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.
#2000
This soundtrack wasn't quite as successful for Madonna over in NZ as it was here in Australia, I'm guessing because the kiwis weren't as into the music from Dick Tracy as we Aussies were which admittedly is fair enough as it's essentially a vaudeville album from Madonna as delivered as her character in the film Breathless Mahone.
#1999
Rod Stewart's Motown albums this decade have had varying degrees of success throughout the world, the kiwis didn't seem to be that impressed with any of them save for this album at the very end of the decade likely due to the nostalgia circuit still being in full swing as the 00's became the 2010's worldwide.
#1998
This was another success for Pink Floyd in NZ this year, the top entry on this list was their 1973 effort, so it was inevitable that this would make a reappearance on this side of my site.
#1997
There's little surprise that this was more popular in NZ than it was here in Australia for Ben Harper, between the nostalgia bug kicking in much sooner over there than it did over here (given how he wanted to be the then modern Jimi Hendrix) as well as how much more popular he was over there overall.
#1996
This was eventually a hit here in Australia for Steely Dan; however, it was one of those cases where it continuously charted in the lower half of our charts during the height of their popularity which prevented it from being appearing on the Australian side of my site. It was much more of an immediate success in NZ due to them being very popular over there as we'll see the further back in the decade we go.
#1995
This was the final hit that Ciara had in NZ as was the case everywhere else in the world, I guess like many rock legends of the decade, she too was barred from finding any success throughout the 2010's likely in favour of not being able to compete with the club boom that exploded this year. JT would also struggle for mainstream relevancy after this; however, he did score the occasional hit here and there.
#1994
If the singer on this track sounds familiar to you, that's because this is the debut single from Robin Thicke who went by his surname when his first broke through into the music industry with this song that samples "A fifth of Beethoven" from Walter Murphy (which in turns was a remix of Beethoven's "Symphony no 5.") This was a minor hit here in Australia, although too minor to appear on that side of my site.
#1993
There were no signs of Bic Runga slowing down in her homeland this year as the second single from her highly acclaimed album Beautiful collision proved to be a massive success for her over there, it makes you wonder why she was unable to have some of this success translate over to Australia given how both entries on from the album were bigger hits over there than her big hit over here "Sway."
#1992
This was also a massive hit for Elton John from the Lion king soundtrack, arguably more so than what it was here in Australia as it remained in the upper echelons of their charts much longer than it did down under. As I said in the Australian side of this site, were Diana still alive even into the new millennium, this would've been the English piano man's final hit anywhere in the world.
#1991
Donna Summer didn't have as much success in NZ as she did in Australia throughout the decade, I bring this up because you're going to see much more women of colour appear on these lists the further back we go in the 70's compared to the Australian side of my site. This huge chart topper she had in Australia and her native America was only a mere big top ten hit for here over there for some reason.
#1990
I have no idea why this song from Tom Petty flopped here in Australia back in the day, heck the album did alright down under so it's not like we Aussies didn't know who he was when it was first released as a single. Fortunately, the kiwis made it a huge hit for the heartland rocker which allows me to include one of his most iconic songs on this site of mine.
#1989
For whatever reason, this cover of the MJ classic from 1988 wasn't as big a hit for Alien ant farm in NZ as it was everywhere else in the world given how much lower it appears on this list compared to the Australian equivalent. I guess the kiwis made up for this blunder later in the decade by giving the band a second hit over there that wasn't a hit anywhere else in the world.
#1988
I guess the kiwis really didn't like the Streets of fire theme that Dan Hartman had a hit within Australia five years after he first broke through with this disco classic, although it doesn't escape my notice that this was a much bigger hit for him over there than it was over here which should tell you what the kiwis were looking for from the closeted LGBT singer.
#1987
This was the second TV theme to make it big in NZ this year, this time it was for the Australian series Prisoner which had begun airing over there this year hence why this ballad from Lynne Hamilton became a huge success this year two years after its initial release down under.
#1986
Interestingly, this was Bette Midler's biggest hit in NZ until "From a distance" claimed that title in the early 90's, meaning that this cover of the Rolling stones track from their 1978 album Some girls was bigger than some of her more iconic songs over there including "The rose" and even "Wind beneath my wings." I guess the kiwis really liked her take on the Rolling Stones track if this was the case.
#1985
This was an excellent year for TV themes in NZ as this was the first of three to make it big over there, it was also the biggest likely due to it coming from a highly popular British crime show at the time known as Minder. This appeared on my 1983 list on the Australian side of my site, I guess we Aussies were slow in making this a success for the shows star Dennis Waterman.
#1984
This was a massive hit for Alison Moyet this year in NZ as well as the previous year in her native UK, it appears the kiwis and her fellow Brits were still in love with her vocals as she continued in her sophistopop direction with her second album. She managed to score a second hit later in the year with "Weak in the presence of beauty" which we'll be looking at much later on this list.
#1983
It looks like the kiwis were more on board with the Brothers Gibb switching over to disco this year than we Aussies were, then again it wasn't until the Saturday night fever soundtrack when we Aussies were finally OK with them hopping on the disco bandwagon considering how their first two disco albums underperformed here back in the day.
#1982
Brooke Fraser was on a roll with her debut album as she managed to score a second hit from it which no doubt helped it become a massive success in her homeland thanks to how wise she sounded on each of her singles from the album. It's little wonder she was able to keep finding success throughout the decade over there whilst the likes of Avril Lavigne and Michelle Branch struggled.
#1981
It pains me to say that the Four tops didn't have any success in NZ during the Listener charts (they may have had success earlier than 1966 but I can't say because I don't have any information on charts prior to that over there.) I bring this up because this makes it their only hit over there during their entire career that I'm aware of, which of course is yet another disco track during the height of the disco backlash.
#1980
Unlike here in Australia where it was obvious that both versions of this track charted back in the day for J-Lo due to the "remix" causing the song to rise up on our charts the following year, it's hard to say which version was the big hit in NZ as its chart run over there suggests that only one of them was successful. I've included both versions on this list to ensure that the correct versions is represented regardless.
#1979
I guess the kiwis wanted to give a shout out to the Hispanic rappers this year as A.L.T managed to score a huge hit over there much sooner than he did here in Australia or anywhere else in the world. Admittedly this was a success largely due to the sample of the instrumental track from the 50's, however the rhymes are a lot better on here than you would otherwise expect.
#1978
It seems odd that the two big hits these guys had in Australia would flop in NZ, mainly because they managed to score two big hits over there this decade that didn't exactly light up our charts back in the day. This was the first of those two big hits which was the lead single to their second album Vs, an album which would be the band's biggest in the southern hemisphere despite their debut being their signature release.
#1977
This was a huge success for Frente over in NZ this year, likely because there were a ton of Australian bands and artists making it big around this time and that there was bound to be some crossover appeal for some of the bigger artists over there. Indeed, this was a shoe in for crossover success due to how cute and fun the track remains to this day, although they would change this image with their later material.
#1976
This was an even bigger hit for Jon English in NZ, likely due to the success of the miniseries it was written for which also happens to star him in the lead role. I'm guessing the show was that much of a success in both countries that it was broadcasted throughout Europe where the song also became a hit for him.
#1975
It's interesting that this song would be a massive hit for the teenage singer/songwriter K'lee given how the original from Mr. Mister was never a success over in NZ back in the day like it was internationally, then again, it did chart over there so perhaps she came across it one day and decided to make it her own fifteen years after the original's release.
#1974
Even though this didn't last as long on the NZ charts as it did here in Australia, this debut album from Culture Club managed to be more of an immediate success over there likely due to the success of its lead single which perhaps explains why this didn't stick around when they released their second album from earlier on this list.
#1973
I guess the Jam did have some moderate success earlier in the decade in the southern hemisphere, so I shouldn't be too surprised that Paul Weller's second band the Style Council saw massive success in NZ with their second album. Admittedly it was set to be a minor success but rebounded when the second single became a huge hit over there for the band.
#1972
Unlike here in Australia where this was more of a sleeper hit for Tina Turner due the surprise success of the third single, this was more of an immediate success for her in NZ due to the lead single being one of her bigger hits over there. Her third album of the decade was a huge flop over there likely due to the lead single failing to catch on with the kiwis.
#1971
While it didn't quite make it to the top of the charts in NZ, it was close enough that the album warranted such an arrogant title over there given how Van Morrison was still able to find success in certain parts of the world over thirty years into his career.
#1970
This was also a success for Pink Floyd over in NZ, regardless of what was going on behind the scenes at the time, there's no denying that this was more of what the fans wanted from the band and that they were going to make it a success for them regardless.
#1969
This was Donna Summer's only successful album in NZ (not counting her greatest hits package of course) naturally it was the one which depicted her as a sex worker on the cover as well as some of the track referencing her as such including the two big hits from the album. While you could argue the pros and cons of marketing her as such (though not on this site if you don't mind) it led to her becoming a devoted Christian in the 80's because of the backlash she received from religious groups.
#1968
This was a massive success for Barry White this year in NZ, similar to how a slightly different greatest hits package would be a success for him here in Australia the following year. Barry wouldn't pass away until 2003, so I'm not entirely sure why there was a sudden rush to appreciate his music at the turn of the millennium in the southern hemisphere.
#1967
While the popularity of Tool did die down in NZ like it did here in Australia, it obviously wasn't to the same extent as this album managed to have a higher placement on this list despite charting lower over there than it did over here.
#1966
This was another successful rock album to make it big as the decade was coming to a close in NZ, it was the debut album for indie band Midnight youth who made a massive splash in their homeland thanks to how they managed to connect with their local alternative scene upon its release. This is another band I feel would've thrived in the 2010's had rock not become so unpopular.
#1965
This was a huge flop here in Australia, although I could say the same for many of the new entries from these greatest hits albums that have appeared on this side of my site, suggesting the kiwis were much more nostalgic for older artists around this time than we Aussies were.
#1964
Well in case you felt these guys weren't that successful in NZ, I'm here to tell you otherwise as this follow up to their previous album was a massive success for the band likely due to the lead single becoming their biggest hit over there in their career. They would continue to have success in NZ all throughout the 80's, proving how much the kiwis loved the Scottish band more than anyone else in the world.
#1963
This will be the first of two appearances from the Game on this list, both of which has his former mentor 50 Cent provide a guest verse for him which no doubt allowed both of these songs to see a massive worldwide audience from those who made the older rapper's debut album from two years prior a huge success. This no doubt also led to the success of the Game's own album this year for better or worse.
#1962
I don't think anyone was expecting to see a song calling out domestic violence appear on this list, that was the subject matter for this one and only hit from the Red Jumpsuit apparatus who scored a massive hit in NZ with this track as well as having it be a modest success in their native America. I'm not sure why this didn't even chart here in Australia other than its subject matter being a bit too heavy for us Aussies.
#1961
Much like here in Australia, this was the final hit that Madonna had in her career as even the kiwis couldn't get on board with the meme tracks she would release throughout the 2010's, although JT would continue to score hits over there for the remainder of the decade given how he had become an in demand featured artist much like another Justin would throughout the 2010's.
#1960
This proved to be much less successful for Kanye West in NZ than it was here in Australia, I'm guessing because the kiwis weren't familiar with the sample he used given how Daft Punk went largely unnoticed over there compared to over here where they had a good run in our mainstream. It was a hit regardless for him over there, although it wasn't the success that his earlier hit "Gold digger" was.
#1959
One of the leading forces in NZ music existing the 00's was Kids of 88, at least you'd think they would be one of the hottest names of the 2010's given how popular their debut single was over there to the point where it sparked international interest in the duo. Alas, they were a rock band (well more accurately, an electronic rock band) meaning their popularity died out in the new decade.
#1958
It looked like NZ Idol was about to take the kiwis by storm given how the runner up to its first season Michael Murphy also managed to achieve a huge hit from the series similar to how Shannon Noll scored a massive hit in Australia despite losing out to Guy Sebastian from earlier on this list. Alas, Michael also failed to retain his popularity in his homeland as he remains a one hit wonder with this track.
#1957
While we Aussies were certainly familiar with this novelty track from the British duo Black lace, we didn't allow to become too big of a hit for them here like it was in NZ and especially their native UK likely due to it being one of those novelty tracks that music afficionados love to hate on even before the existence of the internet.
#1956
This proved to be equally as popular in NZ as it did here in Australia, although it's worth noting that despite it failing to crack their top five, this was the biggest hit that Five had on their second album over there due to it having much less competition going into the new millennium than what the lead single from the previous year had. This was also their final hit over there as they didn't score any more hits after this.
#1955
Some of these new entries on this list only barely missed the cut on making it on the Australian side of my site, I can tell you now that I can extend these lists to a top 500 and this iconic entry from the Eagles still wouldn't make the cut because that's how much of a failure it was here in Australia back in the day. Fortunately, it was a massive hit in NZ, which is why it gets its day in court on my site.
#1954
This was another huge hit that the Pointer sisters had in NZ, although it's worth noting that it was equally as successful over there as it was over here this year, meaning that the kiwis no longer had an advantage over us when it came to making these women popular back in the day. Indeed only "Jump" and maybe "Automatic" would be more successful over there in their catalogue after this year.
#1953
This was slightly more popular in NZ than it was here in Australia, mainly because in addition to charting better over there than it did over here, it also had stiffer competition from many of the entries that outrank it on this list. With that said, his popularity wouldn't peak anywhere in the world until his next album Confessions, specifically with all of the hit singles it managed to spawn.
#1952
I don't think there's a single song that Mariah Carey released in the 90's that wasn't more of a success in NZ than it was here in Australia, this fourth single from Music box is no exception as it was an easy top ten hit over there again due to the kiwis not allowing highly successful albums to impact the success of popular songs back in the day.
#1951
Even without the flashy music video, this still managed to be an even bigger success for Duran Duran over in NZ than it was here in Australia, then again, they were more popular over there overall with some very few exceptions so I shouldn't be surprised what was bigger over there compared to here and vice versa. I would've thought this would be a shoe in for their third album, however it was a track from the American release of their debut album.
#1950
This needed some convincing from the kiwis to become a hit given how slow it was to reach the upper echelons of the charts over there, I guess once they saw it would be one of the biggest hits of the decade here in Australia, they capitulated and allowed this bombastic track from one of the shorter-lived new wave bands to become a success there. This was their one and only hit over there for the record.
#1949
It appears Elton John gave Blue his full blessing when they decided to record one of his more poignant tracks from the 70's, so much so that he even agreed to rerecord the chorus on the track to give off the impression that he was duetting with them which does admittedly bring a queer element to this cover that wasn't present on the original. Naturally this wasn't a hit here in Australia given how Blue were yesterday's news here by this point.
#1948
This is a song that only barely missed the cut from appearing on the Australian side of my site, likely because we Aussies passed up the songs from Alicia Key's debut album in favour of buying the album itself this year. Fortunately, the kiwis have never allowed a successful album to affect the success of its singles, hence why this female empowerment ballad managed to be a massive success for her over there.
#1947
I promised myself I would remain nice on this site no matter how I feel about the songs in questions, as such we have this collaboration from two artists I really enjoy otherwise which became a huge success in NZ for reasons I'm sure made sense at the time, but I don't get nowadays.
#1946
This wasn't quite as inescapable in NZ as it was here in Australia for Shaggy, I'm guessing because the kiwis weren't as thrilled with the "Angel of the morning" sample that the track uses but it could also be them not being as impressed with Shaggy's comeback overall despite said comeback being released slightly earlier over there than it was over here.
#1945
Well, you don't have one of the biggest hits of all time in your homeland and remain a one hit wonder there like Dave Dobbyn was here in Australia with his earlier entry, so here's the second solo hit of his career which threatened to repeat the success of "Slice of heaven" but didn't quite live up to its dizzying success at the time. Both of these songs had fallen off the charts over there by the time his first hit was finally released down under.
#1944
This was slightly bigger over in NZ than it was here in Australia, mainly because it charted higher over there which gives you the impression that the Irish singer was poised for great things this decade over there given how this managed to break her through into the American market this year. Alas, this was also her only hit over there like it was in Australia and America, meaning those promises were empty.
#1943
I'm not even sure if Dionne Warwick had any success in NZ prior to this ballad, although at least it was a hit over in NZ slightly before it crossed over in Australia where she did have prior success to this ballad. Even though she's a woman of colour and this was the 80's, Dionne found more success here in Australia back in the day than she did in NZ for some reason.
#1942
This song from Mary J Blige was delayed a release over in NZ, this is a bit odd considering that A: it was usually us Aussies that delayed the release of an RNB track over the years and B: Mary already had minor success over there throughout the 90's which means the kiwis would already recognise her work prior to this Billboard chart topper of hers. Of course, this worked out for her over there given how much bigger it was compared to down under.
#1941
This was originally a hit for Mungo Jerry back in 1970, it remains a classic to this day due to the lyrics about spending a lazy day in the summer forgetting about your worries (basically "Hakuna Matata" but written by a hippy and not Elton John.) Shaggy covered the track for the lead single to his second album, recruiting singer Rayvon who would collaborate with him again for his big hit "Angel" in 2001.
#1940
There were no signs of Kenny Rogers slowing down anywhere in the world as this ballad of his managed to be a huge hit for him regardless of where in the world you're from. His popularity would die out later in the decade due to him being unable to adapt to the trends of MTV, although he lasted longer in the mainstream then you would otherwise expect.
#1939
While there have been many improvements on these rankings of mine from songs that could be considered to be among the most defining of the decade, this second single from Beyonce's solo debut was one of the few to actually fall in these rankings as it appears the kiwis weren't as impressed with this love ballad with Sean Paul as the rest of the world was. In fact, Sean Paul in general wasn't well received over there for some reason.
#1938
These guys were a two-hit wonder in NZ, although here they scored a hit with an RNB ballad meaning they were one of many groups to combine hip hop with RNB throughout the decade. As this was a huge hit for the group over there, you can be rest assured that their big hit from Australia "White men can't jump" was a massive success over there the following year from the film of the same name.
#1937
If we were going by the Listener charts, this would've been a number one hit for Elton John, instead it only made it to number two in NZ which should give you an idea of the different demographics that the Listener charts and RIANZ had back in the day. Either way, this was still a massive hit for the British piano man this year, definitely much more so than it was here in Australia.
#1936
Timex social club are known for being the sister band for Club Nouveau, I bring this up because the success of this song no doubt led to the success of the latter band's cover of "Lean on me" the following year worldwide. I know the two songs have very little in common with each other, this being a fast-paced track about the dangers of spreading rumours whilst the other being a reggae cover of a song about putting your trust in the narrator.
#1935
I'm a bit surprised this wasn't even bigger in NZ than it was here in Australia given how much of a winning streak AC/DC were on over there compared to over here, at least it spawned a minor hit with its lead single even if it was likely more due to nostalgia than anything else.
#1934
This was a very successful decade for Pat Benatar in NZ, so much so that the inclusion of this greatest hits package from her on this list shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. In fact, I still can't believe how much more successful she was in NZ than she was here in Australia, mainly because I would've thought she'd be inescapable down under back in the day.
#1933
This was another huge success for the Rolling Stones in NZ like it was throughout the rest of the world, although it's worth noting that it didn't have that big hit over there with the title track like it did here in Australia and America despite it being a disco track.
#1932
While it wasn't as huge in NZ as it was here in Australia, this live album from Jimmy Barnes was a success over there which proves that the kiwis also felt he was a killer live act back in the day. It also managed to spawn a moderate success with his cover of a Percy Sledge classic, this being the incentive he needed to make his first Soul deep project in the new decade.
#1931
I guess I'm not surprised that this debut album from Sean Kingston managed to be a success in NZ given how it spawned multiple hits for him over there, that said I'm also not surprised this was a flop for him here in Australia given how the lead single from this album became an instant meme back in the day due to how many times the word "suicidal" is repeated in what's meant to be a love ballad.
#1930
This saw equal amounts of success in NZ as it did here in Australia, I guess it's fitting that the popularity of Bono and company had become more homogenised worldwide by this point in time given how they had become a legacy band by this point in their career despite still being able to compete with the hottest new names of the moment.
#1929
This was so much less successful in NZ than it was here in Australia, in fact after Shepherd moons, Enya's popularity over there was close to non-existent as this only qualified for this list due to it having a rebound early in the year which allowed it to rack up enough points to make it on this list.
#1928
Much like here in Australia, this album went completely ignored for almost two years before it finally became a success for the Fray this year despite the singles already picking up steam when audiences decided to check out where they came from. It was noticeably less successful over there than it was here, likely due to its failure to compete with the nostalgia circuit that was popping up over there.
#1927
Well, this was also the final successful album to come from the Rolling Stones in NZ, at least the lead single managed to make its mark on the mainstream with its bizarre music video (complete with some truly stilted animation from a future icon/creep in the animation world.) I also find it funny that this album's success came around the same time as the Whoopi Goldberg film Jumping jack flash.
#1926
There wasn't an EDM cover of the Beastie Boy's signature track to encourage the kiwis into checking out this album, instead it was a success over there due to the lead single being a genuine hit over there likely due to the crazy music video which played into the worlds increasing obsession with anime.
#1925
It's a bit of a surprise that this was a success over in NZ and not here in Australia given how immensely popular Bob Dylan was in both countries throughout the twentieth century, although admittedly his popularity was much bigger over there during the 80's even though people consider that to be the dark ages in his catalogue.
#1924
This was a live recording of Queen's performance at the Wembley stadium back in 1986 for their album A kind of magic, it wasn't released at the time likely due to the band being controversial for performing at Sun city when they weren't supposed to (and by that, I mean they legally weren't allowed to as were any western band or artist) but it finally saw the light of day this year due to Freddie's tragic passing.
#1923
It turns out Pat Benatar was another example of an international artist not having much success in Australia back in the day due to Countdown promoting local artists at their expense, she scored massive success over in NZ throughout the 80's with several of her albums including this third album which was arguably her biggest in her catalogue over there.
#1922
This was the first album to go to number one in NZ, meaning that it's possible that Bob Dylan had a ton of success over there during the first half of the decade. His popularity would've somewhat faded during the second half of the 70's if that was the case, however he was still a household name over there until the end of the decade.
#1921
Unlike in Australia where this was released specifically as the second single from Nelly's two albums Suit and Sweat, in NZ it was released simultaneously with "Over and over" which means the kiwis preferred this collaboration with Christina Aguilera than they did with his collaboration with Tim McGraw, showing the kind of music they wanted from the rapper/RNB singer from around this time.
#1920
This is the only version of the Alphaville classic to become popular in NZ, there was little surprise that it would crossover to NZ this year given how inescapably popular it was here in Australia for Youth group due to its overwhelming sense of nostalgia that connected with audiences upon its initial release. Naturally they remain a one hit wonder over there given how they failed to score a second hit over here as well.
#1919
It appears that the kiwis weren't quite ready to exile Chris Brown from their good graces following an infamous incident that occurred this year that I won't go into detail about, perhaps it was due to him expressing his love of the Transformers franchise with this track or maybe that it came complete with a guest verse from Lil Wayne or maybe another reason that I definitely won't share with my readers.
#1918
Even though this was the last hit that Evanescence had in NZ just like the rest of the world, at least it managed to be slightly bigger over there likely due to it heavily benefitting from their digital charts which had fully been incorporated by the time it was released as a single as opposed to here where they weren't. Although it was a massive disappointment, their second album still managed to acquire fans to this day.
#1917
This proved to be slightly more popular in NZ than it was here in Australia, likely because the album it was pulled from was always massively popular in both countries by the time it came out which of course affected its sales here in a way that it did over there. While it had nothing to do with its success in either country, the song is nowadays best known for its inclusion in the Garfield movie from this year.
#1916
It's only natural that this was more popular over in NZ than it was here in Australia for both women involved, although I still can't get over the fact that "Work it" was far less successful over there for Missy Elliott than it was over here given how the rapper broke through over there with her second single from the late 90's. Like the rest of the world, she wouldn't have another hit after this collaboration.
#1915
This is the first big hit that Hall and Oates had in NZ, this is surprising given how it barely qualified to be on the Australian side of my site making it one of their less popular hits back in the day down under. I guess the kiwis liked how bouncy this was without it coming off as too bombastic like some of their other hit singles.
#1914
This was the second single that UB40 scored a hit in NZ with, although here we have a cover of a Randy Newman track from the 60's which perhaps explains why it was only a hit in NZ and nowhere else in the world as only the kiwis would allow a reggae cover of a children's song to be a massive success.
#1913
It looks like Michael Nesmith was able to score a fourth single in NZ as this track managed to become a hit for him over there and nowhere else in the world. That was the case with his other three hits except they at least were big hits here in Australia, this wasn't the case for his fourth hit as we Aussies completely ignored this track this year.
#1912
While this was a hit here in Australia for Powderfinger, it was only a sleeper hit despite entering our charts in the top five (it quickly fell to the lower half of our charts.) I guess the kiwis were willing to allow this to be a hit over there this year in exchange for the album not being as successful as it was down under, although the album was a massive sleeper hit over there throughout the year.
#1911
Much like here in Australia, this disco inspired track from S club 7 was their final hit in NZ likely due to us Aussies and kiwis growing tired of their phenomenon both with their music and TV show. Depending on who you ask, this is either their best or worst song as those who love it feel it's an accurate recreation of the 70's disco scene whilst those who hate it feel that it's dated kitsch from a fad band.
#1910
There were no signs of these guys slowing down entering the new decade in NZ, sure we Aussies had already given up on them as we felt they had no chance in the boy band wars competing with the likes of Five and Human Nature, however the kiwis sure felt they did which is why they managed to score a string of hits during the first half of the decade with these types of ballads.
#1909
This was a husband-and-wife duo who began their careers as the lead vocalists from the band the Fifth dimension a decade prior, they had massive success with the band including here in Australia where they scored three hit singles. They left the band to start their own career which only had this Billboard chart topper as its only success, still they did better than most singers from highly successful bands.
#1908
Well, this guy was a one hit wonder in NZ like he was everywhere else in the world with this Billboard chart topper given how "Skinny girls" wasn't a hit over there like it was over here back in the day. At least this was much bigger over there to compensate for him not having a second hit.
#1907
Given how this managed to become a hit in America this year, it only seems fitting that this would be a huge success for Bonnie Tyler in NZ even if it didn't quite make it to number one over there like it did here in Australia. She was all set to become a one hit wonder in most parts of the world with this track, however she had other ideas which involved firing her management and working with Jim Steinman.
#1906
This turned out to be the biggest hit that Shania Twain had in NZ, I'm guessing it was due to A: airplay finally being a factor this year which further boosted the popularity of songs from highly successful albums and B: the kiwis embracing this as the (then) new female empowerment anthem going into the new millennium.
#1905
Even though this was released on time over in NZ, it appears that didn't do the song's popularity any favours over there it didn't become as popular as it was here in Australia where it was delayed in order to allow Guy Sebastian's earlier entry on this list to dominate our charts during the holiday season of 2003/2004. I guess the kiwis didn't find this haunting ballad as beautiful as we Aussies did.
#1904
I would've thought this would be an even bigger hit for Boyz II Men in NZ, I guess it did linger on their charts for quite some time at a time where songs would debut at number one only to quickly drop off the charts which is a neat compromise to now making it to number one over there. They would have two more hits this decade, the first was their earlier entry with Mariah Carey and the second would be from their third album.
#1903
To think that this becoming a surprise hit in Australia was what it took for NKOTB to find success outside their native America this year, granted this was a minor hit in NZ at first when it was initially released over there, however it skyrocketed up their charts when it became a number one hit here which encouraged the kiwis to almost have it repeat that success over there.
#1902
You'd think that "Buffalo stance" would be the big hit from Neneh Cherry this year in NZ, while that was a huge sleeper hit for her over there, it was this second single from her debut album that convinced the kiwis that the Swedish rapper was worth handing success to. Naturally she didn't have any success here in Australia until she moved more towards new age music in the 90's.
#1901
So, I bet you're wondering how this managed to become such a huge success for MJ despite coming from an album that was released nearly two years prior to its release, it turns out this was selected as the theme song to the film Free willy which is about a boy befriending a whale that was a box office success at the time. I guess we Aussies didn't like the film very much as it did nothing to allow this to chart over here.
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