This list will go over what was popular in NZ this year, although my commentary comes from my ranking of the biggest hits of the 2010's so keep that in mind when reading through this list.
It's no surprise that this debut single from Kesha (as a lead artist that is) was a massive success in NZ around the same time it was as such here in Australia, in fact I'm willing to bet the only reason why it was a hit in her native America was because of how huge it was in both countries given how long it took for it to take off on Billboard for the (then) rising pop star.
This was slightly more popular in NZ than it was here in Australia for Bruno Mars, only slightly though as its appearance on this list is more due to the lack of competition it had over there compared to what it had over here at the time of its release.
Well so much for Stan Walker being one of the biggest names of the 2010's in Australia, although he was one of the biggest names of the decade in his native NZ despite him winning AUSTRALIAN idol which no doubt led to the cancelation of that series due to it being the final straw for when it came to controversies that came from it.
I guess the kiwis weren't as in love with the music video from this lead single to Katy Perry's magnum opus Teenage dream as this was slightly less successful over there than it was over here for the provocative pop star at the start of the decade. At least the rest of the singles from the album found more success over there than they did over here.
This remains J Williams biggest hit during his short time in the spotlight, in fact is there any reason why he's yet to release a second album as of this writing? I'm guessing this remains his biggest hit due to the guest verse provided to him from Scribe, another kiwi who's yet to release a new album after all of these years as his last album came out in 2007.
Much like the rest of the world, there were no signs of Lady Gaga's popularity slowing down entering the 2010's as this lead single to her E.P The fame monster was a massive success for her over there like it was worldwide. In fact, from here on out, her popularity was exactly the same in NZ as it was here in Australia.
This wasn't nearly as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia, I guess the kiwis weren't as invested in this team up with Eminem and Rihanna as we Aussies were at the start of the decade. It could be due them being sceptical about Eminem's return given how this was only the second single he released after two consecutive duds in his catalogue.
Dane Rumble was a member of Fast Crew who had massive success earlier in the 00's in their homeland, so naturally it would make sense that he would embark on a solo career once the hits dried up for the hip hop group which culminated in this third single of his being a massive success for him. There was some interest in his music here in Australia, however it didn't translate to success unfortunately.
This proved to be equally as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia, mainly because Paramore became popular in both countries in the exact same way which means that her presence on this track was seen as a highlight for B.O.B rather than a hinderance like many of their fellow Americans had said about it back in the day.
This is another song that did a lot better in NZ than it did here in Australia, in fact this came out much earlier over there as it was one of the last songs from the 00's to be released as opposed to here where it was one of the first songs of the 2010's released. I guess the kiwis really wanted to see a team up of Timbaland and Katy Perry much more than we Aussies did if this was the case.
It's no surprise that this was also equally as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia for Bruno Mars, in fact with very few exceptions, his popularity in both countries mirrors itself perfectly proving how much audiences around the world loved his music.
It looked like these guys would enjoy another decade of uninterrupted success as they entered it with by far their biggest hit in their already impressive catalogue, although for some reason, they decided to call it quits a year after this became a hit for them despite having a string of minor hits following its success.
This was slightly more successful in NZ than it was here in Australia, or more accurately, it lasted longer on the upper echelons of their charts than ours likely due to the kiwis finding this more sincere of a self-empowerment anthem than we Aussies did. It was her third consecutive chart topper over there and her native America, proving just how inescapable she was throughout the world at the time.
I'm surprised that Taio Cruz didn't find much success in NZ, heck this was his only hit over there even though "Break your heart" was released on time in 2009 despite it becoming a massive flop for him. I guess the kiwis felt that there was no need to be a prince of RNB as none of the contestants for that prize managed to have as much success over there this decade as they did over here.
This managed to be a hit in NZ just as the 00's was coming to a close, as such it manages to appear on more than one list on this site even if it wasn't as popular over there as it was here in Australia for Owl City. I guess his collaboration with Carly Rae Jepsen was more popular over there several years after this came out, this would balance out his career so that it was equally as successful in both countries.
He may have only had the one massive hit here in Australia following his victory on the final season of Australian Idol, however Stan Walker was able to translate that initial success back home where he became a massive household name in NZ throughout the decade. This was the lead single to his second album which achieved minor success here in Australia due to how well it did over there.
I wasn't expecting to see this so low on this list, mainly because for the most part, Rihanna had more success over in NZ throughout her career than she did here in Australia and that this remains one of her most iconic songs in her career to date. Admittedly the lyrics are a bit weird on this song which I'm guessing was a distraction for the kiwis outside of her diehard fanbase over there.
This was a slightly bigger hit for Travie McCoy in NZ than it was here in Australia, I'm guessing because Gym Class Heroes by this point were more popular over there than they were over here (not by much though) which would explain this phenomenon. It could also be that we Aussies needed some convincing to allow Bruno Mars to become one of the biggest names in music when this first came out.
Much like it was here in Australia, this debut single from Jason Derulo was his biggest hit over in NZ until 2020 when "Savage love" finally took that crown due to his presence on Tik Tok during that songs release. At least this went to number one over there as opposed to it simply lingering around forever in a day over here, although Jason's popularity would see a sharp decline as the 2010's rolled out over there.
After two highly successful albums under her belt as well as being accepted as the main musician for the controversial church Hillsong, Brooke Fraser was finally able to have some international success with the lead single to her third album as this managed to become a huge hit throughout Europe in addition to her homeland. This did chart here in Australia; however, it wasn't a success here like it was internationally.
I guess the kiwis were a bit less on board with having Train back in the mainstream this decade given how much less successful this comeback of theirs was over there compared to the rest of the world, although they were eventually won over by them later in the decade as "Drive by" (which is still to come) managed to be a massive success for them over there two years after this made it big.
I wasn't expecting to see this so low on this list considering how inescapable Usher was at the start of the 2010's here in Australia, I guess it was still a massive hit for him in NZ given that it ranks among the more popular songs of the decade, however it appears the kiwis weren't as impressed with this collaboration with Will I am as they were with the less well known Young Jeezy from two years prior.
Much like here in Australia, this also didn't have any troubles finding success over in NZ for Cee Lo Green given how the radios from the southern hemisphere simply bleeped out the swearing on the track rather than in his native America where he had to issue a clean version in order to have it played on the radio over there. You would've thought this would've been bigger over there given that was the case with his hit "Crazy" from 2006.
It's a bit surprising that Usher didn't find as much success in NZ as he did here in Australia with Raymond V Raymond, I'm guessing because his previous two albums also featured these types of songs where he's at the club having the time of his life to get away from his relationship troubles which they clearly must've begun to grow tired of. This was still a hit for him over there regardless, however it was more so down under.
It seems odd that this song was less successful in NZ than it was in Australia given that it managed to go to number one over there whilst failing to do so over here, not that it really matters as it's still one of the more popular songs of the decade in both countries thanks to how timeless it feels even after all these years.
I'm not really sure why this song was less successful in NZ than it was here in Australia for Chris Brown, I would say because the kiwis were tired of him and everyone wanting to take away his prince of RNB crown except there's at least two more entries on this list and both of them performed much better on this list than on the Australian version.
There didn't seem to be any signs of J Williams slowing down as he managed to score yet another it at the start of the decade in his homeland, this time he recruits Dane Rumble during the height of his own popularity, suggesting that the former was responsible for killing the popularity of the latter given how neither man would have much success moving forward in the decade.
This proved to be equally as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia for Flo Rida, primarily because this was the theme to the third Step up film which means this was obviously made to recreate the success he had with his debut single from the second Step up film from 2008. It didn't quite reach those dizzying heights worldwide; however, it was still a massive success for him regardless.
There's little surprise this was slightly less successful in NZ than it was here in Australia, although this means that all three of Eve's hits in the southern hemisphere saw fewer success over there than it did over here.
Given how the kiwis weren't as in love with P!nk as we Aussies were, this didn't go straight to number one over there like it did over here which means its lower placement on this list was inevitable even though it was arguably as popular over there as it was over here for her. For whatever reason, P!nk would see more success in NZ than she did over here in Australia with her next album.
This was slightly less successful for Jason Derulo in NZ than it was here in Australia despite it being released slightly sooner over there than it was over here, I guess this is another example where delaying a song proved beneficial for the artist in question given that this was his first chart topper down under despite failing to reach the top spot over there and in his native America.
You'd think this would've been even more successful in NZ than it was here in Australia given how this was released during the height of the club boom from the start of the decade, at least the kiwis made up for this by making the second single from the Far East Movement a success over there where it wasn't over here (stay tuned for it later on this list.)
Given how Adam Lambert already had success with the lead single to his debut album over in NZ (which won't be appearing on this list I'm afraid) it only makes sense that this song that P!nk donated to him also managed to be a massive success over there much more so than it was here in Australia. While third time was the charm with the third single, it wasn't quite as big over there as it was over here.
It's interesting that this failed to chart in Australia given how it was a massive success for OneRepublic in NZ and their native America when transitioning from the 00's to the 2010's, I guess we Aussies felt this was more of the same when it came to their catalogue and thus didn't entertain the idea of making it a hit down under. They would eventually score another hit in 2013 with "Counting stars."
This proved to be equally as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia for Mike Posner, I'm guessing because both us Aussies and the kiwis felt it made for perfect club music despite it being a song about how Mike feels that the person he's interested in is playing hard to get with him and how he doesn't like that about them.
I guess the kiwis weren't as on board with having Kid Cudi be a household name given how this collaboration he made with David Guetta was far less successful over there than it was over here and was also his one and only hit over there to boot. That said, I'd advise against checking out what he's been up to since this became a hit for him, the less said about his activities in recent years the better.
I guess the kiwis weren't as impressed with this "homage" to Dirty dancing that BEP made as we Aussies were, it was still a big hit over there, however considerably less so than it was here. In fact, I'm sure they more than most people in the world like to pretend that the Beginning was never released given how much less successful that was over there overall compared to Australia.
Even though this was released slightly earlier in NZ compared to here in Australia, this proved to be more successful here for Iyaz likely due to us Aussies looking for someone to take the prince of RNB crown away from Chris Brown and the kiwis feeling that wasn't a necessary task at the turn of the decade.
This was the debut E.P that made Six60 a household name in their homeland, it was supposed to chart on their album charts but for some reason was placed on their singles chart which explains its high placement on this list given how popular it was upon its initial release.
It doesn't surprise me that this was slightly bigger over in NZ than it was here in Australia given how "One time" managed to be more of a mainstream success for JB over there than it was over here.
I guess the kiwis weren't quite as impressed with this tribute to the LGBT community that Kesha made as us Aussies and her fellow Americans were, I do remember this getting a lot of flak back in the day for how quickly it seemed to come out following a tragic shooting at an LGBT bar that happened that year. Kesha in general didn't see as much success in NZ as she did in Australia this decade for whatever reason.
Given how this was a hit over in the UK at the start of the decade for the Australian duo, it managed to crossover to NZ and even peak higher over there than it did over here despite naturally being less successful over there due to this song's popularity originally coming from its promotion on Triple J.
I guess the kiwis really weren't convinced with Eminem's return to form from the start of the decade, then again, none of his entries were able to match the success he had over here save for his second collaboration with Rihanna from earlier on this list. Perhaps they were trying to leave him as a relic of the 00's but found that they were unable to whenever he released another song from this list over there.
For whatever reason, this sat on shelves in NZ ignored for almost a full year until it finally became a surprise hit for them over there, naturally it was only a success once during its chart run which is why this appears much lower on this list where it was a success twice here in Australia. This did lead to them having a hit with "I will wait" later in the decade over there which we'll be looking at in a bit.
Like all of her sexually provocative tracks from the start of the decade, this was slightly less successful in NZ than it was here in Australia which goes to show you just how disinterested the kiwis were with this side of Rihanna compared to the rest of the world. At least she found some success over there with these tracks, so it's not like they were complete prudes or anything.
I guess David Guetta didn't have as much success in NZ as I thought entering the decade, admittedly I don't remember hearing this or his collaboration with Kid Cudi much on the radio, so perhaps this is a case of an artist momentum overhyping how popular their music was at the time. Here we have the French DJ collaborate with Fergie and LMFAO who were all the life of the dancefloors at the time.
It looked like all of the brands of rock and roll were going to get pushed aside for a stronger indie scene when the decade began given how this is another NZ indie band that managed to achieve a huge hit over there and even sparked interest here in Australia due to Triple J picking up this track and adding it to their playlists. Alas this was the band's only success in their homeland as indie also got sidelined in their mainstream this decade.
Even though Nelly managed to score a few hits over here in Australia throughout the decade, this was the final hit he had in NZ likely due to the kiwis growing tired of his music faster than we Aussies did. That said, I wouldn't rule out a comeback from him given how sporadically he appears on our charts down under.
This was another song to find more success in NZ than it did here in Australia, mainly for the presence of Sean Kingston who was far more popular over there than he was over here but also because JB was slightly more tolerated over there as well this decade. This would be the final hit that the former had even over there for reasons I can't seem to fathom.
I'm not sure why this breakthrough single from Lady Antebellum (now known as Lady A) was a flop here in Australia other than perhaps we Aussies being entirely done with country music by this point in time due to the lack of country songs to appear on the Australian side of this site from the 21st century. The kiwis obviously weren't done with the genre as this proved to be a massive hit for them over there.
Well, this is certainly a song that suffered in the rankings on this side of my site, granted Enrique didn't seem to have much success overall throughout the 21st century in NZ save for the success he had from his debut album which was released during the height of the Latin craze from the late 90's. I guess this and his earlier entry on this list was a success more due to the featured rappers rather than the kiwis wanting him back.
Well, it looks like the kiwis were certainly not feeling this collaboration between Lady Gaga and Beyonce at the start of the decade, perhaps they couldn't get on board with the admittedly awful music video where the two try to convince audiences they were serious actresses only to fail miserably with the terrible dialogue and awkward storyline that the video follows.
This proved to be equally as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia despite both artists finding more success over here the previous decade than they did over here, I guess the kiwis really wanted to hear both of them collaborate with each other which would explain why this was big and indeed why Guy Sebastian continued finding success over there this decade with his other big-name collaborations.
While this did manage to be a bigger hit in NZ than it was here in Australia, the tradeoff was that this trapped the American duo in the one hit wonder bin over there as their collaboration with Icona Pop from two years later failed to become a success over there like it was over here. I guess the kiwis really liked that creepy music video upon its initial release but later regretted their decision to make it a success.
I guess the kiwis had begun to lose their love for Adam Lambert by the time he released the third single from his debut album, granted he did have a hit over there prior to his earlier entry, however you'd think he'd keep up the momentum he had across both countries which didn't seem to be the case here. This is also his final hit over there as "Ghost town" was a complete flop for him later in the decade.
This is the only other hit that Kids of 88 managed to achieve in their homeland, although considering this was an alternative track from this decade (even if it was from the very beginning of the decade) this is still quite an impressive feat given how few songs like this made it big worldwide over the years.
I guess the kiwis weren't as impressed with this debut single from B.O.B as we Aussies were given how much less successful it was over there compared to over here, although it was still a success likely due to having Bruno Mars on the chorus which meant that it was still a solid enough introduction to the two men over there like it was over here.
This also wasn't as big in NZ as it was here in Australia for B.O.B, I guess the kiwis weren't as dazzled by Rivers Cuomo's chorus or the rapper's string of magic puns as we Aussies were at the start of the decade given that this was far less popular over there than it was over here. Still at least it was a decent success for the two men as were all of the rappers' hits from the start of the decade.
I'm not sure why this failed to be a hit here in Australia other than we Aussies not being interested in Rihanna's personal relationships following her breakup from Chris Brown which of course I won't be going into in this section. Here she collaborates with her (then) boyfriend Drake which made history by going to number one on Billboard before the lead single to her fifth album did from earlier on this list.
This will be Stan Walker's final appearance on this list of mine, he had a massive reign on the NZ charts this decade which is impressive considering how he only had the two entries on the Australian side of my site.
I guess the kiwis were quickly becoming sick of Lady Gaga entering the decade as this also failed to be as successful over there as it was over here for the (then) rising pop star, although she did recover with her next album as we already saw from earlier on this list, suggesting they were simply tired of her style over substance given how this also has an infamously ridiculous video to go along with it.
This is a strange entry due to it becoming a success in NZ at the start of the decade rather than upon its initial release back in 2008, I guess you can make the argument the kiwis wanted to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the song's existence except it was a huge flop over there despite it being a massive success here in Australia back in 1990.
For whatever reason, this was a hit again at the start of the decade in NZ, making this one of the few songs to become a success over there more than once even if I can't seem to find out the reason for this to be.
Does anyone remember the panic that went into the world ending in 2012? Apparently, this was enough of a concern for Jay Sean and Nicki Minaj that they decided to make a club jam two years prior to the supposed doomsday to reassure themselves and audiences that there would be life in 2013 and beyond, naturally we're coming up to a decade past the doomsday, so I think it's safe to say they had nothing to worry about.
Contrary to popular believe, this was the debut single for JB and not "Baby" from earlier on this list, it was a hit single in NZ and a moderate sleeper hit here in Australia thanks to the hype that he had going into its release.
From what I can gather, Zowie was meant to be NZ answer to the likes of Katy Perry and Lady Gaga which means we have a dance pop number from her that managed to become a hit in her homeland at the start of the decade much like Zoe Badwi was for Australia around the same time.
This was a hit twice in NZ, once upon its initial release as the third single from Taio Cruz's debut album, and the second when it was turned into a duet with Kylie Minogue of all people which boosted its sales months after its initial release.
This was the second collaboration that MJ made with Akon, although this time this was done posthumously given how the former had died in 2009 and that this came out the following year despite the protest of his family and friends. Naturally this flopped here in Australia given how we Aussies didn't use to take too kindly to artistic grave robbery with very rare exceptions.
