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.
#4300
Given how Lil Wayne was a well-established artist in NZ by the time this was released as a single, this meant that Kevin Rudolf was able to find more immediate success over there as opposed to here in Australia where this had quite the lengthy climb to its peak at the start of the following year. That said, this delay in success meant that it wound up being more popular here than it was over there.
#4299
This will be the only appearance from Good charlotte on this side of my site as surprise surprise, they didn't do so well over there like they did over here until the rise of digital downloads. I'll admit that they did receive a ton of airplay here back in the day, however that would merely explain why they had charted earlier in the decade over there as rock music didn't seem to be popular with the kiwis this decade.
#4298
File this in the increasingly large category of songs that weren't the biggest here in Australia doing well in NZ in exchange for the album it came from being a complete flop over there. We saw this with the Divinyls, Peter Blakeley and even Alex Lloyd from earlier this decade, so it's not that shocking that Empire of the sun joins this exclusive club I've created on this side of my site.
#4297
Much like here in Australia, this was Akon's final hit as a lead artist as aside from his collaboration with David Guetta from earlier on this list as well as a second collaboration with the king of pop a year after his untimely demise, no one would hear from the RNB singer moving forward. I guess his many controversies had finally caught up with him exiting the decade which I won't list here.
#4296
It may seem weird that these guys managed to make it onto this side of my site when this was more of a sleeper hit for them here in Australia, however I should point out that this is the best charting song on the ARIA digital charts by a mile which would've easily made this a chart topper on our main charts this year. Either way, it was inevitable that this radio juggernaut would succeed in NZ to this degree.
#4295
Well, this is a surprise, I wasn't expecting to feature a song from Pearl jam this far into their catalogue on this site. I guess the kiwis had a bit of a nostalgia bug for their earlier material as they were one of the biggest bands of the 90's over there as we've seen on my 90's lists on this side of my site. I guess we can thank airplay for its appearance on where given how it was a massive failure here in Australia.
#4294
This was the only other success that Lil Wayne was able to achieve from his critically acclaimed album Tha carter III, it's a song about him cheekily hitting on a female police officer presumably to get out of getting arrested by her. America passed up this track in favour of "A Milli," a song many will tell you is one of the worst ever made due to how annoying the production is.
#4293
It looked like Usher would've only had two hits from his magnum opus Confessions over in NZ, however this fourth single from the album managed to become a surprise hit early on in the year over there which helped him retain his popularity with the kiwis. This came close to appearing on the Australian side of my site; however, it was too minor a hit over here for it to do so.
#4292
It's a bit of a surprise to see this not any higher on this list given how Silverchair greatly benefitted from digital sales here in Australia and how that format had been well and truly established in NZ by this point in time, although at least it does make an appearance on here and hey, it's low placement on here is more due to it being a sleeper hit over there than anything else.
#4291
This was the lead single to that album which was reportedly a concept album about Kanye West's breakup with Amber Rose, a woman who's only claim to fame as far as I can tell was her high-profile relationships with him and Wiz Khalifa. It's one of only two new appearances from the rapper on this site as the kiwis were more receptive towards his breakup album 808's and heartbreaks over us Aussies.
#4290
Well, here we are yet again with the ballad that Jordin Sparks performed at the 2007 American Idols that claimed her victory for that season, like I said earlier, it was delayed a release in NZ in favour of her duet with Chris Brown which is why it wasn't as popular over there as it was over here for her.
#4289
Even though their biggest hit is a remix of a track from their infamous 1997 album with the Wu tang clan in NZ, Texas did have a decent hit with their debut single over there likely due to how well it was received here in Australia as well as their native UK upon its initial release. As such, they remain a two-hit wonder over there like they do throughout the rest of the world with these two songs.
#4288
This remains Tracy Chapman's only hit in NZ, even then it was more of a sleeper success likely due to its surprise success here in Australia as well as her native America upon its initial release. Even so, it did linger around the lower half of their charts for quite some time which makes it more than eligible for this list even if that means it's way lower on here than it deserves to be.
#4287
Now that radio airplay was a big factor in the NZ charts, this allowed the nth singles from a highly successful album such as this fourth single from Millennium to last longer on their charts than they would've had they been released prior to 1999. This is another reason why I wanted to go over the NZ charts by the way as it allowed me to cover radio staples here in Australia that flopped on our charts.
#4286
As far as the kiwis are concerned, this was the breakthrough single that the Bay city rollers had as it became a hit over there right when their earlier entry on this list managed to become a hit both there and in America where it became their sole Billboard chart topper. That said, these three entries will be the full extent of their representation on this side of the site given how unimpressed the kiwis were with them.
#4285
This was released in NZ around the same time that "Mississippi" began to catch on here in Australia, meaning that these guys already had two hits over there by the time they scored their one and only hit over here back in the day. While it remains the weakest of their four hits they had, it still managed to be a massive success for the Dutch band regardless.
#4284
Although their earlier entry was a bigger success thank this debut single from Soul II soul was in NZ, it's worth noting that songs success did carry over to the 90's hence why it still has a much higher placement on this list even though this was mainly a success as a sleeper hit over there. It's also worth noting this song's popularity skyrocketed over there once their earlier entry was released as a single there.
#4283
This wound up being a decent sized hit for Terence Trent D'arby in NZ this year, somewhat confirming that "She kissed me" wasn't a fluke even if this was more in line with his 80's soul music rather than the rock and roll of that song. It would sadly be the final hit he would have before he officially faded into obscurity for good following a bizarre name change.
#4282
We have one more entry from Bic Runga on this side of mine, this time it's the third single from her magnum opus Beautiful collision which no doubt led to the album’s success over there despite it and the singles being a massive failure over here for her. Admittedly I wouldn't be talking about its success in Australia were it not for the fact that she already crossed over here with "Sway" five years prior.
#4281
I honestly would've thought that these guys would be much higher on the list given how both parties were way more popular in NZ than they were in Australia at this point in their respective careers, I guess the kiwis saw this for the gimmick that it was as opposed to us Aussies who thought this was one of the coolest things to happen at the time of its release.
#4280
These guys were on a roll when they released the title track to their second album even if it was more of a sleeper hit for them in their homeland than a mainstream hit. Again, I feel airplay is to blame for why this didn't get to the upper echelons of their charts given how little issues they had with scoring hits prior to the format being implemented on the main charts.
#4279
We have a second appearance from Suzi Quatro on this side of my site, you'd think that she would've dominated the first half of the decade in NZ just like she did here in Australia and the UK given how much the kiwis loved glam rock throughout the decade. Alas this wasn't the case as it appears they were as ignorant towards her earlier catalogue has her fellow Americans were.
#4278
This is the third and final entry from Babyface on this list, it was the lead single to his album the Day which got off to a rocky start when it quickly fell out of the charts the previous year when it was first released. It rebounded early this year which allowed it to be a shoe in for this list even though it was more of a sleeper hit over there compared to his native America.
#4277
If you're wondering why Barry Gibb is on the cover of this track (and indeed all throughout the marketing of Barbra's album of the same name) that's because this is a duet between the two artists despite it only officially being credited to her for whatever reason. It was a decent hit for them both in NZ and in America, although it bombed everywhere else in the world due to strong album sales.
#4276
This was the last hit that the Eagles managed to score before their infamous concert this year, I guess they were on a roll over in NZ given how this managed to be a sleeper hit over there. It somewhat boosted the sales of their album the Long run given how the title track was a bit of a disappointment over there despite it receiving tons of airplay on oldies stations to this day.
#4275
This was a hit twice in NZ, hence its placement on multiple lists despite it not peaking during the Christmas period of any given year. The first time was upon its initial release where it did reasonably well for Cypress hill whilst the second was when their album blew up over there due to the success of "I ain't going out like that" which firmly put the trio on the hip hop map with for kiwis.
#4274
While she didn't have six consecutive chart toppers in NZ like she did here in Australia, Delta Goodrem nonetheless was quite popular over there given how the title track to her debut album did fairly well in the lead up to the Christmas season over there. She has one more appearance on this side of my site with "Out of the blue," although "Not me not I" did come close to also making a second appearance.
#4273
This feels more like a success for the Cardigans than it does for Tom Jones in NZ given how the Welsh crooner hadn't had any success over there in a decade over there (two if you only count him as a lead artist.) It's hard to say why this took off over there, was it because of the Cardigans? Is it because it's a cover of a Talking heads track? Were the kiwis that nostalgic for Tom Jones? Your guess is as good as mine.
#4272
I guess Chicago had a harder time adapting to the MTV era as far as the kiwis were concerned given how much less popular this was over there compared to the rest of the world, this didn't even crack their top ten but managed to make it onto this list due to how long it stuck around their top twenty.
#4271
This was the Commodores second biggest hit in their native America behind "Three times a lady," although you wouldn't know that going through their catalogue in other countries given how this was only barely a success for them over in NZ. Admittedly this was the second single off their album Midnight magic and the lead single "Sail on" proved to be the big hit over there for them.
#4270
Here we are with the title track to RHCP's (then) most recent album for this list, like I said, it wasn't quite as big a hit over there as it was over here for them even though the kiwis had implemented airplay by this point in time which this song would’ve greatly benefitted from on our charts back in the day.
#4269
I've yet to see any of the Rocky films, however I have it on good authority that even the biggest diehard fan of Sylvester Stallone will tell you that the fifth entry is one of the worst films ever made. It seems the only redeeming quality about it is the theme song similar to how well received James Brown's song for the previous entry was also well received even by that film's biggest detractors.
#4268
This list honestly would’ve felt incomplete without the presence of this breakthrough single from Earth wind and fire from their greatest hits album, sure their two earlier entries on this list proved to be more popular, however there's little denying that this was the song that put the RNB group on the map outside of their native America.
#4267
We have another entry on here that would release on time in NZ and was a bit of a sleeper success over there as opposed to it being delayed over here in exchange for its success being more immediate when it did see the light of day here, I guess the kiwis were a bit more embarrassed with having this booty anthem being a huge success compared to us Aussies who clearly had no such shame.
#4266
I never understood why American dance acts had a hard time in finding success in their homeland, although this is one of the lucky few success stories even if it wound up being more successful in NZ albeit as more of a sleeper hit for the trio. Normally these American artists have their success in the UK or throughout Europe, however that wasn't the case for these guys.
#4265
This is the only success that the hip hop trio Organized noize was able to achieve during their brief time together, even then it was only due to it being yet another song from the lucrative soundtrack to the heist film Set it off which has multiple other tracks on this list already. Although the film was a box office success, it appears that the kiwis seemed to love the film more than anyone else in the world.
#4264
Betty Boo was on a roll when she released her second single in the southern hemisphere, indeed this only barely failed to appear on the Australian side of my site because it too was only a sleeper hit over here like it was in NZ for the English rapper. It turns out we Aussies are to blame for her dropping off the face of the earth as we cancelled her back in the day due to her lip synching on her tour here.
#4263
I did mention earlier that the release schedule for Prince's album 1999 was slightly different in NZ than it was here in Australia, meaning that this was pushed as the lead single over there whilst the title track was the follow up even though this came out the same time in both countries. As a result, it lasted quite a while longer over there, hence why it qualified for this list despite being a sleeper hit.
#4262
Even though this appears around the same place as it did on the Australian side of my site, I should point out that this wound up being a much bigger success in NZ than it was here due to it sticking around for much longer on the lower echelons of their charts. I think this is because it was chosen as the theme song to the Next karate kid which is how it became a huge success in America for Des'ree.
#4261
These guys really were the exception to the rule where east coast hip hop was unwelcomed in NZ throughout the 90's, here we have another entry from them which of course failed to find an audience amongst us Aussies given our allergic reaction to any sort of hip hop at the time. Their success was about on par with the likes of Cypress hill and Bone thugs n harmony as far as the kiwis were concerned.
#4260
It's a bit odd that Eternal's debut single "Stay" would be a bust for them in NZ and yet this single from their debut album managed to be a big hit for them over there, although this was admittedly one of their biggest hits in their native UK so perhaps the kiwis were simply following suit in making this their big hit. In a bizarre twist, they would be far more popular here in Australia as the decade went on.
#4259
This was an RNB ballad that managed to last for quite some time on the NZ charts back in the day, granted it was on the lower half of their charts, however it was quite lengthy which is how it managed to qualify on this list of mine. As far as I can tell, this was the only hit from the American soul singer anywhere in the world.
#4258
This is where it all began for Naughty by nature, naturally its success on Billboard made it a shoe in for success in NZ even if it was curiously a sleeper hit over there likely due to the kiwis vastly preferring west coast hip hop over its east coast counterpart. I guess they had to relent due to how incessantly catchy it is like the other hits they had throughout the decade.
#4257
I guess the kiwis were also fans of this one and only hit from Pete Shelley back in the day, although it was noticeably less successful over there than it was over here likely through a combination of them finding it more annoying than us Aussies and not getting into the bizarre music video like we did.
#4256
While this wasn't as popular in NZ as it was here in Australia, it appears the kiwis were also on board with having Jimmy Barnes release covers of Motown classics which would be further incentive for him to do just that with his Soul deep project from 1991.
#4255
If you're an R Kelly fan, you'll likely recognise these guys as his backing band when he broke through earlier in the decade with "She's got that vibe." Even though he had long since moved on from these guys to bigger and better things, they managed to have a surprise hit in NZ and their native America with this ballad which helped them establish a name for themselves away from the controversial RNB singer.
#4254
This was the first big hit that Herbs had in their homeland, Herbs of course being the band who collaborated with Dave Dobbyn's one and only hit here in Australia later in the decade. They were much more popular over there for two reasons, the first was they were a Maoris band and the second was that they used reggae in their sound.
#4253
Here's that live album from Cheap trick I mentioned earlier on this list, indeed it had a bit of a slow start to its success over there given how it became a surprise hit in their native America around the time Bob Dylan released his live album capturing his greatest moments of his performance at Budokan this year. It finally peaked in popularity when their earlier entry on this list became an instant success in NZ.
#4252
It looks like the kiwis weren't big fans of the South park episodes that parodies Live aid given how much less successful the soundtrack tie in to that episode was over there, heck the standout track "Chocolate salty balls" didn't even chart over there like it did here and in the UK, suggesting the kiwis were a bit too chased to allow this to be a cultural phenomenon upon its initial release.
#4251
I wasn't expecting to feature a neo country album on this list given how much less popular country was in NZ even compared to Australia where it was fairly unpopular, I'm guessing this entry from the Mavericks appealed to the kiwis due to the success of Shania Twain's entry from the top of this list as a male counterpart.
#4250
We looked at their third album on the Australian side of my site, time now to look at the debut album from Bond which was a decent success for them over in NZ as well as it being a minor hit here in Australia (too minor to appear on that side of my site unfortunately.) Sadly, the kiwis didn't keep them around any further in the decade as Classified didn't even chart over there.
#4249
I feel this was only a success for Britney in NZ due to the strength of its second single, that's why I believe that her earlier entry on this list was her true comeback over in NZ even if this did revive her popularity with the kiwis after seven years of nothing (save for "Toxic" being a massive hit of course.)
#4248
We have one more greatest hits package to feature from UB40 on my site, indeed the kiwis couldn't get enough of these guys even though they've had almost as many of these albums as they've had studio albums on here at this point.
#4247
Although this charted higher in NZ than it did here in Australia, this ultimately proved to be far less popular over there than it was over here likely due to the kiwis not being on board with Bjork's brand of alt pop like we Aussies were. Indeed, she never had a hit single over there like she did over here which further confirms this theory I have.
#4246
How about this? I'm featuring an E.P on a singles list this far into my site. Here we are with Gin Wigmore's debut E.P which became a huge sleeper hit for her in her homeland through the strength of its standout track "Under my skin" which I'm guessing was a massive radio staple over there upon its release. Although she never charted here in Australia, there was interest in making her a household name due to her success in her homeland.
#4245
OK so it turns out there was one song from Gwen Stefani that saw way more success in NZ than it did here in Australia, that being the fourth single from her solo debut which managed to greatly benefit from airplay over there as opposed to over here where it was a "fan single" and thus ineligible to appear on that side of my site despite cracking our top ten. This briefly restored faith among her No doubt fans given how similar it is to her bands older work.
#4244
It appears the kiwis allowed Soulja boy to have a hit between his two earlier entries on this list as he scored success over there with a song about what a girl would be like if she happened to get with him, or at least I think that's what's going on here as like many other listeners, I don't tend to find his lyricism particularly noteworthy on his songs.
#4243
This is Michael Bolton's biggest hit in NZ, it's odd that all of his songs were more sleeper hits than anything over there given how inescapable his songs were internationally. Heck even his albums were more sleeper hits than anything even if they did do better than his singles, I guess the kiwis were simply ahead of the curb in identifying this man as lame (at least in mainstream circles.)
#4242
Much like a lot of RNB and hip hop tracks this decade, this was released much sooner in NZ than it was here in Australia with the obvious trade-off being that it wound up being more successful here than it was over there for TQ. You'd think this guy would've had more success in either country given how this was among the mellower hip hop tracks of its time, alas you'd be wrong.
#4241
I guess the kiwis weren't as fooled with Mark Wahlberg's foray into hip hop as the rest of the world was given how much less successful this was compared to everywhere else in the world, although even they couldn't resist the chorus from Loleatta Holloway which is why it managed to be a moderate hit over there for the future Hollywood heavyweight.
#4240
This is the only hit that Digable planets managed to achieve both in NZ and their native America (again, what's with that weird band name?) This is an interesting sub-genre of hip hop as it includes jazz elements which I'll be honest, I'm very unfamiliar with as hip hop doesn't tend to be as classy with its production as it is on this track.
#4239
It appears that Redhead kingpin was able to score one final hit over in NZ with the lead single to his second album, I guess the kiwis felt he was enough of a legit east coast rapper to give him further success even if there were unfavourable comparisons, they made between him and MC Hammer at the time.
*Apologies for lack of single art, this is "3 2 1 pump" if you couldn't tell from my commentary*
#4238
One of the more popular TV shows of the decade was Hill Street blues, it was a detective series about a pair of cops solving crimes that was a big hit with audiences back in the day. Nowadays it's best known for its theme song which was a huge hit over in NZ this year likely due to how iconic the kiwis felt it was back in the day.
#4237
In a strange coincidence, this managed to be a success in NZ and even fell off their charts before "Ghostbusters" from Ray Parker Jr ever touched their charts, meaning that the kiwis were fully aware of how that song ripped this off musically as opposed to the rest of the world where this song underperformed in their mainstream.
#4236
We have one final entry from Kris Kross to feature on this site, this time it's the lead single to their second album which managed to become a decent hit in NZ as well as their native America this year. Naturally this saw the duo mature from their previous material as they went through their puberty, which likely explains why it wasn't as big as "Jump" or "Warm it up" as the change in direction was noticeable.
#4235
Even though they didn't see any prior success in NZ with their earlier work, this lead single to the Rockmelon's second album was released the same time over there as it was over here even if it had all of its success confided to this year as opposed to having its success stretched out to the following year down under. I guess the kiwis were really hungry for covers of Bill Withers catalogue if this was the case.
#4234
This was one of two big hits that the Blow monkeys had in NZ, indeed this was also a minor hit here in Australia this year but too minor to appear on that side of my site like it does here. This is further proof that the kiwis had welcomed sophistopop with open arms this year given how it had no trouble finding an audience with all of the competition we've looked at so far on this list.
#4233
It figures that the duo's biggest hit here in Australia would be their weakest over in NZ, or rather it would be had that honour not gone to "All or nothing" which debuted at number one on their singles charts only to immediately drop off the charts likely due to the rumours of their scandal growing exponentially when it was released as a single worldwide.
#4232
From what I can gather, Patti Austin was a client of Quincy Jones (you can tell if you look closely enough at the cover of her big hit) that managed to score a Billboard chart topper with this collaboration with James Ingram who was another artist who found much more success in his native America than he did internationally. This only barely makes the cut due to it being a sleeper hit over in NZ this year.
#4231
I get the feeling if east coast hip hop would've been all the rage in NZ, then Busta Rhymes would've had far more success over there than he got, as is, he did decently well starting with this breakthrough single of his which was also a big deal in his native America this year. He would score further success in both countries as the decade went on even though many consider this to be his best song of the 90's.
#4230
This was the second and final hit that Pato Banton was able to score in his career throughout the world, this time we have a straight cover of a Young Rascals track as opposed to him interpolating a track from the Equals like he did two years prior with his other big hit. Naturally this was at its most popular in NZ given how the kiwis were still in love with reggae during this point in time.
#4229
It appears the kiwis were bigger fans of this theme to the first Spiderman flick than us Aussies were given how it managed to appear much higher on this side of my site, this is taking into account that Nickelback weren't as popular over there around this time as they were over here and that no one knew who Saliva or the frontman of that band was when this was initially released.
#4228
Well, this is a song that I'm sure has never caused any controversies over the years, OK putting aside it's title, this song has been nothing but controversial in the mainstream from its lyrics to the video which is definitely not safe for work to talk about (let alone show.) It was a huge worldwide success for the band due to the controversy, although it only managed to appear on the NZ side of this site.
#4227
I really wasn't expecting to feature Anthrax on this site given how they're about as far away you can get from commercially accessible music (especially for the early 90's) however it appears the kiwis were big fans of their collaboration with Chuck D from Public Enemy (hey that rhymes) which is likely the reason why Metallica didn't see much success with their sellout material over there this decade.
#4226
This was the first hit that Roxy music had following their reformation the previous year, it's interesting to note that this was a massive hit over in NZ and not here in Australia given how lead singer Bryan Ferry was one of the biggest artists of the decade over here and was virtually a nobody over there with his solo material. Admittedly this was the only hit of theirs that was more popular in NZ than it was down under.
#4225
This was the final hit that the Carpenters had anywhere in the world, mainly because Karen would tragically die of anorexia the following year due to having an unhealthy eating lifestyle forced upon her which she was unable to recover from. It was another cover from the Marvelettes that the siblings made following their huge chart topper "Please Mr. postman" from almost a decade prior.
#4224
Given how popular Britpop had become throughout the rest of the world this year, it only makes sense that Supergrass would see massive success with their second album even if for whatever reason that success was non-existent here in Australia back in the day. I'm guessing this would've been even bigger in NZ had the singles been released over there as this failed to produce a charting hit for the band.
#4223
This was released in NZ the same time it was here in Australia, although it didn't receive nearly as much success over there as it did over here likely due to the novelty of a Neighbours cast member dominating the music scene wearing off over there by the time it saw the light of day. Still, it did decently well given how the lead single was a genuine success with the kiwis.
#4222
This was slightly more popular in NZ than it was here in Australia, I guess Sade was able to recover over there following the disappointment of their second album Promise from three years prior. This feels like an inverse of their fortunes here in Australia given how popular that album was here upon its initial release.
#4221
This is a sequel to Neil Young's solo breakthrough Harvest from two decades prior, naturally it was a success in most parts of the world including NZ as it's able to make an appearance on my site because of how much the kiwis loved it this year. Curiously it bombed here in Australia, I guess we Aussies didn't have much nostalgia for Neil's catalogue around this time.
#4220
It makes sense this would also be a success in NZ just like it was here in Australia given how popular their world tour was this year; indeed, their next album would prove to be even bigger over there by the end of the decade which goes to show how much the kiwis loved these guys over us Aussies.
#4219
Although each of his studio albums were successful in NZ, the fact that they all failed to live up to the hype they had here in Australia over there goes to show how unimpressed the kiwis were with his catalogue by comparison. Admittedly this could be due to them not buying music for their mothers like we Aussies do as KD Lang also saw a decline in popularity over there throughout the years.
#4218
It's strange that the lead single to this debut album from Edie Brickel would underperform worldwide back in the day considering how well it's endured on oldies stations to this day, although at least the album itself was a massive deal in NZ likely due to her being another entry into the female singer/songwriter camp that was experiencing quite a surge in popularity at the time over there.
#4217
Herbs were indeed one of the biggest bands of the 80's in NZ, so it makes sense that they would release a greatest hits package around this time when 80's nostalgia was at its peak worldwide to help fans relive the glory days of their success.
#4216
I'm a bit surprised this concept album wasn't as big in NZ as it was here in Australia, I'm guessing the kiwis only made it a success due to the standout track from Julie Covington being a chart topper over there like it was over here.
#4215
This was equally as popular in NZ as it was here in Australia for Michael Flateley, I'm slightly confused why though given how the riverdance craze was more of a thing here in Australia than it was over there.
#4214
I honestly would've thought this would be one of the biggest hits of the year in NZ given how this was inescapable on our airwaves here in Australia and that a combination of strong album sales plus Australian idol taking over our charts was why it wasn't any bigger down under. I guess the kiwis didn't find this as titillating as we Aussies did, although this was also the case for the song this samples back in the 70's.
#4213
Although neither of their hits from their second album managed to rise up to the ranks of those from their first album, Nesian Mystik was nonetheless able to score two big hits from said album over there with this being the first of them. I guess you can argue that this would've been even bigger were it not for all of the stiff competition it had with all of the other entries on this list.
#4212
File this in the increasingly large category of songs that were released on time in NZ that proved to be less popular than they were here in Australia, although admittedly this was more due to every song from the Spice girls being delayed after their debut single due to how long it took for "Say you'll be there" to see the light of day on our shelves.
#4211
Unlike here in Australia where the hits dried up for the Carpenters once Countdown launched this year, they kept on coming for them over in NZ likely due to the lack of competition the duo had over there with up-and-coming artists from the southern hemisphere. For what it's worth, they dominated both our charts during the first half of the decade with their ballads.
#4210
You better believe that a song with this as it's cover art managed to become a hit in NZ back in the day, in fact I don't know how the kiwis allowed this to be a hit given how it manages to appear on this list alongside so many other songs that aren't this blatantly vulgar. Suffice to say, this was the Dead Kennedy's only hit anywhere in the world due to the vulgarity of their music not being well received in the mainstream.
#4209
This might seem a bit low on this list given how inescapably popular it was upon its initial release back in the day, alas it was only inescapable in the UK as the rest of the world was a bit wary of making this duet between opera singers Elaine Paige and Barbrara Dickson a huge success back in the day. It was a huge hit in NZ, although it was a sleeper hit hence why it's so low on this list.
#4208
This was released much sooner in NZ than it was here in Australia, although the law of averages take place here which is that a song that was delayed in a country would find more success in that country than they did in a country where it was released on time. I guess there's also the fact that these guys were a tad late to the boy band wars for the gimmick of playing their own instruments to matter over there.
#4207
These guys were on a roll as they released the lead single to their third and final album this year, it wouldn't be the biggest hit from said album as that would come the following year with "Magic" but this was nonetheless big enough to convince Dave Dobbyn to embark on a solo career once the album cycle came to an end.
#4206
This was the only hit that Robert Plant was able to score as a solo artist throughout his career, although it's worth noting that he achieved massive success as the lead singer of Led zeppelin during their heyday and would even score another hit as the main front man of the Honeydrippers two years later.
#4205
We have another reappearance of Hot chocolate on this side of my site, this time it's this RNB classic which the kiwis appeared to love just as much as we Aussies did back in the day even though it had far fewer competition over there than it did over here. Indeed, this was the only track from the band to have equal amounts of success in both countries despite it being among their less catchy numbers.
#4204
It looked like there wouldn't be another Traveling Wilburys album following the tragic death of Roy Orbison shortly after they released their first album two years prior, however the remaining members decided to make a second album which included this track they released in aid of the Romanian Angel Appeal. This was a charity which helped the children of Romania that I'm sure was a factor in its success in NZ.
#4203
Rick Astley really did get the short end of the stick in NZ compared to what he achieved here and in his native UK, this title track was a big hit over there, however it was far less popular than it was throughout the rest of the world which somewhat surprises me given how it wasn't even like the album was any bigger over there to compensate for this.
#4202
It's hard to believe that these guys began their career as a legitimate west coast hip hop trio rather than a pop friendly hip hop group that's best known for their female vocalist who wasn't originally part of the group, although they did score their first hit with a female vocalist as Macy Gray is on here to provide the trio with a chorus to connect their verses together that appealed to the kiwis this year.
#4201
This will be the only song from Nik Kershaw that will appear on this side of my site as he unfortunately didn't have much success in NZ like he did here in Australia and his native UK, although it's worth noting that this at least did far better over there than it did over here likely due to them being amused by the music video where the director predicts Jim Carrey's performance as the Riddler a decade before it happened.
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