This is the final year from the 21st century on this list, the millennium was off to a good start thanks to the high abundance of quality rnb and hip hop making it big worldwide as well as teen pop being on its way out in favour of more personal ballads from older artists. I guess reality shows did have their foot in the door this year. However, that was only a big issue in the UK who were still dealing with mass piracy in their music scene at the time.
Unlike in Australia where this had most of its success when Linkin Park had their big hit on Billboard, in NZ it had most of its success upon its initial release in lieu of the lead single becoming a hit over there like it was down under. Indeed, the band didn’t have much success with their singles over there throughout the decade, however it was in favour of their albums seeing much more success.
Much like everywhere else in the world, this had a slow start to its success over in NZ due to people feeling that Nelly Furtado would be a one hit wonder with the lead single from the album. Of course, the success this album had once the second single dropped over there was very predictable given how that single quickly became one of the biggest hits of the decade over there due to its popularity in America.
A major theme with these lists is me pointing out how refusing the release of a single to boost an album’s popularity proved pointless here in Australia given how the album remained equally as popular in NZ such as this debut from Dido. Granted the singles were released over there due to Sony feeling that the lead single didn’t pose much of a threat to Eminem’s “Stan,” although that might be because that flopped over there for some reason.
Unlike in Australia where this greatest hits album was a massive hit throughout its initial run on the charts, this became a hit twice in NZ as it quickly fell off their charts not long after its initial release only to return once Maurice Gibb tragically passed away a year later.
One of the bigger bands from NZ this decade was Salmonella dub, they were an EDM group who managed to score minor success entering the decade with their album Killervision given that was when EDM became more mainstream over there like it was throughout the 90’s here in Australia. That said, this album’s success was far more than its placement on this list suggests given how it lingered in the lower half of their charts for quite some time.
This was more of an immediate success over in NZ, so much so that it managed to reach the upper echelons of their charts unlike here in Australia where it only qualified for that side of my site due to it lingering around forever in a day for the (literally) animated band. It’s no surprise this was a hit for them over there given how it spawned a genuine hit for them with its second single.
While this did have a slow start to its success over in NZ the previous year, it appears the kiwis were eventually won over by this debut album from Blue as it became a massive success for them this year due to how popular each of the singles were over there. I guess in a way, there was a third round of the boy band wars given how popular they and Westlife were during the first half of the decade over there.
I guess the kiwis were more interested in reliving the glory days of when Billy Joel released new music than us Aussies were, either that or they just wanted to make this greatest hits package a bigger success than it was over here given how much more successful it was over there back in the day.
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.
This was almost a flop for J-Lo over in NZ given how the singles massively underperformed over there, however much like the rest of the world, it received a boost in popularity once the “remixes” of some of its songs became popular which led to an entire album of her commissioning remixes of each of the songs that was released the following year to massive success.
This was all set to be a flop for Incubus in NZ just like it was everywhere else in the world, I guess fans of their breakthrough album didn’t appreciate them changing up their sound so soon after they gravitated towards their music (their last album sat on shelves for nearly two years unnoticed worldwide.) It was given a second chance over there due to the runaway success of one of its singles there.
This also had a bit of a slow rise to its success in NZ like it did here in Australia, although at least here in Australia it was able to spawn a few minor hits as opposed to over there where each of the songs failed to even chart despite airplay being a factor in the NZ charts at the time of its release. Perhaps the kiwis felt that the singles were not worth listening to on their own and could only be enjoyed with the rest of the album.
It appears that the kiwis were quite invested in allowing Robbie Williams to cover swing classics from yesteryear just like we Aussies were, in fact this album had quite a lengthy run at number one over there likely due to the lead single being released on time as opposed to over here where it was delayed due to his previous album finally deciding to take off upon this album’s initial release here.
It appears we Aussies weren’t that interested in hearing the works of Aaron Lewis and company back in the day, fortunately the kiwis certainly were as their big breakthrough in their native America managed to crossover there thanks to what I’m sure was heavy airplay of the albums lead single. Even so, they remain a one album wonder over there like they were everywhere else in the world with this release.
I’m guessing the kiwis felt like they had to wait for quite a bit for the third album from Creed given how their sophomore album was an instant success upon its initial release two years prior and that their debut had become a success less than a year prior to its release over there. This would explain why their third album wasn’t as big as those two albums given how their hype had died down slightly when it came out.
While this didn’t end up being as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia, at least it was a success much sooner over there due to the kiwis instantly falling in love with the lead single as opposed to it only being a big success here rather than one of the biggest hits of the decade over there. All of this success and she still was in danger of becoming a one album wonder over there until her third album.
Che Fu already achieved sound success with his first solo album during the late 90’s, however I don’t think anyone was expecting the former Supergroove frontman to achieve massive success with his sophomore album going into the new millennium. Sadly, third time wasn’t the charm for him as his third album failed to make any sort of impact for him later in the decade.
It’s only natural that this was more popular in NZ than it was here in Australia given how Pink Floyd in general seems to be more well loved by the kiwis than they are by us Aussies, indeed their comeback album from over a decade later was also more of a success over there than it was over here.
Much like here in Australia, this was the only other successful album that Destiny’s Child had in NZ given how their final album from later in the decade was a massive disappointment for fans worldwide likely due to the standards both they had for it not being met due to how well received the solo albums of Beyonce and Kelly were prior to its release.
One of the biggest names of the decade in NZ was Hayley Westenra, she was a teenage opera singer who got her big break with this album over there thanks to opera music seeing a massive surge in popularity worldwide around the turn of the millennium. Her popularity over there would result in her seeing minor success here in Australia with her next album later in the decade.
Given how Eminem’s earlier entry on this list was equally as popular in NZ as it was here in Australia, it makes sense that his first album with his posse D12 would also be a success over there even if it also failed to produce a hit single for him over there like his earlier entry did. Much like the Eminem show, their next album would also not have any issues with giving the group some hits over there later in the decade.
From what I can gather, this album was released on the twentieth anniversary of its initial release in NZ where it became a hit for Dr Hook all over again, in fact it was able to match the success it achieved here in Australia twenty years prior by finally getting to number one over there like it did over here.
Unlike in Australia where this was an instant success for Nickelback, the kiwis needed a bit of incentive to make this a success over there which they eventually got once the lead single finally topped the Billboard charts months after it was a massive hit here in Australia. I guess they tried to reject the band like most of the world did, but they gave up by the time All the right reasons came out.
Much like here in Australia, this was also one of the last successful albums that Andrea Bocelli had in NZ likely due to his popularity being taken away from him by the likes of Michael Bublé and other classical artists as the decade went on.
Apparently in Germany, this film is called Schokolade zum frühstück (chocolate for breakfast) which I feel is a strange title since I’ve seen this movie (and its sequel) several dozen times and can confirm that at no point does Bridget obsess over chocolate at any point during the day, let alone breakfast. I feel like bringing that up as there’s nothing more I can add about the success of its soundtrack that I haven’t already covered.
This proved to be less successful a greatest hits package for the Corrs over in NZ, likely because they only started finding success with their singles over there with their (then) most recent album from earlier on this list, which made this album of theirs a tad redundant compared to here in Australia.
Much like here in Australia, this breakthrough album from Groove Armada wasn’t a hit upon its initial release over in NZ the previous year, it only becoming a success this year likely due to one of the songs becoming a runaway hit on the radio, although I don’t remember anything other than “I see you baby” being played on the radio which isn’t on the album. The main difference is that this was way more popular over there than it was over here.
It appears the kiwis were much more willing to give Diana Krall a chance when she sparked international interest with this album as this managed to be a hit over there upon its initial release as opposed to here in Australia where it had to wait until the following year before it became a hit for her.
I guess pulling the lead single from this soundtrack from shelves here in Australia did benefit the success of the soundtrack here after all as it was far less successful over there than it was down under, however its success here could also be due to patriotism since the film was made here in Australia even though Baz Lurhman was already a household name in Hollywood when it was released this year.
It’s a bit of a surprise that this was a success over in NZ and not here in Australia given how immensely popular Bob Dylan was in both countries throughout the twentieth century, although admittedly his popularity was much bigger over there during the 80’s even though people consider that to be the dark ages in his catalogue.
While the popularity of Tool did die down in NZ like it did here in Australia, it obviously wasn’t to the same extent as this album managed to have a higher placement on this list despite charting lower over there than it did over here.
This was initially a flop for Goodshirt upon its initial release the previous year, mainly because they were an indie band who didn’t have much buzz to them as opposed to many of their fellow kiwis from the start of the decade. Their fortunes changed when one of the songs from the album became a huge success this year which prompted the locals to check out the rest of the album and thus, make it a hit for them.
There were no signs of Westlife slowing down over in NZ as their third album managed to be a massive success for them over there like their first two albums were, granted it spent most of its time in the lower half of their charts which is why this doesn’t appear higher on this list, however there was no doubt that the kiwis didn’t care that the boy band wars were over at this point in time.
This was more of a success in NZ than it was here in Australia even if this too was a sleeper hit over there, I guess the trade-off for this was that the lead single wasn’t a huge chart topper over there like it was over here despite it having airplay on its side with the kiwis. These guys are a one album wonder over there just like they are throughout the rest of the world as their subsequent follow ups all bombed.
It appears the kiwis weren’t as impressed with this second English album from Enrique Iglesias as we Aussies were given how it was merely a sleeper hit over there as opposed to a best seller over here. That said, the singles did fairly well even if the lead single had no appeal with the kiwis outside of its affiliation with 9/11.
Given how much of a roll Gabrielle was on from her previous album as well as her contribution to the Bridget Jones diary soundtrack, it makes sense the kiwis would make this greatest hits album from her a success as it allowed them to rediscover her back catalogue from the 90’s they skipped over.
Eddy Grant was indeed one of the biggest names of the 80’s in NZ, as such it makes sense that his greatest hits package would be a huge success over there this year even if it came completely out of nowhere.
Unlike in Australia where this was quite the juggernaut due to the surprise success of one of its singles, it was only a sleeper hit in NZ despite entering the charts quite high over there due to the artist momentum Garbage had worldwide. At least this did shake up their charts which is more than I can say for their subsequent follow ups.
We looked at their third album on the Australian side of my site, time now to look at the debut album from Bond which was a decent success for them over in NZ as well as it being a minor hit here in Australia (too minor to appear on that side of my site unfortunately.) Sadly, the kiwis didn’t keep them around any further in the decade as Classified didn’t even chart over there.
Even though this debuted at number one over in NZ, this wound up being a sleeper hit for the Feelers as it’s another album that only stuck around due to it rebounding on their charts whenever one of the singles was released. Indeed, their next album would follow a similar pattern later in the decade, making these guys more of a single’s band rather than an albums band.
This was a Christmas album that Hayley Westenra released following the success of her earlier entry on this list, it was a decent success in her homeland and likely would’ve been even bigger had it not been pulled from shelves once the holiday season was over.
Although we Aussies weren’t that upset when these guys called it quits in 2000, it appears the kiwis were given how much more popular this was over there than it was over here which earns it a higher spot on this list. The band would of course reform later in the decade when they were able to put their differences aside for the sake of their fanbase.
It had been a while since Willie Nelson touched the charts anywhere in the world, in fact in the southern hemisphere, his last successful album was his previous greatest hits package from 1980, which means this greatest hits album was the first time the kiwis cared about him since looking over his 70’s work twenty years prior.
This was a huge success for the king of rock and roll this year in NZ, likely because the kiwis were already feeling nostalgia for his back catalogue even though they likely would’ve had it satisfied had they waited a year given how both the producers of Ocean’s eleven and Disney would bring his music to the mainstream throughout the rest of the world.
Although they never quite lived up to the videogames, the two Tomb raider films starring Angelina Jolie remain a guilty pleasure of mine to this day due to how well she captures the bloodthirsty nature of Lara Croft. The first film had a killer soundtrack to boot, and it appears the kiwis agreed as it was a moderate success over there back in the day.
For a band that only has two songs that anyone outside of their diehard fanbase would’ve heard of, America has had quite a long shelf life in the nostalgia circuit given how this is yet another greatest hits album of theirs to be a success on this site of mine.
I guess the kiwis weren’t as big of fans of the 00’s equivalent of Flashdance as we Aussies were given how much less popular it was over there compared to over here upon its initial release, although at least its theme song from P!nk managed to be a bigger hit over there even if it’s more due to airplay as well as her debut album not being as successful over there as it was over here.
Although she wasn’t dropped from her label in NZ like she was in America, this is the first successful album that Kylie Minogue had over there since her second album from twelve years prior. Even then, this was definitely more of a sleeper hit as it rebounded on their charts whenever one of the singles were released, although only the third single was more popular over there than it was over here.
This would’ve been a mere modest success for Atomic kitten in NZ given how it only became a huge hit for the trio due to the second single becoming one of the biggest hits of the decade over there, however it rebounded on their charts when the deluxe edition was released which contained their second chart topper over there as well as their native UK.
