I came a cross this list which much like the 00's list I posted a while back, takes into account a song's full chart run to determine what were the biggest hits of the 90's in NZ as opposed to its popularity on the upper echelons of those charts. I've decided to recreate this list and include any song that has yet to appear on this side of my site as a way of incentivising me doing so, meaning you'll get to read my commentary of these songs even though many of them have already appeared on the Australian side of my site. Also like my 00's list, I've slightly adjusted this list to include the full chart runs of songs that charted from 1989 and into 2000 rather than cutting off their chart run to only include their stats throughout the decade.
There won't be as many double entries on the NZ side of this site given how the kiwis seemed to have a more competitive music scene during the late 90's, one of the few exceptions was the fourth and fifth singles from the Spice Girl's debut album which were bundled together over there like they were everywhere else in the world so that it wouldn't take up space during the album cycle of their second album.
#65 for 1997 (#44 website)
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.
#60 for 1998 (#50 website)
The hits kept on coming for SWV in NZ as this was a huge success for the trio over there this year, I'm guessing because their popularity was still intact in their native America as this was also a huge success on Billboard this year. The girls would have one more hit the following year with Missy Elliott of all people before their popularity was no more.
#58 for 1996 (#49 website)
Well at least we have a more appropriate album art for this second single from CJ Lewis, this time he covers an early Stevie Wonder track which didn't go over as well in NZ and his native UK as his earlier entry on this list but was still a massive success in both countries due to their respective love of pop reggae around this time.
#70 for 1994
This was the third chart topper that Deep Obsession had in NZ, it was the perfect way to end the 90's given how it suggested that they would be one of the biggest local artists of the 21st century. Sadly, this was also their final hit which proves that they weren't destined for greatness in the 00's.
#67 for 1999 (#13 website)
Well, this was so much less successful in NZ for Martika than it was here in Australia, admittedly it's more surprising it was so successful here than anything considering it wasn't that big of a hit in her native America or the UK either. In fact, it's failure internationally led to her retiring from music after she was done promoting her second album the following year.
#64 for 1991 (#47 website)
From what I can gather, Andru Donalds is one of the vocalists that Enigma used in their albums which would explain the success of his solo material in certain parts of the world including this track he released following an infamous lawsuit that the German duo was facing around this time. No surprise then this was a hit for him in NZ given how it's a reggae track made by an artist who hails from Jamaica.
#67 for 1995
This was a bit more of a sleeper hit for Black box in NZ, which is an early sign that the kiwis wouldn't be as big a fan of EDM throughout the 90's as we Aussies were given how few entries from the Australian side of my site from the genre will be reappearing on this side of my site. Still, it did linger around long enough to qualify for this list even if most of its success came from the lower half of their charts.
#79 for 1990 (#49 website)
This was the second of three consecutive chart toppers that Boyzone had in NZ during the final years of the 90's, it seems rather bittersweet that the Irish boy band would finally see this level of success over there given how they went through most of the decade without so much as touching the charts.
#59 for 1999 (#47 website)
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.
#39 for 1998 (#19 website)
Like everything she released this decade after the Immaculate collection, this wasn't as big in NZ as it was here in Australia which is why this theme to the second Austin Powers film appears much lower on this side of my site than it does on the Australian side. Still the kiwis did enjoy this bop of a tune enough for it to be one of the biggest hits of the year for the queen of pop.
#60 for 1999
This is the only hit that teenage singer Shola Ama was able to achieve outside of her native UK, although like many British artists of the day (especially those in the RNB camp) she was far more successful in her homeland. Here she puts her spin on an obscure track from the late 70's that went over well with her fellow Brits and the kiwis, although not so much with us Aussies given how this flopped here.
#68 for 1997
This was the song where it all began for the Fugees given how it was their debut single they released in their native America the previous year, it was a flop on Billboard due to the trio not participating in the east coast/west coast rivalry despite being from the former coast, however it managed to become a huge success over in NZ despite the kiwis firmly being in the west coast camp.
#73 for 1996
Here's a fact that may shock everyone reading this who isn't from NZ, Popstars was actually a reality series that originated over there this year before it became popular here in Australia and eventually the UK. The first winners of the series anywhere in the world was this all-girl group who were formed as such because Popstars had you competing in the show in groups rather than as solo artists.
#42 for 1999 (#33 website)
Unlike in Australia where Sophie B Hawkins managed to achieve a second hit throughout the decade, this was the only hit she managed to achieve over in NZ likely due to this becoming a minor hit in the UK in addition to it being a massive hit here and in her native America this year. Admittedly none of her contemporaries managed to achieve much success with their singles over there like they did over here either.
#67 for 1992 (#37 website)
Well, it looks like the kiwis had already grown tired of Paula Abdul going into her second album, I guess this was a hit for the pop star over there due to how inescapable it was throughout the rest of the world, however it's clear that they were ready to move on from her to the likes of the pop divas from earlier on this list.
#72 for 1991
Coolio was on a roll this year in NZ when he released the second single from his sophomore album named after his top entry on this list, this time he samples the Kool and the Gang track of the same name for this summer jam that was curiously released during the winter in his homeland which prevented it from becoming a hit on Billboard like it was in NZ.
#46 for 1996
Once again, we have a song that was released on time in NZ that saw considerably less success over there than it did over here despite it being released much later with us Aussies, this is doubly strange considering A: how much bigger the other singles from Five were over there and B: this brand of white boy hip hop being a shoe in for success with the kiwis over us Aussies.
Hit in 1998
For whatever reason, this lead single to George Michael's second solo album was a commercial disappointment here in Australia, I'm guessing we Aussies weren't quite ready to take him as seriously as he wanted to be taken at the start of the decade which certainly didn't seem to be the case internationally where this became an instant success for the former Wham singer.
#82 for 1990
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.
#50 for 1998 (#36 website)
I guess the kiwis weren't as blown away with this track about Joan Osbourne asking the heavy questions about if God is truly like one of us mortal beings as we Aussies were, although they were intrigued enough for it to be a sleeper success for her even if she remains a one hit wonder with this track over there like she does worldwide.
Hit in 1996
I think this was one of the last genuine country songs to become a hit in NZ as there definitely wasn't much country to make it big over there without some pop makeover, it also comes from a country legend over there as John Grenell had been releasing country albums strictly for their country scene for the better part of two decades by that point.
#57 for 1990
This was all set to top the Billboard charts this year as it did in NZ, however due to the change of format with how they were calculated, it didn't end up becoming a number one hit in America. I thought I'd shared that here as I have nothing new to add to this song on this site and instead want to highlight just how unreliable the Billboard charts had becoming beginning with this year.
#45 for 1992 (#30 website)
This proved to be a slightly bigger hit in NZ than it was here in Australia, I'd say because the kiwis confused this for an Alanis Morrissette track except that didn't seem to do Meredith Brooks many favours two years prior. I'm guessing it was because they were surprised that Jennifer Love Hewitt managed to have a song that wasn't just a novelty hit for her like other Hollywood stars such as Eddie Murphy or Patrick Swayze.
#55 for 1999
Well Tony Toni Tone already had success earlier in the decade, so why not have these guys follow in their footsteps in NZ and their native America? This is another band who combined hip hop with new jack swing who managed to score a bigger hit in NZ than anything that the other guys released over there, although they were a one hit wonder over there and also failed to score a hit in Australia.
#41 for 1992 (#29 website)
Given how he had one of the biggest hits of the year in NZ around this time, it only makes sense that Keith Sweat's other big hit in his native America would also be a success over there given how it uses the same formula as "Twisted" with the chorus from Kut Klose connecting his verses together.
#47 for 1996
#48 for 1997
It looked like there wouldn't be another Traveling Wilburys album following the tragic death of Roy Orbison shortly after they released their first album two years prior, however the remaining members decided to make a second album which included this track they released in aid of the Romanian Angel Appeal. This was a charity which helped the children of Romania that I'm sure was a factor in its success in NZ.
#76 for 1990 (#43 website)
I really wasn't expecting to feature Anthrax on this site given how they're about as far away you can get from commercially accessible music (especially for the early 90's) however it appears the kiwis were big fans of their collaboration with Chuck D from Public Enemy (hey that rhymes) which is likely the reason why Metallica didn't see much success with their sellout material over there this decade.
#73 for 1991
These guys really were the exception to the rule where east coast hip hop was unwelcomed in NZ throughout the 90's, here we have another entry from them that only barely failed to make it on my official lists on this site due to being yet another sleeper hit from them back in the day. Their success was about on par with the likes of Cypress hill and Bone thugs n harmony as far as the kiwis were concerned.
Hit in 1995
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.
#57 for 1998 (#22 website)
This was another song from Mariah Carey that proved to be more successful in NZ than it was here in Australia, she was really on a roll this year even if she only had one chart topper outside of Billboard with "Vision of love" from the previous year. Her second international chart topper came when she performed "I'll be there" on MTV unplugged to silence those rumours that she was lip synching on her albums.
#61 for 1991
I've yet to see any of the Rocky films, however I have it on good authority that even the biggest diehard fan of Sylvester Stallone will tell you that the fifth entry is one of the worst films ever made. It seems the only redeeming quality about it is the theme song similar to how well received James Brown's song for the previous entry was also well received even by that film's biggest detractors.
Hit in 1991
Mista were a short lived American RNB and hip-hop group who achieved no success on the Billboard charts and yet were able to score a massive hit in NZ with this number, it was their only crossover success over there but considering how much of a failure they were in their homeland, it's still an impressive feat for them.
#59 for 1996 (#42 website)
This charted higher in NZ than it did in Australia, although that doesn't mean it was more successful given it has roughly the same placement on this list as it does on the Australian side of my site. This was originally a hit in the UK for the American duo before it crossed over to America, I'm guessing because the kiwis recognised the sample from Spandau ballet before their fellow Americans did.
#58 for 1991 (#30 website)
This was the debut single for Billie Piper which became a modest success here in Australia and in NZ back in the day due to how catchy (and some may say irritating) the song was from her, even back then, it wasn't that well received as evidence by "Girlfriend" and "Honey to the bee" being the songs that allowed her career to take off in earnest from her debut album.
Hit in 1998
This was one of many RNB acts from NZ to score moderate success in their homeland throughout the 90's, though it was far from the biggest hit that the RNB scene over there had to offer, it did spark enough interest here in Australia for it to rank pretty high on the Triple J year end list for this year. Sadly, it's commercial success in the duo's homeland and the critical success it received over here did the group very little favours in the long run.
#53 for 1994 (#40 website)
Though this was released on time in NZ as opposed to it being released late here in Australia, it appears the kiwis were a bit put off by the sexual nature of the lyrics in a way we Aussies weren't hence why it only appears on this list and much lower than it would on the Australian side of my site. I guess this is the best proof I have that the kiwis were bigger prudes than us Aussies during this point in time.
Hit in 1993 (#43 website)
It seems the kiwis were equally as titillated by this first bonus track from the Immaculate collection as we Aussies were, although it clearly wasn't as much as her fellow Americans were as this went straight to number one on Billboard and became one of her biggest hits in America in her entire catalogue. It was likely the success of this track which led to her next album being all about sexual provocation.
#52 for 1990
#53 for 1991
He may have had two failed bands by this point, however Jimmy Somerville still wasn't going to give up in being a successful pop star as he released his first solo single which was a reggae cover of the Bee gees classic from the late 60's. Naturally the kiwis ate this song up given how it was a song from the queer performer and was a reggae cover of an older track, two trends that they were into at the time.
#69 for 1991
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.
#55 for 1998
I guess the kiwis weren't as impressed with the Backstreet boy's incorporation of a guitar solo as we Aussies were given how much less popular this second single was over there compared to over here, although they would make up for this by having their third single from Millennium be a far bigger hit over there the following year which was a return to their roots as the white Boyz II men.
#77 for 1999 (#23 website)
I guess the kiwis weren't that much more impressed with this sweet and innocent number from (at the time) underage singer Shanice Wilson than we Aussies were, although at least it didn't have to worry about making the cut on this list as opposed to the Australian side of my site where it nearly failed to do so. Again, this was far more successful in the northern hemisphere back in the day.
#77 for 1992
This was one of the many hits that Stellar achieved from their debut album, in fact this was the song the band released when the album dropped which naturally meant it would be a success even if it was only a sleeper hit likely due to the album overshadowing its popularity.
Hit in 1999 (#45 website)
I'm a bit surprised this was merely a sleeper hit in NZ given how much more receptive towards MJ's more topical songs than we Aussies were, although I guess this was a bit on the nose given how even someone as unpolitical as he was noticed how turbulent the government was towards minority groups around this time.
Hit in 1996
It looks like Paul Hardcastle scored more than one hit after all, although this second hit was only as such for him in NZ as this was a house track from the man who scored a massive worldwide hit five years prior with "19." Tony Mac was the credited vocalist on this track given how "19" was a spoken word track about the trials and tribulations of the Vietnam war which wasn't going to fly on this track.
#53 for 1990
#56 for 1991
Snap were able to score one more hit off their debut album in NZ with this track about dealing with a stalker, admittedly this also the case here in Australia where this also barely failed to appear on that side of my site. Sadly this would be the band's final hit over there as "Rhythm is a dancer" didn't connect with the kiwis like it did with us Aussies.
Hit in 1991
This is a song that should be much higher on this list, it isn't because it was pulled from shelves in NZ to encourage album sales for the soundtrack which as far as I can tell, didn't work over there. Another interesting fact I forgot to mention on the Australian side of my site is that the beat comes from "Forget me nots" from Patrice Rushen which was a massive hit in NZ fifteen years prior.
#41 for 1997 (#5 website)
I never understood why American dance acts had a hard time in finding success in their homeland, although this is one of the lucky few success stories even if it wound up being more successful in NZ albeit as a sleeper hit for the trio. Normally these American artists have their success in the UK or throughout Europe, however that wasn't the case for these guys.
Hit in 1990 (#36 website)
I'm not sure why this wasn't as popular in NZ or the trio's native America this year as it was here in Australia, I'm guessing it didn't have that novelty factor that "Mmmbop" had and wasn't a ballad like their previous entry was which made it not worthy of much of either countries time. Still, this was a massive hit back in the day in both countries which further proves how inaccurate their label of a one hit wonder is.
#74 for 1997 (#39 website)
This was the theme song to a film known as Friday, it's a black comedy starring Ice Cube and Chris Tucker which has retained a strong fanbase in black communities as well as fans of 90's comedy (I haven't seen it but should probably get around to doing so.) It was also the only hit that Dr Dre had as a lead performer in NZ given how he was better known for being a producer by this point in his career.
#62 for 1995 (#38 website)
The success that Savage Garden had with their first album in NZ was a bit of an inverse to what they achieved in America, this and "Break me shake me" were the two big hits over there whereas "I want you" and "Truly madly deeply" were their big hits on Billboard. In any case, this became their first big hit over there following the buzz that their debut single had given them earlier in the year.
#73 for 1997 (#47 website)
This was Tiny Tina's only hit in NZ (Tiny Tina was what we Aussies called her during her days on Young talent time) mainly because the kiwis passed up her singles over there in favour of making her second album a huge (albeit sleeper) hit over there. This was also a huge success in the UK for the Australian pop diva which led to her crossing over throughout Europe.
#70 for 1995
This was the final big hit that Boyz II Men were able to achieve anywhere in the world, I'm not sure why their popularity took such a massive nosedive this far into the decade given how there were still plenty of RNB groups copying their style finding massive success around the world. I guess once you dominated the Billboard charts for over four months with the same song, you're bound to have people get sick of you.
#58 for 1997 (#31 website)
I'm shocked this wasn't a bigger hit back in the day, mainly because this is a collaboration between Sting and Eric Clapton for a highly popular film franchise. Clapton saw a huge resurgence in popularity when this came out due to his MTV concert and Lethal weapon was one of the hottest action franchises of its day, and yet it was only a sleeper hit at best in Australia and NZ upon its release.
Hit in 1992
This was the second single to be released from Nevermind worldwide, it managed to be a success in NZ likely because A: they had a stronger alternative scene at the time compared to us Aussies and B: the album was already a massive success here by the time this was released as a single. It remains one of their more iconic songs in their catalogue due to how surprisingly simplistic it is as a grunge track.
#62 for 1992
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.
#44 for 1998
#40 for 1999
This was the highest charting song from Jagged little pill from Alanis Morissette, it wasn't her biggest hit as that honour goes to her earlier entry on this list, however it was this song that the kiwis gravitated towards the quickest due to the jokes being made about irony dating back to its initial release. At least Alanis got the last laugh by saying those jokes was the point of the song.
#55 for 1996
These guys were so popular in NZ that their debut album managed to spawn a second hit for them following the success of said album and their earlier entry on this list, yes it was a sleeper hit for the band, however it lasting for quite some time on their charts as opposed to barely charting here in Australia goes to show how much more well liked they were over there compared to over here.
Hit in 1993
This was the first big hit that Pras Michel had without the other two members of the Fugees anywhere in the world, although here he teams up with another rapper by the name of John Forte as they both sample "Electric Avenue" from Eddy Grant for this theme song to a film known as Money talks. From what I can gather, the film was a critical disaster due to it having Chris Tucker and Charlie Sheen as its leads.
#61 for 1997
I'm a bit surprised this wasn't an even bigger hit in NZ than it was, granted it was still much bigger there than it was here in Australia, but I would've thought a hip hop track from the white rapper (even if it's a novelty like this track) would've been an easy chart topper over there as opposed to just being a mere top ten hit.
#58 for 1999
Following the success of her collaboration with Monica from much earlier on this list, Brandy no longer had any issues with topping the Billboard charts as this became her first solo single to top the charts in her homeland as well as it being a moderate success over in NZ for her. There is a version which features a guest verse from Ma$e which likely helped boost this song's popularity in both countries as well.
Hit in 1998
This is a remix of a mambo track form the 50's (hence the name of the song) that became a massive hit worldwide for the British EDM group Shaft right as the 90's was coming to an end. This wasn't a hit here in Australia, although the group's followup single was as "Mambo Italiano" became a modest success in the new year given how it was a cover of the Rosemary Clooney classic.
#48 for 1999 (#29 website)
This was a minor hit here in Australia for Ricky Martin; however, it was too minor of a hit to appear on the Australian side of my site due to it charting too low to make any sort of impact in our music scene. Fortunately, it was much more impactful over in NZ likely due to the Latin craze being a lot stronger over there at the time, well that or the fact that this came from a highly successful album which affected its popularity down under.
#64 for 1999 (#19 website)
It was only inevitable that this would be more of a hit in NZ than it was here in Australia for New edition given how much more popular the boys were during their heyday over there, heck I would've been dumbstruck if this had failed over there given how much more successful the individual members were over there throughout the decade and that this was a hit over here in Australia.
#61 for 1996 (#33 website)
It appears the kiwis were also feeling nostalgic for the Jim Henson preschool show which premiered twenty years prior and is still running to this day, that's the best explanation I have for how this remix of the show's theme song managed to become such a huge worldwide success back in the day except for in America as British artists didn't have as much luck in the 90's on Billboard as they had previously done.
#59 for 1992
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.
#21 for 1997
#20 for 1998
I'm surprised this wasn't a bigger hit in NZ given how gangster rap was taking the world by storm around this time, heck it was even noticeable enough for it to become a success in Australia which says how popular Snoop Dogg was back in the day. Alas it was only a modest success for him in NZ just like it was here in Australia, although he did have moderate success over there as the decade went on.
#63 for 1994
Well at least Suzanne Vega had a minor hit in NZ three years prior with "Luka" which came from the same album as the original version of this dance classic from DNA, it was a slightly bigger hit over in NZ likely because the kiwis wanted to get Suzanne out of the one hit wonder bin even if technically she still is a one hit wonder over there as she was merely credited as the featured artist on this remix.
#65 for 1990
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.
#70 for 1998
While it may seem surprising that this was far less popular in NZ than it was here in Australia, it might be due to "Love in an elevator" being a minor success over there which likely ate up the sales of this ballad due to it being the second single released from their breakthrough album Pump. More shockingly is that this is the only major hit that Aerosmith had over there due to "I don't want to miss a thing" failing to chart there.
Hit in 1990
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.
#36 for 1997
#34 for 1998
It's hard to say how much airplay was a factor to this song's success for Shania Twain in NZ, after all her previous two singles underperformed over there despite them being massively popular here in Australia the previous year. In any case, the kiwis seemed to gravitate towards this pop rendition of her country track on Come on over where she shoots down guys who don't impress her, it's far less catty than I'm making it out to be.
#49 for 1999 (#38 website)
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