NZ hits of 2007

This was the last year that reality TV had a stranglehold of the mainstream in the music industry, from here on out, the internet would decide on what becomes popular in the music scene as evidence by some of the entries on this list.

I did mention that we Aussies were a bit slow in making this debut single from Flo Rida a success given how it didn't even touch our charts until months after it became a worldwide chart topper for the rapper, I guess we Aussies didn't care much for the track until the film it was the theme for was released where it became a critical failure but a commercial success. This wasn't the case in NZ where it was released and a hit on time.

These guys would have slightly more success over in NZ throughout their career than they did here in Australia, mainly because they would have a hit over there that failed to become as such over here from their second album by the end of the decade. In the meantime, they managed to achieve massive success with their debut single due to the song's producer "presenting" them to the world on his own album.

This was written by both Jesse McCartney and Ryan Tedder; I'm guessing this is how it was able to eventually crossover to America given how British artists don't tend to have much success on Billboard throughout the 21st century. Like many songs on these last few lists of mine, this was released slightly earlier in NZ, or more accurately, it charted sooner due to their charts allowing digital songs without a physical release to do so.

I have no idea why Alicia Key's second album bombed in NZ given how much more popular her debut album was over there than it was here in Australia, I guess the kiwis also got distracted with the bootleg "Karmastition" like we Aussies did around that time (check it out here if you're not familiar with it.) Fortunately, she was able to bounce back in both countries with this lead single to her third album.

Much like here in Australia, it appears the kiwis wanted to hear Fergie display her vocal talents over her being provocative like her other singles on her first solo album given how this fourth single from the album remains her biggest hit to date in both countries (not counting her work with BEP of course.) It would take her eleven years to release her second album, by which time people had moved on from her music.

This was the second massive hit that Opshop was able to achieve in their homeland from their sophomore album, it was the driving force as to how their album managed to become one of the biggest of the decade given how it had more of a stranglehold on the upper echelons of their charts than its lead single did.

While this didn't last as long on the charts for Akon in NZ as it did here in Australia, the success of this collaboration with Eminem can't be denied given how it gave fans hope of him returning to form as his verse on here is considered better than any of the verses he gave on Encore. Of course, the real star of the show is Akon who was on a roll with this track given its worldwide popularity.

Given how the album cycle for Loose was identical in NZ to what it was here in Australia, this meant that the third single from the album was her second and final Billboard chart topper over there which was meant to be her way of reassuring her older audience that she hadn't completely abandoned her spiritual roots on the album. Indeed, it was her biggest hit over in NZ as it was a best of both world scenario for her catalogue.

Given how Chris Brown had confirmed himself as the new Usher on his debut album in NZ, this meant that the lead single to his second album was not only released on time over there but also had its success be immediate as opposed to it climbing its way up the charts here going into the new year. This of course resulted in the success of his second album being largely different over there than it was here.

Much like the other singles from Good girl gone bad, this fourth single from the album was a success much sooner in NZ than it was here in Australia even if it failed to reach number one over there like it did over here likely due to the controversy behind its sample usage. Something I didn't mention on the Australian side of this site was that this was the first song to reach number one here purely through digital sales.

With two highly successful songs under their belt, Opshop were able to become one of the biggest names in NZ music thanks to their approach of what I'm guessing was meant to be post Britpop given how I've seen them be compared to the likes of Coldplay and even later day Oasis over the years. Their earlier entry proved to be the bigger hit for the band, however this was where their success officially began.

This was a success in NZ around the time it became a huge chart topper for Soulja Boy in his native America, so much so that I'm willing to be its success over there was why it crossed over here in Australia for the rapper as we Aussies no doubt wanted to see what all the fuss was about with this track that would eventually become a meme on the internet.

This is another song whose appearance on this list is more accurate to how popular it was here in Australia back in the day, although in this case this is more due to the kiwis fully incorporating their digital charts onto their main charts as opposed to us Aussies who were mainly relying on the physical sales of a song to determine its popularity. This is a song that's become an unofficial anthem for the emo crowd due to how synonymous it is with the genre to this day.

One of the more promising NZ bands of the decade was Atlas, this was due to the success of their debut single which obviously became as such thanks to rock music being arguably at its most popular over there around this time since the mid 70's. Even though this was a huge hit for the band, they called it quits the following year likely due to it being their only hit from their one and only album.

Timbaland was on a roll this year in NZ even though this collaboration with (then) newcomer Keri Hilson failed to reach number one over there like it did over here, this is because this was the second single in a row that became a massive hit for the rapper/producer following his posse cut with Nelly Furtado and JT which is still to come on this list.

There was no surprise that this would be a success for Rihanna in NZ upon its initial release given how immensely popular it was everywhere else in the world for her, it was the lead single to her third album after all and had lyrics that are obviously about friendship but can also be interpreted to be about sex as well. I keep forgetting that Jay-Z has a verse on this track, that's odd because said verse opens up the track.

Although Beyonce had a major hit with the lead single to her second solo album "Check on it" in NZ, it was this third single from the album that made it a household name thanks to it being known as the "to the left, to the left" song by anyone who isn't a diehard fan of hers. Indeed, this is second only to "Sweet dreams" as her biggest hit in NZ both solo and with Destiny's Child. due to how iconic that line remains to this day.

It turns out this was the biggest hit for JT on his second solo album in NZ, in fact it would've been his biggest hit overall over there were it not for "Can't stop the feeling" from a decade later which goes to show you how much the kiwis loved this song from the former N sync member. I guess it could also be due to the presence of T.I who was quickly rising up the ranks as an in-demand rapper worldwide.

This was the biggest hit that T-Pain had as a lead artist in NZ, likely because it has Akon singing along with him about how they both have the hots for a female bartender which obviously amused the kiwis enough to make it a hit over there. This didn't even chart here in Australia despite the popularity of Akon at the time, although I get the feeling it would've had it been released later in the decade.

Much like here in Australia, this was also the final hit that 50 cent had over in NZ likely due to the chorus provided to him by JT who was at the height of his own popularity this year worldwide. At least Curtis managed to score one more chart topper over there before his popularity came to a screeching halt, in fact the less said about what he's been up to since the 2010's the better.

This is a song that was a massive success here in Australia but was ineligible to chart on ARIA due to not having a physical release here in Australia, fortunately this wasn't an issue in NZ as they had fully incorporated digital sales onto their charts by the time it was released as a single over there. I feel this song's placement on this list is an accurate representation of how popular it was here in Australia given its overplay back in the day.

This was equally as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia for Gwen Stefani, I guess this was due to the presence of Akon throughout the track given how he was on a roll this year over there with his second album. Then again, the other two tracks from the album this is named after were bigger hits over there this year than they were down under, so perhaps the kiwis had finally come around on Gwen's solo career.

You'd think that Akon's popularity in NZ compared to what it was here in Australia was due to him dominating their digital charts, however you'd be wrong as he actually thrived on our physical singles charts here in Australia. I guess this means that the kiwis were genuinely more interested in listening to his music than we Aussies were regardless of what format they wanted to hear it from.

Although Fall out boy did see the bulk of their success here in Australia on our digital charts, that didn't necessarily mean they would find more success over in NZ as aside from this lead single going to number one over there where it failed to do so over here, they didn't have any success with their other singles even though they certainly did over here.

This shares its name with a famous Kelly Clarkson track from her second album Breakaway, although it's worth noting that this is a love ballad rather than a song about how the narrator is messed up because of the way someone treated them which is why you shouldn't confuse the two songs with each other in the slightest. It was an easy hit for Ne-Yo in NZ despite it being a massive flop here in Australia.

I guess the kiwis weren't as interested in having Avril Lavigne transform herself from a voice of a generation into the type of mean girl that she rallied against on her first two albums as the rest of the world was given how much lower this lead single to her third album appears on this list compared to its Australian counterpart. At least they gave her one more hit after her debut album over there.

This wasn't as big a hit for Mika in NZ as it was here in Australia, although at least it was a success over there as opposed to the rest of the songs from his debut album which all failed to find an audience over there like they did over here. I guess the kiwis found his more to be far more niche than us Aussies did even though his album was a massive success over there this year.

There was no doubt this was going to be a massive success for Sean Kingston over in NZ given how immensely popular this song was back in the day worldwide, indeed this was equally as successful over there as it was over here despite coming out a good two months earlier there than it did here for the Jamaican RNB singer.

It appears the kiwis were sligtly more amused at Gwen Stefani interpolating the Rogers and Hammerstein classic "The lonely goatherd" for a song about "winding up" the love of her life than us Aussies were given how it became the first song in her catalogue to be more popular over there than it was over here. This is a trend that would carry out for the rest of her second album over there.

Although this song was supposedly released on time in NZ, it only began charting the previous year due to them incorporating their digital charts onto their main charts as it wasn't given a physical release over there until this year where it skyrocketed up their charts like it did here in Australia. Even though its placement on here suggests it was equally as successful in both countries, it was far more successful over there.

It feels a bit weird that this wasn't T-Pain's biggest hit in NZ considering it was in his native America, although I guess it didn't have the same brand of humour that his earlier entry and especially "I'm in luv with a stripper" did which is perhaps why this didn't do as well for him over there as it did in his homeland. This comes complete with a guest verse from unknown rapper Yung Joc who didn't have any success outside of this track.

Between this being released later here in Australia and having to climb our charts going into the new year, it's a miracle that this third single from Good girl gone bad managed to become a success here at all for both Rihanna and Ne-Yo back in the day. Fortunately, it didn't have either of these hinderances over in NZ, which means it not only appears on the list for this year but also has a higher spot on it.

It feels weird that this song released exclusively in Australia NZ and the UK would be the biggest hit off her I'm not dead album in NZ, so much so that I'm willing to be it was the reason why the album finally took off over there despite it already being one of the biggest albums of the decade here in Australia by the time this was released as a single.

This was released slightly sooner in NZ than it was here in Australia, or more accurately, it charted sooner given how it didn't receive a physical release until the early months of this year in either country. While this did become a hit over there slightly sooner than it did over here, it wound up being more popular here likely due to it dominating our digital charts once it did crossover here.

This was the lead single to Brooke Fraser's second album; it was a massive success in her homeland due to her artist momentum being very strong following the success she had from her debut album three years prior to its release. It was the song she released to try and appeal to an Australian market which didn't work out despite her joining Hillsong around the time it became a hit over there.

There's no surprise that this lead single from Linkin Park's third album was more of a success for them in NZ than it was here in Australia, mainly because it was a song that greatly benefitted from digital sales worldwide given how they were a rock band and that rock musicians saw the biggest benefit from the sales format at the time. It could also be due to the kiwis being bigger fans of the first Transformers film that this serves as the theme to.

While this was a modest success for Timbaland, JT and Nelly Furtado here in Australia, it was a massive success for them internationally likely due to the digital charts taking in full effect when it was released as the lead single to the former's debut album. Apparently, this is a diss track towards people they all had beef with, which ended up being Scott Storch, Prince and Fergie respectively.

This is another song that managed to become a hit on time over in NZ as opposed to it being months after its popularity had died out internationally as was the case here in Australia, I'm not sure why we Aussies ignored this ballad from Colbie Caillat this year only to make it a massive hit for her the following year, you can't even say it was due to her releasing this on Myspace as that wasn't an issue for Sandi Thom over here.

While Linkin Park was shying away from their nu metal roots when it came to their sound, that didn't mean their lyrical scope had changed as lyrically this wouldn't feel out of place on their earlier works even if the instrumentation was more at home with the likes of My Chemical Romance or Panic! at the disco from around this time. It appears this wasn't a deal breaker for the kiwis like it was for us Aussies.

This proved to be much less successful for Kanye West in NZ than it was here in Australia, I'm guessing because the kiwis weren't familiar with the sample he used given how Daft Punk went largely unnoticed over there compared to over here where they had a good run in our mainstream. It was a hit regardless for him over there, although it wasn't the success that his earlier hit "Gold digger" was.

This was an impressive year for Akon over in NZ given how he managed to score a massive hit with this ballad from the deluxe edition of his second album, it's another one of his songs that's been criticised due to it somewhat being a bait and switch as he's effectively taking the blame for someone's actions even though he's convinced that this person is actually in the wrong.

I don't think anyone was expecting to see a song calling out domestic violence appear on this list, that was the subject matter for this one and only hit from the Red Jumpsuit apparatus who scored a massive hit in NZ with this track as well as having it be a modest success in their native America. I'm not sure why this didn't even chart here in Australia other than its subject matter being a bit too heavy for us Aussies.

I guess this was meant to be the male equivalent of "Beautiful liar" given how both R Kelly and Usher realise that they were both dating the same woman at the same time and them trying to figure out what to do about the situation. It proved to be the more popular track over there than its female counterpart (which is still to come on this list) although this was only the case in NZ and nowhere else in the world.

One of the most prominent groups of the decade in America were the Ying Yang twins, this was primarily because they were the leader of a sub-genre known as crunk which was widely criticised back in the day for a wide variety of reasons that I won't get into here (mainly because I don't have the time to do so.) Their one and only hit in NZ sees them collaborating with Wyclef Jean which wasn't a hit in their homeland.

Although this wasn't as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia for Matchbox 20, it was nonetheless a huge success over there thanks to it being a bonus track from their greatest hits album they released around this time which was seen as a bit of a comeback for the band given how Rob's solo album wasn't a huge success over there like it was over here.

This might've been slightly bigger over here in Australia than it was in NZ, although that was mainly because Fergie didn't as much success with her solo album over there compared to what she achieved over here save for her earlier entry on this list likely due to the kiwis not being as impressed with her goofier tracks like we Aussies were. Still, this was a decent runner up as her biggest hit over there commercially.

This was also a massive success in NZ for JoJo which is to be expected given that she arguably saw more success from her first album over there than she did over here, indeed it appears the kiwis were also disappointed that this would be the last they would hear from her due to that awful contract she was in which prevented her from releasing any new music in her career for over a decade.

Well, this song had Akon on it, so naturally it was going to be a massive hit in NZ given how much the kiwis loved the RNB singer this year (boy did he have a strong work ethic back in the day.) This was able to give Wyclef Jean another hit over there five years after his previous collaboration with a female vocalist (Niia being her name in this case) as well as give Lil Wayne a hit over there with his guest verse.

This managed to be equally as successful for JT in NZ as it was here in Australia, likely because he rather conveniently released it during a difficult time that the person this was directed to was going through in their life which has left many people (me included) feeling uncomfortable with the way this song became a hit for him. Again, you really need to ignore the context of why it became a hit to find any enjoyment out of it.

I guess the kiwis weren't as on board with Christina making a throwback album to the forties and fifties like we Aussies were, although at least they made this centerpiece of the album a success over there as opposed to her fellow Americans and the Brits who outright ignored this track from the album this year. This would be her final hit as a leading artist anywhere in the world as her subsequent albums would flop.

It feels weird that this song failed to appear on the Australian side of my site given how James Blunt had far more success overall here in Australia than he did in NZ, I guess we Aussies weren't as interested in hearing a song of his that has a tempo to it than the kiwis were this year given how this is by far his bounciest song in his catalogue to become a hit.

This was the only major hit that Plies had over in NZ, likely because it has a chorus from Akon who was unstoppable over there this year as well as the rapper having some buzz over there following the success of "Shawty" he had in his native America. He would have one more hit in his homeland with "Bust it baby" before he faded into obscurity as did the entire crunk genre in his homeland.

Even though this was released much sooner in NZ than it was here in Australia for Plain white t's, it appears that we Aussies were more into this ballad about a girl named Delilah than the kiwis were as this has a much lower placement on this side of my site. Still, this was a notable success for the band, although they remain a one hit wonder over there like they do everywhere else in the world.

This managed to be released on time in NZ for Sean Kingston, not only that, but it also saw instant success over there as opposed to here where it really needed to work its way up to its success with us Aussies. This is probably because the kiwis were still in love with reggae music (and still are to this day from what I can gather) which was a genre that Sean was a part of throughout his career.

This was such an amazing year for Akon in NZ that this managed to go straight to number one over there despite having so many entries on this list that failed to do so outrank it, indeed it being a chart topper over there is the main reason why it performed slightly better on this list than on the Australian equivalent.

This was a surprise hit for Nelly in NZ this year, mainly because it was us Aussies who would give him the sporadic hit over the next decade making this song's failure over here a bit perplexing in hindsight. Indeed, I get the feeling that audiences were only handing him success with theses tracks in the hopes that he would release an album that would live up to the standards of Country grammar or Nellyville.

There were no signs of T-Pain slowing down during the second half of the decade in NZ, this is interesting given how he never had a hit here in Australia until 2012 where he snuck in a hit with "Turn all the lights on" during the waning days of the club boom. In the meantime, he raps in his alter ego Teddy Verseti about getting into fights at the club which naturally amused the kiwis at the time.

This was the first hit that T.I had as a lead artist, much like "I wanna love you" from Akon, this also is a censored version of a much filthier track which is perhaps why it was able to catch on in NZ where it failed to do so in most parts of the world. The rapper would have much more commercial success the following year thanks to him conforming to the pop trends of the day.

Following the success she had from High school musical, Vanessa Hudgeons decided to embark focus more on her singing career which was off to a good start in NZ with this teen pop number that even managed to briefly chart here in Australia, suggesting we Aussies were willing to give her solo career a chance as well. Alas, she never saw any other success outside of this and her role in the Disney franchise.

Much like here in Australia, this was the final hit that Gwen Stefani managed to achieve in NZ even if it proved to be more of a hit over there than it was over here for her. I guess this was meant to be her version of "Big girls don't cry" given how much more serious this is compared to her other two entries on this list, although it wound up having the opposite effect for her in the mainstream than what that song had for Fergie.

Bow wow was certainly on a roll in NZ and his native America now that he was a full-grown adult, here he is as the lead artist with this hit single he had likely due to the assistance of Chris Brown who was also on a roll during this point in his career throughout the world. Bow wow would have two more hits after this, both of which are still to come on this list.

Rihanna didn't find much success from her second album when it came to her singles, however at least she can take comfort in this third single being a hit in NZ where it was a flop for her here in Australia back in the day. Of course, her third album was where she truly started finding massive success worldwide thanks to the singles being more universal than the one's on her first two albums.

Given how the digital charts were fully incorporated by the kiwis by this point in time, it means that My Chemical Romance managed to score massive success over there with the singles from their album beginning with their earlier entry on this list but also includes the third single from the album which only barely missed the cut from appearing on the Australian side of my site due to not charting high enough here.

He may have only come in fourth place on the fifth season of American Idol, however that didn't prevent Chris Daughtry from finding success worldwide with a band he formed after losing on the reality series months later. Indeed, this was a minor sleeper hit here in Australia for the post grunge band and likely would've been a hit like it was in NZ had we better incorporated our digital data onto the main charts.

Given how this song has Akon on the chorus as well as Krayzie Bone having a huge hit the previous year on Chamillionaire's "Riding," it only makes sense that this track from Bone Thugs n Harmony would achieve massive success in NZ this year despite the group not having a hit over there since "Home" from four years prior.

Well at least this third single from Stadium arcadium managed to be a huge success in NZ around this time, although it's worth noting that it was also a massive hit in the bands native America given how it remains their final Billboard top ten hit over there. Indeed, this remains their final hit anywhere in the world as they've yet to score another hit with any of their subsequent albums.

I guess the kiwis really weren't as amused by this third single from Fergie's solo album as we Aussies were, that Fatman scoop breakdown has become infamous over the years and it's admittedly hard to take a song seriously that comprises of a chorus spelling out the word its named after. She would go on a winning streak over there with her previous two entries which helped her album become a success.

This is another song to greatly benefit on this side of my site thanks to the kiwis incorporating digital data onto their charts when it was released, heck this only barely made the cut on the Australian side of this site because I made a special section for songs that otherwise would've missed out were it not for our digital charts. In any case, we have a second appearance from the breakthrough single of Gym class heroes and their Supertramp sample.

This is the only other new entry from Ciara to appear on this site, this time she recruits 50 Cent who was still relatively popular at the time (as evidence by his earlier entry on this list) which was able to give the RNB star more success following the failure of her single "Like a boy" internationally. Said single is basically "If I were a boy" done in a way that's tongue in cheek rather than completely serious.

This proved to be equally as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia, I guess the kiwis were just as interested in listening to Beyonce reconcile her differences with Shakira over dating the same guy as we Aussies were given that this also managed to boost the popularity of the former's second solo album whilst giving the latter one final hit before she faded into obscurity in the southern hemisphere.

It appears the kiwis allowed Soulja boy to have a hit between his two earlier entries on this list as he scored success over there with a song about what a girl would be like if she happened to get with him, or at least I think that's what's going on here as like many other listeners, I don't tend to find his lyricism particularly noteworthy on his songs.

These guys were on a roll this year when they released their second single from their comeback album, this time they've swapped out Akon for Mariah Carey and also recruited Bow Wow to provide an additional rap verse that helped this become a success over in NZ for the hip hop quartet. Sadly, this was the last hit they had anywhere in the world as their luck had run out after this.

I guess having the digital charts in full swing did Maroon 5 very little favours in NZ this year as this somehow managed to be less popular over there than it was over here in Australia even with our lack of digital sales handicapping this song's success, this just goes to show how the band's popularity was fading over there which would make their comeback in the early 2010's that much more surprising.

There was this popular phenomenon that was happening in America known as ringtone rap, basically it's hip hop tracks whose sole purpose was to have a beat and/or chorus be so repetitive that it would make for the perfect choice for a ringtone as an alternative to the likes of Crazy frog and those other CGI creations you could find on YouTube at the time. This was one of those tracks which became a success this way.

It's a bit of a surprise to see this not any higher on this list given how Silverchair greatly benefitted from digital sales here in Australia and how that format had been well and truly established in NZ by this point in time, although at least it does make an appearance on here and hey, it's low placement on here is more due to it being a sleeper hit over there than anything else.

Sandwiched in between their two earlier entries on this list was this second single from the breakthrough album of My chemical romance, this having a more bombastic sound than their other two entries which I guess the kiwis weren't too big a fan of as it wasn't quite as successful over there. At least this and their previous entry were hits over there which is more than I can say for their success over here.

Well at least all of Fergie's big hits she had from her solo album here in Australia managed to reappear on this side of my site, although the kiwis really didn't seem that interested in having this theme song of hers be that big of a success considering how much less successful it was over there.

I guess the trade-off for his earlier entry on this list not being as big in NZ as it was here in Australia was that the kiwis were able to give Kanye West a second hit from his third album in the form of this track, although this was a minor sleeper hit here in Australia meaning that we Aussies weren't completely ignorant to the rapper during the height of his career.

We have another appearance from Bow wow on this list, this time it's his RNB track which features both T-Pain and someone named Johnta Austin which became a minor success over in NZ likely due to how much of a roll Bow wow was on over there and in his native America this year.

I don't know what's more surprising, the fact that these guys were able to score a hit this year or the fact that it was with a comedy track. Then again, there appeared to be more leniency when it came to comedic tracks during the age of digital downloads given how this was far from the only song around this time to find success not just in NZ but throughout the world.

This will be the only appearance from the Kooks on this site of mine, they were a British indie band who heavily benefitted from the digital charts in NZ and their native UK that I'm sure would've found an audience here in Australia had we Aussies allowed digital only indie tracks to charts when this became big in those countries.

This is the last taste of success that Scribe had in his career, it's shocking to see how quickly his popularity faded in his homeland considering how well he did earlier in the decade.