The final year of the first decade of the new millennium, it was where the club boom officially began which technically makes this the first year of the 2010's in the music scene given how late in the decade this trend launched.
Naturally this was the biggest hit of the year in NZ given how it was the biggest hit of the year worldwide for BEP, it was the song that more or less confirmed the club boom would shake up the music scene during the first half of the 2010's given its refusal to fall off the charts even going into the new decade.
This is the best charting song of the decade in NZ, although most of its run comes from the lower half of the charts, hence why it doesn't top this list as the entry above this had a better run in the upper echelons of their charts. This is an original track from the former lead singer of Salmonella Dub and not an umpteenth cover of the Elvis Presley classic despite sharing its name with that track.
*Apologies for the terrible quality of this album art, images of this album cover are scarce on the internet. *
Much like in Australia, this was Lady Gaga's biggest hit over in NZ for an entire decade until her comeback with her Oscar winning ballad "Shallow" from 2018. It was this song's success worldwide that finally compelled her fellow Americans to check out her album just as the decade was coming to an end.
In a refreshing turn of events for this site, I now present to you a song that was heavily delayed in NZ despite it being a massive hit in Australia only for it to be infinitely more successful over there once it finally saw the light of day over there. I guess it's no surprise this was more successful over there given how Jack Johnson did have a genuine hit over there from earlier in the decade and that this was meant to be Jason's attempt at taking over from his brand of folk rock.
This was a charity song about the (then) recent shooting of a boy by the name of Pihema Cameron in a way that was similar to what "Tha crossroads" from Bone thugs n harmony was from thirteen years prior. They recruit Gin Wigmore for the chorus which naturally was the cherry on top of this touching tribute to the young man which of course touched the hearts of many a kiwi upon its initial release.
It's no surprise that this debut single from Kesha (as a lead artist that is) was a massive success in NZ around the same time it was as such here in Australia, in fact I'm willing to bet the only reason why it was a hit in her native America was because of how huge it was in both countries given how long it took for it to take off on Billboard for the (then) rising pop star.
Well so much for Stan Walker being one of the biggest names of the 2010's in Australia, although he was one of the biggest names of the decade in his native NZ despite him winning AUSTRALIAN idol which no doubt led to the cancelation of that series due to it being the final straw for when it came to controversies that came from it.
Much like the rest of the world, there were no signs of Lady Gaga's popularity slowing down entering the 2010's as this lead single to her E.P The fame monster was a massive success for her over there like it was worldwide. In fact, from here on out, her popularity was exactly the same in NZ as it was here in Australia.
While this was still a massive hit for David Guetta and Akon over in NZ, it appears that maybe the kiwis were a bit put off by the profanity in the title given how it was sung by the latter who had some serious allegations levied against him at the time of its release (trust me, you don't want to look them up.) It would be his final hit over there as nothing he released in the 2010's became a success.
I guess the kiwis weren't as on board with this song as the rest of the world was as though it was a hit for BEP over there, it was considerably less popular there than it was here in Australia given how it didn't even reach the number one spot there. I've heard it be described as little more than fragments of other songs from the quartet that they felt didn't fit into those tracks and instead mashed together here.
I guess the kiwis wanted to atone for them not making the Dead or alive track this song is named after more of a hit back in the 80's given how this managed to be equally as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia, either that or they were impressed with Kesha's performance on the chorus which makes them a minority given how Kesha herself felt embarrassed to be a part of this project.
Dane Rumble was a member of Fast Crew who had massive success earlier in the 00's in their homeland, so naturally it would make sense that he would embark on a solo career once the hits dried up for the hip hop group which culminated in this third single of his being a massive success for him. There was some interest in his music here in Australia, however it didn't translate to success unfortunately.
This was even more of a success for Jay Sean over in NZ than it was here in Australia, I'm guessing because the kiwis really wanted a new prince of RNB and were willing to give this guy a shot given how he managed to recruit Lil Wayne on the track which they recognised for his hit single "Lollipop" from the previous year. It was also released much sooner over there likely for the same reason as its success.
This is apparently a remix of an earlier track on Basshunter's catalogue known as "Boten Anna," a song sung in Swedish about a girl named Anna that was translated into English for this version a year after its initial release. It became a massive worldwide hit for the Swedish producer, although it didn't even chart here in Australia for reasons I can't seem to fathom.
Given how there wasn't a NZ equivalent of MasterChef during the late 00's (at least to my knowledge there wasn't) this meant that this song was only a hit once over there for Katy Perry which goes to show how popular it was given how its placement on this list is nearly identical to its placement on the Australian side of this site.
This managed to be a hit in NZ just as the 00's was coming to a close, as such it manages to appear on more than one list on this site even if it wasn't as popular over there as it was here in Australia for Owl City. I guess his collaboration with Carly Rae Jepsen was more popular over there several years after this came out, this would balance out his career so that it was equally as successful in both countries.
This also wasn't quite as big in NZ as it was here in Australia, although it was still much more popular over there than their native America which should give you an idea of how much more well-loved they were internationally than they were in their homeland given that they remain a one hit wonder on Billboard with this track.
Even though this wasn't quite as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia, it appears the kiwis were still impressed with Taylor cosplaying as a Disney princess on her first international hit to make it a success over there from her second album. Even though she was slightly more popular here than she was over there, said popularity would be equal in both countries and indeed the rest of the world in the 2010's.
Given how she saw massive success with her earlier collaboration with Smashproof on this list, it only makes sense that Gin Wigmore would find massive success on her own with her debut single as a lead artist which naturally her fellow kiwis gravitated towards just as the decade was coming to an end. This set her up as one of the hottest new names of the 2010's despite her popularity fizzling out by 2012.
This remains as Beyonce's biggest hit over in NZ, that's interesting because it isn't among her more popular hits in her native America likely due to it being the sixth single from her Sasha Fierce album and it being a rare love ballad in a catalogue filled with breakup anthems and other songs that would appeal to the feminists of the world. She would have minor success with her singles over there throughout the 2010's.
While this wasn't as successful for BEP in NZ as it was here in Australia (admittedly three consecutive chart toppers from the group was a bit overkill back in the day) it was nonetheless a massive success for the group thanks to what many believe (me included) to be a stellar performance from Fergie as well as it being the best example of their love ballads in their catalogue.
Much like it was here in Australia, this debut single from Jason Derulo was his biggest hit over in NZ until 2020 when "Savage love" finally took that crown due to his presence on Tik Tok during that songs release. At least this went to number one over there as opposed to it simply lingering around forever in a day over here, although Jason's popularity would see a sharp decline as the 2010's rolled out over there.
I guess the kiwis were slightly more on board with T.I sampling a popular meme from earlier in the decade than we Aussies were, either that or they were so infatuated with having the rapper collaborate with Rihanna that they didn't care about the circumstances as to how that would happen. Much like here in Australia, this also had to compete with "Whatever you like" due to how closely it was released after that track.
Keri Hilson was on a roll over in NZ as this became her biggest hit over there thanks to how much good will she had following her breakthrough with Timbaland from two years prior, here she recruits Kanye West and Ne-Yo for this song about how she's fallen for the person she's singing to (likely Ne-Yo since he takes up quite a lot of time on this song.) It would be her final hit outside of her native America.
This is another song that was slightly less successful in NZ than it was here in Australia, I'm guessing because the kiwis were ready to move on from PCD given how their second album was far less popular over there than it was over here but found this remix of the theme to Slumdog millionaire too irresistible to make a clean getaway from the group.
It appears that the popularity of the singles from Beyonce's Sasha Fierce album in NZ was the inverse of what they were in Australia and her native America as this serves as the midpoint of their popularity throughout the world. I guess the kiwis were more interested in her sentimental ballads than her airing out her grievances to what appears to be the male population on the album's two lead singles.
If you're surprised at the lack of representation that Miley Cyrus has had on this side of my site, that's because she didn't have much success with her singles during the 00's in NZ compared to how big her albums were which was the opposite case here in Australia. For what it's worth, she would have more success with her singles over there throughout the 2010's like she did everywhere else in the world.
This was naturally more of a hit for T.I in NZ than it was over here in Australia, mainly because he was far more popular over there in general given how he's had several more entries as both a lead artist and featured artist on other people's tracks on this side of my site. The popularity he and JT had the following decade over there mirrored what they achieved over here.
This proved to be equally as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia for Pitbull, meaning this was another case of the club boom homogenising the music scene from everywhere in the world given how many of these tracks were a hit regardless of where in the world you were from during the height of its popularity.
This proved to be equally as popular in NZ as it was here in Australia for the German EDM group Cascada, likely because this was released during the early phases of the club boom that would explode in popularity the following year likely due to how the lyrics encourage a party atmosphere despite the name of the song suggesting otherwise. Although this was their only hit in both countries, they were far more successful throughout Europe.
I think Australia was the only place in the world where this came bundled with "If I were a boy" as one entry, it does make sense given how quickly this was released as a single after that other track kicked off the album cycle (it was by barely a month.) Naturally this has long overshadowed that track as the feminist anthem from the album, mainly because she's only angry with one man on the track as opposed to the whole gender on that track.
I guess the kiwis were also amused by this fusion of hard rock and club music to make it a massive hit for Cobra Starship like the rest of the world was, in fact their success over there was exactly the same as it was over here given how both of their hits over here saw the same amount of success over there and they had no other hits in either country.
This is another song that was released around the time of MJ's death, meaning that its popularity was somewhat overshadowed at the time by the earth-shattering news which makes it a bittersweet hit for Linkin Park as this would be their final hit in most parts of the world for the band due to rock music being unwelcomed in the 2010's for some unfathomable reason.
This was the last hit that Soulja Boy had anywhere in the world, it's a song about sending one's love through text messaging that he and featured vocalist Sammie who had a hit in his native America at the start of the decade with "I like it" as a child star. At least this song managed to chart here in Australia likely due to the chorus being halfway decent, however it wasn't a hit over here like it was over there.
I guess the kiwis were also massive fans of Packed to the rafters given how this theme song from the show managed to be an even bigger hit over there than it was here in Australia for Eric Hutchinson. Because of the unique way this became a hit for him in the southern hemisphere, it's since been regarded as something that was commissioned for TV jingles rather than it being a genuine singer/songwriter ballad.
Much like her earlier entry on this list, this wasn't quite as popular in NZ as it was here in Australia, again likely because the kiwis weren't as on board with her wishing she was in a Disney story as we Aussies and her fellow Americans were this year. Even though I haven't been that kind to her music on this site, I will say her attempts at being a Disney princess were far better than Disney's own attempts in recent years.
It's interesting that this failed to chart in Australia given how it was a massive success for OneRepublic in NZ and their native America when transitioning from the 00's to the 2010's, I guess we Aussies felt this was more of the same when it came to their catalogue and thus didn't entertain the idea of making it a hit down under. They would eventually score another hit in 2013 with "Counting stars."
Given how this was released around the time of MJ's death, it's impressive that this song from Jordin Spark's second album managed to be as successful in both countries in the southern hemisphere as each other given how the deaf of the king of pop shook up the world quite badly when it happened. I bring this up because the song feels oddly appropriate to what his legacy has gone through since his tragic passing.
While this also remains Green Day's final hit in NZ like it was everywhere else in the world, at least it was a much bigger send off to their popularity over there than it was here in Australia where it struggled to find mainstream relevancy as evidence by its lower placement on the Australian version of this list. Who knows if their popularity would've remained had the 2010's not become so hostile towards rock music.
This was released slightly sooner in NZ than it was here in Australia, as such it managed to appear on this list as well as my upcoming biggest hits of the 2010's list for this side of my site.
J Williams is a NZ RNB singer who scored a massive hit with this ballad about finding love in a NZ ghetto, it connected with kiwis likely due to them finding the premise of this track to be amusing from the singer. This eventually led to him collaborating with many of the biggest names in their local music scene and scoring massive hits with them.
This was equally as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia for Eminem, I'm guessing audiences in general were happy to see him back even if the album was just as poorly received by fans and critics alike as his previous effort from five years prior.
One of the leading forces in NZ music existing the 00's was Kids of 88, at least you'd think they would be one of the hottest names of the 2010's given how popular their debut single was over there to the point where it sparked international interest in the duo. Alas, they were a rock band (well more accurately, an electronic rock band) meaning their popularity died out in the new decade.
This wasn't quite as successful for Lady Gaga in NZ as it was here in Australia, I'm guessing because the kiwis weren't as interested in listening to her complain about the paparazzi especially when you consider that it came from her debut album which she recorded before she became famous worldwide. Still, it was a bit of a comeback for her on the album given the failure of "Lovegame" over there.
I get the feeling these guys were a bit inspired by our own Midnight Oil given how they had a similar sound to the 80's legends in addition to having a similar band name, although they weren't able to crossover to Australia with their material despite it being a massive success in their homeland. Admittedly, many kiwis who found success this decade failed to translate it to Australia.
It appears that the kiwis weren't quite ready to exile Chris Brown from their good graces following an infamous incident that occurred this year that I won't go into detail about, perhaps it was due to him expressing his love of the Transformers franchise with this track or maybe that it came complete with a guest verse from Lil Wayne or maybe another reason that I definitely won't share with my readers.
This was the lead single to Sean Kingston's second album, an album that did rather poorly worldwide compared to his debut likely due to audiences finding more love with the likes of Jay Sean and Taio Cruz exiting the decade. The kiwis had a little bit of love left for him given how he would find more success the following year with his collaboration with Justin Bieber than anywhere else in the world.
This is the second big hit to be affiliated with the 80's band Mr. Mister from a NZ artist to make it big this decade, although this is more because of what Nesian Mystik decided to name the lead single to their penultimate album which no doubt led to its success given how the band oddly seemed to have a ton of nostalgic value throughout the decade.
(this song is "Mr Mista" if you couldn't tell from my commentary)
We haven't seen Kelly Rowland on this site since her work with Destiny's child from four years prior, at least we Aussies gave her a hit with "Work" the previous year whereas the kiwis clearly didn't want to hear from her anymore now that she was no longer part of Beyonce's old band save for this collaboration with David Guetta which was equally as successful in both countries.
This was the last hit that both artists had in most parts of the world, although I doubt most people remember that Nelly Furtado had a hit after her second album Loose given how she all but faded into obscurity once that album cycle had completed two years prior. James Morrison on the other hand only managed one more hit in his career with either this lead single to his second album or with "I won't let you go" here in Australia.
This was the final hit that Ciara had in NZ as was the case everywhere else in the world, I guess like many rock legends of the decade, she too was barred from finding any success throughout the 2010's likely in favour of not being able to compete with the club boom that exploded this year. JT would also struggle for mainstream relevancy after this; however, he did score the occasional hit here and there.
Given the success these guys had in Australia and their native NZ with their second album from earlier in the decade, it makes sense that this would find equal amounts of success in both countries as each other which suggests that the band would go on to have massive success in the 2010's given how popular they were at this point in time. You'd be wrong as with most rock artists who made it big this decade.
This was the final hit that Savage was able to achieve in his homeland as a lead artist, although he did score a comeback five years later when a remix of his debut single became a massive hit over here in Australia. Here he recruits Baby Bash who manages to score a third hit over there following his two collaborations with Frankie J from earlier in the decade.
I guess the kiwis weren't as impressed with this collaboration between Jay-Z and Alicia Keys about how great new York city is compared to us Aussies and their fellow Americans exiting this decade, so much so that this doesn't even appear on my 2010 rankings because it was already fading in popularity by the time the new decade rolled around despite it being released the same time over there as everywhere else in the world.
Given the huge hit he had from earlier on this list, it makes sense that J Williams would start bringing on his fellow kiwis in order to expand his fanbase which he began with Lavina Williams who is notable for competing in season four of Australian idol (despite being a NZ resident) but not making it to the finals for that year. The RNB singer would find much more notable collaborators going into the new decade.
This proved to be slightly more successful in NZ than it was here in Australia, it really is a shame how Britney saw far less success over in NZ this decade than she did down under even if many people (me included) felt that the quality of her music dramatically dropped when she released her album Blackout two years prior. This is the last song in her career that those people will tell you is decent.
This managed to be equally as popular in NZ as it was here in Australia for the British duo, again I have to assume this was due to the 80's nostalgia that the song was clearly going for given how both the lyrics and especially the sound seem to be ripped straight from the synthpop era of music that audiences were longing for throughout the decade. It's a shame this passion they had for 80's nostalgia died out in the 2010's.
Naturally this wasn't as inescapably popular in NZ as it was here in Australia for the Ian Carey Project due to it being an EDM track that found its initial popularity on YouTube worldwide, although it did do better than most of the other tracks to make it big this way from the likes of Fedde Le Grand and those ringtone downloads looking to cash in on the Crazy Frog's popularity.
This was a song that was tailor made to be as controversial as possible given how its subject matter (to say nothing of its cover art) was meant to address something that happened to Rihanna this year that I'm sure we're all familiar with by now. It appears we Aussies and kiwis weren't that interested in having this sort of music from her as this was a massive disappointment for her commercially in both countries.
It appears that the kiwis were just as impressed with this collaboration between former BFF's Kanye West and Jay-Z as we Aussies were this year, that is to say, this was only a hit over there due to the presence of Rihanna as neither of their other collaborations managed to spark any interest in either country in the southern hemisphere despite making an entire album together two years later.
Given how Akon saw inescapable success from his second album two years prior in NZ, I would've been dumbstruck if he didn't achieve at least some success over there with his third album which was the case with its lead single even though it was a massive flop for him over here in Australia. Sadly, this would be his final hit as a lead artist over there as "Beautiful" failed to catch on like it did over here.
This was more of a hit in NZ than it was here in Australia, I'm guessing this was due to the single not being affected by the album's strong sales as I can see how "Paparazzi" and "Lovegame" wouldn't be affected by this here in Australia due to how much they both stand out on the album. That's not to say this song has no legacy, but rather how ordinary it is compared to the rest of the songs in her catalogue.
This will be 3OH!3's only appearance on this side of my site as it appears the kiwis weren't as impressed with their online antics as we Aussies were, I'm guessing they didn't allow YouTube to dictate their music tastes for the longest time as many internet fads that were big over here weren't so much over there.
While this wasn't as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia (as was the case with all of her singles this decade baring the ones from her second album) it proved to be a huge hit for P!nk over there regardless thanks to the double meaning it has as it can be about overcoming a literal drug/alcohol addiction or about her "sobering up" to how toxic her current relationship is.
This will be the only appearance from one of Muse's singles on this site as this managed to become enough of a mainstream success in NZ to qualify for this particular list of mine, it's a good representation to their overall sound as the band were able to find a captivating audience around the world with their brand of alternative rock throughout the decade and even into the 2010's.
This was the third entry from Eminem's comeback album Relapse, it's a ballad that was meant to showcase his more sensitive side the same way that "Mockingbird" did from his earlier album. It appears the kiwis were touched by this track as it became a modest success for him over there, although it did nothing for us Aussies as it flopped over here.
This is the other big hit that Kanye West had from his breakup album 808's and heartbreaks that failed to appear on the Australian side of my site, indeed this took a while to take off in NZ likely due to the kiwis being confused with listening to a second song from him in a row where he sounds like a robot but were eventually won over likely due to the animated music video.
We have another appearance from Smashproof to look at from their debut album, this time there wasn't any emotional weight behind the track which is perhaps why it wasn't nearly as successful as their earlier entry on this list. At least it gave them one more hit before the decade was out as they were unable to find any success in the 2010's just like the majority of 00's artists.
We looked at the first song that the Lonely Island released in their catalogue on the Australian side of my site, now let's look at the big hit that they had in NZ this year which was this track where they recruited T-Pain to sing about the luxuries of owning a boat they likely purchased with the royalties from their first single.
This was equally as popular in NZ as it was here in Australia for Katy Perry, I guess the kiwis weren't that invested with this precursor to "Last Friday night" as we Aussies were as I doubt its lack of success over there was due to album sales eating up its success like it was over here.
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