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.
#700
This was the debut single for Blondie over in NZ given how their first two albums weren't even released over there prior to this (their second album did come out shortly after this became a hit for them though.) I guess this is the best proof I have for NZ not following the Australian charts that well given how if they did then this disco classic wouldn't have been the first they heard from the band.
#699
It looks like the kiwis were all for the rockabilly revival from the late 70's as this debut single from Racey managed to also be a massive success over there like it was over here for the British band. Indeed, the band would achieve almost the same amount of success over there this year as they did over here save for only scoring two big hits this year as opposed to three.
#698
Unlike in Australia where these girls were only a two-hit wonder, they were far more popular over in NZ as this will be one of several entries from them that will be appearing on these lists. Naturally their biggest hit down under was also their biggest hit over there given how this was the first song they released with their most consistent lineup; this was after former member Heidi Range scored a hit with her new group the Sugababes after all.
#697
I should point out that even though this is a cover of the Kool and the Gang classic from 1985 (which wasn't a hit in NZ funnily enough) that the original didn't have any rapping on it meaning that Pappa Bear did a rap cover of a non-rap song which I think is the only hit of this kind to be as such over the years. It allowed him to score a second hit in NZ later in the year with another cover of an 80's song.
#696
This was a huge comeback success for Bob Dylan in NZ, mainly because it spawned his only hit over there with the lead single which is surprising in of itself considering how none of his other tracks were a hit over there during his career. It remains his biggest album over there despite it being a huge failure everywhere else in the world due to him embracing the trends of the time.
#695
The hits kept on coming for Neil Diamond in NZ as they did throughout the rest of the world, this album was just the latest in his discography which had already seen massive success by this point in his career.
#694
Well Jon English managed to have a huge music career by appearing in Jesus Christ superstar, so it seems natural that someone who played the titular character in the original west end version also managed to have a massive success in NZ with a song of his own. This was Paul Nicholas who scored his one and only hit worldwide with this pop tune before returning to the world of theatre.
#693
This was released on time in NZ likely due to RNB being well embraced over there compared to here in Australia where it needed some incentive to be a success from us Aussies. That incentive came for Toni's second single from her debut album when it became a hit here and in the UK of all places which finally allowed us to check this ballad out to see what all the fuss was about.
#692
As far as the RIANZ charts are concerned, this was the first hit that Barbra Streisand had over in NZ given how she never had any hits on the Listener charts from earlier in her career. I guess the fact that it was for her Oscar winning ballad from her rendition of A star is born was fitting considering all of her hits in Australia at this point had either been from her films or her shows on Broadway.
#691
Again, this wasn't the lead single to Diesel and dust in NZ as "The dead heart" did become a minor hit over there; however, this may as well have been as it was not only much bigger over there than it was over here, but it became one of the biggest hits of the decade as well.
#690
This was both the final number one single of the 80's and the first number one of the 90's in NZ, meaning that Margaret Urlich was poised for great things to happen in the latter decade which did at first as this song and the album it came from became a massive success over here in Australia for her.
#689
Well so much for disco being dead around the launch of MTV, we have this French duo who scored a massive hit throughout the world with this English version of their big hit from their native France. This was a minor hit in Australia this year, although we Aussies did move on from euro disco to the likes of new wave and pub rock around this time, so it was only a sleeper success here at best.
#688
I guess if this managed to be a massive success for Shaggy here in Australia, then it's success over in NZ was inevitable given how much the kiwis loved his music throughout the 90's compared to us Aussies. Still, it's worth noting that even though it appears much higher on this list and even began charting much sooner over there than it did over here, it was ultimately more successful here thanks to the singles being bigger here.
#687
This may very well have been the first time the kiwis had heard from Chicago, after all the Listener charts suggest that they didn't have any success over there during the first half of the decade whereas they at least had a hit here in Australia with "25 of 6 to 4" from the start of the 70's.
#686
Like in Australia, Kenny Rogers already had massive success in NZ from the start of the decade with his band the First edition, meaning this was more of a comeback than an introduction to his music like it was over in the UK. I still can't believe this flopped in his native America, he managed to score other hits on Billboard during the second half of the decade after all.
#685
Well at least this was released on time for Shaggy in NZ, meaning this was able to be a success months before it even touched the charts here in Australia for the Jamaican rapper. I never quite understood why this was so heavily delayed here as he did find success here with "Oh Carolina" from earlier in the decade, perhaps we didn't want him to be a household name like he was in NZ.
#684
This was one of several hits that the Dutch group Pussycat were able to achieve in NZ that wasn't a success in Australia, although these guys were a one hit wonder here with "Mississippi" despite them being one of the biggest bands of the decade internationally with some of the other songs still to come on this site.
#683
Well, I did say that Supercharge reminded me of a German disco band when I featured them on the Australian side of my site, here's an actual German disco band who managed to score a massive hit worldwide this year thanks to how catchy this track was. It makes you wonder why this wasn't a hit here in Australia as we had little issues with German disco making it big if Boney M is anything to go by.
#682
This was a massive success for Sha na na singer Henry gross, a rockabilly throwback artist who scored his one and only hit with this song he wrote about a dog dying. I guess the kiwis were really chocked up about this song compared to us Aussies as this wasn't even a success here and yet it was huge over there.
#681
This was the first solo single that Annie Crummer released, it was a huge success in her homeland given how she was coming off the success of her two bands Netherworld dancing toys and When the cats away (weird band names I just realised.) She would have some minor success with her album Language due to the lead singles success but that's about the full extent of her popularity over there.
#680
It appears that there was plenty of interest in the idea of Andrew Lloyd Webber turning the life of Eva Peron into a Broadway musical as this theme song to the stage show was a success for Julie Covington years prior to it being first performed on stage. It was just as successful in NZ as it was in Australia and her native UK.
#679
I don't know how they did it, but Rednex was able to score a massive hit with their blend of country and EDM despite the Grid failing to score a hit the previous year with "Swamp thing" like they did here in Australia and throughout Europe. I guess the novelty of these guys thinking they were American rednecks was fascinating to the kiwis in a way it wasn't anywhere else in the world.
#678
This remains the most successful song in UB40's career regardless of where in the world you're from, although in NZ this was up against some stiff competition given how much the kiwis loved their music and reggae overall over the years. Even so, I don't think even they would realise that this was one of the biggest hits of the 90's over there given how it's a cover of an Elvis classic for a long-forgotten film.
#677
It may surprise you to learn that this was actually a hit slightly earlier in NZ than it was in Australia, as such the hierarchy of where this song was a success is as follows, NZ, Australia and America albeit five years later in the latter country. One place this wasn't a success in at all was the brothers native UK.
#676
This was the biggest hit from the Bay city rollers in NZ, it happens to be a cover of a song that I'm not even sure was a hit over there given how the Listener charts only go back to 1966 and the Dusty Springfield original was released in 1965.
#675
I guess a little controversy never hurt anyone as despite it being controversial even at the time, the lead single allowed this album to be a massive hit for Elvis Costello back in the day in most parts of the world. Unlike here in Australia where it was his only successful album, he saw a bit of a comeback over there four years later with Punch the clock, meaning he wasn't a one album wonder with the kiwis.
#674
This was the debut album of NZ's answer to the likes of Limp Bizkit and 28 days, it had a slow start to its success likely due to the kiwis finding nu metal to be a niche genre reserved only for the likes of Linkin Park and Korn. It was given a second chance when it spawned a surprise hit with "Phlex" which allowed the album to become a massive success for the band over there.
#673
Given how their previous album was a massive hit for the Style council in NZ, it only makes sense that their big crossover album here in Australia would also be a hit for the British band this year even if it once again failed to produce that big hit for them over there. This was the last we Aussies and kiwis heard from not just the band but Paul Weller as he hasn't had any success through any other project since.
#672
Hey, does anyone want to hear a disco rendition of Beethoven's "Symphony no 5?" Well Walter Murphy did just that as he got his orchestra the Big apple band to rearrange the classical piece to make it fit with the disco craze which resulted in it becoming a massive worldwide hit for him. This was a modest hit here in Australia, but nowhere near as popular as it was internationally.
#671
For whatever reason, this album from RHCP wasn't as popular in NZ as it was here in Australia, although that might be because Flea had become an Australian citizen which prompted us Aussies to make this more popular than it otherwise would've been had he not become an Australian. Their next album Stadium arcadium would restore their popularity to what it was at the start of the decade.
#670
You knew there'd be a NZ equivalent of the Jesus Christ superstar at some point in time, well here's the soundtrack to that show which was a massive success over there despite it lacking that his single that the Australian show produced two years prior.
#669
I'm a bit surprised this wasn't more successful in NZ than it was here in Australia given how their nostalgia circuit was much more potent over there than ours was over here during the last stretch of the decade, then again, this was a comeback album for AC/DC in every sense of the word given how popularity they would remain throughout the following decade.
#668
This took a while to take off in NZ likely due to the album failing to produce a hit single over there as well as the kiwis lacking a Triple J equivalent to promote it, however once it did, it became a huge success for Garbage likely due to the unique vocals of Shirley Manson which helped add a female touch to the industrial rock crowd.
#667
Even though this was an EDM song that came from a band which had one of the members being an Australian, this still managed to be more successful in NZ for the British based duo which goes to show you how much more love the kiwis had for the British music scene that we Aussies did throughout the decade.
#666
This was the last successful album that Genesis had over in NZ as was the case everywhere else in the world, mainly because Phil Collins would leave the band after this album which led to them releasing an album without him on lead vocals which led to their breakup. Phil's popularity in the 90's quickly dwindled after this as his next solo album would be a complete flop for him.
#665
While this also didn't have that inescapable hit in NZ just like here in Australia, that didn't prevent this sophomore album from Paul Young from being a massive success over there given how the third single was a Billboard chart topper for him. He would also struggle to find success in NZ during the second half of the decade, however at least his first two albums were more successful in NZ than they were in Australia.
#664
This was more of a success in NZ than it was here in Australia for Led Zeppelin, again this was due to a lack of competition the band had over there as the kiwis didn't have a strong local music scene like we Aussies did throughout the decade.
#663
Even though this was released much sooner in NZ than it was here in Australia, it wound up only becoming popular over there thanks to it instantly rising to the top of the charts here which means the kiwis needed a bit of incentive in making this second consecutive Billboard chart topper from Nelly a hit over there that we Aussies gave them. At least it otherwise had equal amounts of success in both countries.
#662
This proved to be way more popular in NZ than it was here in Australia for Vanessa Mae, likely because
classical music was more popular over there this decade than it was over here which seemed to be the case going into the 21st century as well.
#661
While this wasn't the inescapable success in NZ that it was here in Australia and the trio's native UK, it was big enough to be a success which is further proof that even back in the day, radios and journalists had little impact on what the public wanted to listen to given how they both advised against making this debut album from Bros a success back in the day.
#660
This wasn't quite as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia, however even with a different lead singer, these guys were able to retain their popularity over there until the end of the decade as the Doobie Brothers did indeed have massive success in NZ throughout the 70's with their earlier material.
#659
Not only did these guys have huge success with their debut album in NZ at the cost of their signature track being a massive hit, it appears that A-ha also managed to have their second album be a huge hit over there as well as it even managed to spawn a couple of minors hits for them that weren't as such over here. Sadly, this was the full extent of their popularity outside of Europe as their next albums would flop in NZ.
#658
This was an even bigger success in NZ than it was here in Australia, mainly because it was marketed as the band airing out their dirty laundry which feels odd that they even had any during its production given how it was released right when their debut album took off for them even in their native America.
#657
Well, I hope the Who managed to find massive success with their albums in NZ before the RIANZ charts launched this year, otherwise this soundtrack to the theatrical adaptation of one of their albums was the closest thing to success they managed to have over there.
#656
This was originally released the previous year to deafening silence in the southern hemisphere, I'm guessing because we didn't want to have any controversies involving the music video like the band had in the UK as it reportedly attracted a record number of complaints from viewers when it was first unveiled over there. The kiwis were eventually won over by this track when their big hit in Australia became as such.
#655
From what I can gather, this was the first big hit that the Eagles had in NZ as none of their earlier material made it big over there on the Listener charts. Honestly, it's less of a surprise that this was a hit over there and more so that it was a flop here in Australia, yes, the album was big here, but you'd think a song that was a Billboard chart topper for one of the biggest bands in the world would've done better here.
#654
It may surprise you to learn that Outkast never had a chart topper over in NZ, heck this was the only song from their catalogue to have the same amount of success over there as it did here in Australia despite (or likely because) their albums being more successful over there than they were over here. I don't know if it was even possible for this song to fail upon its initial release due to how joyous and happy the melody is despite its lyrics.
#653
From what I could gather, these guys did have minor success during the first half of the decade on the Listener charts, so it's possible they would've been popular enough for this greatest hits package named after one of their signature tunes would be a massive success over there.
#652
This proved to be more successful for JT over in NZ than it was here in Australia, I'm guessing because the singles didn't create as much buzz over there as they did here which I'm guessing was the payoff for the singles success here and vice versa over there. He would find more success with both his second album and its singles in both countries later in the decade.
#651
This was the first volume of the Use your illusions era for Guns n Roses, it was a massive success in NZ just like it was throughout the rest of the world even if it didn't rise up to the level of success that the second edition from earlier on this list had.
#650
It appears the kiwis were in love with the Cocktail soundtrack back in the day, although not as much as we Aussies were given how A: the soundtrack wasn't as big over there and B: neither were the singles. At least it spawned a third single from John Mellencamp, although that might be due to the heartland rocker being at the height of his popularity over there.
#649
While she didn't have any success with the singles in NZ like she did in Australia, this debut album from Melissa Etheridge was still a success for her over there which is impressive considering it was a huge failure in her native America as was many of these albums from American female singer/songwriters at the time. At least the third single was eventually able to become a success on Billboard.
#648
While this wasn't as big in NZ as it was here in Australia, it was still a success for David Bowie over there which proves that the kiwis were still in love with him moving from the 70's into the 80's. Indeed, he would see much more success over there with his next album which spawned a bunch of hits for him that didn't crossover here to Australia.
#647
This is one of those bands I could've sworn Countdown would've heavily promoted back in the day, alas they didn't which is why they weren't that big here in Australia. They had better luck in NZ and the UK despite being an American band, it turns out the Americans weren't interested in the rockabilly revival craze as this type of music didn't have any success on Billboard back in the day.
#646
Joan already had a huge sleeper hit in NZ with her self-titled album in the 70's, so this commercial breakthrough for her was less so over there which is perhaps why it was a much bigger success there than it was here in Australia. The title track even became a sleeper hit over there, meaning that she isn't a one hit wonder on their singles chart with "Drop the pilot" like she is here.
#645
Andrea Bocelli had the same career trajectory in NZ as he did in Australia, namely that he had little trouble finding success over there once his greatest hits album from two years prior became a worldwide success for him.
#644
Well at least this song managed to become a success on schedule over in NZ, I still can't believe this sat on shelves ignored here in Australia for a year given how this was the Jackson five's first song released when they were adults. I think this was the song which convinced people to give MJ's solo career a second chance which led to the success of his entry from earlier on this list.
#643
It looks like the kiwis were just as into the idea of Rod Stewart becoming a disco icon as the rest of the world was, although it was curiously the least successful of his big hits over there which means they ultimately wanted him as a pop crooner rather than him flaunting his sexuality.
#642
Given how these guys were among the most successful bands of the decade in NZ, it stands to reason that their first Australian chart topper would be their biggest hit over there given how their popularity was twice that it was here back in the day. This is one of the last hits they had to have that 80's bombast as they would strip things back from here on out to better fit with the 90's.
#641
This was the first of a surprising number of albums that Joe Cocker had success in NZ this decade, mainly because he struggled for mainstream relevancy everywhere else in the world throughout the 90's including here in Australia. This was a live album he released which I'm sure impressed the kiwis given how it was a massive success there as well as throughout Europe.
#640
This was an amazing time for ABC in NZ given how their success was twice that it was here in Australia and even their native UK over there, I'm guessing it was due to how infectious the two lead singles were which only enhanced the popularity of the album. They would score minor success over there as the decade went on, nothing substantial but certainly better than what they achieved here which was nothing.
#639
You'd think that this would be a much bigger success for the Thompson Twins in NZ given how popular their previous album was the previous year, alas it only proved to be equally as successful over there as it was here in Australia which goes to show that their popularity was on par there as it was throughout the rest of the world. Their next album would be even bigger over there despite its commercial disappointment internationally.
#638
It looks like the kiwis weren't quite as invested in this greatest hits album as we Aussies were, although they still made this a success given how U2 were even more successful over there than they were over here. They even allowed a previously unreleased track to become a hit over there like it did over here.
#637
While this wasn't quite as successful for Lady Gaga in NZ as it was here in Australia, this debut single of hers nonetheless put her on the map over there much sooner than it did in her homeland given how the rest of the world already gave her two massive hits by the time this topped the Billboard charts the following year.
#636
It appears the kiwis preferred this to be the unofficial anthem for 9/11 over "Hero" by Enrique Iglesias, possibly because the Latin superstar already had massive success prior to the terrorist attacks and thus, they felt he was inappropriate to play over the tragic news that unfolded during that event. I'm also guessing this song's success over there was what led to it becoming a hit here in Australia months after it broke through.
#635
This proved to be an even bigger success in NZ as did a lot of songs that were made from musicians of colour back in the day, hey at least many of these songs became hits over here even if they were relatively minor compared to what they achieved in NZ. I haven't seen the film this is named after, although it looks like one of those blaxploitation films that were popular throughout the 70's.
#634
This was somehow an even bigger hit in NZ than it was here in Australia, I guess the kiwis wanted to give their love to Europeans throughout the 80's any way they could, and this was one of the best ways they could think of doing so. I know it wasn't always meant for ad jingles, but that's all I hear whenever I listen to this song.
#633
This was the only successful album for Richard Marx in NZ due to it spawning his only chart topper over there as well as him overall being dismissed as a Bryan Adams knockoff by the kiwis back in his heyday. He did score another hit over there in the 90's with "Hazard," but I feel that was only due to it being his biggest hit here in Australia and the kiwis being too curious to ignore that ballad.
#632
This was the biggest album that Prince had in his career worldwide, in NZ it was even bigger than Diamonds and pearls from the 90's which had his biggest hit of his career with "Cream." There's no surprise that this was a success back in the day given how it's the soundtrack to an autobiographical film about his rise to stardom that was a critical and commercial success.
#631
This is apparently a remix of an earlier track on Basshunter's catalogue known as "Boten Anna," a song sung in Swedish about a girl named Anna that was translated into English for this version a year after its initial release. It became a massive worldwide hit for the Swedish producer, although it didn't even chart here in Australia for reasons I can't seem to fathom.
#630
Given how Chris Brown had confirmed himself as the new Usher on his debut album in NZ, this meant that the lead single to his second album was not only released on time over there but also had its success be immediate as opposed to it climbing its way up the charts here going into the new year. This of course resulted in the success of his second album being largely different over there than it was here.
#629
This was a bit of a sleeper hit in NZ given how long it took for this to become a success over there, however once it did it was just as popular there as it was at least in America. I'm sure many NZ detractors of this track can breathe a sigh of relief knowing this wasn't the biggest hit of the decade over there like it was in Australia.
#628
I guess the success of Nelly's debut album had little impact with how big his second album would turn out in the southern hemisphere, then again, I'm pretty sure this album's success came more from the singles than Nelly's skills as a rapper given how fondly remembered the two Billboard chart toppers from this album remain to this day and how most of his other songs have since fallen into obscurity.
#627
Unlike in Australia where these guys had sound success throughout the 90's, it wasn't until the start of the decade where the kiwis paid any attention to their music which was likely due to how this album became a massive success down under thanks to the runaway success of one of its singles on MTV. Indeed, these guys didn't find much love over in NZ outside of this album save for a big hit later in the decade.
#626
This was a massive success in NZ despite Deborah Harry's solo career being close to non-existent over there even though it was only a minor success here where her solo career was much more noticeable, I guess this was a hit there more due to the kiwi's nostalgia for Blondie than anything else.
#625
I guess the song that became a success in NZ for KC and the sunshine band was different compared to the one that made it big here in Australia, well that and the song in question being twice as successful over there is the only other difference between their careers in both countries as the band was big in the southern hemisphere just not as big as they were in their homeland.
#624
For the longest time, I was confused as to why this second single from Nelly Furtado was far more popular in NZ than it was here in Australia, then I realised it was the bigger hit for her in America which no doubt led to this mindset translating to the kiwis upon its initial release. That said, her other big hit from her debut is still to come on this list, so it's not like that was passed up in favour of this song's success over there.
#623
And I thought Inner Circle was the most persistent Jamaican band of the twentieth century, enter Toots and the Maytals who scored a massive hit in NZ with this reggae track a good two decades into their existence. They remain a one hit wonder over there which makes them the 80's equivalent of Inner circle if you consider that band's success here in Australia.
#622
While this was also a huge chart topper for MC Hammer in NZ, the fact that the kiwis already gave a number one hit to Run DMC with their 1986 effort "Walk this way" meant that they already had no fear of handing their first hip hop chart topper to someone who modern historians would say didn't deserve it. This was also a hit due to them being familiar with the Rick James track this song infamously samples.
#621
For whatever reason, we Aussies were a bit slow when it came to allowing MJ and the Jackson five back into the spotlight as adults as they were able to achieve massive success in NZ months prior to when they crossed over here. In any case, this solo disco track from MJ was a massive success in both countries and ushered him into the 80's where he would go on to take the world by storm.
#620
This was a slightly more contemporary sounding album compared to their previous effort, which is perhaps why it managed to be slightly bigger worldwide than their debut album given how more pop friendly it is. This would also describe their next two albums respectively which is why each of them proved to be more successful than their earlier catalogue.
#619
Like many entries on these lists that appear much higher than they did on the Australian side of this site, this wasn't pulled from shelves over in NZ which means its placement on here can accurately reflect on how popular it truly was back in the day. It makes sense this was Kanye's international breakthrough given how it features guest vocals from Jamie Foxx fresh off his performance as Ray Charles in his biopic.
#618
As this second single from Chris Brown's sophomore album Exclusive was able to be released on time over in NZ, it was able to achieve massive success over there given how it didn't have to compete with his duet with Jordin Sparks from around this time which was released soon after this became a hit for him over there. With all of these massive chart toppers from the RNB star, it was safe to assume that he was the leading force of that genre in the music industry.
#617
Given how much more popular RNB was in NZ throughout the 70's, it was only inevitable that this signature track from Hot Chocolate would be among the bigger hits of the decade over there due to how joyous and happy it remains to this day. This of course led to a string of hits for them throughout the second half of the decade over there like it did worldwide.
#616
I have no idea how this managed to become one of the biggest hits of the decade in NZ, I guess they were charmed by how sincere these guys were on this track to the point where it was not only an inescapable hit there but also an incentive for them to check out the rest of the album which nowhere else in the world did.
#615
Although they had success with their albums a decade prior, this was the first hit single that the B52's were able to score in NZ just like everywhere else in the world except for Australia. Indeed, I'm guessing this became a success over there due to it being the perfect book end for the 80's which was a decade filled with joyous party music to distract from all of the stress and anxiety that the world was going through.
#614
Well, I guess you can't talk about Deep Forest without mentioning their German counterparts, so here's the second album from Enigma which managed to be an even bigger success in NZ due to it spawning a hit single over there much like their first album from earlier in the decade. Their popularity would fade after this as did most new age artists due to the trends turning against them.
#613
I'm a bit surprised this wasn't even bigger in NZ for the same reason I was surprised it wasn't bigger here in Australia, then again, the fact the singles on this album were so inescapable worldwide more than justifies how popular Curtis was this year which I feel makes up for it not being higher on these lists. Much like everywhere else in the world, his popularity would dwindle as the decade went on over there.
#612
It may not have had that runaway hit single in NZ like it did in Australia (seriously that baby still gives me nightmares to this day) however this album from Massive attack was still a massive success for them in NZ proving how much the kiwis were warming up to EDM (even if it's downtempo) around this time.
#611
Well Simple minds were one of the biggest bands of the 80's in NZ, so it stands to reason this greatest hits album would be a massive success over there just like it was over here from around this time.
#610
Given how the album cycle for Loose was identical in NZ to what it was here in Australia, this meant that the third single from the album was her second and final Billboard chart topper over there which was meant to be her way of reassuring her older audience that she hadn't completely abandoned her spiritual roots on the album. Indeed, it was her biggest hit over in NZ as it was a best of both world scenario for her catalogue.
#609
Given how BEP managed to achieve minor success in NZ from earlier in the decade with their hit single "Request + line," it only makes sense that this lead single to their third album was a massive success for them over in NZ like it was here in Australia. If you can believe it, it isn't among their most popular songs in their native America, likely because their popularity didn't explode over there until later in the decade.
#608
This was an even bigger hit for the George Baker selection in NZ than it was in Australia, although this was more inevitable as Dutch groups tend to have a free pass when it comes to finding success in NZ for reasons I never quite understood.
#607
Well, this was certainly a surprise, we have this comedy track from Bob Hudson becoming more of a success in NZ than it was in Australia which likely means the kiwis have a Bogan population as well (I'm not entirely sure if that's the case.) This allowed the album to be a moderate success over there proving how entertaining they found Bob as a comedian.
#606
There were no signs of these guys slowing down throughout the 90's even with the demise of their main rivals Nirvana, indeed they continued to find success in NZ both with their albums and the singles as this album spawned one of their biggest hits over there with the lead single.
#605
I guess if you wanted to hear a NZ equivalent of KCI and Jo Jo then these two are able to fill that niche as that's the best way I can describe them and their music. Here they scored the first of three massive hits in their homeland with the same formula that their American counterpart did throughout the 90's, although unlike their American counterpart, their success only lasted them for one album in their homeland.
#604
Well, this songs controversy would've been much more pronounced in NZ as "I want a new drug" was actually a moderate success over there shortly before the song's release (it won't be appearing on this site I'm afraid.) The two men settled out of court over a decade later despite it being obvious that the two melodies were almost identical to each other.
#603
Given how Wet wet wet already saw massive success in NZ with their debut album from the late 80's, it was only inevitable that their cover of the Mindbenders classic for the Hugh Grant flick Four weddings and a funeral would be a massive success for them in NZ as it was in most parts of the world.
#602
This was a charity song about the (then) recent shooting of a boy by the name of Pihema Cameron in a way that was similar to what "Tha crossroads" from Bone thugs n harmony was from thirteen years prior. They recruit Gin Wigmore for the chorus which naturally was the cherry on top of this touching tribute to the young man which of course touched the hearts of many a kiwi upon its initial release.
#601
This is the part where I remind my audience that I'm ranking these albums based on how well they did in the upper echelons of the charts and not necessarily their overall success, I bring this up because this greatest hits album from Aandrea Bocelli was a massive hit in NZ even if most of its success came from the lower half of their charts as opposed to it being a mainstream success here in Australia.
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