This is another year I’d rank lower if I were from the UK given how reality TV really did take over their mainstream this year, however it had no impact anywhere else in the world due to how dominant hip hop and rnb was internationally as well as the rise of personal ballads from usually female singer/songwriters which swept away the teen pop from the start of the decade.
This was the biggest album of the decade over in NZ, I guess the kiwis really wanted to listen to jazz throwbacks given how the likes of Amy Winehouse and Duffy would also receive much more success over there throughout the decade than what they achieved here in Australia.
She already had a massive breakthrough with her debut album from the late 90’s, so it’s only natural that Bic Runga’s second album would be even bigger this decade given how the kiwis had finally begun to look after their own music scene at the turn of the millennium. She would have another successful album later in the decade proving that her popularity was phenomenal but not something that would last forever.
Well, there’s little surprise that this was a massive success for Eminem over in NZ like it was throughout the rest of the world, it’s release schedule over there was almost identical to what it was here in Australia, the only exception being that “Superman” was released around the same time as “Business” due to the kiwis being unable to decide on which song they wanted to support from the album.
Well so much for denying the release of a single from the album in order to encourage its sales, not only was all four singles released over in NZ as opposed to only three of them here in Australia, the other three songs were also far more successful over there as well as the album itself, proving that tampering with an albums release will only discourage audiences from checking out what the artist has to offer.
While this album’s true success didn’t come until the third single from the album became unavoidable on the radio in NZ just like it was internationally, its initial success was more palatable over there compared to what it achieved here in Australia which suggests that the kiwis still had a stronger alternative scene compared to us Aussies back in the day.
This was equally as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia, I bring this up because Sony felt that by not releasing the third single here in Australia, it would drive up album sales for Avril Lavigne which clearly wasn’t the case. For what it’s worth, her next two albums saw more success over here than what they did over there even though Sony didn’t tamper with their release schedule here when they came out.
It appears the kiwis also felt there was still plenty of room for Shakira during the last stretch of the Latin craze that happened from the late 00’s to the midpoint of this decade, although this wasn’t quite as successful an album for her over there as it was over here if only due to it not quite reaching the top spot over there. Still, having three massive hits spawn from a previously unknown pop star was impressive.
This proved to be more of an immediate success for Audioslave in NZ than it did here in Australia, although admittedly both Soundgarden and especially Rage against the machine had infinitely more success over there during their respective heydays in the 90’s than they did here, so this hybrid of the two bands would naturally be more receptive to the kiwis than us Aussies back in the day.
This took its sweet time in finding success over in NZ, in fact it wasn’t until fifteen months after its initial release that it finally became a best seller for the indie band Goldenhorse even after it spawned a massive sleeper hit which initially brought it some mainstream success the year prior. It took a circuitous route to its success; however, it paid off as their next album was also a big hit for them.
Well, there was little doubt that Eminem’s soundtrack to his autobiographical film was going to be a massive success for him over in NZ given how it was released during the height of his popularity worldwide, its success was exactly the same there as it was here hence why I don’t have much to add in this commentary.
This also took its sweet time to become a success in NZ just like it did here in Australia, although given how it spawned a genuine hit for Jack Johnson during the early months of this year, it managed to be more of a success over there even if it was at the expense of his biggest album here which is still to come on this list regardless.
This was one of two successful opera albums to come from Russel Watson over in NZ this decade, although this apparently needed an exclusive release over there given how it was that specific version to make it big over there and not the original version. Even so, it was a massive hit for the opera singer and likely opened up doors for the likes of Amici forever and Il Divo to crossover there later in the decade.
I guess there’s little surprise that this was a massive hit for Celine Dion in NZ, heck she never found much success with her singles throughout the 90’s, so it failing to produce a hit for her worldwide wasn’t much of a hinderance for its success over there like it was in most parts of the world. Although she’s attempted to recapture the success she had with her entries on this site over the years, those attempts have sadly been futile.
I guess the success of Nelly’s debut album had little impact with how big his second album would turn out in the southern hemisphere, then again, I’m pretty sure this album’s success came more from the singles than Nelly’s skills as a rapper given how fondly remembered the two Billboard chart toppers from this album remain to this day and how most of his other songs have since fallen into obscurity.
For whatever reason, this album from RHCP wasn’t as popular in NZ as it was here in Australia, although that might be because Flea had become an Australian citizen which prompted us Aussies to make this more popular than it otherwise would’ve been had he not become an Australian. Their next album Stadium arcadium would restore their popularity to what it was at the start of the decade.
This was the debut album of NZ’s answer to the likes of Limp Bizkit and 28 days, it had a slow start to its success likely due to the kiwis finding nu metal to be a niche genre reserved only for the likes of Linkin Park and Korn. It was given a second chance when it spawned a surprise hit with “Phlex” which allowed the album to become a massive success for the band over there.
Unlike in Australia where this greatest hits album overlooking U2’s 90’s output was considerably less successful than their album looking over their 1980’s output, in NZ both albums were equally as successful as each other despite the band clearly having more success in the 80’s over there compared to the 90’s.
It appears the kiwis were more on board with celebrating the fortieth anniversary of the Rolling stones by making this album a success than we Aussies were back in the day, as such it has a much higher placement on this list compared to how well it did on the Australian side of this site.
Anika Moa is best known as a TV presenter nowadays; however, she began her career as a singer/songwriter who saw massive success with her debut album. She had another successful album later in the decade before she retired from music to pursue a TV career, said TV career has been far more lucrative for the LGBT performer than her music career ever was.
This wasn’t as big in NZ as it was here in Australia, I’m guessing this was due to the kiwis only having love for this album upon its initial release as well as it randomly becoming a minor hit again a year after its initial release over there for some reason. At least it managed to spawn a genuine hit for her over there with the lead single as opposed to it failing to do so over here.
Although he never had as much success with his singles in NZ as he did in Australia, Ja Rule can at least take comfort knowing that his international breakthrough album managed to be more popular over there than it was over here back in the day. Indeed, I’m surprised he wasn’t more popular with the kiwis even though he was an east coast rapper, I guess the kiwis weren’t impressed with the “thugs need love too” phenomenon.
Pacifier is actually Shihad under a pseudonym who released their first album of the 21st century under this name to massive success in their homeland, they did this due to them sparking interest in America and their management convincing them that Shihad would be a bad name for them over there for whatever reason. They naturally didn’t have any success over there, although they did achieve minor success down under.
Unlike here in Australia where this at least charted the previous year for the Dixie Chicks (now known simply as the Chicks) it appears the kiwis weren’t even interested in their music until they were unceremoniously cancelled this year in their homeland for pointing out what everyone was thinking about the (then) American president and denouncing his actions.
For the third time, a greatest hits package from Little River band with the exact same name managed to become a massive success over in NZ, I’d say this was a tradition that they would begin each new decade with this phenomenon, except there was no such album in the 2010’s to become a success over there.
Even though he only scored one hit in his entire career as well as tragically passing away three years after said hit (“E ipo” from 1982 if you didn’t know) Prince Tui Teka managed to achieve massive success posthumously with this greatest hits package going over most of his work that was overlooked during his lifetime in his homeland.
There was no escaping the king of rock and roll this year anywhere in the world given how both Ocean’s eleven and Disney’s Lilo and Stitch managed to bring the legend back into the mainstream thanks to how much both films loved his catalogue, as such we have this greatest hits package becoming a massive hit in NZ like it was here in Australia.
Whereas these guys were very unsuccessful here in Australia (likely due to there apparently being a third round of the boy band wars that we Aussies didn’t pay much mind towards) Westlife did quite well over in NZ which allowed their first greatest hits package to be a massive success for them over there.
You’d think this would’ve been even bigger in NZ than it was here in Australia given how this spawned a genuine hit for Santana over there that was only a sleeper hit over here, alas it only makes the cut due to it randomly rebounding on their charts this year likely due to the singles having enough airplay over there to chart where they didn’t over here.
Much like here in Australia, this would be the final successful album that Ronan Keating had that wasn’t specifically catered to the mothers of our world, although it’s worth noting that he managed to have more success with this album over here (even though it appears slightly higher on this list due to a lack of competition over there) as well as its singles before finding equal amounts of success with his later material.
This has the same circuitous route to its success in NZ as it did here in Australia in that it required the success of its second single a year after its initial release to make it big over there, the difference of course is that said single managed to become a much bigger hit over there than it was over here likely due to how much radio airplay it received back in the day and that factoring into the NZ charts.
Much like here in Australia, it appears the debut album from Sophie Ellis Bextor only took off in NZ when its deluxe edition was released over there despite the lead single being somewhat of a success over there where it wasn’t over here. I guess the album was overall as successful there as it was over here provided, we redistribute the success each single it spawned received.
This is one of two other album to come from Sony’s lucrative Essential series, we already looked at MJ’s entry on the Australian side of this site, so let’s look at the biggest hit from the franchise that came during an artist’s lifetime which I feel was the case for Neil Diamond due to it replacing his even more lucrative Hot august night album which I noticed was no longer charting in the 21st century anywhere in the world.
This is another remix album to make it big in NZ this year, this time it’s for Linkin Park’s entry from earlier on this list which should make up for that failing to produce a huge hit over there like it did over here given how this album was a flop down under.
By all accounts, this was Atomic Kitten’s biggest album in NZ given how it peaked during the Christmas period of this year as well as not requiring a deluxe edition to boost its sales like their debut from the previous year did. Indeed, this album’s success led to the trio sparking interest in America which resulted in them scrambling together an album that was a success in NZ the following year.
Although the 12th man did find moderate success in NZ with his albums throughout the 90’s, it wasn’t until this album of his that the kiwis finally got on board with his brand of humour the same way we Aussies did during his heyday. This led to him having moderate success later in the decade with his final album Boned which will be reappearing on this side of my site.
Much like in Australia, this was the only other album that Moby found success within NZ, likely because of the derogatory shoutout that Eminem gave him at the time on “Without me” which encouraged the rappers’ haters to check out what this guy had to offer to spite the rapper.
I would’ve thought this greatest hits package would’ve done much better in NZ than it did here in Australia given how much more the kiwis loved Elton John over the years than we Aussies did, alas their love for his work at this point in time was only equal to our love of his work hence why this didn’t do any better over there than it did over here.
Here’s the other artist to benefit from Sony’s Essential series this year, it turns out to be someone that Neil Diamond collaborated with as Barbra Streisand had a massive hit with the pop crooner with “You don’t bring me flowers” from 1978 (which came from her own greatest hits package funnily enough.)
Given how popular the “murder remixes” of both “I’m real” and “Ain’t it funny” was at the time, J-Lo decided to commission an entire “remix” album where she gets a bunch of rappers to duet with her which proved to be a massive success in certain parts of the world this year. It wasn’t a success here in Australia given how we Aussies didn’t care much for these “remixes.”
You’d be surprised at how little success Josh Groban had outside of his native America this decade, I’m willing to bet the only reason why this debut of his became a hit in NZ was due to the kiwis love for classical music throughout the decade somehow being even stronger than the love we Aussies had.
I’m not entirely sure if it was this greatest hits package that was a success over in NZ or if it was the breakthrough album from Nat King Cole that he released back in the 50’s, I’m guessing it was this album because I doubt the kiwis were suddenly feeling nostalgic for the album in droves back in the day to make it a success whereas this album being a success due to this nostalgia would make more sense.
I would’ve thought this was more of a success in NZ than it was here in Australia given how much more popular Nirvana was over there throughout the 90’s, at least it managed to reappear on this side of my site even if it has a shockingly lower placement on here than it did on the Australian side.
Although this was a minor hit in NZ upon its 1997 release, it apparently was given a second chance this year where it did considerably better for CCR’s label over there despite it failing to repeat its success here in Australia around this time.
I’m a bit surprised this wasn’t more popular in NZ than it was here in Australia, especially given how the singles certainly were on their charts. I guess they only liked the singles and felt that the album as a whole was a bit of a drag as it didn’t even rechart whenever each of the singles were released and exited their charts rather quickly following its initial release.
Unlike here in Australia where this continuously charted throughout the decade, in NZ it was only a success upon its initial release for Fleetwood Mac which suggests that the love for their back catalogue hadn’t fully set in during the 00’s and would only come in the 2010’s during the age of streaming.
Of all the Lulu albums I could’ve possibly featured on this site, I wasn’t expecting to feature this duet’s album of hers that only became a success when it did due to one of the tracks on here appearing on Ronan Keating’s earlier entry on this list. Indeed, this proved to be a massive success in NZ for the Scottish singer, which somewhat makes sense given that she had a resurgence in popularity over there twenty years prior.
It looks like Russell Watson was here to stay in NZ given how this album managed to be a big success over there following the success of his breakthrough album from the previous year.
Well, the singles might not have been as popular in NZ as they were here in Australia, however at least this breakthrough album from Good Charlotte managed to be as popular there as it was over here albeit as a sleeper hit likely due to the singles only being big on their airplay charts. This was their only successful album over there, proving the kiwis didn’t love their later material like we Aussies did.
Unlike here in Australia where this album had a slow start to its success but eventually became one of the biggest of the decade, it was a flop for Matchbox 20 in NZ and only became a decent success when it spawned their biggest international hit with “Unwell” which admittedly became their first big hit over there with the help of airplay.
I was a bit surprised this wasn’t more of a hit for Barbra Streisand in NZ given how this was a bit of a comeback for her here in Australia, I guess the kiwis had grown tired of her by the new millennium and only made this a hit out of pure obligation.
I guess the kiwis were bigger fans of the Chemical brothers than I thought as this album of theirs managed to be a massive success over there when it was a minor success at best here in Australia, then again, EDM in general was doing very well in NZ at the time whereas we Aussies had moved on to RNB and hip hop.
Although they didn’t have many appearances on this site over the years, Herbs were indeed one of the more popular bands to make it big in their homeland which makes the success of this greatest hits package over there make sense to me.
This is the only album from Leann Rimes to appear on the NZ side of this site, although considering her only appearance on the Australian side of my site was her debut from back in 1996, I guess this means that only one of her albums could be successful in each country in the southern hemisphere throughout her career. It turns out that the kiwis would rather that be her pop album and us Aussies her country album.
This will be Disturbed’s only new entry on this side of my site given how their popularity didn’t explode until much later in the decade despite them initially coming from the nu metal crowd with this second album of theirs, indeed it appears the kiwis were more into the nu metal scene than we Aussies were if this managed to be more of a success over there than it was over here.
It’s a bit surprising to see this greatest hits album do so well in NZ given how Ice Cube never found much success in NZ both solo or with N.W.A, I guess it took off over there due to his acting career becoming more lucrative in the 21st century with films such as Are we there yet and XXX 2.
