Here it is, the long-awaited NZ equivalent of my greatest hit singles/albums of all time list I made a while back. Just like last time, I’ll be presenting this as a countdown, meaning that each entry will be more successful than the last as we go down this list. The main difference here of course is that unlike here in Australia, there was only one chart in NZ over the years, meaning that there won’t be multiple entries from singles/albums from the late 80’s/90’s/00’s like there was on my Australian list. Also, I won’t be including entries from the RIANZ charts given how they didn’t track album sales and that they were based on popular votes rather than sales, that and there was only ever a top twenty which means there’s a good chance they were struggling to fill out the top twenty each week during its run.
#2300
Much like the rest of the world, it appears that Rod Stewart was able to resume his career where it left off in the 70's in NZ as if there hadn't been an entire decade of silence from him over there. At least we Aussies gave him the occasional hit throughout the 80's, Rod hadn't had a hit over there since "Passion" from over ten years prior.
#2299
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.
#2298
I think the kiwis were tuning into Countdown from around this time as this is one of several hits they had over there that only became as such here because of the artist in question appearing on the show, I wouldn't know how else Janis Ian managed to score a hit with this track over there as her performing it on the show was how it managed to become a success down under.
#2297
I'm not sure how this hip hop track from Icy Blu managed to become a success here in Australia and NZ back in the day given how it was a massive flop for her in America, however it was a success in the southern hemisphere regardless for the underage rapper. It turns out she had a second single chart in NZ with "I wanna be your girl" which is somehow more of a novelty than this track was.
#2296
Well, I did mention that this was Air supply's first big hit internationally on the Australian side of my site, I don't think anyone could've predicted how much bigger this was over in NZ compared to here in Australia as this managed to not only crack our top ten (failing to do so on our charts) but also be a huge success in the final months of the 70's over there.
#2295
Genesis might have had the more popular hit in NZ this year, however their earlier entry came from an album from three years prior and their actual new single (which is still to come on this list) wasn't nearly as big as Peter Gabriel's pop breakthrough over there. This proved to be equally successful in both countries in the southern hemisphere, likely because of the music video and the strange and quirky lyrics.
#2294
This was a much bigger hit in NZ than it was here in Australia despite having the same peak position in both countries, I guess the kiwis weren't as bothered by the shaky songwriting that has gotten it on many worst songs of all time lists as we Aussies were (side note, why it this song so hated by the internet compared to most modern songs?) It was their biggest hit in NZ due to it being their signature tune.
#2293
Much like their earlier entry on this list, this was also much bigger in NZ than it was here in Australia and their native UK. In fact, this song's success over there matches the success that "Poison arrow" had here, meaning that the kiwis were especially in love with what these guys had to offer this year, perhaps this is why they occasionally charted as the decade went on over there while they didn't over here.
#2292
There's been a suspicious absence from Sister Sledge on this site hasn't there? Well let's rectify that by featuring their biggest hit they had in NZ which was this cover of the Mary Wells track from almost two decades prior that wasn't a hit anywhere else in the world. We'll be looking at the two big international hits they had as we go through these lists but suffice to say they were at their most popular over there.
#2291
It brings me great joy in informing my audience that while it did start to lose its popularity this year, it was in a more natural way as we have yet another disco track that was a success in America to make it big in NZ this year. This time it's from the S.O.S band who had another big hit later in the decade with "Just be good to me," the song that would become a hit for Beats international ten years after this made it big.
#2290
Although it wasn't that huge chart topper in NZ like it was in most other parts of the world, this second single from the Bangles third and final album Everything was still a huge success in NZ for the girl band this year proving that their two biggest hits over there were the ones that saved their two big albums from flopping as was the case throughout the rest of the world.
#2289
The legends are true people, Eddie Murphy did indeed have a singing career back in the day which was off to a good start when this nearly became a Billboard chart topper for the Comedian upon its initial release (it was held off by Lionel Richie.) I can see this song working if it were performed by someone who had been in the music industry much longer than Eddie had been when he first released it.
#2288
The kiwis were a bit less invested in the return of Leo Sayer this year, possibly due to him coming back with a cover of a Buddy Holly track and turning the rockabilly tune into an adult contemporary ballad. Still, it was enough of a hit that you can qualify it as a comeback for one of the biggest names in music throughout the 70's.
#2287
This is only one of three songs from J-Lo to find more success in NZ than it did here in Australia, I'm guessing the kiwis were bigger fans of the Wedding planner given how her album this also serves as the lead single to didn't find any success over there until the success of her earlier entry on this list. At least she still had plenty of success over there during the first half of the decade.
#2286
These guys were on a roll this year as they managed to achieve their second big hit following their earlier entry on this list, I don't know if they managed to become the new RHCP in the eyes of the kiwis, however it would explain why that band's next album wasn't as successful over there as it was over here.
*Apologies for the terrible quality of this album art, images of this album cover are scarce on the internet. *
#2285
This was one of the biggest hits of the decade in Australia, so to see it appear this low on this list should give you an idea of how different the music landscape was here and in NZ around this time. I guess the kiwis didn't find this to be a groovy cover of the Mindbenders original, or rather they just felt that it wasn't good enough to be worth making it one of the defining hits of the 80's over there.
#2284
There was still room for country music in NZ if this ballad from Sylvia is anything to go by, Sylvia was yet another country singer who scored a ton of success on the Billboard country charts but only managed one pop hit in her career with this ballad.
#2283
This was also a huge success for U2 upon its initial release in NZ as it was everywhere else in the world, everywhere except America because this was a huge flop on Billboard which is perhaps why people believe this wasn't the lead single of Achtung baby to this day.
#2282
Given how the kiwis were already familiar with Mental as anything from earlier in the decade, this second single from their biggest album managed to become a success over there this year without the requirement of it becoming the theme to the Crocodile Dundee films which was how it became popular throughout Europe later in the decade for the band.
#2281
Unlike in Australia where we Aussies made both of Livie's big hits across the transatlantic a success, the kiwis were only interested in having her Billboard chart topper be a hit over there as they ignored her UK chart topper from Xanadu for the most part. I'm guessing because it was a collaboration with ELO which the kiwis didn't seem that fond over at the time, again at least compared to us Aussies.
#2280
Evidently the kiwis were bigger fans of James Galway than we Aussies were given how this managed to be an even bigger success over there than it was over here for the flutist, at least he never scored a hit in either country in the southern hemisphere which is more than I can say for his presence in his native UK.
#2279
Even though Phil Collins hadn't been on anyone's minds since his final album with Genesis from the start of the decade, it appears that people had enough fond memories of his back catalogue for this greatest hits package of his to be a massive success in NZ just like it was here in Australia.
#2278
This was far more of a success over in NZ than it was here in Australia, I guess the kiwis were more interested in this project than we Aussies were given how classical music had more overall success over there than it did over here back in the day.
#2277
This was only a moderate success for Crowded house in NZ, in fact it mainly got its second appearance on this site due to it rebounding on the charts in the new year due to some of the singles suddenly charting for the trio over there. Even so, it was an instant success there upon its initial release due to the lead single being their second biggest hit over there and biggest here in Australia.
#2276
This is one of two other album to come from Sony's lucrative Essential series, we already looked at MJ's entry on the Australian side of this site, so let's look at the biggest hit from the franchise that came during an artist's lifetime which I feel was the case for Neil Diamond due to it replacing his even more lucrative Hot august night album which I noticed was no longer charting in the 21st century anywhere in the world.
#2275
Again, I could be wrong with my assessment for this album as it's surprisingly hard to look up information about this Irish duo, what I do know is that this was way more of a mainstream success for Foster and Allen in NZ likely due to the singles becoming one of the most success of the decade over there following its sleeper success here in Australia.
#2274
This was the soundtrack to a now long forgotten film about humanoid cat people, basically it's a theatrical adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats but presented as a horror film rather than a joyous musical. I'm guessing the soundtrack was a hit in NZ due to the title track from David Bowie being a massive success over there as well as the score from Giorgio Moroder also being neat.
#2273
This was equally as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia for the TV show Glee, although it clearly came at the expense of the singles over there as the series never had a single hit over there like it did over here.
#2272
This was a greatest hits package from the 60's band the Hollies, it became a success in NZ this year likely due to the kiwis feeling nostalgia for their catalogue which is a bit odd considering they hadn't had a hit over there since the launch of the RIANZ charts in 1975.
#2271
This was more of a success over in NZ likely due to how much more popular rock and alternative music was over there than it was over here, I'm not sure how this even happened unless the kiwis had their own equivalent of Triple J which helped them discover these types of artists like we Aussies did.
#2270
Well, this soundtrack's success was inevitable in NZ given how three of its tracks managed to become three of the biggest hits of the decade over there, it did decently well here in Australia as well likely due to the success of the film which is a buddy comedy that is carried by the chemistry between its two stars Will Smith and Martin Lawrence.
#2269
This was originally released at the end of the 70's to deafening silence in NZ, I guess the kiwis weren't that keen on revisiting the biggest hits of David Bowie as the decade was coming to an end. They changed their minds following the success of his (then) latest album Scary monsters due to it spawning one of his bigger hits in his career.
#2268
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.
#2267
Given how Snoop Dogg already achieved massive success in NZ with his earlier entry on this list this year, I guess it isn't too surprising that his first chart topper in Australia wasn't as such over there despite it finding equal amounts of success in both countries. Again, I feel that this was more due to JT's presence as he felt like a cheat code when it came to artists wanting to make it big this decade.
#2266
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)
#2265
While this didn't quite get to number one in NZ like it did here in Australia, the fact it wasn't pulled from shelves over there like it was over here (to encourage album sales of course) meant that this was able to retain its placement on this side of my site that it had on that side. It's a song that many will tell you is among the worst on this list, however I don't think I'd go that far even if I weren't a fan of hers.
#2264
In an odd move, this second single from Suit was released around the same time that "Tilt ya head back" was released from Nelly's other album Sweat in NZ as opposed to here in Australia where it being released well after the latter became a hit down under. As such, this proved to be less successful over there than it was over here as it had to wait for that track to fall off the charts before it became popular.
#2263
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.
#2262
I still can't believe how much less successful the Police were in NZ compared to Australia, at least three of their songs will be making a second appearance on this site with this lead single from their penultimate album Ghost in the machine being the second of those three entries.
#2261
This was the only hit that Laura Branigan managed to achieve in NZ, it feels weird that she is a one hit wonder over there considering how she managed to score three additional hits here in Australia and her one hit wasn't even the big hit she had in the UK. Still, this was a good choice to make her a one hit wonder with given how it's a song about calling out someone's own vanity in the most satisfying way possible.
#2260
Well at least this managed to be an even bigger success in NZ than it was here in Australia, that and it came from a highly successful album over there that was only barely a hit down under back in the day. Of course, all of this was inevitable over there given how both groups on the track already had sound success up until this point, actually the Emotions had a very big hit the previous year over there.
#2259
This was another hit that Mark Williams managed to achieve in his homeland back in the day, I guess he was the most successful NZ artist of the decade over there even taking into accounts those that found success here in Australia first before taking it back home.
#2258
This was only slightly less successful in NZ for Destiny's child than it was here in Australia, I'm guessing because the shock had worn off from the kiwis that the quartet had replaced two of the members from earlier on this list without telling them they had been fired. I'm surprised this wasn't more of a hit worldwide considering how much more of a bop this is than their earlier entry.
#2257
These guys were on a roll this decade in NZ as they managed to score another hit over there with one of their reggae jams, this time it's a cover of the Joe South classic from the late 60's which managed to be a hit in Australia back in the day for the American singer/songwriter. It was a flop over there (according to the Listener charts) so it's possible the kiwis don't even realise that this was a cover.
#2256
Well, this was a genuine hit back in the day around the world, meaning that there's a good chance that this song still has its fans to this day even if it's mainly through nostalgia at this point. If you're one of those people, I won't say anything in this entry that will prevent you liking this song.
#2255
This was the debut single for En Vogue, an RNB girl group who were one of the biggest names in music throughout the world in the 90's except for here in Australia where they were a one hit wonder with "Don't let go" in 1997 (I guess a two-hit wonder if you count their chorus on Salt n Pepa's "Whatta man") The kiwis recognised their abilities to harmonise with each other from the start, hence why this was a hit over there.
#2254
This was a success slightly sooner in NZ than it was here in Australia, I guess because the kiwis held off in making Band aid a success over there to allow this supergroup to become the big success story of the summer period of 1984/1985 over there.
#2253
It appears that the kiwis had a love/hate relationship with this song from J-Lo just like the rest of the world did, on the one hand, they appreciated her attempts at being down to earth over a bumping beat whilst on the other they felt that she missed the mark and wound up coming off as more out of touch with reality than ever before. The song has had a better reputation over the years due to this being a normal feat for celebrities.
#2252
This was the big breakthrough that TLC had outside of their native America, possibly due to it being sold as a female perspective in the "stalker anthem" that audiences tend to not realise are indeed about stalking the love of a song's narrator's life. It was a massive hit in NZ likely due to this premise as well as the song being an absolute banger, it's a shame it was mere a minor sleeper hit here in Australia.
#2251
Given how this was the lead single to Midnight oil's breakthrough album in NZ, it makes sense that it would be a much bigger hit over there given how "U.S forces" failed to become a huge success here in Australia which was the album's lead single the year prior. These guys would overall find more success over there than they did over here with their music, pretty impressive for such a politically charged band.
#2250
This proved to be far more popular in NZ than it was here in Australia for Midge Ure and company, I'm guessing because the kiwis largely passed up "Fade to grey" from his other band Visage (which we'll revisit later down this list) in favour of this track which infamously was blocked from the top spot in the UK by Joe Dolce's earlier entry on this list.
#2249
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.
#2248
This was also a huge hit for Roy Orbison in NZ, not quite as big as it was here in Australia but still a massive hit for him which goes to show you how bittersweet this song's success was given how he was already no longer with us when it was released as a single worldwide. Heck even the Brits made this a huge hit for him, and it was even a hit in his native America even if it wasn't to this scale on Billboard.
#2247
This was an even bigger hit for RHCP in NZ than it was here in Australia, I guess even with airplay being factored into the charts, rock music was still able to find an audience during the final year of the 90's as it saw diminishing returns going into the 00's over there. Then again Californication produced multiple huge hits for the band over there, so perhaps the kiwis just wanted to give them more hits.
#2246
It's strange to think that this reggae cover of the Beatles classic was the only success that Chaka Demus and Pliers managed to have in NZ, after all you'd think their other two UK hits would've been as popular as this was especially considering how one of them even became a hit for them here in Australia the previous year. Still the fact they had a least one hit over there was better than what they achieved in America.
#2245
Well, we've looked at the Stars on 45 and getting hooked on classics, so now let's look at this formula applied to local music from the NZ music scene, specifically that of Maoris which managed to become a huge success over there this year due to how popular the mashup craze was at the time.
#2244
This had a bit of a delay to its success in NZ, almost as if the kiwis didn't want to make a hit with a song that featured a twenty something year old white British guy rapping given how the previous entry was from an established hip hop artist from America who grew up in the culture that birthed the genre. Alas the kiwis were eventually won over with this track as were us Aussies and the duo's fellow Brits before them.
#2243
I guess the kiwis were much more on board with Dr Hook returning to their roots as a comedy band than we Aussies were as even without a memorable performance over there (that I'm aware of) this managed to be a much bigger hit for the band there than it was over here back in the day.
#2242
Mariah's popularity was also starting to dwindle in NZ by this point in time, although given how much more popular she was in NZ throughout the decade then here in Australia, that's like saying that Madonna's popularity declined here in Australia throughout the decade, technically true but mostly irrelevant. Mariah would still have at least two more hits over there before the decade was up.
#2241
Following the success of their earlier entry, this managed to become a huge success for MN8 in NZ and their native UK, proving that even as far back as the mid 90's there was potential in combining RNB and hip hop and having it be performed by a boy band. People say that Boyz II Men were technically a boy band because of their image, however they weren't really at least compared to the likes of these guys.
#2240
There were no signs of Blue slowing down in NZ and especially their native UK as they managed to achieve massive success in both countries with the lead single and title track from their second album, by this point, we Aussies had given up on any prospect of a third boy bands war but that clearly wasn't the case in those two countries given how this wasn't their final hit in their catalogue.
#2239
This was the only hit that the Welsh band Racing cars managed to have worldwide, I'm guessing it was through the title which makes it seem like it's a novelty track when really, it's your typical soft rock ballad that was popular throughout the 70's. It seemed to only be a hit in NZ as the rest of the world was likely put off from the title of the song.
#2238
While I'm not sure if there was an A Capella track to become a success prior to this UK chart topper for the Housemartins (correct me if I'm wrong because I'm currently drawing a blank) this song likely popularised it for the remainder of the twentieth century as there would be a ton of songs to make it big in the genre including from the likes of Bobby McFerrin, Shai and of course Boyz II Men.
#2237
This was merely a minor hit for Robbie Williams here in Australia, at least it was released here on time as opposed to "Better man" which only saw the light of day here by the end of this year (which we'll revisit in a moment.) Naturally this song was a bigger hit in NZ where he was on a roll thanks to how charismatic he was coming off with the kiwis from the start of the new millennium.
#2236
The hits kept on coming for Prince in NZ as this almost managed to top their charts despite it only being a top twenty hit here in Australia, it feels weird this wasn't among his bigger hits down under considering how much love this track still receives on our oldie's stations to this day.
#2235
Well at least these guys were a two-hit wonder over in NZ even if neither of their hits was with their signature track "Shake your groove thang" over there (although it did briefly crack their top ten this year.) This was by far the most successful rendition of the duet given how Herb Fame has gone through enough Peaches over the years to fill an entire auditioning studio.
#2234
Given how even we Aussies were able to make this a hit for Boyz II Men this year, it only seems logical that it would be even bigger in NZ to the point where it was the second of four chart toppers they had over there this decade. This was even after they had another hit between this and their earlier entry on this list, that entry is still to come further down the list by the way.
#2233
Due to how the charts used to work back in the day in NZ, this Christmas staple didn't even touch the charts over there until the start of this year meaning that this only became a hit over there after the holiday season. I'm guessing because of USA for Africa's entry from earlier on this list, this rebounded on the charts over there which I don't think happened anywhere else in the world this year.
#2232
This was the second big hit that the Exponents were able to have this year, again there was crossover potential for these guys here in Australia as was the case for Push push, however neither band managed to score that giant hit here they had over there this year.
#2231
Well, this is technically the second time "Dreadlock holiday" went to number one in NZ given how the hip hop trio 3 the hard way sampled the 10cc classic for their breakthrough single this year. Something I forgot to mention on the Australian side of my site was that this is the first hip hop track from a NZ group to become a hit here in Australia, again likely due to that nostalgia bomb from the sample.
#2230
This was a little late to the party in NZ, likely because it was released here in Australia mere weeks after it became a chart topper for Feargal Sharkey in his native UK. Indeed "You little thief" (which wasn't a hit over there) was also a hit here in Australia fairly soon after it was as such in the UK, which is normally an unusual phenomenon from back in the day where songs needed that gap between international releases.
#2229
Well, it appears that we Aussies and kiwis knew exactly what this song was about upon its initial release given how there wasn't a coming to Jesus moment in the southern hemisphere when it was revealed that the song is actually a criticism about the American life of the 80's. I think we just enjoyed it for what it was from the very beginning, a well-constructed critique of American culture from someone who wanted to see change.
#2228
This song made history when it became the first to debut at number one on the Billboard charts, of course this song cheated to achieve this as did most of the earliest songs to debut at number one as it would have a delayed release to allow airplay to drive up its buzz and then be released as a single once the hype had gotten out of hand. This is why many people regard Billboard as highly unreliable when looking over the popular music of the 90's.
#2227
Well, this proved to be an even bigger hit for Amy Grant than it was here in Australia, I guess the kiwis really wanted to hear some contemporary Christian music but settled for the least Christian song from her catalogue (at least as far as I'm aware.) Then again, this was a massive hit in the UK which is perhaps how it managed to crossover to the southern hemisphere in the first place.
#2226
I don't know why this underperformed here in Australia given how much we Aussies loved Abba back in the day, it did much better over in NZ for the band likely at the expense of the new single to appear on the album which wasn't a big hit over there like it was over here.
#2225
I'm not sure why this greatest hits package failed here in Australia given how this was coming off the success of Graceland, it was a success over in NZ which suggests that the kiwis were more interested in checking out the back catalogue of Paul's career with this album than we Aussies were.
#2224
Following the massive success he had with his live album from two years prior, George Thorogood was finally able to score some success in NZ with one of his studio albums this year which finally put the "Bad to the bone" singer on the map over there. I guess we Aussies were intrigued by his success over there as the following year his greatest hits package would become a massive success here.
#2223
This was the first album from R.E.M to achieve mainstream success worldwide, although they did score a minor hit in NZ the previous year with "The one I love" so perhaps they were already due for a commercial breakthrough before this album came out. Their popularity would explode in the 90's with their next album which finally gave them a genuine hit in their native America.
#2222
Although her popularity in NZ wasn't the same as it was here in Australia, that still didn't prevent this greatest hits album from Bette Midler from becoming a huge success over there this year. Admittedly it didn't linger on the charts over there like it did over here, so it wasn't quite as inescapable there as it was here.
#2221
I'm a bit disappointed that I couldn't feature "Shattered dreams" on this site in any way, unfortunately it wasn't a hit for the British trio in the southern hemisphere despite how big it was in their native UK and in America upon its initial release. Fortunately, the kiwis did check out their album this year where it became a huge success, although we Aussies seemed to completely ignore them for whatever reason.
#2220
This was originally released the previous year following the finale of season one for the popular TV show Friends (which I regret to inform the internet the I'm a huge fan of even though I personally prefer Frasier when it comes to 90's sitcoms.) I guess this picked up steam in NZ this year due to the show having several of these tracks play over that season which the kiwis appreciated enough to check out this album.
#2219
I guess the kiwis weren't that fooled with the hype that went into this band back in the day, I'm not saying these guys were hacks by any means, but rather their popularity was only limited to this one album worldwide and it appears the kiwis didn't love it as much as the rest of the world did.
#2218
This was about as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia for Neil Finn, proving that we Aussies and kiwis wanted more material from the Split enz and Crowded house lead vocalist and were willing to take whatever he had to offer us back in the day. He would continue to release new music into the new millennium solo, with his older brother Tim and even after reforming Crowded house.
#2217
Perhaps this second album from Yazoo was what convinced the kiwis into thinking that Alison Moyet was a talented vocalist, I'm not sure why it wasn't their first album from the previous year but I guess better late than never. This spawned the duo's biggest hit in their native UK as well as in NZ as the lead single managed to top the British charts as well as crack the NZ top twenty.
#2216
Well, this is a site meant to promote the positive elements of popular music from back in the day, as such I won't dwell on all of the negative press that came from this album. Let's just say that it being a massive critical and commercial success for Sinead O'Connor was just about the only positive story to come from its existence due to the labour of love that went into its creation and the fallout from the aftermath.
#2215
There was little chance this was going to flop over in NZ this year given how Bruce Springsteen was now an academy award winning rock and roll legend, although he didn't have any further success over there after this greatest hits album.
#2214
Although they weren't among the most popular bands of the decade in NZ, this greatest hits package from Orchestral Manoeuvres in the dark (OMD for short) managed to become a huge success over there this year proving once again how strong the kiwis alternative scene was throughout the twentieth century.
#2213
Given how Australian idol had a song like this the previous year that was a hit here in Australia, it only makes sense that the NZ equivalent would follow suit where it also became a massive success in its homeland. A part of why this was more popular over there than "Rise up" was over here is that this is a cover of Mark Williams debut single from 1975, meaning this was seen as a tribute to the former teen idol.
#2212
I wouldn't have thought that Rihanna of all people would've been someone who would thrive through the lack of digital sales here in Australia this year, it turns out that she wasn't that popular with people who used the format as evidence by how much lower she is on this list in addition to this song not being as popular on that format here in Australia. I guess that demographic didn't appreciate the "Tainted love" sample on the track.
#2211
Now before you clutch your pearls and wonder how the charity organisation Greenpeace managed to score a hit in NZ this year, I should point out that this is actually a supergroup comprising of a bunch of big-name celebrities from NZ who named themselves after a ship that was brutally destroyed in 1985. The group decided to cover a track from the Mutton Birds to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of that disaster.
#2210
While this proved to be equally as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia, I have to bring up once more that due to having stiffer competition over there, it technically means that it was more popular over there given how it was able to retain an impressive chart run without having an advantage like it did here this year. It's easy to see why this was a hit in both countries given the Enya sample it uses.
#2209
It looks like this second single from Destiny's Child's final album Destiny fulfilled was the big hit off the album in NZ in lieu of "Lose my breath" although we did look at that song on my previous list whilst "Girl" is still to come on this list. I guess the kiwis are familiar with the version that has T.I and Lil Wayne given how both men had more success over there later in the decade.
#2208
This was Duran Duran's final hit in NZ, although considering it only barely charted here in Australia, I think it's safe to say that the kiwis still had plenty of love for these guys long after we Aussies lost our love for them. This may be as bombastic as their earlier work; however, it appears the band were no longer relying on flashy imagery for their videos as this song's video is rather mundane.
#2207
OK you're probably going to have strong emotions when I say this, but this being a hit for Bill Wyman in NZ is likely the reason why that the Rolling stones didn't have a hit with "Start me up" around this time over there like they did over here. Admittedly this did nothing to affect the success of their album, in fact you can make the argument this track from bassist Bill Wyman is why that album was a success over there.
#2206
Given how much more popular Boyz II Men were in NZ compared to Australia, it would've been inconceivable that this debut single from Shai was a flop over there given how it was a huge success for the group here in Australia. Indeed, the A Capella ballad proved just as successful in both countries, much like how the group remains a one hit wonder in both countries with the ballad.
#2205
While this was still the biggest hit off of Time and tide in NZ like it was here in Australia, it's worth noting that the other hit from the album wasn't that less successful over there like it was here (as we'll see in a minute.) This was the band's final hit single in either country as they would struggle for relevancy on their final two albums in the southern hemisphere.
#2204
This was also a success for Freeez over in NZ like it was here in Australia, true this song didn't become as successful in the southern hemisphere as it did in their native UK, but at least it was a hit in both countries as opposed to their other British hit "Southern Freeez" from two years prior. For some reason, I keep thinking this is an early Wham track, likely because of how androdynous it sounds to me.
#2203
I told you this was a much bigger hit for Eternal months before it was a hit here in Australia, in fact it had just about left the charts over there by the time it began climbing our charts towards the end of this year to give you an idea of how much sooner it was popular over there back in the day. That said, this was the only hit of theirs to be bigger in NZ than it was down under.
#2202
Much like here in Australia, this title track to the third album from the band to have Stevie and Lindsey among their lineup was the biggest hit that the band were able to achieve in NZ. The band would score one more hit later in the 80's over there as opposed to the two that they scored over here.
#2201
This had a bit of a delay to its release in NZ, likely because the kiwis hadn't heard of Billy Idol until he scored a moderate success here in Australia with this track that I'm guessing was written about the royal wedding from two years prior. It proved to be an even bigger success over there, and even led to his solo debut from earlier on this list becoming a hit by the end of the year over there.
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