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.
#1900
Who needs to listen to a song in English when you have the original? That seemed to be the mindset of us Aussies and kiwis this year as we passed up the English version of this track from After the fire in favour of the original from Falco from two years prior. Whereas this was his biggest hit here in Australia, the kiwis allowed him to have an even bigger hit over there with his tribute to Mozart.
#1899
This was an even bigger hit for Iggy Pop in NZ than it was here in Australia, likely because it was a surprise hit for him over in the UK as well as it being a cover of a Johnny O'Keefe song from the 50's. Unlike in Australia and the UK, this was his only hit over there albeit one that was twice as popular there as it was in either country.
#1898
This was another track from AC/DC that sounded nothing like the rest of their catalogue, naturally it would be another big hit for the band in NZ despite it curiously flopping here in Australia for some reason. This wasn't their final hit over there as they would score one more hit with "Big gun" from the Last action hero soundtrack later in the decade.
#1897
This was the bigger hit for Tone loc in NZ, not by much though as his bigger hit here in Australia was also quite big over there likely due to it not relying on nostalgia like this does with the Troggs classic of the same name from 1966. This was the full extent of Tone loc's success in the southern hemisphere as he never scored another hit in his career even in his native America.
#1896
Much like the rest of the world, Sheena Easton changed the name of this song from "9 to 5" to "Morning train" as to avoid confusion with the Dolly Parton track of the same name (which won't be making another appearance on this site I'm afraid.) Unlike in Australia, this was her only major success over there likely due to the kiwi's inability to take her seriously after this track.
#1895
Much like in the rest of the world, this was the only hit that Leif Garrett had in NZ likely due to how inescapably popular he was here in Australia with his first album. At least his one and only hit internationally was with an original track of his as opposed to the two covers he had here in Australia.
#1894
The Spice girls phenomenon seemed unstoppable when the girls released the lead single to their second album/soundtrack to their film Spiceworld this year, although it's worth noting that the singles from Spiceworld didn't do as well over there as they did here in Australia (even taking the ARIA vs AMR charts into account.) Indeed, this was the biggest hit they had in NZ from the album even though "Viva forever" charted higher the following year.
#1893
From what I can father, the Parker Project was a NZ band who scored a massive hit this year with their cover of the Johnny Nash track of the same name from 1975 only to forever fade into obscurity after it fell off the charts. This was another band that was surprisingly hard to find any information about on the internet, so I apologise for the vagueness of my commentary.
#1892
The hits kept on coming from U2 in NZ as this second single from Rattle and hum also managed to go straight to number one over there despite it not being a huge hit here in Australia at the time. This was their fourth number one single in a row over there, proving just how inescapable the band was during the late 80's.
#1891
This was a massive hit for two men from the NZ music scene who didn't see much success outside of this duet, although Tex Pistol did score a minor chart topper the previous year with "The game of love" which perhaps made this a much more prominent chart topper this year for both men involved.
#1890
This was only one of two songs to chart in NZ for Foreigner, the other was "Waiting for a girl like you" which only charted on the lower half of their charts and thus won't be making a second appearance on this site. Even their albums didn't do so well over there, although I get the feeling they were so big here in Australia because of their appearance on Countdown during the early phases of their career.
#1889
This was originally an album track from Ricky Martin's second English album Sound loaded, it was turned into a duet when Christina Aguilera decided to try and appeal to the Latin market to let people know of her Hispanic heritage given her exotic surname led people to question what it actually was. It was a massive hit for the duo in NZ, definitely more so than in Australia where it was a flop for them.
#1888
Well, this shouldn't come as a surprise given how Paul McCartney was indeed one of the biggest names in music when transitioning from the 70's to the 80's, his success throughout the 80's would more or less play out the same in NZ as it did here in Australia.
#1887
This was a collaboration album between Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant and unknown folk singer Alison Krauss that was originally released the previous year to deafening silence likely due to him being considered too old for the mainstream (despite massive success that the Eagles were receiving at the time) and her being a no name in the music industry. Naturally the kiwis eventually saw the brilliance of this album and made it a hit over there.
#1886
This was a bit more of a success for Rod Stewart in NZ, likely because the kiwis did give him a hit with the lead single over there but also due to his artist momentum not dying out as quicky there as it did over here even though it would recover over here as the decade went on where it didn't over there.
#1885
I guess the kiwis weren't as big of fans of Dangerous minds as we Aussies were given how the soundtrack wasn't quite as popular over there as it was over here, this is surprising given how Coolio was already an established rapper by the time his signature track came out from the film in NZ.
#1884
Given how successful the Cure were in NZ throughout the 80's (except for the one big album they had here in Australia funnily enough) it was inevitable that this greatest hits package from the band would be a huge success over there. Heck one of their earliest songs even recharted over there and became a minor hit for the band, which more or less restored their popularity.
#1883
Well, the title track managed to become a surprise hit over in NZ, so it only makes sense that Billy Field would find success with his debut album over there which eventually sparked international interest in the Australian piano man that unfortunately never came to be.
#1882
This was more of a success in NZ this year, I'm guessing because the kiwis didn't feel that the band had lost their magic like most of the world did or simply didn't care that they had changed their sound on this album. These excuses didn't carry over to their next album which was a flop regardless of where in the world you're from.
#1881
Aaron Neville certainly seemed to have a lot of success in NZ following his collaboration with Linda Ronstadt from the start of the decade, first with his family for the Mel Gibson film Bird on a wire and now with a solo album which spawned him his biggest hit over there in the form of its lead single.
#1880
This is another successful album to come from the pop opera sub-genre of music, as such it was a massive hit for Il Divo who were the latest in a number of artists from this genre to make it big worldwide.
#1879
Given how these guys weren't as popular in NZ as they were in Australia throughout the 70's, it's fitting that this was less successful over there for ELO than it was over here at the start of the 80's even if this was coming off a highly successful album.
#1878
You might think that this recharted on the tenth anniversary of its initial release over in NZ, however the real reason this became a success this year was because of a popular ad campaign for Cadbury chocolates where "In the air tonight" played over what was a gorilla playing drums which amused the kiwis enough to make the song a chart topper over there almost three decades after its release.
#1877
Much like here in Australia, this would be the final successful album that Ronan Keating had that wasn't specifically catered to the mothers of our world, although it's worth noting that he managed to have more success with this album over here (even though it appears slightly higher on this list due to a lack of competition over there) as well as its singles before finding equal amounts of success with his later material.
#1876
I guess pulling the lead single from this soundtrack from shelves here in Australia did benefit the success of the soundtrack here after all as it was far less successful over there than it was down under, however its success here could also be due to patriotism since the film was made here in Australia even though Baz Lurhman was already a household name in Hollywood when it was released this year.
#1875
I'm not sure if Aaradhna has ever been referred to as the NZ equivalent of Ashanti in her homeland, I just found her to be as such due to how similar her music was compared to her American counterpart this decade. This was her one and only hit as a solo artist which further draws comparisons to both women as Ashanti only had the one hit internationally with "Foolish."
#1874
I wasn't expecting to feature another track from Ma$e on this site given how even his fellow American had grown tired of his music by the start of the decade, it appears the kiwis had room to give him one more hit this year which came in the form of this track about coming back home to a place the narrator felt the person didn't welcome at.
#1873
It appears the kiwis were sligtly more amused at Gwen Stefani interpolating the Rogers and Hammerstein classic "The lonely goatherd" for a song about "winding up" the love of her life than us Aussies were given how it became the first song in her catalogue to be more popular over there than it was over here. This is a trend that would carry out for the rest of her second album over there.
#1872
This was released a bit earlier in NZ likely due to RNB and reggae being fully embraced by the kiwis throughout the 90's, although at least the original from Marvin Gaye was a bigger hit over there as opposed to Australia where this wound up outperforming the original. It's no surprise this was a hit in the southern hemisphere given how many songs reworked older tracks with addition lyrics thrown in from the performers.
#1871
This was a more popular hit in NZ than their signature tune "Wake me up before you go go," not that that wasn't a hit over there (it was) but it just wasn't as successful as some of the other songs from their catalogue back in the day. Another song this was more successful than over there was the George Michael track of the same name, although to be fair it was a much bigger hit than that here in Australia as well.
#1870
There were no signs of Neil Diamond's popularity slowing down in NZ given how this track from the album of the same name managed to be a massive success for him over there this year. Indeed, he wouldn't start to become yesterday's news over there until the start of the 80's.
#1869
This was one of only three hits that Captain and Tennille had in NZ, it was also their biggest hit as the kiwis didn't seem particularly interested in making them a household name throughout the 70's for whatever reason. I guess they changed their mind for their only 80's hit but changed it back once MTV rolled around.
#1868
Whereas this was more of what I consider to be a "fan single" here in Australia, this was more of a genuine hit for Pearl jam over in NZ as the kiwis had little issues with handing these guys genuine hits throughout the decade. That said, this would be their final big hit over there as the kiwis didn't seem to be too big of fans of their 1999 smash "Last kiss" like we Aussies were.
#1867
This was the only hit that Nate Dogg was able to find anywhere in the world as a lead artist, normally he played second fiddle to other rappers such as Warren G and 50 cent which is perhaps there's certain sites which lists Snoop Dogg as the lead artist on this track when it's the other way around. It's curious this was a hit for Snoop given how he was on trial at the time for murder.
#1866
This was the only hit that Alice Cooper had in NZ throughout his career, in fact aside from the album this came from (and possibly some of his earlier albums) this was the full extent of his popularity over there as hardly any of his work from the second half of the 70's found any success back in the day. I guess this was only a hit there due to it fitting in really well with the hair metal scene of the day.
#1865
Much like the rest of the world, this was the final hit that TLC had in NZ given how the girls would never make another album after their third album due to tragic circumstances surrounding Left Eye Lopez in 2002. This was their second self-empowerment anthem following the success of "Waterfalls" from earlier in the decade, the two have been commonly compared to each other over the years.
#1864
This wasn't quite as inescapable in NZ as it was here in Australia, I'm guessing Robin Scott performed this on Countdown on one of those lost episodes which boosted its popularity here back in the day (it would explain the success of many tracks on the Australian side of my site.) Even so, this was too catchy to be ignored back in the day given how it was still a massive hit over there at the time.
#1863
I'm not sure why Britney Spears was a borderline one hit wonder in her native America until her post meltdown era, sure she had the occasional hit on Billboard, but nothing that even came close to what she achieved with her earlier entry and especially with her other hits internationally. This was her second single which confirmed her as a force to be reckoned with going into the new millennium.
#1862
This was one of only two notable hits from Richard Marx over in NZ, the other was "Hazard" from the early 90's which both have the distinction of being chart topper here in Australia. This was also a chart topper for him in NZ, likely due to the kiwis thinking he was Bryan Adams who admittedly had yet to have that huge crossover with one of his singles.
#1861
I'm not entirely sure how to categorise this track from French composer Jean Michel Jarre, I guess it's a hybrid of rock opera and actual opera which I'm sure was why this managed to become such a massive success in NZ but not here in Australia as it would've been too abstract for us Aussies to comprehend it whilst dealing with our ever-changing local music scene.
#1860
The hits kept on coming for Billy Idol in NZ this year as the title track to his second album proved to be an even bigger success over there than it was here for him. He was still yet to have any success in the northern hemisphere during this phase of his career, however that came the following year when he suddenly scored a string of hits in his native NZ with all the entries I've featured on these lists.
#1859
Well, I did mention on the Australian side that this was a hit for Chas and Dave in NZ this year rather than the following year like it was down under. The duo did manage to make it big in their native UK with this track, although I doubt many people realise this was made in the early 80's given how out of place it feels with many of the other songs on this list.
#1858
I don't know what's stranger about the success of this cover in NZ, the fact that it was Ugly Kid Joe's only hit over there or that the original by Harry Chapin wasn't a hit over there during the mid 70's. Either way, it was a mammoth success for the band this year and even allowed their debut album to briefly chart before it dropped off for reasons I can't seem to fathom.
#1857
This was an even bigger success in NZ for Peter McCann, you'd think this would mean that singer/songwriters would dominate the charts in lieu of all the Australians that clogged up our charts but alas, that wasn't the case given what did end up appearing on each of these lists in NZ.
#1856
We looked at the big hit that L.S.O.B (Lighter shade of brown) had in Australia, so now let's look at the song which put the Hispanic rappers on the map in NZ which was a track about how they spent their Sunday afternoons before they made it big. This is effectively their equivalent of "Summertime" given how the premise on both songs are the same as each other.
#1855
Well, this didn't last over a year on the NZ charts, I'm guessing because it wasn't bundled with "Pink Cadillac" midway through its chart run in order to triple its time on their charts like it did down under. Either way, this lead single to Born in the U.S.A was nonetheless the biggest hit that Bruce Springsteen was able to score over there, likely due to how incessantly catchy it is compared to the rest of his catalogue.
#1854
This was the third big hit that Eddy Grant managed to achieve in NZ throughout the 80's, it's a protest song against apartheid with Joanna referring to Johannesburg as a desperate plea to put an end to what is widely regarded as one of the worst displays of racial segregation the world has ever known. Joanna eventually came through in the 90's when apartheid came to an end thanks to Nelson Mandela.
#1853
Given how this was the fourth single from Five's debut album, it was slightly less successful over there than the third single despite being released around the same time as it was here in Australia where it was only the third single. I still don't fully understand the logic behind the slightly different album cycle the album had here in Australia compared to the rest of the world.
#1852
I'm not sure how successful Johnny Mathis was in NZ during his heyday in NZ, for all we know he could've been at number one over there for the entirety of the 50's and the first half of the 60's since I don't have access to any charts that cover those years over there. What I do know is that this was a huge hit for him this year likely due to it being a with up-and-coming soul singer Deniece Williams.
#1851
Well, I don't think I can make this any easier when I say that Marvin Gaye was also a one hit wonder in NZ just like he was in Australia, it makes you wonder why we slept on him in the southern hemisphere throughout the 70's as he was indeed one of the biggest artists of that decade in his native America.
#1850
Who would've thought that Aaron Neville got the big mainstream push from his collaboration with Linda Ronstadt from the start of the decade in NZ? While she never bothered the charts again anywhere in the world, Aaron scored a bunch of hits in NZ both solo and with his band the Neville brothers as recently as 1993 with this being the biggest hit of the bunch.
#1849
I just realised something, there haven't been many all-girl groups of colour that played their own instruments to find success over the years, normally girl bands of colour are merely vocal groups such as the Supremes and En vogue after all. Here we have Klymaxx who can best be described as the Bangles if they were black and specialised in RNB rather than jangle rock.
#1848
For some reason, this novelty track about a British guy wanting to be a cowboy was an even bigger hit in NZ than it was here in Australia. I guess this became a big hit due to the spoken word lyrics which reminded us Aussies and kiwis of the Pet shop boys, they were both British bands with this gimmick after all.
#1847
Given how the album cycle for P!nk's second album wasn't tampered with in NZ like it was here in Australia, this means that the second single from the album managed to be much more successful over there which is interesting as many will tell you that this is her true debut single given how it has far more personal lyrics than anything she had released prior.
#1846
This was the only charting single that Cold Chisel had in NZ, although this was likely the song which made their penultimate album a huge success for them given how it was twice as successful over there as it was over here due to being the lead single rather than the second single. Still, it feels weird this was their only hit over there given how popular Jimmy Barnes would become later in the decade.
#1845
This was a bit late to the party in NZ given how it was already a massive hit for Toni Basil in Australia and the UK by the time it became a hit over there, although at least it was a hit before it topped the Billboard charts which means the song only made it big in her homeland once it became a worldwide success for her.
#1844
This was another west coast rap group to find massive success in NZ and not their native America, I told you this was going to be a trend throughout the decade given how the kiwis were firmly on board with west coast hip hop throughout the 90's. Here these guys have the blessing of the Spinners (or Detroit Spinners if you're from the UK) as they come back to rerecord their chorus from their 1972 classic this song samples.
#1843
This was a massive success for Patrick Hernandez in NZ likely due to it being a goofy disco track at a time where disco was all over the place worldwide, although it still blows my mind that a random backup singer would go on to have more success than the main artist as Patrick would remain a one hit wonder worldwide with this.
#1842
I'm guessing this was a chart topper in NZ for Mariah Carey due to the kiwis having fond memories of Nilsson as he did score a big hit over there with the original version of this ballad two decades prior. Admittedly this was also bundled with what I'm sure was meant to be the actual third single from the album "Never forget you" which could also have contributed to its popularity over there.
#1841
Much like in Australia and in America, this was the biggest hit in NZ from Bananarama given how it was a cover from a 60's one hit wonder that was produced by Stock Aiken and Waterman from the trio previously known as a new wave group. I'm not sure why "Shy boy" was their only international hit prior to this cover, although their switch towards dance pop did allow their popularity to explode.
#1840
It turns out this ballad was heavily delayed here in Australia given how it was released in NZ months prior to it coming out here, although its delay was well worth it as it was obviously a much bigger hit over here than it was over there for Amanda Perez. I guess RNB was still seen as an underdog this far into the new millennium given how I honestly felt songs being delayed over here from the genre was over and done with by this point in time.
#1839
There were a ton of female rappers from around this time, one of the lesser-known ones nowadays is Queen pen who was best known back in the day for being the occasional rapper for Blackstreet who were noticeable more successful in NZ than they were even in their native America at the time. Here she recruits Eric Williams from the group to provide a chorus for her to spit rhymes about the love of her life.
#1838
This was the second Oscar winning track from Irene Cara this decade, so naturally it would be a major hit for her in NZ albeit on time unlike her previous Oscar winning track. I wonder why they never made a sequel or TV show to Flashdance like they did with Fame, sure it wasn't a critical darling, but it was a huge box office success thanks to the chemistry Jennifer Beals has with the male co lead.
#1837
From what I can gather, Ngaire was a teenage NZ pop star who scored her one and only hit with this cover of the Lulu track from 1967. The original wasn't that big in NZ back in the day, meaning that Ngaire's version of the track is considered to be the definitive version over there going purely based on success.
#1836
While this wasn't as inescapable in NZ for Elton John in Australia, this was still a happy ending for him over there given how much worse off he was in their mainstream throughout the second half of the 80's. In fact, were it not for "Nikita" becoming one of his biggest hits over there, he might as well have fallen off the face of the earth prior to when this album became a success for him this year.
#1835
It looked like RHCP were beginning to lose their mainstream popularity over in NZ as this was also less successful over there than it was over here back in the day, however their fortunes were restored later in the decade when Stadium arcadium became one of the biggest albums of the decade over there.
#1834
Well, this had their reggae hit as the lead single, so naturally this was going to be a success for 10CC in NZ regardless of how the kiwis felt about the band by this point. Fortunately, their feelings seemed to be positive as they were able to close out the decade with a greatest hits package that did fairly well over there (it won't be appearing on this site I'm afraid.)
#1833
While they were never that huge anywhere in the world, the Cult did have moderate success in NZ which even included a number one hit which was all the incentive the kiwis needed into making this greatest hits album a success for the band this year.
#1832
It was a Beatles compilation, no matter how many of these that exist, they will always be a massive success upon their initial release worldwide proving how much audiences love their music years after their initial breakup.
#1831
These guys were fairly successful during both phases of their career at this point, as such it makes sense that this greatest hits package they released around this time would be a huge success for them. They didn't find any further success after this as was the case for most older bands and artists in the 90's.
#1830
Neil Diamond was indeed one of the biggest names in music over in NZ during his heyday, although like Australia it had been a decade since he last troubled the charts over there prior to him scoring massive success with this greatest hits album. Unlike in Australia his 1996 effort was a flop over there.
#1829
This was way more of a success here in Australia for both women on the track than it was over in NZ, although I will say that their other collaboration was far more success over there which I guess balances out these two songs in both countries for this year. I'm not sure why this was less successful though given how Ciara already had a big hit over there with "Goodies," perhaps that track ate up some of this song's success over there.
#1828
Natalie Cole already had a hit in NZ over a decade prior with "Sophisticated lady," so the kiwis were already familiar with the daughter of Nat King Cole when she released her cover of the Bruce Springsteen track that was the B side to "Dancing in the dark" from earlier in the decade. This cover proved to be a bigger hit for her outside her native America, although it was decently big on Billboard.
#1827
This was an underage hip hop duo similar to that of Kris Kross from two years prior who scored a massive hit in NZ and nowhere else in the world, this will be a common theme throughout the 90's in NZ as the kiwis somehow got their hands on all of this rap songs that flopped on the Billboard charts. Much like Kris Kross, the brother/sister duo went their separate ways once they realised they weren't going to make it in their homeland.
#1826
This was the Models only success in NZ, well that and the album of the same name doing reasonably well which would explain why they're a one hit wonder over there. This did chart on the lower end of the Billboard charts following its success in NZ; however, they weren't able to rise to the ranks of INXS or even Pseudo echo internationally.
#1825
This was originally released to deafening silence worldwide a decade prior, however it was given a second chance in most parts of the world thanks to it being used in a Levi's commercial much like "The joker" was from the year prior. I guess the kiwis had access to these ads back in the day as this also managed to become a huge success over there despite it originally being a flop back in the day.
#1824
Given how the kiwis never had an issue with songs become a hit from already highly successful albums like we Aussies have over the years, this means that the third single from JT's solo debut managed to be even more of a success over there than it was over here. This wasn't the only song from the album to improve its ranking because of this feat, we'll be looking at the other song to achieve this in a bit.
#1823
This was the first big international hit that Dr Hook had that wasn't a hit here in Australia, I guess we Aussies only wanted to hear soft rock from these guys if you weren't able to dance to it as this wasn't able to become a hit here despite its massive international popularity. This would be the case for the rest of their catalogue save for "Girls can get it" which was that one bouncy track of theirs to make it big here.
#1822
While this does appear slightly higher on this list than on the Australian counterpart, I should mention that it along with every other entry on here had stiffer competition with each other, meaning this collaboration between Wyclef Jean and City High frontwoman Claudette Ortiz was far more successful over there than it was over here. This is impressive given how City High didn't have any success over there like they did over here.
#1821
Following the success of their comeback hit "Love so right" from the previous year, Ardijah managed to score a huge success in their homeland with this cover of the Wings classic just as the decade was coming to an end. It was their biggest hit over there given how it went to number one, not bad for a band who had been active for almost a decade and a half by this point.
*Apologies for the lack of album art for this entry, there doesn't seem to be one in existence. The song is "Silly love songs" from Ardijah if you couldn't tell from my commentary*
#1820
Given how "Barbie girl" was quickly pulled from shelves over in NZ much faster than it was over here in Australia, this means that this second single from Aqua's debut album was by far their biggest hit even factoring in hard sales which is a sign that RIANZ felt this practice was harming their charts back in the day. I wonder if the band were big fans of the Indiana Jones franchise when they wrote this as it's very good for a fanfiction song.
#1819
Given how the kiwis got the album cycle correct for Dire straits, it only seems fitting that this third single from the album would be a massive success over there due to it being an upbeat pop rock track about living your life to the fullest. This was a minor success in Australia around this time, however it was pushed back as the fourth single here due to the band unveiling the video for the title track of the album.
#1818
I don't know how these guys did it, but their debut single managed to be an even bigger success in NZ than it was here in Australia despite being an Australian band. The success of this track over there led to them having international success with their two Australian hits throughout Europe, although "Catch me I'm falling" failed to become a hit over there like it did here.
#1817
While this was released on time in NZ unlike here in Australia where it was slightly delayed due to our aversion towards RNB in the 90's, it took a while to become a success over there which means that it's popularity there came the same time as it did here.
#1816
Somehow this managed to be an even bigger hit in NZ than it was here in Australia, if this isn't proof that the kiwis had a vast indie scene back in the day then I don't know what is as I can't imagine this being a success in the southern hemisphere with any assistance from MTV like it was in their native America. If nothing else, we Aussies and kiwis were ahead of the curve in making Tool and A perfect circle household names in the alternative scene.
#1815
Much like the lead single to Avril's debut album, this also wasn't pulled from shelves over in NZ like it was here in Australia which allowed it to last much longer on their charts and thus have a much accurate representation on this list to how popular the song was. It's one of the clumsier written songs in her catalogue, but that's forgivable given how it works with the theme that the song is going for.
#1814
It appears the kiwis were also into the trucker crazy of the 70's as this novelty track from ad executive turn country singer CW McCall managed to become a huge success over there because of the craze. He remains a one hit wonder to this day even in his native America due to how hard it was to take his music seriously.
#1813
There was a film around this time from the makers of the Naked gun series known as High school high, it was a film meant to parody the likes of Dangerous minds and other teen dramas centered around a high school that was poorly received by critics due to the low hanging fruit the film resorted to parodying. If you couldn't tell, this is an RNB cover of Queen's signature track that was a huge success from the film in NZ.
#1812
This didn't quite make it to number one in NZ like it did here in Australia, meaning it doesn't have the distinction of either being the last chart topper over there of the 70's or the first of the 80's like it does here in Australia. Still, it was a mammoth hit from the duo who correctly predicted the deaths of many of a rock stars career thanks to the rise of MTV two years prior to its launch.
#1811
This is another song that was pulled from shelves over here in Australia back in the day to encourage album sales, it didn't work obviously as the album was as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia which was a common trend throughout the decade in both countries. Even though this appeared higher on the Australian side of this site, ARIA determined the second single from the album was more successful back in the day.
#1810
I never understood why these guys underperformed in their native UK with their two albums, I guess their international success made up for that, but you'd think their brand of new wave soul would've connected with the Brits like it did internationally. Oh well, they still managed to score a massive hit in NZ with the lead single to their second and final album likely due to the lyrics and its hilarious video.
#1809
It looks like Anne Murray wasn't a one hit wonder in NZ as she managed to score a second hit over there with this bonus track from her greatest hits album, although she apparently did score a few hits on the Listener charts so perhaps the kiwis were already well familiar with her work by this point in time. It would certainly explain why her greatest hits album was so big there compared to what it achieved here.
#1808
Even without performing this on a Countdown equivalent in NZ (I forgot to mention this is how Cyndi got big here in Australia) this debut single from her was able to become a massive hit for her over there due to it being adopted as a feminist anthem given how we were years off from the likes of "I feel like a woman" and "Sisters are doing it for themselves."
#1807
This was Janet's biggest hit in NZ just like it was here in Australia, mainly because there wasn't much competition for her this year from either country given how she normally had to compete with a bunch of pop divas in any other given year. It was the first song she released following her (then) record breaking record deal with Sony.
#1806
While this did chart here in Australia following the success of Bob Marley's greatest hits album, it was a massive success in NZ due to how much the kiwis loved his music in the mainstream even after his tragic death from earlier in the decade. Even after his demise, he never found success in America which is at least something the rest of the world can brag about when it comes to his catalogue.
#1805
While this wasn't the biggest hit from Thriller, this was the highest charting in NZ as this became a number one hit over there whilst MJ's earlier entry got stuck behind David Bowie's earlier entry on this list. This goes to show that the kiwis were really enamoured by MJ's venture towards rock and roll just like the rest of the world was.
#1804
I'm not sure how successful the original version of this song is for Cliff Richard in NZ given how there aren't any NZ charts that go back to the late 50's or early 60's, however I'm sure this "remix" of his debut single from the Young ones was a bigger hit over there regardless due to it being made for charity.
#1803
This was the only success that the NZ band the Mockers managed to achieve in their homeland, it was a massive success for them but not enough to grant them any other hits there or a crossover success in Australia.
#1802
Unlike here in Australia where this wasn't among the biggest hits of the year, this was indeed a massive success over in NZ likely due to how incessantly catchy the track is as well as Limahl wanting to get with a girl but finding her to be too shy to be his type. The track was even bouncy enough to become a hit for them over in America this year, making this an international one hit wonder for the band.
#1801
This wasn't even released as a single here in Australia and yet it was a huge number one hit for U2 in NZ, that should give you an idea of how inescapably popular the band was over there during the Joshua tree era of their catalogue. This popularity would continue onto their next album which spawned them an additional three mega hits over there to close out the 80's.
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