work to talk about (let alone show.) It was a huge worldwide success for the band due to the controversy, although it only managed to appear on the NZ side of this site.

This was one of only two hits that Aaliyah had in her lifetime in NZ, hey at least it was one more hit she had there compared to here where she's a one hit wonder with "Try again" from 2000. Much like how that came from a Hollywood flick (which was Romeo must die) this also came from a Hollywood film which was the Eddie Murphy version of Doctor Dolittle which is widely regarded as the best version of that story.

Well, this wasn't as big in NZ as it was here in Australia (even taking into account that this did far worse on AMR than it did on ARIA) at least this was a big hit for the girls over there even if it was the last song they released as a unit before Ginger Spice called it quits for reasons I won't go over on this site.

This was also a bigger hit in NZ than their second single "Where's the love" like it was in their native America I guess the kiwis preferred the slow ballads from the boys as well as their earlier entry on this list than a genuine bop like that track is.

Well, I hope you're in the mood for another reggae cover of a Beatles classic from the 90's because Inner Circle followed in the footsteps of Chaka Demus and Pliers from earlier in the decade by covering a Beatles classic in the form of this reggae track. It was an inevitable success in NZ given how popular the Jamaican band were throughout the decade over there.

We have another RNB cover of a classic 70's hit from this American duo, this time the girls pay tribute to the David Bowie classic of the same name which only the kiwis seemed to appreciate much like their previous cover from two years prior. From what I can gather, this wasn't a part of a film meaning that the kiwis genuinely enjoyed this cover back in the day.

This was a big success for Mariah Carey from her album Butterfly in NZ, likely for the inclusion of Bone Thugs n Harmony as it was obvious this was meant to be the album's equivalent of "One sweet day" from Daydream two years prior. While it wasn't an inescapable chart topper anywhere in the world, it was a big hit over in NZ which goes to show that the kiwis appreciated this collaboration.

Following the demise of the series the Fresh prince of Bel air, co-star of Will Smith Tatyana Ali decided to follow the star of that shows footsteps by becoming a popular singer in the music scene which led to her releasing this track that became a massive success in NZ and nowhere else in the world. The failure of this song likely scared her off from making more music as she since returned to acting.

Queen Pen was such a force to be reckoned with this year that she managed to score a second hit over in NZ, this time all by herself as she continues the theme of her love life that she had with her earlier entry on this list that only the kiwis were able to appreciate back in the day.

This was the only hit that NZ singer Sina was able to achieve in her career, it was kind of a pain to find out any information about her on the internet as this was her only claim to fame even in her local music scene.

Given how EDM wasn't nearly as popular in NZ as it was here in Australia, it doesn't surprise me that this wasn't as big over there as it was over here even if it still lasted quite a while on their charts albeit in the lower regions of them. I'm guessing this was due to the success that Daft Punk had the previous year with their album as they can be considered the kiwis entry way into this style of EDM.

This was the theme song to the film of the same name which was yet another basketball film to come out in the 90's, a film that was critically acclaimed due to being directed by Spike Lee and tackling issues that seemed to be prevalent in these sorts of films (from what I can gather it's a more urban equivalent of White men can't jump.) I'm guessing this was a hit due to it being a more pop friendly song from Public enemy.

This was only a minor hit in NZ (just like it was on the AMR charts funnily enough) meaning that it only barely makes the cut for this list which goes to show the mixed reception that these guys had when it came to their back catalogue following the success of their earlier entries on this list.

We have one final entry from N Trance to feature on this site of mine, it appears the kiwis were indifferent at worst when it came to the British band remixing the Guns n roses classic as this managed to become a moderate success over there as opposed to here where it was a bomb presumably due to our outrage of this existing.

This barely missed the cut on the Australian side of this site; however, it was more than eligible to appear on this side of my site given how the kiwis couldn't get enough of Jason Nevins remixing the classics from Run DMC to appeal to a (then) modern audience. This time it's a track from their second album which went largely ignored until this remix became a huge hit for them worldwide except for once again their native America.

We have another entry into the subcategory of a short-lived British group covering an older song and adding their hip hop flavours to said cover, this time it's Awesome (who were surprisingly hard to do research on) who managed to score a hit in NZ likely due to the kiwis having fond memories of the original from over a decade prior.

Well, I did mention that this was a big hit for Savage Garden in NZ, although I should point out this was more due to a lack of competition the duo had when it was released over there given how it was released at the start of the year where there wasn't as many shenanigans going on as there would be as the year progressed.

Although they had released singles prior to this track, this was the song that made the Feelers a household name even if it did so by lingering around the lower half of their charts for quite sometime. This led to the band finding massive success with their earlier entry on this list around the time they released their debut album.

It appears that not even an album as critically acclaimed as Ray of light would allow the kiwis to revive Madonna's popularity to what it was at the start of the decade, although at least she kept her head above water over there given how this was enough of a success to reappear on this side of my site.

This was only barely able to scrap in the ranking for this list, I guess this goes to show how desperately the kiwis needed to shake up their charts given how many of the obvious hits of this year are either missing or appear much lower on here than you would otherwise think.