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.
#2900
Well, this was an inevitable success in NZ, not only was this back in the day where picking on nerds was a popular thing to do in the mainstream, but it also samples a Gary Glitter track before we all found out the truth about him. I guess a final bit of trivia I have about this track is that this song was meant to be from the perspective of the car that's featured in the video.
#2899
This was the biggest hit that Alanis Morissette had in NZ, I guess there might be some validity to the kiwis allowing successful albums to impact a songs popularity after all given how Jagged little pill's success didn't hamper the singles on that album too much here in Australia. She had one more hit in both countries with "Hands clean" right before her obvious replacement Avril Lavigne became a megastar.
#2898
Neil Diamond was one of the biggest names in music when he released this greatest hits album, even so, it was only popular in NZ as we Aussies had left him in the dust in favour of our local music scene and the rest of the world were only interested in his albums and not so much his singles.
#2897
I'm guessing the film was a huge success over in NZ considering how big both the soundtrack and the one single it spawned was over there, either that or the kiwis really did have nostalgia for John Paul Young's one and only hit there which wasn't even that big back in the day. It was likely because of this success that the film was released internationally this year where it became a critical darling.
#2896
It seems weird that this album would bomb here in Australia given how The the managed to achieve massive success here with their previous album even if they never saw any success with any of their singles on our charts, this album's success was inevitable in NZ given how the lead single managed to be their one and only hit over there due to its politically charged lyrics.
#2895
Given that their earlier entry on this list became a surprise success this year (likely due to a successful tour over there) it only seems natural that the third album from the Black Seeds would be a huge success for them which is a given seeing as how reggae was still among the most popular genres in the music scene over there even this far into the decade.
#2894
This was the second greatest hits package to be released from the Police since their breakup in 1984, I guess it became a success this year in NZ to mark the tenth anniversary where the trio had called it quits even though this was released two years prior from their label.
#2893
It appears the kiwis were much bigger fans of China Beach than we Aussies were, so much so that the soundtrack proved to be more of a success over there than it was over here. It was a success over there on time as well, suggesting that this might have been the same fanbase that Tour of duty had the year prior that made this a success there.
#2892
This managed to be an even bigger success for Van Morrison in NZ as in addition to him also having a bestselling greatest hits package this decade, he also managed to have a huge album exactly ten years prior over there which proves that the kiwis were always ready to hand the Irish crooner success.
#2891
This was a hit again in NZ four years after it became as such for Rod Stewart, the nostalgia circuit must have really been unavoidable this decade if this managed to become a success for him so many times over the decade.
#2890
Much like here in Australia, this was a welcomed comeback for Bonnie Tyler due to the strength of its lead single which allowed her to escape the one hit wonder bin in NZ that "It's a heartache" had threatened to trap her in back in the late 70's. She had a bit more staying power in the 80's over there as she scored a hit with Shaking Stevens with "A rocking good way" the following year.
#2889
This is the one and only hit to come from female rapper Lil Mama, I'm not sure where she got her rap name from as from what I can gather, she's never been a mother of any kind and was only a teenager when she began her career. I think the popularity of this track came from the two featured artists given how both Chris Brown and T-Pain were inescapably popular throughout the world this year.
#2888
I guess the kiwis weren't as on board with Christina making a throwback album to the forties and fifties like we Aussies were, although at least they made this centerpiece of the album a success over there as opposed to her fellow Americans and the Brits who outright ignored this track from the album this year. This would be her final hit as a leading artist anywhere in the world as her subsequent albums would flop.
#2887
This is another song I remember hearing on the radio quite a bit back in the day, evidently it was written for the Pink Panther remake which had Beyonce costar with Steve Martin that divides audiences to this day (I like it but understand why people don't.) Apparently, there was a version with a rap verse from Slim Thug that became popular in NZ and her native America that was released on Destiny's Child's greatest hits album.
#2886
This might have been a huge success for Bon Jovi this year in NZ, however it was the only hit they had from their album of the same name as both it and the other singles all flopped over there despite them being massive hits here in Australia. Admittedly this was the only single of theirs to retain the bombast they had from their 80's material.
#2885
Well, it appears the kiwis weren't as big of fans of the Disney adaptation of the Three musketeers as we Aussies were, or at the very least, they weren't as big of fans of this three-way collaboration from Bryan Adams, Sting and Rod Stewart which was the final hit for two out of these three men in most parts of the world.
#2884
You'd think that this cover of the 90's classic would've been an even bigger hit for Blue, not only did it fail to become a bigger hit than the original over there, but it also even failed to become a bigger hit for them over there than it was over here despite charting higher over there than it did over here. I guess the kiwis didn't like their take on the RNB classic as much as the rest of their catalogue as they had plenty of success over there after this.
#2883
This will be one of two entries from the alternative rock band Zed to appear on this list, it naturally was their biggest hit over there likely due to how anthemic the song is compared to a lot of the other entries on this list. Their other hit this year was released first and was arguably more successful as it charted longer than this did, however it also had a much lower peak position which is why this is higher.
#2882
While this was still not as big as their earlier entry in NZ, it was a much bigger hit over there compared to what it was here in Australia, meaning that these guys were still able to find massive success over there with whatever they released. Indeed, the album Time and tide was overall more successful in NZ despite their earlier entry not being as big there as it was here.
#2881
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.
#2880
This was a hit in NZ slightly sooner than it was here in Australia, I'm guessing so that the kiwis could show their support to those who wanted to see an end to apartheid if the big protest anthems from a few years prior becoming huge over there was anything to go by. On a slightly more depressing note, this was written in response to Queen performing at the titular Sun city despite there being laws against doing so at the time.
#2879
Well, this was an RNB ballad from a group of musicians of colour, so naturally it was going to be an even bigger success for the Commodores over in NZ regardless of how well it did here in Australia this year. I don't think there's anywhere in the world where this ballad failed as the back-to-back deaths of Marvin Gaye and Jackie Wilson from the previous year was still fresh in everyone's minds at the time of its release.
#2878
While this wasn't as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia, it did chart as high as this reached number two in both countries, meaning that we Aussies and kiwis were equally enamoured by the band's attempts to become the new Pearl jam but with Australian accents for the 90's.
#2877
Well at least the original version from Kool and the Gang was a massive hit in NZ back in the day, otherwise this would've been an awkward song to feature again on this site as Peter Andre scored his second chart topper over there in a row with this cover. This was the last hit he scored here in Australia, although he kept scoring hits internationally once his earlier entry took off throughout Europe.
#2876
This proved to be an even bigger success for Sinitta over in NZ than it did here in Australia, this is interesting because A: this was Sinitta's only hit over there as she at least had a minor hit here three years prior with "So macho" and B: the original from Maxine Nightingale wasn't a big success over there back in the 70's despite it being released at a time where female musicians of colour were dominating their charts.
#2875
Well, this was a song from NZ, so naturally it would be an even bigger success over there if it was good enough to crossover to Australia. This came out late the previous year and peaked rather early this year, I'm guessing it was due to a large post-Christmas rush of the comedy track.
#2874
Well, there was no surprise this would be a huge success in NZ for Warren G given how he had already scored two massive hits over there earlier in the decade; however, this didn't last as long on the NZ charts as it did on our charts likely due to us Aussies having more of the nostalgia bug for the Tina Turner classic than the kiwis did around this time.
#2873
There's this rule of thumb where any and all Dutch acts seem to have more success in NZ than they do in Australia throughout the 70's and 80's, as such we have this cover of the showtime number from Gene Kelly by Indonesian born Dutch singer Taco who scored a massive hit over there with this cover despite having an (even at the time) problematic music video which depicts children in blackface.
#2872
Well, this was the biggest hit that the Fugees had in NZ that wasn't their iconic hit "Killing me softly," here they interpolate the Bob Marley classic which managed to appeal to the kiwis given how much love he's had over the years. It was their final hit as a unit; however, the members would go on to have success over there throughout the remainder of the decade.
#2871
The hits kept on coming for Prince in NZ during the second half of the decade, I'm not even sure why any of these flopped here in Australia as he was already a well-established artist and funk was a success for other artists during the second half of the 80's down under. I guess he did close out the decade over here with his contributions to the Batman soundtrack the following year.
#2870
Well, I'm unsure if the original from Martha and the Vandellas was a success or not in NZ, if it was then this was merely a misguided cover of that classic made for charity over there. If it wasn't as the case here in Australia, then this was likely the kiwis introducing to that classic from two of the biggest names in rock and roll history.
#2869
This was the third TV theme to make it big over in NZ this year, again we have a TV theme that became a success in Australia long after it was a hit over there. This time it's from Joey Scarbury who scored a huge number one hit there with this theme to the Greatest American hero, a show that likely took inspiration from the 1980 film Hero at large with its everyday man becoming a superhero.
#2868
I get the feeling it was due to this theme song from the second Ghostbusters film that finally gave Bobby Brown a hit in Australia, after all this was released here around the same time "Every little step" finally caught on down under. Given how that was already a hit in NZ (stay tuned for it) this was free to become Bobby's biggest hit over there likely due to how well the kiwis liked the film.
#2867
This was a hit in NZ slightly earlier than it was here in Australia for Princess, I'm guessing because this was an RNB track from a woman of colour which seemed to be a theme for songs that made it big in the southern hemisphere back in the day. Princess did score a second hit with "After the love has gone," a song that was also produced by Stock Aiken and Waterman like her big international hit was.
#2866
Given how "I know where it's at" was a minor success in NZ from the previous year (it won't be appearing on this site I'm afraid) it makes sense that this second single from All Saints would be a huge success slightly sooner over there than it was over here. The trade-off of course was that it wasn't as big a hit over there due to the kiwis already being familiar with their brand of RNB whereas it being a surprise to us Aussies.
#2865
This was the final hit that MC Hammer had in NZ, although notice how he dropped the MC from his stage name which suggests that even at this point he was noticing that he was becoming a target from other rappers in the music industry. It was still relatively harmless even with the expensive as hell music video, certainly compared to his next album where he tried to become a gangster rapper.
#2864
While this didn't chart as high in NZ as it did in Australia, it was still a massive hit for Bobby Brown over there likely due to it being by far the raunchiest song in his discography which is odd because he was married to Whitney Houston when he released this as a single worldwide. This was the last hit he had in his career in the southern hemisphere, although he did score a few hits in the UK as the decade went on.
#2863
Although this collaboration between J-Lo and LL Cool J wasn't as popular in NZ as it was here in Australia, at least their reunion from later in the decade was a hit over there where it wasn't over here, meaning that the kiwis did have some investment into the storyline of these two being together in their respective music careers.
#2862
Given how Riff already had a hit over in NZ with "My heart is failing me" from the previous year, it makes sense that they would have an even bigger hit over in NZ with the theme to the film White men can't jump regardless of the kiwis love for the Wesley Snipes flick where he teaches Woody Harrelson how to play basketball. I know that it was our love for the film that made it a success here in Australia.
#2861
OK so it appears the kiwis weren't as invested in the life of Ritchie Valens as this cover of his signature tune from Los Lobos was only half as successful over there as it was here in Australia. Heck the soundtrack didn't even do that well over there which is further proof that the biopic didn't interest them that much.
#2860
Just like Australia, NZ gave these guys a humble beginning to their career with their debut album this year even though it failed to produce a hit single for the band, however they would go on to have far more success as the decade went on over there than they did over here, making this a bit of an outlier in their career as a result.
#2859
I guess the kiwis were also big fans of Kevin Wilson given how huge this album of his was over there, granted it was more of a sleeper hit likely due to comedy albums not being as popular over there as they were over here, however there's no denying that they appreciated the politically incorrect humour (even for the time) that's on display here.
#2858
It appears the kiwis weren't as into the soundtrack for this film as we Aussies were given how much less successful it was over there compared to here, although it might also be due to the success of its theme song being transferred to Wet wet wet's earlier entry on this list over there given how much more popular that was over there compared to over here.
#2857
This was the third and final album to come from Altered images, it feels weird that their biggest album would also be their last given how this was also their biggest hit in their native UK as well as over in NZ this year. I guess there were behind the scenes drama that the band endured during its production which led to them going their separate ways by the end of the year.
#2856
Given how this spawned one of the biggest hits of the decade in NZ, it makes sense that this album from Toots and the Maytals would be a decent success over there even though it appears it was only a success with the kiwis specifically due to the big hit it was associated with.
#2855
This year was a huge breakthrough for the Commodores outside of their native America, as such it makes sense they would cap it off with a greatest hits album to help their new international audience discover their back catalogue off the success of their earlier entries.
#2854
This is one of two hits that the Kooks had in NZ, this was their bigger hit even though their other entry (which we'll get to on the next list) managed to out peak it due to it being more of an immediate hit for the English indie band. Interestingly enough, these guys didn't even chart here in Australia with their singles, although they did see minor success with their albums.
#2853
As far as the kiwis were concerned, this was Kelly Clarkson's debut single as her first album wasn't even released over there (to my knowledge at least.) This was the theme song to Princess diaries 2 as well as the title track to her second album, although at this point, I doubt anyone would even realise this was a theme song to a Disney film due to how poorly received said film was and is to this day.
#2852
Whereas we Aussies at least gave her third album a chance, it appears the kiwis completely forgot about the existence of My December to the point where they likely felt there was a three-year gap between this and her previous hit "Behind these hazel eyes." Again, this was more of a sleeper hit for her over there likely due to it being a hit mainly through physical sales rather than digital sales.
#2851
Much like here in Australia, this second single from OneRepublic was also a huge sleeper hit for them over in NZ even if they were able to make it onto the main list on this side of my site with little hassle. This is because it thrived on airplay and digital sales, two aspects that had completely dominated the NZ charts this far into the decade.
#2850
This is the only other entry from Twista to appear on this side of my site; it's by far the bigger of his two hits even though it didn't quite crack the top ten over there like "Slow jamz" did the year prior. This came close to appearing on the Australian side of my site; however, it appears we Aussies allowed this to crack our top twenty for the Chicago rapper during a particularly slow time in our music scene.
#2849
This is another song I'm surprised wasn't a bigger hit here in Australia back in the day, although in retrospect, the fact we have a teen pop track on this list this far into the 21st century does make it seem out of date compared to the other entries on this list. A1 is best known for their cover of A-ha's "Take on me," more specifically the awful music video that showcases their lack of knowledge of the internet.
#2848
We looked at a hit from Supertramp on the Australian side of this site, time to feature them on this side of my site with what is by far their most iconic song even if the lyrics are a bit on the sillier side. This did chart here in Australia, however we Aussies always prioritised album sales over singles which meant this missed out from taking off as a single like it has as a radio staple.
#2847
From what I can gather, this was a British country singer similar to that of Olivia Newton John (if she never migrated to Australia) who managed to score her one and only hit with this ballad worldwide. The kiwis were somewhat impressed with it back in the day, hence why it managed to make an appearance on this list.
#2846
We have one final entry from Macy Gray on this list as the kiwis kept her around for far longer than even her own fellow Americans did in her career, here she recruits fellow RNB singer of colour Erykah Badu to duet with her on this track about how awesome her boyfriend is which was an easy hit for her over there. One final fun fact I have for you is that she makes a cameo appearance in Spider man at the Macy Thanksgiving parade as a clever pun on her name.
#2845
This is the final taste of success that Livie had in NZ given how the kiwis weren't too impressed with her reunion with John Travolta or her theme song to that movie like we Aussies were, although I feel this is a trade-off to how "Make a move on me" failed to become a hit over there like it did here and in America even if this came from her greatest hits package.
#2844
It was really hard to research this song for this list, from what I can gather, this is the one and only hit from NZ country singer Anne Dumont who managed to connect with her fellow kiwis during the height of the female country singer craze that was just about to abruptly end with the launch of MTV.
#2843
From what I can gather, Michael Zagar was a disco musician who tried to hop on board the genre back in its heyday to very little success. Indeed, this seemed like a doomed prospect for him and his band given how it was released during the supposed disco backlash, however it appears the kiwis were on board with having him collaborate with Deniece Williams for this track given how it was a sleeper hit over there.
#2842
From what I can gather, Ray Stevens didn't have as much success in NZ as he did in Australia as this saw considerably less success over there than it did over here this year. That said, his two big comedy tracks "Gitarzan" and "The streak" were very big on the Listener charts, so perhaps the kiwis were simply more interested in his brand of comedy rather than his more serious ballads.
#2841
Following the success he had with his collaboration with Boyz II men (which we'll get to in a bit) LL Cool J was able to score a huge follow up with this single which helped him compete in the west coast/east coast rivalry that was happening at the time in hip hop over in NZ. He wouldn't have another huge hit over there until the new millennium when he teamed up with J-lo of all people.
#2840
This is the first of two entries that Incubus will be making on this side of my site given how they managed to connect with the kiwis in a way they weren't able to with us Aussies, although I do remember hearing this quite a bit back in the day so perhaps this was yet another victim of digital piracy this year in Australia. In any case, we have this ballad that came from an album filled with nu metal.
#2839
This is the only notable hit from American RNB singer Trey Lorenz, likely due to it being written by Mariah Carey around the time she proved herself as the real deal on MTV unplugged but also due to the success of Boyz II men and other RNB groups of the moment.
#2838
Well, that's one way to convince your audience to buy a single, although I feel this was meant to be ironic because this samples Madonna's "Material girl" similar to how their big hit in Australia sampled the Jackson 5's "Can you feel it." It's pretty obvious why neither of these songs have survived the test of time as even back then, they felt more like a gimmick than something audiences generally liked.
#2837
It was inevitable that this soft rock ballad would be a success over in NZ given how it was also a success here in Australia, although as we go further back in the decade, you'll notice that the country band had far less success over there than they did over here throughout the 70's.
#2836
This was mostly a sleeper hit for Falco in NZ this year, likely due to the novelty of the two big hits it spawned for him over there. It did receive a massive spike in popularity for a solitary week (hence its high peak position) likely due to a memorable performance he gave on a music show this year.
#2835
This was an impeccable year for Aussies over in NZ given how we have the first appearance of the Angels on this side of my site, indeed they saw a lot of success with this album likely due to its big hit over here being released as its lead single over there which resulted in its success for the band. Their popularity would remain over there for as long as it did back home.
#2834
Much like here in Australia, this was also the final successful album that the Killers had over in NZ as it managed to be a huge success over there during the final stretch of the decade.
#2833
This is a bit of an odd entry, namely because the brothers Gibb hadn't released a new album since their last greatest hits album from three years prior due to the death of Maurice Gibb nearly two years prior to when this was released. That didn't prevent the kiwis from making it a success likely due to their nostalgic love for the trio as well as their renewed popularity from the late 90's over there.
#2832
This was the only hit for NZ folk band Breaks Co-op, although this did come from a highly successful album which explains why it was more of a sleeper hit for them in their homeland this year. Despite its mediocre reception amongst their fellow kiwis, this was apparently popular enough to spark international interest as it was shockingly easy to find album art for this entry unlike other NZ singles on this site.
#2831
Given how much less successful Matchbox 20 was in NZ compared to Australia, it makes sense that Rob Thomas would only have one entry on this side of my site with his first solo single, heck even his collaboration with Santana failed to appear on this side of my site despite how inescapable it was internationally from the start of the decade. Indeed, he would only have one more hit after this before fading into obscurity over there.
#2830
This is one of two entries from Dizzee rascal on this list as well as his only entry that wasn't a hit here in Australia, it was the third single off his international breakthrough album Tongue n cheek which saw him find an audience outside of his native UK for the first time since his breakthrough over there six years prior. The other entry will be his second single from the album as "Dance wiv me" bombed over there.
#2829
This was considerably less successful in NZ than it was here in Australia for Britney Spears, I'm guessing this was due to the kiwis not finding the video to be as titillating as the rest of the world was or also because of how repetitive the song is. She would have one more hit over there with "Circus" before the kiwis officially gave up on her as opposed to us Aussies which kept her around during the club boom.
#2828
Although this wasn't as big a hit in NZ as it was here in Australia, it appears that the kiwis did appreciate this anthem that encouraged listeners to ward off hecklers at a bar without coming off as entitled like "No" from Meghan Trainor would do a decade after this came out. I'm guessing this became a success in her native America due to its popularity in the southern hemisphere this year.
#2827
When I said this was a huge hit over in NZ for Vanessa Amorosi, I should've clarified that it was a huge sleeper hit for her over there as the kiwis weren't too interested in making this a success for her until it became the unofficial anthem for the Sydney Olympics this year which propelled it to the upper echelons of their charts. Sadly, this did mean she is a one hit wonder over there as it was a hit through a gimmick.
#2826
This will be Carly Binding's only appearance on my site given how this was the only hit she managed to achieve that racked up enough points to appear on here ("We kissed" did come close though) Carly is best known for her work with the girl group Truebliss who became the first group to win a reality TV series when they appeared on Popstars NZ in 1999.
#2825
This was only a minor hit at best here in Australia for Randy Vanwarmer, if I ever decide to make a sleeper hit list, it would definitely be a shoe in for that list on that side of my side. It was more of a mainstream success in NZ which allows it to be a shoe in for this list given how it was also a big success for him in his native America.
#2824
Contrary to popular belief, Spandau Ballet's earlier entry on this list wasn't the lead single to their album True as that honour goes to this track which was largely ignored in most parts of the world save for NZ where it became the band's first big hit. I feel like this can go hand in hand with their other entry on this list as it shares the same lyrical content as that track does, which would explain both songs popularity over there.
#2823
This was the only hit that Nivea had in most parts of the world, although curiously her big hit here in Australia was "Don't mess with the radio" despite that being a massive failure in her native America (I say "big" but really, it's the only notoriety she got amongst us Aussies.) Here she recruits members of Jagged edge to sing backup vocals for this track about how awesome her boyfriend is.
#2822
We'll be revisiting the lead single to RHCP's album from this year in a bit, however it's worth noting that this was the big hit off that album in NZ as the kiwis gravitated towards this track as the year was winding down. We Aussies passed up on this mainly due to the strong album sales By the way had over here, although it was definitely a juggernaut on our airwaves.
#2821
From what I can gather, this was a decent size hit for the punk novelty band Coup D'etat, a band comprising of member of Hello sailor who scored a hit with this novelty track about how much they enjoy aa doctor's medicine despite how shady said doctor clearly is to them.
#2820
If this sounds like a Boyz II Men track to anyone, that's because it was written by Nathan Morris who was the main vocalist of the quartet. I'm guessing he donated this track to RNB singer Uncle Sam who scored his one and only hit with this ballad before forever fading into obscurity, admittedly this wouldn't work well with the quartet's catalogue given how bitter the lyrics are on here.
#2819
Well at least this was released on time in NZ even if it had to work its way up to its success over there as opposed to it being an instant success over here, I guess the kiwis were still on the fence on whether or not they should allow these guys to be among the biggest names in music as opposed to us Aussies who knew that these guys were the future of rock and roll by making them inescapably popular here.
#2818
I guess one way of ensuring the success of the fourth single from your debut album was to have it be a "sequel" to the album version which is exactly what Blue did with this track, although it appears that only us Aussies and their fellow Brits saw any value to this remix as this predictably bombed everywhere else in the world for the boy band.
#2817
This was one of those huge sleeper hits over in NZ which by all accounts should be even higher on this list but isn't due to the way I've structured these lists. It makes sense that this was a huge success over there given how Ricky Martin and Enrique Iglesias had both taken over their mainstream in a way they failed to do so here in Australia, although this guy wasn't on their level of success even in his native America.
#2816
I'm surprised this wasn't a hit here in Australia back in the day considering how they used to flog this on the radio as with many of the entries on this list that didn't appear on the Australian side of this site, fortunately the kiwis seemed to have made it a success over there which got her out of the one hit wonder bin that "Torn" threatened to trap her in four years prior.
#2815
Whereas these guys remain a one hit wonder in most parts of the world including in their native America, they were able to score a second hit over in NZ with this ballad proving that they were able to find an audience with their music even if that audience was largely with the kiwis back in the day.
#2814
This was the third single to be released from Ronan Keating's solo debut album, it was a mere modest success here in Australia and charted too low for it to appear on the Australian side of my site likely due to the album sales eating up its success. It was naturally more of a hit in NZ for the former Boyzone singer, proving how much the kiwis loved his solo work following the departure of his group.
#2813
This is the last hit that Robbie Williams had over in NZ as his popularity would quickly dwindle during the second half of the decade for whatever reason, indeed this song came from Escapology which was far less successful over there than it was over here which suggests that this ballad was a success over there from an album that they didn't otherwise jive with.
#2812
This was much more of a success in NZ than it was here in Australia, I'm guessing because Fever didn't do as well over there as it did here which meant that the kiwis were more interested in the singles from the album rather than the album itself even though both "In your eyes" and "Come into my world" failed to appear on this list of mine. I guess it's fitting that the best song on the album (in my opinion) was a big hit over there.
#2811
I guess the trade-off of Peter's earlier entry on this list being as successful as it was resulted in this follow up achieving half of the success in NZ that it did here in Australia, it could be because the big hit off the album down under wasn't as such over there but it could also be overexposure from his live work.
#2810
Here's the other big album that Anika Moa had in her homeland before she retired from music to become a TV presenter, this is actually a huge comeback for her given how her second album from 2005 bombed over there and threatened to leave her as a one album wonder in her homeland.
#2809
This would've appeared on the Australian side of my site had it not had its success split evenly between its initial release and the deluxe edition over here. Fortunately, this wasn't the case in NZ as they ignored this upon its initial release and only made it a success due to the deluxe edition.
#2808
Given how much of a roll Gabrielle was on from her previous album as well as her contribution to the Bridget Jones diary soundtrack, it makes sense the kiwis would make this greatest hits album from her a success as it allowed them to rediscover her back catalogue from the 90's they skipped over.
#2807
Roxette really struggled to transition from the 80's to the 90's in NZ which wasn't the case here in Australia, that said, their greatest hits package was a more immediate success over there than it was over here which is why it appears on more than one of these lists despite it being more popular over here in the long run.
#2806
BB King was an influential guitarist who didn't see much success in his lifetime, this was the first hit he had in the southern hemisphere as this was a duets album with some of the biggest names in music throughout the twentieth century that was only a success in NZ and a huge flop here in Australia.
#2805
This was too minor of a hit to appear on the Australian side of my site; indeed, it only manages to appear on this side of my site due to it becoming a hit twice in NZ as it rebounded on their charts when Ciara released her second single "1 2 step" with Missy Elliot for some reason. This song has become infamous for the production, specifically due to it sounding like a screeching siren throughout its runtime.
#2804
Well, here's that reunion that J-Lo had with LL Cool J that I mentioned the last time we looked at these two together on this site, indeed this was far more popular in NZ than it was here in Australia likely due to the kiwis having more interest in this storyline the two invented with these songs than us Aussies did back in the day.
#2803
This was the one and only hit from Pretty Ricky, one of the many RNB groups from America to find success with only one song with this being one of the lucky few to find success outside of the Billboard charts back in the day. I guess this was deemed too sexually provocative for us Aussies to make a success this year, either that or this was one of the earliest songs to become a success thanks to digital downloads in NZ.
#2802
This likely would've been a huge flop for Shania Twain in NZ were it not for RIANZ including airplay stats this year where this flew up the charts over there albeit briefly due to its popularity fading by the time it did become a success over there, in fact its release was heavily delayed over there for some reason given how it was one of the biggest hits of the decade here in Australia.
#2801
This is the other big hit that Toni Williams had in NZ during his brief time in the spotlight, it managed to become his signature track (at least as far as I'm aware) due to it peaking in popularity during the midpoint of the year as opposed to the summer holidays like his earlier entry did.
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