Well seeing as though we looked at the biggest hits of the 90's on the Billboard charts that were also hits in Australia and/or NZ that decade, I've decided to give the same courtesy to the 80's as Billboard also released a top 500 for that decade on their website which I found fascinating. Again, I'm only including songs that were hits in the southern hemisphere back in the day as I'm not particularly interested in looking over songs that flopped with us Aussies and Kiwis, although there are more entries regardless due to how few entries there are on the official list that didn't appeal to either nation.
Before the likes of Boyz II men and Whitney Houston came along to break the record for the longest weeks at number one on Billboard in the 90's, the honour for the longest time spent at number one went to this track from Olivia Newton John which lasted an impressive eleven weeks at the top spot. This is due to the music video which was instantly banned in the UK for its depiction of fat shaming.
With an impressive nine-week stint at number one, it's little wonder how this was the runner up for the biggest hit of the decade in America. Pretty impressive considering its a song about a woman who has eyes like Bette Davis, although it did allow the legend to write letters of appreciation to Kim and the writers of the song for making her relevant upon its release.
Also, much like the 90's list, I'm using different album art for some of these entries to spice up the visual presentation on my site.
This also had an impressive run at number one on Billboard back in the day, it's little wonder why as this was a collaboration between two legends in Motown (even at the time) for a film that was admittedly poorly received by critics. This was the more lucrative version of the song even though Luther Vandross's cover with Maiah Carey was also successful thirteen years later.
This is one of three songs that made Billboard's 80's list from Survivor, although as it was their only international hit, it's the only one that will be appearing on this list of mine. Naturally it was a huge chart topper in their homeland given how it managed to top the charts everywhere else in the world (except NZ funnily enough) due to its affiliation with Rocky III.
This is the only song from the Police that managed to make it onto Billboard's 80's list, it makes sense given how it was a huge chart topper for them on Billboard even if their other singles that crossed over to America struggled to break into their top ten. This was also their biggest hit in their native UK, however that honour in Australia and NZ goes to "Don't stand so close to me."
Another song to make it high on this list thanks to how long it spent at number one on Billboard, this time it's the second Oscar winning track from Irene Cara which proved to be far more lucrative than her first song (which we'll get to much later down this list.) Sadly, this was her final hit in America even though she scored one more hit after this here in Australia.
This is one of only two hits that Queen had in America throughout the 80's, although at least it has the distinction of being one of the longest charting songs on Billboard pre 1992 given how the charts didn't become chaotic over there until late 1984 when they incorporated airplay into their data.
This collaboration between MJ and Paul McCartney proved to be far more lucrative than their first collaboration for the latter's magnum opus Thriller, as such it had a long stint at number one on Billboard as did every entry we've looked at so far on this list. This won't be a continuing trend for long on this list as most songs pre 1992 struggled to last more than four weeks at the top of their charts.
This was Blondie's biggest hit in America, it's not a bad choice by any means, however it's a strange choice as it was originally commissioned for the Richard Gere flick American gigolo and not made for one of their albums. I guess this wasn't as big internationally due to the band already being well known by the time it was released which wasn't quite the case in their native America.
This was one of only two chart toppers for Kenny Rogers on the Billboard charts, we'll look at his other one in a bit, however I thought it was interesting to note that arguably THE country star of the twentieth century didn't do as well in his homeland as one might have thought even if he did rack up quite a number of hits over there like he did internationally.
Whether it was good timing or if this was always destined to be a big hit, either way there's no denying that the music video to this breakthrough from J Geils and company played a huge part in making it a huge worldwide success back in the day. It definitely helped out in their native America given how it was played constantly on MTV as one of the programs earliest music videos it aired.
It's hard to say if this song would've gone to number one had John lived to see the success of his final album, what I do know is that it was climbing the charts across the world during the final weeks of his life as was said album Double fantasy, meaning that there was genuine interest in his work at the start of the decade. As with all the entries we've looked at so far, this was another chart topper on Billboard.
Even though it initially struggled to find an audience, this breakthrough from Joan Jett and the Blackhearts went on to achieve massive worldwide success including in their native America where it hogged the number one spot on Billboard for over two months. While she had other hits in her homeland as she did internationally, this was the only one to make the cut for Billboard's 80's list.
It may be considered one of the naivest and tone-deaf songs nowadays, however there appeared to be more optimism towards this song's good intentions as this became a massive chart topper for the duo in America as well as in the UK. It didn't quite hit the top spot in Australia or NZ, however we Aussies and kiwis also appreciated the sentiment of racial harmony.
There's going to be a few charity singles to appear on this list, this was by far the most successful as its proceeds went towards AIDS and HIV research as well as it being a sweet cover of a Rod Stewart track from earlier in the decade. This is proof that the world was open to helping out the LGBT community of the day including the (supposedly) homophobic American market.
Even after a decade of going solo, it appears that there were no signs of Diana Ross slowing down in her native America as she began the 80's with the biggest hit of her career with this entry (at least until her earlier entry took that achievement the following year.) This was also the case in the southern hemisphere where it became her first chart topper in Australia and NZ.
Imagine how much bigger this magnum opus from MJ could've been had it been the lead single to Thriller instead of "The girl is mine," as is it remains the biggest hit of his career even in his native America thanks to the catchy beat and lyrics about him denying he's a sexual predator (a full decade before actual allegations started coming in mind you.)
It appears Steve Miller's fellow Americans had no issues with him selling out on this track as this proved to be his biggest hit in America despite already having two Billboard chart toppers throughout the 70's with "The joker" and "Rock n me." I stand by this was due to MTV heavily promoting the video as it was an odd viewing compared to what was coming out at the time.
You may have noticed the lack of entries from the second half of the decade so far, that's because much like the 90's, Billboard was heavily biased towards a particular part of the 80's due to the stiff competition that the charts had between 1984-1992. That said, we have the second biggest hit on this list from around this time courtesy of Lionel Richie and his Oscar winning ballad from White nights.
I used the previous entry to mention the chart formatting for this list as what applies to that song from Lionel Richie also applies to this one, namely that they're both the biggest hits in his career in his homeland due to being the lead singles to his third and second album respectively. The difference being that this had a better chart run due to the lack of competition it had compared to his other hit.
Finally, a song on this list that wasn't a Billboard chart topper, although this might as well have been as it was the unfortunate victim that got stuck behind Livie's top entry on this list during her mammoth eleven week run at number one in America. Although they had hits prior to this second single from Four, it was this song that finally made Foreigner a household name both in their homeland and here in Australia.
What's this? Another song that failed to get to number one on Billboard? Again, we have a song that got shut out by an earlier entry on this list (Joan Jett's to be exact) which nonetheless was a massive hit for the artist in question. This was the first taste of success John Cougar had in his homeland even though he already had a massive hit here in Australia with his debut single "I need a lover."
Although he had three entries on Billboard's 90's list, none of them made my list due to all of them being flops for Phil Collins outside of America despite one of them being well known to this day (that being "Something happened on my way to heaven.") At least the lead single to the album that spawned all those hits was an international hit for him, likely because it was the final Billboard chart topper of the decade.
This was the final hit that the Captain and Tennille had even in their native America, although at least they went out with a bang as this was their second Billboard chart topper right as the decade had begun which of course allowed them to have a mini comeback internationally as we saw when we looked at this track on my Australian and NZ lists for 1980.
Given how she was a household name here in Australia, it only makes sense that Madonna’s fellow Americans would give her a Billboard chart topper with the title track to her second album the same time we Aussies did. It was the first of twelve number one hits in her homeland as well as the first of ten here in Australia (eleven if you count her duet with Britney Spears.)
Although he had success prior to this magnum opus in his native America, this was the first of several Billboard chart toppers for Prince likely due to it being the theme to the film Purple rain which is known for having one of the best albums of all time (in my and many others opinion) as its soundtrack. Expect to see plenty of other entries from the Purple one moving forward on this list.
We're going to be looking at a lot of entries from Hall and Oates on this list, naturally the one that had the highest peak in both Australia and NZ proved to be their biggest hit in their homeland even though it went to number one the same time it became a hit in the former country.
It may have been their only hit worldwide, however at least Pink Floyd managed to go to number one in just about every country their magnum opus charted in (or number two in the case of Australia.) America was no different as we have another Billboard chart topper here, quite impressive for a prog rock band coming out of the 70's.
George Michael had plenty of success prior to this point in his career in America including four number one hits on Billboard (three with Wham and one with Aretha Franklin) however this was the moment he became a household name in America like he had been internationally due to it being declared the biggest hit of 1988 as well as it being the title track to his magnum opus Faith.
This is the only other appearance that Queen will be making on this list, although at least it was a chart topper in America just like their earlier entry on this list as opposed to NZ or their native UK where it wasn't. Interesting to note is that this and Pink Floyd's earlier entry had to duke it out with each other for the top spot in the southern hemisphere which didn't seem to be the case in America.
If you thought songs from the UK took their sweet time in finding an audience amongst us Aussies and kiwis back in the day, you'll be shocked to discover it took almost a full year for that to happen in America even if the artist in question had previously found success on Billboard. This was the case for Bonnie Tyler who went to number one with this magnum opus in America almost a year after she got there in the UK.
For whatever reason, this was credited as Wham featuring George Michael rather than a George Michael solo single in America (which is just confusing in my opinion.) This didn't prevent the song from becoming the duo's second Billboard chart topper following the success of their first American hit which we'll look at in a bit.
Whether you believe this is an accurate representation of the Bangles or a cheap novelty hit (I think it's a bit of both) there's no denying that this fourth single from their second album was what made them a household name throughout the world thanks to its music video which depicted the girls cosplaying as ancient Egyptian priestess. It was certainly the case in their native America as it gave them their first Billboard chart topper.
Given how this was selected as the debut single for the Human league in America, it makes sense that it would match the success on Billboard it achieved in their native UK almost a year prior to their breakthrough. They would score a second Billboard chart topper later in the decade with their only other appearance on this list of mine.
Even though he did score a hit in America with "Speak to the sky" from a decade prior, it was due to Rick Springfield's involvement with General hospital that he was able to score a massive Billboard chart topper with this gem over there around the same time it topped our charts here in Australia. He only had one other appearance on Billboard's 80's list which was also his other hit here in Australia this decade.
Barbra Streisand was one of the biggest names of the decade in the 70's, so it only makes sense she would begin the 80's with her final Billboard chart topper that was also a chart topper here in Australia due to the presence of the Brothers Gibb on backing vocals on the track. She had a ton of other hits on Billboard throughout the decade, however only "Guilty" made it on their 80's list which of course was a flop internationally.
Although this was far from the last Billboard chart topper that Chicago had, it was by far their biggest hit which of course ensured that it would find an international audience just like their first chart topper "If you leave me now" from six years prior. They had a ton of representation of Billboard's 80's list, however only one other track on there managed to become a hit outside of America.
I'm not sure how this stacks against Janet's 90's work given how I can't rely on chart runs to compare and contrast her catalogue on Billboard like I can on other charts, I'm willing to bet Billboard considers this her biggest hit given how high it appears on this list compared to her highest entry on the 90's list which was "Escapade" from the same album this appears on.
Even though this was inescapably popular both in Australia and NZ, there wasn't any guarantee this would find international success given how secluded we Aussies and kiwis are from the international market even to this day. Fortunately, this topped both the Billboard and UK charts the same time the album topped both charts which of course made history in the early months of 1983.
Oh joy, another charity single to become a Billboard chart topper in the 80's. This time it's the infamous Americanised version of "Do they know it's Christmas" which was reportedly played across the world simultaneously when it first hit the airwaves. For what it's worth, Band aid's charity single was a flop in America despite it being the biggest hit of the decade in the UK.
Even though John's earlier entry on this list was his biggest hit in his homeland, this was his only Billboard chart topper as it had nothing to prevent it from topping the American charts like "Hurts so good" did. I'm guessing his fellow Americans genuinely preferred this over his earlier entry given how this predates airplay which would've boosted this song's stats even further had they existed back then.
This is one of two entries Van Halen had on Billboard's 80's list, the other one was their other big hit they had here in Australia, so stay tuned for that later on this list. As for this magnum opus, it had one of the lengthier runs at number one in America throughout the decade which ensured it a high spot on this list right before the band kicked out their lead singer David Lee Roth.
Was there any doubt this would be a chart topper in America? That said, I noticed this was far less successful on Billboard than it was here in Australia, likely because it didn't randomly rebound on their charts like it did on ours after it began its descent from the top spot.
We have another chart topper from Paul McCartney on this list, this time it's a solo venture from him unless you can't the B-side which was a previously unreleased track from his time with Wings. This is the last chart topper of his to appear on this list even if there's still one more entry to come from the former Beatle.
As one of the few entries on this list to appear on more than one year end list for Billboard pre 1992, it's only fitting that this hit from Christopher Cross would appear high on this list even if its success mainly stems from it being an Oscar winning theme song to one of the most popular films of the decade worldwide.
Mr mister was one of the biggest names in music during the midpoint of the decade, as such it shouldn't surprise you that both this and "Kyrie" managed to top the Billboard charts as well as becoming massive hits throughout the world. It's a good thing that "Kyrie" was a hit here in Australia, otherwise this would be the only appearance these guys would be making on this list.
Although Heart had a Billboard chart topper with "These dreams" the year prior to this entry (which won't be appearing on here as it flopped in Australia and NZ) this wound up being their biggest hit in America as it became a defining track of the hair metal ballad which is impressive given how the band began as a less polished folk rock band over a decade prior.
It looked like REO Speedwagon wasn't going to get another Billboard chart topper after "Keep on loving you" given how they seemed to not be made for MTV, this turned out to not be the case as this wound up being even bigger in America than their breakthrough from earlier in the decade (although their respective chart runs suggest otherwise.)
Although these guys are best known for being a diet version of Guns n roses or Bon Jovi (by their haters that is) it's worth noting that their only appearance on this list was their love ballad as that was the only song of theirs to go to number one in their native America back in the day. Their other hits from Australia and NZ were as such on Billboard, however, not enough to make it on their 80's list.
Get ready to revisit every 80's entry from Whitney Houston I've featured on this site so far as all of them managed to top the Billboard charts this decade as well as several others that failed to become a success outside of America. I'll get this out of the way right now, Whitney is to the 80's what Mariah Carey is to the 90's, the most prominent artist of the decade as far as their fellow Americans were concerned.
This was the second chart topper that Hall and Oates had in America from their album Private eyes, it was the bigger hit of the two likely due to how much catchier it is compared to the title track. It's also worth noting that this was the duo's first hit over in NZ despite it being one of their less popular hits here in Australia from back in the day.
Even though this was the second single from Slippery when wet in America like it was here in Australia, it still managed to be the bigger hit for Bon Jovi despite "You give love a bad name" also becoming a chart topper on Billboard as opposed toa sleeper hit down under. That said, I feel this was only as big as it was internationally due to it being their debut single in the UK.
Although they had a hit with "Sultans of swing" in America like they did here in Australia, this was the only success that Dire straits had throughout the 80's on Billboard even if it managed to top the Billboard charts which it failed to do anywhere else in the world. I can't stress this enough, there is so much more to this song than it's homophobic second verse which even back then was edited out of the radio version.
This was a massive Billboard chart topper for both parties involved, although I'm guessing it was a success due to Michael McDonald's presence rather than Patti Labelle's due to the former having massive success during his time with the Doobie brothers back in the day. Although this was a decent hit here in Australia, it was far more lucrative over in NZ.
If it wasn't for "Come on Eileen" from Dexy's midnight runners, this would've replaced MJ's earlier entry on this list at number one on Billboard which is a feat that so rarely happens there's news articles made about it whenever it happens. It's impossible to believe, but there was pushback against this single as we had an (at the time) musician of colour working with an established rock band (Van Halen) on this track.
It's hard to believe that a theme song to a long forgotten film would be what gave Madonna her second Billboard chart topper, however that's exactly what we have here as the (future) queen of pop was on a roll in her homeland just like she was here in Australia when she released this ballad during the height of her album cycle for Like a virgin.
If you can believe it, this was the first hit that Tina Turner had in her native America given how nothing she released prior to her signature track caught on over there like it did internationally. What's worse is that she would be considered yesterday's news by the end of her album cycle to her follow up album even though she continued finding success internationally well into the 90's.
From what I can gather, this was actually bigger in America than what "Don't stop till you get enough" was, I'm guessing because this was more of an RNB jam than a disco track like that classic is which didn't trigger the disco backlash mindset his fellow Americans had coming into the decade.
As this was the lead single to the White night’s soundtrack, it makes sense that it would also be a number one hit on Billboard for Phil Collins even if Lionel's Oscar winning contribution to the film proved to be the bigger hit overall worldwide. Phil would rejoin Genesis following this song's success which would lead to their biggest hits around the world.
Although this wasn't as big as their earlier entry on this list in America, Foreigner nonetheless were able to score a Billboard chart topper with the lead single to their fifth album which of course repeated its success throughout the world including in the UK where this became their only hit. There's still one more entry to come from the band as we go further down this list.
This was the first of three Billboard chart toppers for Billy Joel, he has plenty of other hits in his catalogue in his homeland, however only one of them will join his three chart toppers on this list as the rest of his catalogue didn't rack up the points to appear on Billboard's 80's list. It's curious this was the big hit off of Glass houses given how it was the second single after "You may be right."
Although the only songs from Kenny Loggins to make Billboard's 80's list were the two hits he had here in Australia, it's worth noting that he had plenty of other moderate hits in America throughout the decade, usually from a film like his two big hits. This was the biggest hit he had which of course was a chart topper for him given how it was the title track to one of the biggest films of the decade.
I'm not sure how this became Phil Collin's first Billboard chart topper as he did have two hits prior to this over there like he did internationally, I guess this was due to it being attached to the film of the same name which was a massive hit at the box office upon its initial release. This led to him having a string of chart toppers in America for the remainder of the decade.
We've had a couple of entries on Billboard's 80's list we've skipped over already, this would've been another entry I skipped over if I was just referring to the Australian charts as this bombed here for some reason. It was a hit over in NZ due to it being the first of many chart toppers for Paula Abdul in her homeland as well as it being a huge hit in the UK of all places.
As this was the lead single to Tears for fears second album in America, it naturally became the bigger hit on Billboard as it allowed them to top the charts over there like they did here in Australia and NZ with their other big hit "Shout." I still can't believe these guys never had a chart topper in their native UK even if it was due to bad luck, seriously they couldn't catch a break with their release schedule.
This was the penultimate chart topper on the Billboard charts for the decade, it makes sense that Billy Joel and Phil Collins would have the final two number one hits in America before the 90's began as they both embodied what people remember so fondly about the 80's. That said, this isn't one of Billy’s more well-regarded hits as it's been criticised for its lyrical structure and melody.
This was the third and final chart topper these guys had in their native America, although I’m not sure if it was due to their artist momentum or if it's attached to one of the silliest films of the decade that got them their biggest hit on Billboard. That said, this was their final hit even in their homeland, likely due to people being unable to get past just how ridiculous the film it got attached to was.
If you can believe it, this was not only the first Billboard chart topper U2 had, but also their first hit in America as nothing they released prior to this track was a hit over there like it was internationally. They have two more entries to come on this list, these three appearances being the full extent of their popularity in America when it comes to their singles.
Given how Back to the future was one of the most profitable films of the decade, it makes sense that this would be the first of three chart toppers for Huey Lewis and the news in their native America. They did score a bunch of hits off their breakthrough album Sports the previous year, however none of them managed to make Billboard's 80's list, meaning they weren't that big over there.
Even though it was the seventh singles from her debut album (side note SEVEN SINGLES FROM ONE ALBUM?!?!?!) it still managed to be the biggest hit from said album in America like it was here in Australia given how it was a massive chart topper for Whitney Houston in both countries. She would continue her chart-topping streak on Billboard with the singles from her second album Whitney after this.
We have another Billboard chart topper that's also an academy award winner on this list, this time it's from Stevie Wonder who many believe (me included) sold out when he wrote this ballad for the Gene Wilder flick Woman in red which was decently successful back in the day due to his comedic genius.
From what I can gather, La Bamba was a critical and commercial success back in the day due to it depicting the short life of Ritchie Valens. With that in mind, I'm still dumbstruck this cover of the titular track from Los lobos managed to be such a runaway success back in the day given how the song is in Spanish and (at least to my knowledge) doesn't have an English version to justify its worldwide success.
Just a heads up that there won't be a lot of disco entries on this list as true to the historic facts, America wanted the 80's to have as little to do with the 70's as possible with disco being what represented the earlier decade as far as they were concerned. That said, even they couldn't help themselves in making this track from Lips inc a chart topper on Billboard due to how irresistible it is.
Even though both hits from the Xanadu soundtrack here in Australia were chart toppers around the world, it came at the expense of the track that didn't go to number one in a country bombing in said country. In the UK it was the title track that was the big hit whilst in America it was the lead single which gave Livie her second solo number one on Billboard after "I honestly love you" from six years prior.
This song infamously failed to top the Australian, NZ and British charts back in the day despite it easily being one of the biggest hits of the decade in all three countries, this wasn't the case in America where the theme song to one of the biggest films of the decade easily went to number one on Billboard for Ray Parker Jr. A bit of a hot take here, but I feel the world's refusal to let this get to number one was done out of respect for Huey Lewis.
This is another song that appeared on more than one year end list back in the day, it's the debut single from Laura Branigan that came so close to topping the Billboard charts but got stuck behind John Cougar from earlier. I bring this up because it was an even bigger hit here in Australia not just because it topped our charts but also lasted even longer than it did in her native America.
This may have gone down in infamy as one of the worst songs of the decade (a title I'm not going to argue against) however it's easy to forget just how well loved this ballad was from Lionel Richie back in the day as it was a massive worldwide success for the former Commodores frontman. America was no exception as this was his third solo chart topper (fourth if you count his duet with Diana Ross) over there.
Even though this was pushed back as the second single from their sophomore album in America, that didn't prevent this from becoming the band's second chart topper on Billboard which means they had one more chart topper over there than they did here in Australia and two more than they did in their native UK. They even made Billboard’s 80's list with "Head over heels" which won't appear on here due to it bombing in Australia and NZ.
This has often been described as a Bryan Adams ballad, meaning that Richard Marx managed to have a bigger hit than his Canadian counterpart in America with a song many will believe to be from said counterpart. That said, this was the best Richard could do in his homeland which would be overshadowed two years later when Bryan released his theme to Kevin Costner's version of Robin Hood.
We’ve come this far into the list and we have the fourth appearance of a song that failed to get to number one in America, I guess number one was everything over there once upon a time given how the rate of non-chart toppers isn't going to pick up anytime soon on this list. It's easy to see why this was a hit in America given how it was a massive hit throughout the rest of the world.
Of all the places to give Yes a hit single, I wasn't expecting it to be America given how as far as I know, none of their albums found much success over there throughout the 70's. That said, this became a huge chart topper for them on Billboard which led to this crossing over here in Australia for the prog band.
Not only was this the final chart topper that KC and the sunshine band had in their native America, it was also their final top ten hit as "Give it up" was only a sleeper hit later in the decade due to it being a disco track released during the dark age of the genre that only took place over there and nowhere else in the world. This also has the distinction of being the first chart topper on Billboard for the decade.
It seems fitting that the one hit that Debbie Gibson was able to achieve outside of her native America wound up being her biggest on Billboard, although it's worth noting that had she had other hits outside of America then she would have a lot more representation on this list as her fellow Americans loved her during the final stretch of the decade.
It's a bit strange that this was the song that went to number one on Billboard and not the chart topper that these guys had here in Australia ("Original sin") or NZ ("Good times.") That said, it was the lead single to their most successful album as well as the band already scoring a hit in America with "What you need" from their previous album, so it's that hard to believe this was their biggest hit.
We've already had a few entries that failed to get to number one in America on this list, however this stalled at number three over there, meaning that we're finally starting to see songs that had a lengthy chart run on Billboard that failed to reach the top spot during said run on this list. It seems fitting that Quarterflash was the first entry on this list to achieve this feat.
If this felt out of place on both my 1987 lists, then imagine how much of an outlier this is on this list as this was a huge Billboard chart topper for Gregory Abbot despite fitting in just as well on those charts as they did on our charts (IE not at all.) This clearly had an audience back in the day given its massive success worldwide, however it's no surprise that it's fallen into obscurity over the years.
Even though this wasn't Starship's biggest hit in America like it was throughout the rest of the world, it was the song that revived the career of the members who rebranded themselves from their previous name Jefferson Starship. To this day, this remains a polarising song for music lovers as on the one hand, it’s a banger. On the other hand, however, the lyrics are painfully hypocritical coming from these former hippies.
Given how they scored their first chart topper in America (as well as here in Australia) with their earlier entry, it makes sense that this would follow in its footsteps in their homeland given how it was the first thing they released after their Oscar nominated track took them into the mainstream. They would score one more chart topper on Billboard with "Jacob's ladder," a song that won't appear on this list despite appearing on the sites 80's list.
Another song featuring this high on my list that failed to get to number one on Billboard, it almost did as Eddie Murphy was blocked by Lionel Richie of all people when this became a massive success in his homeland. This remains his only hit even in America due to how easy it was to mock even at the time of its release.
Like most hits on this list from British artists, this took its sweet time in finding a release in America despite it already being one of the biggest hits of the decade throughout the rest of the world by the time Americans decided to check out what all the fuss was about from Rick Astley. While it wasn't as inescapable on Billboard as it was in Australia, NZ and the UK, it did go to number one over there regardless.
OK surely these guys will have better representation on this list than they did on the 90's list, right? WRONG. Even though this was a huge chart topper for them on Billboard which of course led to their international success, none of their other singles from their first two albums became big enough to qualify for Billboard's 80's list, meaning this is their only appearance on this list.
I think this is the most recent entry on this list given how it reached its peak position in the final week of the decade to allow it to appear on this list rather than the 90's (at a much higher position than it already has here, I'm sure.) This was a candidate to be the final chart topper of the decade, but it failed to usurp Phil Collins who took that crown away from these two.
The success of George Harrison's final hit as a solo artist in America is sandwiched between what he achieved here in Australia and in NZ, yes it was a Billboard chart topper for him, but it didn't last anywhere near as long on their charts as it did on ours. The kiwis also have an advantage over the Americans with this guy as his supergroup the Traveling wilburys didn't have any success on Billboard like they did in the southern hemisphere.
While this was a massive hit here in Australia due to our love of the film it was named after, its success pales in comparison to what it achieved in America as this was the first of two chart toppers that Dolly Parton had in her homeland (the other being her duet with Kenny Rogers from earlier on this list.) This is the full extent of her representation on here as she focused on her acting career due to how well received her performance was in the film.
Just like everywhere in the world outside of Australia, this was a massive number one hit for Falco in America due to the success of the biopic Amadeus as well as just how ridiculous this was even at the time of its release. Unlike in Australia and NZ, this was the Austrian singer's only hit on Billboard despite attempts to get him out of the one hit wonder bin for the remainder of the decade.
It may be considered to be her magnum opus, however this title track to Madonna’s fourth album was far from her biggest hit even in America (as we've already seen on this list) likely due to the controversy that sparked from the music video (also this alternate album art I found might've had something to do with it.) That said, this was still a chart topper for her in America just like it was everywhere else in the world.
