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.
#1600
This was the third single in NZ from Five, so naturally it was the first big hit over there given how "When the lights go out" curiously underperformed for them over there for some reason. I'm guessing the kiwis didn't care about the similarities this had to Will Smith's earlier entry on this list, which is why it was almost as big a hit over there as that was.
#1599
This was the big breakthrough for the Red hot chili peppers everywhere in the world, mainly because of the lyrics which details Anthony Kiedes' complications with drugs and living in California. They certainly connected with the kiwis given how this was slightly bigger in NZ than it was in Australia despite it charting higher here than it did over there.
#1598
Much like in Australia, this was the final solo hit that Phil Collins was able to score in NZ, although he didn't find much success with any of the singles from Genesis's new album in the 90's, so this was actually the last hit single that the kiwis cared about in his career. At least he still had plenty of love for his albums both solo and with Genesis throughout the decade.
#1597
Although he never left UB40, Ali Campbell did briefly embark on a solo career this year which included this big hit he had in NZ and his native UK. The rest of the world had given up on his band by this point, which is perhaps why it wasn't a success here in Australia or in America.
#1596
Well, there would be little surprise that this was a hit earlier in NZ than it was here in Australia, however it may surprise you to learn this was an even bigger hit here in Australia for Womack and Womack likely due to the synth groove connecting better with us Aussies than it did for the kiwis back in the day. At least this was still a massive hit over there as opposed to their native America where this flopped badly.
#1595
This was equally as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia, although I get the feeling it was still more popular over there given how it had much stiffer competition compared to over here where it had little issues dominating our music scene. There was little chance it would fail in either country regardless given how it's one of many personal ballads to make it big throughout the decade.
#1594
It's strange that these guys are best known for their disco classic "Shake your groove thing" and yet their two biggest hits were RNB ballads back in the day. This was their bigger hit in NZ likely due to the kiwis wanting to keep the 70's alive this year as opposed to everywhere else in the world which moved on to the likes of soft rock and new wave with the occasional sprinkle of disco and RNB here and there.
#1593
This song's placement on this list feels like a more accurate representation of its popularity back in the day here in Australia, although said popularity went towards Alex Lloyd's album it served as the lead single to as opposed to in NZ where said album flopped in exchange for this being a massive success over there. He didn't have another hit in either country, although this remains a staple in commercials to this day.
#1592
Well, this was a much bigger hit in NZ than it could ever hope to be in Australia, again the kiwis loved their diva pop from around this time as opposed to us Aussies who usually preferred personality over technical excellence. Still, this was decently big here (as its appearance on the Australian side of my site can attest) so it wasn't a deal breaker provided the singing is as good as it is on here.
#1591
This was the debut single from one of the most popular bands to come out of the 80's, although this was back when UB40 was a halfway respected band as true to their name, they talked about more serious subject matter such as unemployment and living conditions of their day. The reggae beat was still there, but they weren't just covering older classics with that reggae beat and instead had something to say.
#1590
This was blocked from the top spot in NZ by David Bowie's earlier entry, I guess this was simple karma as "Let's dance" failed to reach the top spot in Australia due to this blocking it from that spot here. It's information like this that led me to looking over the NZ charts to compare and contrast with the Australian charts.
#1589
Given how popular Robbie Williams was in NZ entering the 00's, this lead single from his third solo album didn't feel much like an event over there as it came mere months after the release of the final single from his second album (which we'll look at in a bit.) Because he was already popular over there by this point of his career, it meant that the album cycle would proceed as it did in his native UK.
#1588
This had all of its success this year in NZ, meaning that it was off the charts by the time it even began climbing the Australian charts the following year. This was the difference in the two music scenes in the southern hemisphere as EDM was ruling the charts in Australia this year whilst RNB was dominating the charts in NZ.
#1587
I guess the kiwis weren't as in love with Pretty woman as the rest of the world was, either that or the singles didn't incentivise them to be the album save for Roxette's ballad which wasn't even originally written for the film to begin with. The film was still a huge success at the box office, and it was a critical daring as well due to the strong performance from its star Julia Roberts.
#1586
There was no escaping the High school musical phenomenon during the second half of the decade (trust me, I was there) so it makes sense that the third instalment managed to spawn a successful soundtrack worldwide given that it was released to theatres as opposed to the first two films being Disney channel originals. If you think Disney has only become corporate driven in recent years, I can assure you they've been like this for a while now.
#1585
This was the other big hit that Sarah Brightman managed to score in NZ this year, I'm not sure why she had massive success in NZ for this year alone aside from maybe the kiwis feeling they needed to give her the respect she needed since her breakthrough role on Phantom of the opera from thirteen years prior.
#1584
This proved to be less successful a greatest hits package for the Corrs over in NZ, likely because they only started finding success with their singles over there with their (then) most recent album from earlier on this list, which made this album of theirs a tad redundant compared to here in Australia.
#1583
This was released the previous year for Grayson Hugh, it was going to be a flop for the singer even with the worldwide success of the lead single, but it became a surprise hit in NZ likely because of said single having a very slow rise to its popularity over there. Admittedly the album feels more at home in the 90's than it does in the decade it was originally released in.
#1582
This was released on the twentieth anniversary of the breakup of Simon and Garfunkel; I'm guessing this was a trend for the kiwis to make a greatest hits package a success for the duo once every ten years as another one of these albums would see huge success ten years later over there.
#1581
This was equally as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia for Kim Carnes, the only noticeable difference is that it managed to spawn a second minor hit for her over there likely due to how unique her vocals were compared to the competition at the time. That uniqueness didn't do her subsequent releases any favours anywhere in the world.
#1580
Well, he already had massive success in NZ during his lifetime, so it was inevitable that this greatest hits package would be a huge success for Bob Marley in NZ this year. One thing of note is that the two songs that charted with this albums release were originally released on his 1977 album Exodus.
#1579
This was much more of a success in NZ than it was here in Australia, this is curious because the band didn't achieve much success over there during the 70's. In fact, the bonus track from this album was the only hit they ever had over there as even their albums didn't do so well at the time.
#1578
It's clearly obvious the kiwis weren't ready to say goodbye to the King of rock and roll this year given how this was one of two albums that look over his rock hits from his lifetime to become a success over there following his tragic death this year.
#1577
Between this being released later here in Australia and having to climb our charts going into the new year, it's a miracle that this third single from Good girl gone bad managed to become a success here at all for both Rihanna and Ne-Yo back in the day. Fortunately, it didn't have either of these hinderances over in NZ, which means it not only appears on the list for this year but also has a higher spot on it.
#1576
Much like in Australia, Kelis is also a two-hit wonder in NZ with both of her appearances on this list, although it's worth noting that this proved to be the bigger hit over there as "Milkshake" (which is still to come) wasn't as big for her likely due to how much of a meme it was even back in the day. Indeed, it's far easier to take this song seriously given that it's about her no longer falling for her partner's infidelity.
#1575
This shares its name with a famous Kelly Clarkson track from her second album Breakaway, although it's worth noting that this is a love ballad rather than a song about how the narrator is messed up because of the way someone treated them which is why you shouldn't confuse the two songs with each other in the slightest. It was an easy hit for Ne-Yo in NZ despite it being a massive flop here in Australia.
#1574
Although T-Pain found massive success in his native America with "I'm sprung" from the previous year, it was this single with unknown rapper Mike Jones where he achieved massive success in NZ thanks to it displaying his trademark sense of humour as well as him pushing the boundaries of how to use autotune to enhance one's performance rather than have it simply cover up for vocal deficiencies like many less talented vocalists of the moment.
#1573
This proved to be equally as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia, which means of course it was technically more successful over there due to having far stiffer competition given how there wasn't a reality series preventing certain songs from having a fair run on their charts which was the case on ours this year. I get the feeling this was due to the presence of Amy Lee given how Seether haven't had any success outside of this ballad worldwide.
#1572
This was the last hit that Soulja Boy had anywhere in the world, it's a song about sending one's love through text messaging that he and featured vocalist Sammie who had a hit in his native America at the start of the decade with "I like it" as a child star. At least this song managed to chart here in Australia likely due to the chorus being halfway decent, however it wasn't a hit over here like it was over there.
#1571
Given how albums sales don't impact the success of a song in NZ like they do here in Australia (at least that was the case back in the day) this means that this remix of an album track of theirs featuring Snoop Dogg managed to merely be equally as successful over there as it was over here as opposed to the other tracks from the album which were more successful over there because of what I said in this entry.
#1570
I think Australia was the only place in the world where this came bundled with "If I were a boy" as one entry, it does make sense given how quickly this was released as a single after that other track kicked off the album cycle (it was by barely a month.) Naturally this has long overshadowed that track as the feminist anthem from the album, mainly because she's only angry with one man on the track as opposed to the whole gender on that track.
#1569
I guess this was a hit for Gerry Rafferty as penance for the world sleeping on his hit with Stealers Wheels from earlier in the decade, although it wasn't as popular in NZ as it was in Australia, America or his native UK this year. I guess the kiwis weren't as in love with that iconic sax solo as the rest of the world was, either that or they didn't feel as obligated in making up for the lack of success his band had.
#1568
If you couldn't tell from the band name or album art, Katchafire was a tribute band to the late and great Bob Marley who managed to score a massive breakthrough this this track that does sound like something the reggae legend would've made had he lived to see the 21st century. It was their only hit over there, however they were more of an albums band given that's where their success came from.
#1567
This was about as equally successful in NZ as it was here in Australia for Stacie Orrico, although her true popularity wouldn't peak until she released her earlier entry on this list which seemed to resonate better with the kiwis than this did back in the day. I guess this was more of a song about teenage drama which the kiwis felt there was only so much room for at the time.
#1566
This was the biggest hit that Ma$e had on his own in NZ, although here he has the assistance of RNB girl group Total to provide him a smooth chorus to connect his verses about how he would treat the woman he's presumably singing to. He doesn't have much respect these days in the hip hop game mainly due to him playing second fiddle to Biggie Smalls in the east coast hip hop scene at the time.
#1565
This wasn't quite as successful in NZ for Ronan Keating as it was here in Australia, mainly because once again, it had stiffer competition with many of the entries that outrank it on this list which prevented it from dominating their charts the same way it did over here. I guess it could also be that there was already a popular cover of the Garth Brooks classic to make it big over there from five years prior.
#1564
We already looked at the CDB cover from the Australian side of my site, so now let's look at the original version of that RNB jam from Earth wind and fire which was a minor hit here in Australia but a massive hit in NZ and the band's native America despite being yet another disco track released during the dark ages of disco. Both lead vocalists would go on to have a huge hit in NZ later in the decade.
#1563
Again, I can't say definitively that Leo's earlier entry on this list was his biggest hit as I'm ranking these songs based on their chart performance, it's possible this song did quite well during the summer of 1976/1977 in NZ, but we'll never know since the charts went on a two-month hiatus during that time which was the peak of its popularity here in Australia.
#1562
Well Australia had 28 days and America had Limp Bizkit, so I guess Blindspott would be NZ's equivalent of nu metal given how immensely popular the band was largely thanks to the success of this runaway hit from their debut album that had been released six months prior to when this became a hit for the band. They did manage to have minor success with their second album later in the decade.
#1561
Well, it appears that Tevin Campbel was becoming too old to be an underage RNB singer from America, as such we now have a hit single from his obvious successor J'son who scored a massive hit in NZ and nowhere else in the world with this gem. I'm not sure what NZ's fascination with underage RNB and hip hop was throughout the 90's, but I'm sure all of these kids of colour appreciated this success back in the day.
#1560
I'm a bit surprised that Donna Summer didn't have as much success in NZ as she did here in Australia back in the day, although I'm slowly discovering that women of colour from the disco scene did much better here in Australia overall, I guess we Aussies weren't completely biased against musicians of colour in the 70's like I originally thought.
#1559
This is a much more accurate placement on this list to reflect how popular this comeback single for Kylie Minogue was here in Australia, although in NZ, it was an even bigger comeback given how she hadn't had a hit over there since her debut album from twelve years prior. Indeed, it was like they had skipped over all of her 90's material and went straight from 1988 to this year as far as they were concerned.
#1558
File this in the increasing category of American women of colour failing to find success on the Billboard charts but finding success in the UK regardless, the success she found over there allowed this to become a chart topper in NZ likely due to the kiwis thinking she was someone like Natalie Cole or Chaka Khan from around this time. It certainly wouldn't feel out of place from either of their catalogues.
#1557
I did mention on the Australian side of this site that this managed to top both the NZ and British charts this year despite failing to do so here in Australia for the Melbourne duo, it was inevitable that it would be a massive chart topper in both countries given how it was stuck behind Eiffel 65's entry from earlier on this list like it was down under as the 90's was transitioning into the 00's.
#1556
The Backstreet boys were on a roll this year as they continued to score success worldwide with this lead single to their most recent album Millennium, it's an album that true to its word, was meant to signify the end of the current millennium as the world entered a new millennium with their music playing in the background.
#1555
For what it's worth, the original from Carl Douglas was a massive success over in NZ before the launch of the RIANZ charts, so it's not like this was the only version of that classic that the kiwis would be familiar with. In fact, I get the feeling this was a hit over there the same way it was here in Australia, the kiwis having nostalgia for the original and being OK with the 90's hip hop replacing the verses of the original.
#1554
One of the most important political figures in history was Nelson Mandela, although his true achievements came after he was released from prison in 1989 where he led a campaign to put an end to apartheid which was an oppressive regime happening in Africa that I'm not going to get into on this site. Many protest songs were made during his imprisonment to have him released, this from the Special AKA being the biggest and most impactful of them all.
#1553
Well, I guess it's time to talk about the song itself given how the kiwis got the release order correctly resulting in the band's instant success over there, this is a song originally released two years prior to deafening silence from the duo but became a worldwide success this year due to them reworking the original to be more in line with the popular trends of the moment.
#1552
Chaka Khan was a one hit wonder in NZ like she was here in Australia, I'm not sure why as some of her work from the 70's does find its way into oldies stations in both countries, but I guess she needed to cover a Prince track and have a guest verse from Grandmaster Melle in order to make it big in the southern hemisphere. I'm not sure why Grandmaster Melle isn't credited on this track other than perhaps rap features not getting credits back in the day.
#1551
Well at least this song was a success much sooner in NZ than it was here in Australia, that would probably explain how it was such a huge hit over there given how Robert John was able to connect with audiences with his sad breakup song.
#1550
The kiwis were just as open to the idea of a band against discrimination of any kind back in the day as the rest of the world (I wonder how modern audiences would take to these guys) as such their debut single was a massive success over there just like it was over here and in every country that it charted in.
#1549
This is another song that I feel is in its rightful placement on this list to replicate how popular it was in Australia back in the day, again we have the label tampering with its release schedule to blame for its lower placement on that side of my site. For most people, this was likely their introduction to the Patti Labelle classic from the 70's given how all four girls do their best to pay tribute to the original on this track.
#1548
This was more of a success for Big Brovaz here in Australia than it was over in NZ, this is despite this charting higher over there for the British RNB group likely due to how they declared themselves as the future of music moving forward this decade on this track. I always found the censored version of this track to be disjointed given how it ruins the rhyme scheme on the chorus, that could also be a factor in why it wasn't as big over there.
#1547
This was the one and only hit Prince had when he as Eminem put it "turned himself into a symbol," not even the kiwis could get on board with this phase of his career save for this ballad that sounds like it was meant for whatever 90's equivalent of the Jackson five there was, but he instead kept for himself.
#1546
From what I can gather, DLT was a NZ rapper who scored his one and only hit with this track about being tied up in a relationship due to having a chorus provided to him by Supergroove front man Che fu. Che fu would go on to have massive success as a solo artist after this, however this was the only hit that DLT managed to have in his homeland.
#1545
This is a song whose absence on my site has certainly been felt by yours truly, unfortunately this disco classic from Kool and the gang was never a hit here in Australia despite Dragon scoring a moderate hit later in the decade with their rendition. The kiwis were able to recognise this as the feel-good classic that it is despite this being yet another disco track that was released during the supposed dark age of disco.
#1544
This song is known for two things nowadays, the first is for the music video which has the same style of CGI animation that was a success for Dire straits around this time and the second is that the lead vocalist of the band was Margaret Urlich who would go on to have massive success as a solo artist in the 90's.
#1543
Given how Jon English suddenly had two successful hits to his name in NZ, it only seems reasonable that the kiwis would educate themselves on his back catalogue which included a third minor hit from the midpoint of the 70's that didn't crossover here to Australia. This is why his greatest hits album did slightly better over there than it did over here.
#1542
There's going to be a few entries on the next few lists of mine that feel like they belong on one of my lists from the twentieth century given audiences from that generation seems to be the target audience for many of these albums. Here's one of these albums courtesy of Rod Stewart who decided to cover a bunch of songs from the twentieth century and make his own which the kiwis seemed to heavily appreciate from him.
#1541
While EDM wasn't very popular in NZ throughout the 90's, it appears the kiwis made an exception to their rule of disallowing EDM albums to be a success by having this album from Real McCoy be a massive success over there. They would break the rules again for Aqua and the Vengaboys, however they had a gimmick to go with their music unlike these guys which were pretty straight forward with their marketing.
#1540
Named after their signature track from their 1980 album Remain in light (despite that never being a commercial success anywhere in the world) this greatest hits package from Talking heads proved to be a huge hit for them over in NZ despite it being a massive flop for them here in Australia for some reason.
#1539
Apparently in Germany, this film is called Schokolade zum frühstück (chocolate for breakfast) which I feel is a strange title since I've seen this movie (and its sequel) several dozen times and can confirm that at no point does Bridget obsess over chocolate at any point during the day, let alone breakfast. I feel like bringing that up as there's nothing more I can add about the success of its soundtrack that I haven't already covered.
#1538
Well, the soundtrack might not have been as inescapable in NZ as it was here in Australia, however I feel the kiwis made up for that by having it spawn more songs on their charts as two of the tracks were able to chart over there and not here in Australia. This is a film I respect far more than I like due to its themes.
#1537
One of the more popular shows to come out of NZ this decade was Outrageous fortune, a crime show about a family who decides to go straight after leading a life of crime with hijinks ensuing from there. I do remember this show being massively popular here in Australia back in the day, so it's little wonder it was a critical darling in its homeland and that it spawned a hugely successful soundtrack as well.
#1536
Given how this was one of the biggest hits of the decade here in Australia, it only makes sense that this track managed to crossover to NZ where it also became a big success for the Australian duo. I like to think this is Australia's answer to "I'm too sexy" given how it came out fifteen years after that track dominated the early 90's.
#1535
I've featured several entries on this site where Lil Wayne was the featured rapper on someone else's song, I guess it's about time that we look at one of his own songs where he's the lead artist which just so happens to be his one and only Billboard chart topper as the lead artist from his critically acclaimed album Tha carter III. I'm guessing it was a hit in his homeland and in NZ due to it being a song comparing sex to candy.
#1534
At least there was only one version of the Everly brothers track to make it big in NZ from around this time, indeed Nazareth managed to beat out Jim Capaldi over there with their rendition of the classic due to them having a massive hit over in America with their rendition. This didn't do their careers any favours as they remain a one hit wonder worldwide with this cover to this day.
#1533
This was another two for one deal that was available in the late 90's, this time it comes from Robbie Williams who wanted another hit from his second album which he got with this double entry in NZ.
#1532
This was only a minor success for Split enz a decade prior, so to see this be envisioned as a Boyz II Men esque ballad from the short-lived vocal harmony group Purest form was a bit of a surprise to say the least. It was a massive hit for the group and even apparently broke down some barriers when it came to Polynesian musicians given how they were the first of Polynesian descent to find success in the music scene.
#1531
This was the only hit that Men without hats had in most parts of the world, at least it was nearly a chart topper in NZ proving how much the kiwis loved this ode to dancing however you want to dance when at a show. They almost scored a second hit much later in the decade with "Pop goes the world," which goes to show they weren't always doomed to be a one hit wonder over there.
#1530
This was a massive hit for Duran Duran around the world back in the day, although I get the feeling that if they had of gone with "The reflex" as the lead single to their third album they would've had a song as inescapable as some of the earlier entries on this list worldwide given how popular that would become from the album. At least these guys would continue to have success well into the second half of the 80's in NZ as opposed to Australia.
#1529
Much like here in Australia, this was the first big hit that the Pointer sisters had in NZ again likely due to the track being written by Bruce Springsteen despite the heartland rocker being unable to score any success of his own over there by this point in time. The girls went on to have massive success over there in the 80's much like they did in Australia.
#1528
This wound up being the biggest hit from the Backstreet boys from their second album in NZ, I'm guessing because it had far less competition this year than the first two singles from the album did the previous year as well as it likely having stronger airplay given that I do remember this being overplayed back in the day here in Australia. It's little surprise that these guys won the boy band wars over there like they did internationally.
#1527
Well, every band and artist seem to have at least one problematic song in their catalogue, for Elton John it was this Billboard chart topper about him wanting to save this "island girl" from what appears to be life as a sex worker while cosplaying as an "island boy." I guess if you were to ignore the lyrical content, the song has a nice rock reggae groove that still holds up to this day.
#1526
We already looked at the Pauline Henry cover of this from the Australian side of this site, so now let's look at the original version of that song from Bad company which became a massive success for the British band Bad company in NZ back in the day. These guys were more of an albums band given how big their albums were despite them not having any success with their singles save for this rock and roll track.
#1525
This was the only hit from Sammy Johns, an American folk singer who scored a hit in NZ and his native America with this ballad that remains a staple on oldies stations to this day. I wish I could say more about this guy but he's honestly not that interesting outside of his one and only hit.
#1524
While it wasn't their first hit single over in NZ, this was the song that convinced their fellow kiwis that Nesian Mystik would be one of the hottest new names in their local music scene thanks to their slick and catchy hip hop that helped them stand out from their American contemporaries at the time.
#1523
This was the only hit that Aswad was able to achieve outside their native UK, it's a reggae cover of a Tina Turner track that was the B-side to her hit single "Typical male" from two years prior. This likely inspired Ace of base to cover this track in the mid 90's given how successful it was in NZ and their native UK.
#1522
While it wasn't their biggest hit over in NZ (that honour goes to "Good times" with Jimmy Barnes) this is considered to be INXS's signature track given how it was their biggest hit in America as it topped the Billboard charts. They would have massive success with their album Kick the following year as it spawned three additional hits worldwide to varying degrees of success depending on where in the world you're from.
#1521
This was a huge success for Queen entering the 80's in NZ, not quite as big as it was here in Australia or even in America but big enough to be among their most successful songs. I guess Freddie's Elvis impersonation was enough to help the band comeback from the brink of obscurity given how their last few albums weren't that big anywhere in the world.
#1520
It appears the kiwis were also in love with Joan Jett and the Blackhearts this year, although they did score success later in the decade over there with "I hate myself for loving you" unlike here in Australia where all of their success was confided to this one year. They broke down a lot of barriers for women in rock given how at this point they were mostly confided to the alternative scene.
#1519
Well, it would've been downright hilarious if this was a flop in NZ when you consider this was a hit in Australia who at this point was notoriously out of touch when it came to hip hop in the music scene. Indeed, Kris Kross were much bigger over there given how the two underage MC's managed to compete with their adult contemporaries in terms of their rhymes and flow.
#1518
This was naturally a much bigger hit in NZ for Mariah Carey given how she was more popular over there than she was here in Australia, this would remain the case for most of her career as she would only occasionally score a bigger hit here in Australia than she did in NZ or her native America.
#1517
It appears the kiwis were also invested in this remix of the (then) obscure track from Elvis's catalogue given its popularity in the Ocean's eleven remake from around this time, this in addition to how much love he was given in Disney's Lilo and Stich was enough to revive the popularity of the king of rock and roll worldwide 25 years after his untimely death.
#1516
There was no surprise this duet between UB40 and Chrissie Hynde would be a huge success in NZ this year, both artists were among the most popular of the decade and it was a reggae cover of a 60's classic from Sonny and Cher made for Live aid after all.
#1515
Well, this is a song about how German pop star Lou Bega reveals his dating habits set to the Mambo originally made popular by Perez Prado fifty years prior, it was an instant worldwide success for him for a multitude of different reasons and remains popular to this day for better or worse.
#1514
Well at least Bob Marley was one of the most popular artists in NZ even after his tragic passing, as such this kiddie version of one of his songs doesn't feel too out of left field for becoming a success over there like I'm sure it does in retrospect in America. Still, it feels weird that there was a huge hit coming from a bunch of kids who wanted to legalise marijuana in the music video.
#1513
You may be surprised that this isn't any higher on my list, this is mostly because like in America, this song briefly charted the previous year in NZ which is when this remix first existed for the aging Spanish duo. It blew up in popularity this year over there the same way it did internationally, however there thankfully wasn't another version of this song to chart with it simultaneously like there was here in Australia.
#1512
Well, there was little chance this was going to fail in NZ considering how both girl groups and RNB were among the most popular trends of the late 90's over there, indeed this was a huge success for All Saints likely due to them being inescapable worldwide during the last stretch of the decade.
#1511
Much like here in Australia, this was also one of the last successful albums that Andrea Bocelli had in NZ likely due to his popularity being taken away from him by the likes of Michael Bublé and other classical artists as the decade went on.
#1510
This was equally as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia, naturally this was because it was one of the few songs to not have its release schedule tampered with by Sony due to the Australian Idol phenomenon which technically means that it was more popular in NZ given how it had stiffer competition over there. I guess the kiwi's felt Jo Jo was the new Avril Lavigne given the latter doesn't have any entries on this list.
#1509
I vaguely remember hearing this song on the radio back in the day, however it doesn't surprise me this flopped here in Australia given how unlikely it would've been for us Aussies to understand a word either rapper is saying on this track. It's also little surprise it was a success in NZ given how the kiwis were already acquainted with Krayzie Bone through his work with Bone Thugs n Harmony.
#1508
I guess the kiwis were also more impressed with this reworking of the Hot Chocolate classic than its usage in the Full Monty this year, either that or we Aussies and Kiwis simply forgot to reward the original with success like the Brits did in favour of making this EDM rendition of the disco classic a hit in the southern hemisphere. I guess the fact that it only borrows the chorus from the original was a factor as well.
#1507
This was more of an immediate hit for Nick Gilder in NZ this year due to the kiwis being as enamoured by his sexual antics as the Americans were, not so much that it was a number one hit over there like it was on Billboard but enough for it to be a genuine hit for him. It didn't do him any favours in escaping the one hit wonder bin, but at least there's a good chance there's a legacy the song has over there.
#1506
It had been eleven years since the tragic passing of Bob Marley, and yet the kiwis were still finding ways to hand him success with previously unreleased material in his catalogue. It turns out 2pac wasn't the first artist to continue having a success in their career from beyond the grace as Bob Marley managed to score other hits this decade.
#1505
This was originally a hit for the Steve Miller band here in Australia back in 1974, it wasn't a hit in NZ from what I can gather which is perhaps how it managed to become a massive success over there this year due to a highly successful ad campaign in the UK from the previous year. These campaigns were quite common throughout the 90's, hence why the UK charts is filled with reissues of older songs.
#1504
It appears that this was equally as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia for All Saints, either because the kiwis were also big fans of the movie it was based on (I mean it was a twenty something year old Leonardo Dicaprio stranded on a deserted island admittedly) or because it was also the lead single to the girls second album which saw massive success in their native UK once it dropped.
#1503
I guess I should talk about the Listener charts with this entry, they were charts compiled by a magazine of the same name that tracked what was popular in NZ from 1966 to early this year. This was the last chart topper on those magazines as well as one of the first on RIANZ which means this song serves as a transition from the old charts to the "hip" and "modern" charts that launched this year in NZ.
#1502
Much like here in Australia, Kim Carnes was a one hit wonder in NZ with this iconic track about how this woman she's singing about is as promiscuous as Bette Davis herself. Reportedly she wrote a letter of gratification to everyone involved with this track thanking them for making her relevant to (then) modern society, although I doubt she would've done so if she knew what the song was actually about.
#1501
This was a massive hit worldwide for Hanson, so much so that it not just went on to number one in multiple different countries, it debuted there proving how much of an overnight sensation the boys were back in the day. Their success was less prominent in NZ than it was in Australia (even taking the ARIA vs AMR charts into account) however it was still a massive improvement on what they achieved in their native America.
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