While we Aussies did shut out rnb and hip hop just like the kiwis had shut out edm and Eurodance, the two countries did allow for rock and pop to dominate our respective scenes which were both at their best this year. While it’s a shame the decade was territorial with what was popular, there’s no denying that each part of the world had a great music scene as the different genres had a ton of innovation to them all.
These guys had a similar rise to success over in NZ as they did in Australia, although I guess it took slightly longer as they didn’t have a Triple J equivalent to crown the lead single of their second album as the best song of 1994 and needed to wait for the song to be a massive chart topper here before it crossed over there.
It may shock you to learn that Celine Dion wasn’t as inescapably successful in NZ as she was throughout the rest of the world, mainly because she never quite had a number one hit over there likely due to being overshadowed by the likes of Mariah Carey and Toni Braxton. That said she was still one of the biggest names of the 90’s there both with her singles and especially her albums.
Even before the film swept the academy awards, Forrest Gump was a cultural landmark upon its initial release which allowed it and its soundtrack to become a massive success back in the day. Nowadays its legacy has been diminished partly due to bad faith criticisms of it glorifying ableism but mostly for it winning over the likes of Pulp fiction and the Shawshank redemption.
I guess it was inevitable that there would be a NZ equivalent of the Red-hot chili peppers this decade, indeed there was as this debut album from Supergroove was a massive success for them likely due to how popular their Californian equivalent was worldwide. It could also be due to all of the hits that it managed to spawn over there making them prime for a crossover in Australia that never ended up happening.
This proved to be even more of a success in NZ than it was here in Australia, proving that even in the end the kiwis loved anything that Pink Floyd had to offer which makes the A.V club’s claim that this album’s existence was pointless all the more confusing in retrospect.
This was back in the day where they house of mouse could do no wrong in the eyes of the general public (how the times have changed) so naturally the soundtrack to their most lucrative 2d film would be a huge success for them even though Elton John’s popularity was quickly dying out throughout the world.
It appears the kiwis were more in love with Ace of Base then us Aussies back in the day, although the reason should be obvious as they incorporated reggae into their sound which was inescapable on the NZ charts from around this time. At least we Aussies kept them around for their second album due to our love of EDM, NZ on the other hand quickly discarded them the following year.
This is a remix album of Deep Forest’s debut album, an album that was a flop for the French duo in NZ which makes this albums success over there somewhat confusing as this was a dance remix of their new age material. This was a minor success here in Australia because of our love for EDM at the time, however it appears the kiwis were the ones who really wanted to boogie with this album.
Well Sade had plenty more success over in NZ throughout the 80’s than they did in Australia, so it’s little wonder that M People would follow suit with this trend as they also managed to be even bigger over there than they were over here. Interestingly the songs that charted over there apart from the lead single were also different to the ones that charted over here.
Given how Seal was already one of the biggest names in music in NZ from earlier in the decade, it makes sense that his second self-titled album would be a huge success over there upon its immediate release even with him changing from EDM to RNB on the album. Of course, it rebounded on their charts when the second single was chosen as the main theme for the Batman forever film a year after its release.
This albums success in NZ was inevitable given the circumstances of when it was released, in fact I’m a bit surprised it wasn’t even more of a success over there given how much bigger Nirvana was in NZ compared to Australia.
The success of this album in NZ was almost identical to what it achieved here in Australia; the only main difference is that the lead single “Longview” didn’t chart over there likely due to the kiwis not having a Triple J equivalent which played the song about masturbation at the time (charming breakthrough guys BTW.) They wouldn’t trouble the charts again over there for ten years as their subsequent releases bombed in the 90’s.
This album sat on shelves for over a year ignored in NZ just like it did everywhere else in the world, in fact the only difference between its fate over there from its fate here in Australia is that it wasn’t quite as successful over there likely due to the kiwis not being that impressed with the singles like we Aussies were.
This took a while for it to become a success in NZ, mainly because the Offspring had their success here in Australia strictly because Triple J promoted this album the previous year as it was a massive flop in their native America. It crossed over to NZ once the two lead singles appeared high on the year end list for 1994, thus enabling the kiwis to check out what all the fuss was about here.
There were no signs of R.E.M slowing down anywhere in the world except for their native America when they released their third album of the 90’s, in fact they were more popular in the UK by this point as they had struggled to find any success on the Billboard charts with this album as did everyone at the time who wasn’t signed to a major label.
Well, the kiwis were certainly in love with this cult classic back in the day like we Aussies were, as such the soundtrack became a massive hit over there helping it become a massive box office hit in Hollywood as well as cement its status as a cultural phenomenon.
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.
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.
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.
This was a massive hit for the Crash test dummies over in NZ, more so than it was in Australia despite their big crossover hit not being as big over there as it was over here. Indeed, the singles were less successful overall due to their only other charting hit failing to become a success over there like it was in their native Canada.
This wasn’t as big a hit for Boyz II Men in NZ as it was here in Australia, I’m guessing because the kiwis were more interested in making the singles a success over there given how the singles were indeed more popular there than they were here back in the day. It could also be a sense of overexposure as the band would start to see diminishing returns over there as the decade went on.
It may have failed to produce that big hit over in NZ like it did here in Australia, however this debut album from Joshua Kadison was nonetheless a huge success over there likely due to its surprise popularity down under given how “Beautiful in my eyes” was such a huge hit for him over here.
This was originally a flop for Harry Connick Jr in NZ, I’m guessing the kiwis only wanted him around for his greatest hits package from earlier in the decade which was a massive hit over there like it was over here for him. They must have changed their minds this year when this skyrocketed up their charts, I’m guessing due to it being a massive success here in Australia around this time.
One of the most critically acclaimed films of the 90’s was Once were warriors, a NZ film that portrays domestic violence in a way that had rarely been done prior to its release, that is with dignity and respect. It was a massive hit in its homeland and in Australia, although the soundtrack didn’t really crossover here due to the singles not charting like they did in its homeland.
This was an even bigger hit in NZ likely due to it actually connecting with the kiwis unlike here in Australia where it was merely a sleeper (albeit still huge) success for the band. Even with all of the love they had received from the southern hemisphere and their native UK, the band were unable to keep up this momentum throughout the second half of the decade leading to them eventually breaking up.
This was a huge surprise hit for Dave Dobbyn given how he hadn’t touched the charts since the late 80’s in his homeland, indeed many of his contemporaries had come and gone in the time it took to follow up his second album with this third album of his which makes its success that much more surprising.
Well, this had a similar story to its success over in NZ, the only main difference is that it managed to chart higher over there due to the kiwis completely ignoring it upon its initial release as opposed to us Aussies making it a minor success the previous year and only making it a huge sleeper hit this year due to the popularity of their earlier entry.
Given how inescapable these guys were in NZ for their first album, you’d think this would’ve been a success over there upon its initial release from the previous year. You’d be wrong as much like here in Australia, this needed the assistance of Four weddings and a funeral of all things in order for it to become a success over there.
Well, I guess the kiwis had grown tired of Bon Jovi by this point as this greatest hits album wasn’t nearly as successful over there as it was over here. Then again, their previous album Keep the faith was a complete failure over there despite it being a massive success here in Australia, so perhaps this greatest hits album was in fact the comeback that the band needed from being left behind in the 80’s over there.
Well, this album had little issues with being a success for Toni Braxton upon its initial release in NZ, mainly because she didn’t need to wait for her big hit from the album to become as such in the UK before it crossed over there like it did here in Australia. With that said, her popularity over there dwindled rather quickly as her second album didn’t see the same level of success as it did here.
This was initially a minor success for Stone temple pilots in NZ, I guess the kiwis felt there were too many alternative bands to choose from at the time and passed this up for the likes of Smashing pumpkins and R.E.M. They were won over by the album eventually likely due to how popular it was here in Australia and also due to the lack of competition it had in their alternative scene.
This seemed like a good time to release a greatest hits package for Sade given how popular their (then) most recent album was worldwide, naturally it was more of a success in NZ than it was here in Australia as we Aussies at least seemed to have a limit on how many of these albums would be a success back in the day compared to the kiwis.
Although this wasn’t quite as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia (or at least it wasn’t according to ARIA) this was at least released on time over there which means that it became a success months prior to it seeing the light of day down under.
This was a minor success for Oasis in NZ when it came out two years prior, it was given a second chance this year following the success of their earlier entry which resulted in the album finally rising up to the ranks of some of the band’s contemporaries at the time of its release. This is essentially what happened here in Australia; however, the kiwis were much kinder to the album hence its higher placement on this list.
This is another entry that should be higher on the list as it was a bigger success over in NZ than some of the entries that outrank it, but its success was in the lower half of the charts for the most part. It was the second album from the Mutton birds which kept rebounding on the charts whenever a new song was released from the album.
This was only a success in NZ this year, not even us Aussies were interested in revisiting the classics from Pat Benatar which should give you an idea of how underrated she was back in the day as she has since found her discography on the oldie’s stations here.
This was far more of a success over in NZ than it was here in Australia, I guess the kiwis were more interested in this project than we Aussies were given how classical music had more overall success over there than it did over here back in the day.
One of the funniest films to come out of the 90’s was Cool Runnings, a Disney flick that tells a fictional story about the first Jamaican bob sledge team that remains heart-warming to this day (as inaccurate as the story is to real life.) The kiwis certainly loved this movie back in the day, so much so that the soundtrack and its lead single were both massive hits over there.
Sting was on a roll this decade given the success of his (then) most recent album which included the track this greatest hits album was named after, as such he found massive success with this album over there even though it was a massive flop for him here in Australia.
Rather than having the first two volumes of the greatest hits anthology from Queen consistently rechart throughout the decade, their label decided to bundle them together with this release which became a massive success in NZ despite it being a massive flop here in Australia upon its initial release.
While the kiwis weren’t as impressed that hell froze over to allow the Eagles to reunite for their Hell freezes over tour (I still can’t believe that was how it was described in the press back then) they obviously had nostalgia for the back catalogue from the band which is why this greatest hits package was a success over there. I guess this also wasn’t bigger because their last best of album was a hit a mere three years prior.
This proved to be more of a success for Eric Clapton in NZ than it was here in Australia, I’m guessing the kiwis were more willing to keep him around following the success of his appearance on MTV two years prior even if his popularity came to an end once his final hit “Change the world” dropped off the charts worldwide.
It appears the kiwis weren’t as into the soundtrack for this film as we Aussies were given how much less successful it was over there compared to here, although it might also be due to the success of its theme song being transferred to Wet wet wet’s earlier entry on this list over there given how much more popular that was over there compared to over here.
Much like here in Australia, it had been a while since Bob Seger troubled the NZ charts prior to the release of this greatest hits package. Unlike here in Australia, this was released on time over there which means it began the year in the upper echelons of their charts long before it saw the light of day on our charts.
This was a modest success for the Strawpeople upon its initial release in their homeland, however it achieved its true success when it was discovered by listeners of Triple J which helped boost its popularity in their native NZ for well over a year. Heck the lead single even appeared on the station’s year end list for 1995 which confirmed them as a hot indie act to look out for down under.
Given how “Black hole sun” wasn’t a hit over there for Soundgarden like it was here in Australia, this breakthrough album from the band didn’t wind up being as popular in NZ as it was here down under which is why it’s much lower on this list. Still, they did manage to have a massive hit with their next album two years later over there that they certainly didn’t have over there.
This was also a bit of a minor comeback for the Rolling stones in NZ like it was here in Australia, although it was a fluke over there like it was over here as none of their subsequent follow ups managed to recreate this level of success never mind what their classic albums achieved throughout the century.
It appears that even monks were able to find success in the mainstream in NZ back in the day, to think that a bunch of priests who called themselves the Priests made headline news in the late 00’s when they scored a top ten album in 2008 when this was one of the bigger albums of the year back in its day.
This was also the final successful album to come from Hunters and collectors in NZ just like it was here in Australia, hey I’m as surprised as you are these guys maintained their popularity down under let alone with the kiwis this far into the decade.
Given how A: RNB was far more popular in NZ than it was here in Australia and B: this album spawned multiple hits for All 4 one, it makes sense that it was more of a success over there than it was over here back in the day. That said, outside of scoring a huge hit from their second album the following year, this was the full extent of their popularity outside of their native America.
While this wasn’t as popular in NZ as it was here in Australia, the kiwis were nonetheless willing to make this greatest hits album a success for INXS due to the fond memories they had with the bands back catalogue despite their popularity being non-existent over there by this point in time.
It appears the kiwis were also impressed with the soundtrack to Philadelphia, a film that was among the first to depict the LGBT community in a positive light this decade which also includes the likes of Priscilla queen of the desert, To Wong foo and the Birdcage which were all critical and commercial successes back then, proving that audiences were willing to accept this community into the mainstream.
This was also a modest success in NZ this year as it was here in Australia, although considering the kiwis love for classical music, I’m a bit disappointed that this wasn’t an even bigger success over there than it was here.
This was the second greatest hits package from Bread to be a success in NZ despite the band never having that much success with their singles during their heyday over there, I’m guessing the Listener charts were unreliable if they were able to achieve this much success through the nostalgia network.
Given how they’re two of the most successful albums of all time in NZ, it only makes sense that UB40 would release this two for one deal for their first two Labour of love albums which naturally meant it be a success over there for the band.
You’d think this would be more of a success in NZ than it was here in Australia considering A: RNB was more lucrative over there throughout the 90’s and B: it spawned a massive hit for them over there that it lacked over here. Alas, it appears the kiwis only made this a success due to said hit it spawned, that and how inescapable it was with us Aussies.
