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.
#1200
This wasn't quite as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia, or more accurately, it had stiffer competition over there with all of the entries we've looked at so far on this list given how the Foo fighters were not quite as legendary as some of the legends on this list but were also among the older artists compared to a lot of the newer names on this list.
#1199
I don't think many people cared about the fact that Martha Walsh from the Weather girls had been reduced to an anonymous vocalist for the likes of these guys and Black box, admittedly she did give compelling performances on each of these albums which no doubt fueled their respective success back in the day, but she obviously didn't think it was worth it which resulted in some ugly lawsuits from her.
#1198
Although Prince had success prior to this album in NZ, this was the album where he really took the world by storm largely thanks to the title track which curiously wasn't the lead single over in NZ like it was internationally. The kiwis went with "Little red corvette" as the lead single instead which is perhaps why the album performed even better over there despite the singles not being as big.
#1197
While it certainly wasn't as inescapable in NZ as it was here in Australia, this second album from Men at work was a success thanks to the singles being quirky enough to intrigue the kiwis into checking out what the band had to offer on this album. This didn't work out for them on their third album which caused them to break up a few years later.
#1196
I guess the kiwis weren't as interested in having Avril Lavigne transform herself from a voice of a generation into the type of mean girl that she rallied against on her first two albums as the rest of the world was given how much lower this lead single to her third album appears on this list compared to its Australian counterpart. At least they gave her one more hit after her debut album over there.
#1195
Well, this is going to be a fun entry, we have the one and only hit from the all-white hip hop group Young black teenagers. You've noticed that with some very few exceptions, music throughout the twentieth century was unproblematic in Australia and NZ. This is one of those rare exceptions for reasons that should be obvious.
#1194
Well, this is a surprise, we have a funk track from the Commodores about them wanting the perfect woman which they describe as a "brick house" (I guess this song was ahead of its time when it came to body positivity.) This and "Lady" from 1981 were the only upbeat tracks to become a success for the band, mainly because they didn't have Lionel Richie on lead vocals, it's another connection both songs have.
#1193
Naturally this was more of a success in NZ than it was here in Australia due to the lead singer being a kiwi himself, you'd think that these guys making it big in the southern hemisphere would've been enough of an encouragement to keep going as the decade went on especially due to the success of classical music this decade, but alas they called it quits due to their failure in their homeland.
#1192
This was another successful greatest hits package to bookend the 70's, although it didn't become a success in NZ until this year for Donna Summer likely because the lead single was included on Barbra Streisand's album which the kiwis didn't seem to like that much until this decade for some reason.
#1191
I'm not exactly sure how the kiwis came across these guys back in the day given how they weren't that successful in their native America around this time; however, they did which resulted in this album being a massive success for the band this year. Eventually this led to their second album being a minor success the following year and even had enough crossover appeal to become a minor success here in Australia as well.
#1190
I guess the hype for this concert in Central Park from Simon and Garfunkel wasn't met upon its initial release in NZ, although the kiwis likely realised how great it was eventually when it skyrocketed up the charts likely due to rumours that their reunion would be more permanent. Those rumours proved to be false due to the pair remembering why they couldn't stand each other.
#1189
You may have noticed that there's been a noticeable improvement with entries on this list that feel a bit leftfield of what was popular throughout the 00's, I'm guessing this was because physical sales was still rather strong in NZ during this point in time as opposed to them being rather weak here in Australia. This would explain why this victory album from Paul Potts managed to be much bigger over there than it was here.
#1188
Much like her earlier entry on this list, this wasn't quite as popular in NZ as it was here in Australia, again likely because the kiwis weren't as on board with her wishing she was in a Disney story as we Aussies and her fellow Americans were this year. Even though I haven't been that kind to her music on this site, I will say her attempts at being a Disney princess were far better than Disney's own attempts in recent years.
#1187
While I can't confirm it this is what happened, I'm willing to bet that this song was pulled from shelves here in Australia to encourage album sales for Songs about Jane given how quickly it fell from our charts once it reached its peak position over here. Naturally this wasn't the case in NZ where it was their biggest hit of the decade as well as their only reappearance on this side of my site from said decade.
#1186
This was the only and only hit that American girl group Cherish were able to achieve anywhere in the world including their native homeland, I'm guessing it was meant to be their attempts at breaking into the girl group phenomenon that was happening over in the UK with the likes of Atomic Kitten and the Sugababes given how this sounds like something the latter would've put out this year.
#1185
While her album Up failed to become a massive success over in NZ like it was here in Australia, at least the lead single managed to become a hit over there despite it failing to do so over here which I'm sure was a bit of a consolation for Shania Twain upon its initial release. The album has been described as uneasy by its fans as it tries to recreate the success of Come on over to mixed results.
#1184
This proved to be equally as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia, likely because the kiwis were also touched with this ode to Kelly's (and possibly Beyonce's) fallen friends and how she feels sorrowful about how they never managed to achieve their dreams like she ended up doing. Although she had other hits in her career over there, this is her only appearance on this side of my site as a lead artist.
#1183
This had a bit of a delay to its release over in NZ compared to here in Australia, I'm guessing because the lead single was performed here in Countdown which encouraged its earlier release here the previous year which enabled the duo to see crossover success with it and the album in the early months of this year.
#1182
Nowadays most people think of the Russian producer whenever they hear the name Zed (even though his name is spelt as Zedd) back in the day however, that was the name of a NZ alternative rock band who scored massive success with their debut album given how they were able to score a string of hits (some bigger than others) off the album before fading into obscurity as the decade went on.
#1181
I'm not sure if the Doobie Brothers had successful albums during the first half of the decade in NZ, what I do know is that their success over there was equal to that of what they achieved here in Australia beginning with this final album from them to have Tom Johnson on lead vocals.
#1180
I'm sure if the 90's wasn't all about breaking records on Billboard, then these guys would've had their success on time worldwide as opposed to their debut album needing that one in a million shot of taking off through word of mouth back in the day. Indeed, the band was also successful in NZ because of this tardy approach, and their second album would be a flop the following year due to how unconventional it was.
#1179
It looks like the kiwis were more on board with having white boy rapping in their mainstream this year given how much more successful this debut album from Wham was over there compared to what it was over here, although it could also be due to the singles not doing as well over there as they did over here which would explain the albums lack of success on our charts.
#1178
This was released slightly sooner in NZ than it was here in Australia, naturally it meant that it would be slightly more successful for Green day over there than it was over here also likely because "My happy ending" was a flop over there which meant there weren't any comparisons between the two songs. This led to the band having massive success with their album as well as their follow up later in the decade.
#1177
This is another song that was released around the time of MJ's death, meaning that its popularity was somewhat overshadowed at the time by the earth-shattering news which makes it a bittersweet hit for Linkin Park as this would be their final hit in most parts of the world for the band due to rock music being unwelcomed in the 2010's for some unfathomable reason.
#1176
Given how the digital charts were fully incorporated onto the NZ charts when this fourth and final single from BEP's Monkey business was released, it only seems natural that it found far more success over there than it did over here as from what I can gather, it was a huge hit on our digital charts prior to them being incorporated onto our main charts.
#1175
This proved to be equally as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia for Pitbull, meaning this was another case of the club boom homogenising the music scene from everywhere in the world given how many of these tracks were a hit regardless of where in the world you were from during the height of its popularity.
#1174
This wasn't as big a hit for PCD over in NZ as it was here in Australia, likely because it had stiffer competition when it was released over there compared to here in Australia where it dominated all the competition during its lengthy run at number one. For what it's worth, their next four singles proved to be more popular over there throughout the following year for the girls as well as their album.
#1173
I guess I was a little mean to this song on the Australian side of this site, after all, this was released during a time where comedy was far less sophisticated in the mainstream than what it's evolved to since. As such, it doesn't surprise me in the slightest that this was a massive success in NZ for D12 back in the day, more so than it was here because of the lack of competition it faced against Australian Idol over there.
#1172
This was a massive hit for the Nolans in NZ and their native UK, likely due to it being more in line with disco than their novelty pop from the following year that crossed over to Australia. Given how that was a hit in NZ also, this makes the Irish family group a two-hit wonder over there with both of these tracks.
#1171
One surprising fact I have for you is that throughout most of the 90's, the biggest names in music didn't manage to achieve a number on hit in NZ. I bring that up here because aside from his theme to the Kevin Costner adaptation of Robin Hood, Bryan Adams never had a chart topper in NZ despite having massive success over there with his ballads this decade.
#1170
To think that the only hit that Naughty by Nature had in Australia was with "Holiday" in 2000, a song that didn't even touch the charts in NZ or their native America. Seven years prior, they had a massive hit in both countries with this bop of a track, finally putting the east coast hip hop on the map as they would be major representatives of what the New Jersey scene would have to offer this decade.
#1169
While this was decently successful here in Australia because of its affiliation with Coyote Ugly, it was a mammoth success over in NZ despite the soundtrack to the film flopping over there compared to it being a massive success over there. I'm guessing this means that the kiwis made this a success due to it being from the post grunge genre which is what made Lifehouse and Creed a success worldwide.
#1168
This was Skyhook's only hit in NZ, you'd think they'd crossover with something like "Horror movie" or something from their second album, but instead it's with this track which was far from their biggest hit here in Australia. At least they had some success over in NZ, nowhere near as much as their main rivals Sherbet but it was better than nothing.
#1167
Although this wasn't the debut single from Supergroove (that honour goes to "Here comes the supergroove") this was the first big hit that the funk rock band from NZ had in their homeland which began the hype for their debut album which was effortlessly met once they released it the following year.
#1166
While this wasn't the first single that Ardijah released in their career, it was the song that made them a household name given how it was such a huge hit over there and even sparked interest here in Australia which they never ended up translating to success. Indeed, they would tour extensively here until they gave up and returned home where they saw a surprise comeback a decade after this big hit.
#1165
Although we'll be looking at the title track from Enrique second album he released in English later down this list, it's apparent that this was the big hit off the album given how much more popular it was over there compared to what he had released prior and certainly since. I guess the kiwis were more interested in listening to him serenate his longtime girlfriend than anything else he had to offer.
#1164
This was the only big hit that Raydio had in NZ, sure "You can't change that" was also a modest success over there the following year, however it didn't bring in the numbers over there like it did over here, so it missed the cut in making a second appearance on this site. For what it's worth, Ray Parker Jr also had less success over there than he did over here, so perhaps the kiwis just weren't that into his music.
#1163
Given how her earlier entry on this list was a massive success over in NZ, it only seems fitting that Dido was able to score a second hit over there given how this remains one of her most popular singles to this day and that it was a massive hit throughout Europe as well. This did chart here in Australia, although supposedly its success was taken away from it due to how strong the album sales were over here.
#1162
This was the biggest hit that Shaking Stevens had in NZ, it's curious because it was the weakest of the four hits he had here in Australia and yet his popularity over there wasn't an inverse of what it was over here. Another curious fact is that he never made it to number one over there despite arguably being bigger than he was here where he had two chart toppers.
#1161
Unlike here in Australia where these guys had a ton of hits, this was the only big hit that the Pretenders were able to score in NZ likely due to how iconic the melody has become since its initial release. At least they would have success with their fourth album later in the decade in lieu of its singles.
#1160
This had a similar story to its success in NZ that it did here in Australia, the main difference being that it managed to capture all of its success over there this year as opposed to it being spread out here this year and the following year. Other than that, this was the song that saved the album from being a flop worldwide.
#1159
Much like in Australia, this was a bit of a mini comeback for Abba as they were beginning to see diminishing returns following the success of their fourth album Arrival. Indeed, this was able to restore their popularity to their mid 70's status given how it was a huge number one hit for them over there
#1158
This was a massive hit for Jeff Healey and company in NZ this year, I'm guessing the kiwis really liked his performance in Road house even though the film was panned by critics for its confusing storyline. In any case, this was a one-off success for the band over there like it was everywhere else in the world likely due to the novelty of its success.
#1157
Given how Eminem's earlier entry on this list was equally as popular in NZ as it was here in Australia, it makes sense that his first album with his posse D12 would also be a success over there even if it also failed to produce a hit single for him over there like his earlier entry did. Much like the Eminem show, their next album would also not have any issues with giving the group some hits over there later in the decade.
#1156
I guess there was potential for Genesis to be a huge success with Peter Gabriel on lead vocals back in the day, that's the best explanation I have for the first album with Phil Collins on the vocals to be a huge success in NZ as I'm sure the kiwis would've heard about them prior to the change in singers.
#1155
This was the final album that Bob Marley released in his lifetime, much like the lead single, it was the second successful album he had in NZ meaning that the kiwis were likely going to make him a household name for many years to come had he lived to see the remainder of the 80's.
#1154
There was real hype for this concert that Simon and Garfunkel would give the following year in Central Park, naturally the kiwis were excited about it as they made this greatest hits package a success in its anticipation.
#1153
These guys had an amazing run throughout the decade in their homeland even though they failed to translate that success internationally (shame really) so it makes sense that a greatest hits package detailing how far they had come in ten years would be a massive success for the band when it was released.
#1152
Although it remains a polarising film to this day, few would argue that the soundtrack to Shark tale was a failure given how its lead single became a massive success for Christina Aguilera and Missy Higgins worldwide. It was a much bigger hit over in NZ largely due to it sticking around for much longer over there than it did over here, I'm guessing because it was a cover of a 70's classic that's fondly remembered to this day.
#1151
This was naturally more of a hit for T.I in NZ than it was over here in Australia, mainly because he was far more popular over there in general given how he's had several more entries as both a lead artist and featured artist on other people's tracks on this side of my site. The popularity he and JT had the following decade over there mirrored what they achieved over here.
#1150
It hadn't even been a year since this almost topped the NZ charts and yet it became a hit all over again in the new decade likely due to how funny the kiwis felt the track was. It's a rare example of a two-hit wonder where the artist scored a hit with the exact same song.
#1149
This was the first of a string of hits that Brooke Fraser was able to achieve in her homeland, no doubt because she got in during the height of female singer/songwriters in the mainstream worldwide and the kiwis being impressed with what she had to offer compared to her international counterparts.
#1148
This was the final hit that Bob Marley had in his lifetime in NZ, although considering he was able to score two gigantic hits over there as opposed to just the one here in Australia, I think it's safe to say the kiwis were on board with what he had to offer in his catalogue during his lifetime. This recharted later in the decade for some reason, I don't know why because it wasn't when he released his greatest hits album.
#1147
We Aussies were a little late to the party when it came to making this ballad from KC and the Sunshine band a success, likely because it was the rare ballad in their catalogue of otherwise upbeat disco jams. The kiwis were more punctual in making this a success over there proving they were on board with whatever these guys had to offer from the get-go.
#1146
Even though the album art suggests that this was released from Robbie's (then) latest album Sing when you're winning, that's only the case for the second single as "The road to Mandalay" was tagged onto "Eternity" in order for him to score a hit from an album that already produced three massive hits for him worldwide. It paid off as this double A-side was a massive success in NZ and his native UK.
#1145
If we're only taking into account songs that charted during the year of 1985, this was the biggest hit in NZ despite it not hitting number one. I felt I should bring that up because even in NZ where the charts are much tighter than here in Australia, number one wasn't always everything as evidence by the biggest hit being from Madonna who only had one chart topper this year with an entry we'll get to.
#1144
This was more of an immediate success in NZ than it was here in Australia, in fact I'm guessing this was a hit here in Australia because it was so inescapable in NZ which of course made it a hit in the UK but not in America because this was never released as a single over there. As such, Tragic kingdom was a huge worldwide success everywhere except for the band's homeland.
#1143
This was the main theme to Tim Burton's Batman film of this year, although calling it a theme is stretching it as it's really a collage of quotes from the film set to a backing beat with Prince occasionally singing over the instrumental. It was a massive hit for the Purple one likely due to the popularity of the film.
#1142
I mentioned on my 2001 list that the success these guys had over in NZ mirror what they achieved here in Australia, as such we have their second and final album making a reappearance on this list which became popular over there thanks to how inescapable Eminem was throughout the rest of the world.
#1141
This was a bit of a stumble for Billy Joel in NZ, I guess the kiwis weren't too interested in having him venture towards rock and roll like we Aussies were but were curious enough to make it a success regardless. I'm guessing it was this ambivalence towards him trying out rock that led to the failure of the Bridge over there later in the decade.
#1140
This is another greatest hits package that I'm surprised was a success in NZ considering its mediocre reception here in Australia, I guess the kiwis really wanted to atone for sleeping on the catalogue of Belinda Carlisle when this came out and we Aussies feeling we already knew her back catalogue resulting in its failure here.
#1139
Well, these guys were a killer band live, that in addition to how inescapable they were in NZ throughout the 80's meant that this live album would be a shoe in for the NZ side of my site.
#1138
For whatever reason, this greatest hits album from the start of the decade became a hit again in NZ this year, I'm not sure why as there hasn't been any news from Cat Stevens since he first released this album seven years prior.
#1137
Given how inescapable these guys were in NZ for their first album, you'd think this would've been a success over there upon its initial release from the previous year. You'd be wrong as much like here in Australia, this needed the assistance of Four weddings and a funeral of all things in order for it to become a success over there.
#1136
Although he never had as much success with his singles in NZ as he did in Australia, Ja Rule can at least take comfort knowing that his international breakthrough album managed to be more popular over there than it was over here back in the day. Indeed, I'm surprised he wasn't more popular with the kiwis even though he was an east coast rapper, I guess the kiwis weren't impressed with the "thugs need love too" phenomenon.
#1135
This was the last successful album that the Brothers Gibb had in NZ for nearly two decades, admittedly their next successful album in Australia was also Still waters, however they did have a mini comeback in 1987 when "You win again" became a surprise hit for them which isn't what happened over in NZ.
#1134
Much like in Australia, this album was released in NZ following the departure of Lindsey Buckingham during the end of their Tango in the night tour, this was to remind fans of big hits that the band had during what would be a tumultuous time they were about to have in their career.
#1133
If you're surprised at the lack of representation that Miley Cyrus has had on this side of my site, that's because she didn't have much success with her singles during the 00's in NZ compared to how big her albums were which was the opposite case here in Australia. For what it's worth, she would have more success with her singles over there throughout the 2010's like she did everywhere else in the world.
#1132
This is another entry whose placement on this list is a better representation to how popular it was here in Australia back in the day, although we could make the argument that it was because we Aussies checked out Confessions the album rather than its singles given the poor treatment of Usher's earlier entry on this list over here. Somehow, I doubt that's the case as the single managed to become a hit over here and not even chart over there.
#1131
Given how 50 cent achieved equal amounts of success in NZ with his first album as he did in Australia, it's a bit surprising to see him find more success with this lead single to his second album over there than he did over here. Granted, the NZ charts weren't nearly as chaotic this year as the Australian charts were, so this song's placement is more due to the lack of competition it had over there at the time.
#1130
While it was released the same time in NZ as it was here in Australia, this debut single from Chris Brown managed to be twice as successful over there as it was over here likely due to it being popular on their digital charts (I can't tell if it was popular in that regard here as there were no digital charts during its popularity on ARIA.) He did find more success with his debut album over there as a result of this song's popularity.
#1129
I forgot to mention on the Australian side of this site that this song was pulled from our shelves in order to encourage the success of Toni Braxton's third album, needless to say, it didn't work as the album was a huge flop for her worldwide likely due to this coming off as a poor man's Destiny's child track when the girl group were making it big with their second album. This obviously wasn't the case over in NZ where it saw massive uninterrupted success.
#1128
Given how Boyzone was suddenly one of the most successful bands in NZ this year, it only seems reasonable that Ronan Keating's theme from Notting Hill would be a massive success over there given how that movie was also rather popular as the decade was coming to an end. This also serves as the advanced single of his solo debut which wouldn't coming until the new year.
#1127
This was also a two for one deal in NZ like it was in Australia, although given how both songs were heavily marketed over there back in the day, they became much bigger hits and could even be considered two separate entries as they bounced in and out of the top twenty over there for several months.
#1126
At least this guy was able to achieve a massive hit in NZ back in the day, although he also remains a one hit wonder everywhere outside of his native Canada so that's not really much of a compliment all things considered. Still, this does remain a classic to this day, and hey the dance track from the 90's didn't even chart in NZ so they likely will only be familiar with this version over there.
#1125
It appears the kiwis were slightly more on board with making Andy Gibb a household name than we Aussies were, not by much as he only had two big hits over there as opposed to the three he had here, however both of these songs were quite big (the second one even bigger over there) and this one was released slightly sooner there than it was here.
#1124
Well, UB40 seemed to have been on top of the world as far as the kiwis were concerned, so of course their collaboration with Robert Palmer on this Bob Dylan cover would be a massive success for them much sooner than it was in Australia. I guess it was our love for Robert that allowed this to become a success here in Australia, although nowhere near as popular as it was over there.
#1123
One of the more promising bands from NZ to make it big at the start of the decade was Fur Patrol, mainly because they follow in the roots of No doubt and the Pretenders as a male band consisting of a female lead vocalist which no doubt helped them achieve their one and only hit with this gem. The album this came from also did reasonably well, however their subsequent material not so much.
#1122
This was a huge hit for the Marois born Deane Waretini, apparently, he was the son of a first nations person in NZ who was massively successful during the first half of the century over there.
#1121
This was a massive success in NZ for the short lived EDM group M/A/R/R/S (I have no idea why they stylised themselves with this name) I'm guessing because EDM in general was much bigger in NZ during the 80's which is weird because that was the genre of choice in Australia throughout the 90's.
#1120
Well, I guess the original version of this RNB classic from Earth wind and fire was a success in NZ in the early 80's, so it makes sense that this Australian RNB quartet would score massive success over there with their rendition of the track fifteen years later. The boys did score a second minor hit over there with "Hey girl" later in the year, a song we'll be looking at much later down this list.
#1119
The remaining four members of Westlife embarked on a tour during the early months of the year in NZ, the tour was named after their greatest hits package from earlier in the decade which meant that it was a massive success for the former boy band over there and (obviously) nowhere else in the world.
#1118
This was a solid introduction to the decade for the Pretenders, although unlike in Australia where they would have a healthy balance between the success of their albums and singles, in NZ they wouldn't trouble the charts again until their fourth album much later in the decade.
#1117
Well, it wasn't quite the enz of an era for Split enz in NZ as they would continue to have moderate success until the bitter end over there, however it was a clever name for a greatest hits album which I'm sure was a factor into why the album was such a huge success over there.
#1116
I think this is the only album to be a bigger success in NZ than it was in Australia despite its huge worldwide hit not being released as a single over there, this makes it one of the very few exceptions to the rule where not releasing a song as a single will result in the albums popularity declining in that environment. I guess it didn't do the Wallflowers any favours in the long run over there as they're still a one album wonder regardless.
#1115
Well, this album really feels low on this list, again it was massive success in NZ back in the day just not as big as its reputation will since have you believe. That said, the singles were definitely bigger over there likely due to the kiwis seemingly having a stronger alternative scene than us Aussies given how many rock bands found more success over there back in the day than they did over here.
#1114
It seems weird that this would be named after the biggest hit the Police had worldwide and yet Sting would only rerecord one of the songs for the album that wasn't their big Billboard chart topper for them. In any case, this album was a huge hit for the band after they broke up in NZ due to the popularity Sting was enjoying with his solo material around this time.
#1113
One of the biggest names of the decade in NZ was Hayley Westenra, she was a teenage opera singer who got her big break with this album over there thanks to opera music seeing a massive surge in popularity worldwide around the turn of the millennium. Her popularity over there would result in her seeing minor success here in Australia with her next album later in the decade.
#1112
I guess the kiwis were hoping for a reunion from Led Zeppelin as this greatest hits package managed to be a massive success for them this year as opposed to it being a modest success at best here in Australia upon its initial release. Alas there's still no signs of the band getting back together over forty years after they called it quits in 1980.
#1111
This is another song that was slightly less successful in NZ than it was here in Australia, I'm guessing because the kiwis were ready to move on from PCD given how their second album was far less popular over there than it was over here but found this remix of the theme to Slumdog millionaire too irresistible to make a clean getaway from the group.
#1110
Given how he managed to crossover to Australia with "Moonshine" (which we'll look at in a bit) it only makes sense that Savage would achieve multiple other hits in his homeland which began with his debut single that didn't do quite as well here in Australia as his other big hit. It turns out there's a version of this track with Soulja Boy that he released later in the decade to try and break into the American market.
#1109
While this was a bit late to the party in NZ for KC and the Sunshine Band, it was still a massive success for the band which was further proof that disco was still yet to be dead everywhere in the world except for America. There's a bit of minor controversy with the lyrics as they do seem a bit forward even with the implications of the person KC is hitting on wanting to be with someone for themselves.
#1108
I feel this theme from Bridget Jones diary was more a success in NZ due to the sudden rise in popularity Gabrielle had over there rather than it being from the critically acclaimed film, after all, Geri Halliwell failed to make a second appearance on this site with her cover of the Weather girls classic and that's often the song people think of when they think of the franchise. In any case, she's a two-hit wonder over there just like she is over here.
#1107
This was the only hit that Prince Tui Teka had in his homeland, although he was part of two bands who I guess did alright in the 50's and 60's so this was merely his only solo hit in his career. He would pass away later in the decade which would explain why he didn't have any further success after this.
#1106
Well I don't think anyone was expecting me to declare this as the biggest hit from Elton John of the 80's on the Australian side of this site, I get the feeling I'll get fewer objections on this side of the site given how this was such a massive hit for him upon its initial release over there as well as it being one of only three chart toppers he had over there throughout his entire career (at least on the RIANZ charts.)
#1105
Well as far as the rest of the world is concerned, this is the debut single from Crowded house which means it was the first song that they promoted which resulted in it being a massive worldwide success for the band despite it only being a moderate success here in Australia due to it being the fourth single from their album here.
#1104
This was an even bigger hit for both INXS and Jimmy Barnes back in the day in NZ than it was here in Australia, this was even before the song was chosen as the theme song to the cult classic the Lost boys as that film wouldn't come out until much later in the year. Both parties would continue to have success later in the year with their next respective albums.
#1103
This was one of only two hits that American singer Sybil had in NZ, although she would go on to have massive success later in the decade in the UK of all places for reasons I can't seem to fathom. This is a cover of the Dionne Warwick track from the early 60's, I'm not sure if this was bigger in NZ than the original since their charts don't go that far back and there's no retrospective archive available either.
#1102
This was an even bigger hit for the Promises over in NZ, again I have to assume it was due to that infamous wardrobe malfunction in the video which I'm sure gave the lyrics a whole new meaning that the trio never intended for back in the day. I stand by that this would've easily been able to crossover to America had MTV existed around the time the band were still a unit.
#1101
While this wasn't the biggest hit that Ace of Base had in NZ, it was their highest charting single as this got to number one whilst their earlier entry was only a top three hit over there. This was indeed a huge year for the Swedish foursome thanks to their blend of EDM and reggae which helped them establish themselves as the (then) modern equivalent of Abba.
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