This was a really clunky year on our charts due to ARIA not including digital data on our main charts unless there was a physical release of a song in question. Although this year would still rank low even if that wasn’t an issue as this was when viral hits from YouTube started taking over the mainstream worldwide which resulted in established artists pandering to the YouTube crowd in order to seem “hip” with these crowds.
Opshop are a NZ Britpop band who scored a massive hit with their second album thanks to the singles becoming a massive success for them in their homeland. Their next album was also a massive hit for the band at the start of the 2010’s, however they haven’t released any new material since due to them going on hiatus in 2013.
This had a similar trajectory to its popularity over in NZ than it did here in Australia, namely that it was a decent success upon its initial release only to then become a massive success once it became a critical darling over in America. Given how much the kiwis loved throwback albums from female artists this decade, it was twice as successful over there than it was over here for the troubled singer.
Much like here in Australia, this third album from Rihanna only became a massive success in NZ once the deluxe edition dropped a year after its original release. Granted the album was decently successful upon its initial release in both countries, however it was only due to the deluxe edition that it managed to convince audiences that Rihanna was a household name and not just a singles artist.
I guess congratulations are in order for Chris Brown given how he managed to release an album in NZ that was more popular than any album from his (then) girlfriend Rihanna throughout her career, admittedly this was back when he was seen as a positive role model in the RNB scene as each of the songs on here manage to become massive hits worldwide for him back in the day.
Tiki Taane was the lead singer of the NZ EDM group Salmonella Dub, naturally he would find success as a solo artist once the hits began to dry up for the band even though this was only a success due to the runaway success of one of its singles which wound up becoming one of the biggest hits of the decade over there. He did release a second album once this became a massive success, however that proved to be a huge flop.
Even though the kiwis were more interested in Timbaland’s project as a lead artist initially, it appears we Aussies proved to be more intrigued by this album in the long run as it was much more successful here than it was over there for the producer/rapper. That said, there was little chance this was going to fail over there given how he was the most in demand producer of the decade.
Much like their previous two albums, this third album was more successful in NZ than it was here in Australia, proving how much more the kiwis loved these guys over us Aussies back in the day. Unlike their previous two albums, the singles were also more successful from this album for the band, although I get the feeling that’s more due to the kiwis fully incorporating digital sales onto their charts by this point.
This might’ve been Fall Out Boy’s only successful album in NZ as it was here in Australia, however at least it proved to be far more successful over there likely due to digital downloads being fully incorporated in NZ by the time it was released as opposed to here in Australia where they had to compete with physical sales which the band had struggled with at the time.
This proved to be more of a success for Disney in NZ than it was here in Australia, I think it’s safe to say that the kiwis were more impressed with what the company had to offer at the time given how everything they released this decade (particularly from the second half) proved to be more successful there than it was here.
This was the only successful album to come from NZ EDM and hip hop group Kora, admittedly they did have a strange sound to them given how they combined two genres that seemed like opposing forces given how we Aussies and kiwis didn’t allow them to become a success simultaneously throughout the 90’s, however they seemed to pull it off for this one album which became a massive success despite its low placement on this list.
Given how Matchbox 20 didn’t have as much success in NZ as they did here in Australia, it only makes sense that this greatest hits package wasn’t quite the success it was over there as it was over here for the band. That said, it did become a massive hit for the band, which goes to show that there was a decent fanbase over there for the band even if it was pitiful compared to their fanbase down under.
While this was only a modest success at best here in Australia for Kings of Leon, it was more of a concrete success over in NZ likely due to the band heavily benefitting from the kiwis incorporating their digital sales onto their main charts which is something we Aussies didn’t do until later in the decade. As such, this was able to have a more respectable ranking on this list.
Following the success she had as the featured vocalist on MT Raskill’s “Bathe in the water,” Hollie Smith managed to score a massive hit with her own album in her homeland which put the soul singer on the map and even opened up the possibility of her finding international success. Alas, that didn’t happen as she remains a one album wonder with this entry even in her homeland.
Much like in Australia, this comeback album from the Eagles had so much hype to it in NZ that its success was inevitable over there given how much love the band received from the kiwis back in their heyday. I’m sure if they made another album after this, it would’ve also been a smash hit throughout the world for them.
Given how popular Santana was over in NZ this decade in addition to this year period being surprisingly good for what I consider to be music for older audiences (you have to admit that’s the case) there’s little surprise that this greatest hits package would also be a success over there for Santana just like it was here in Australia.
This was released soon after the death of Luciano Pavarotti, it doesn’t surprise me that a greatest hits package would be commissioned following his death given how immensely popular he was throughout the 90’s as well as the popularity of opera music this decade.
I guess the kiwis were hoping for a reunion from Led Zeppelin as this greatest hits package managed to be a massive success for them this year as opposed to it being a modest success at best here in Australia upon its initial release. Alas there’s still no signs of the band getting back together over forty years after they called it quits in 1980.
You may have noticed that there’s been a noticeable improvement with entries on this list that feel a bit leftfield of what was popular throughout the 00’s, I’m guessing this was because physical sales was still rather strong in NZ during this point in time as opposed to them being rather weak here in Australia. This would explain why this victory album from Paul Potts managed to be much bigger over there than it was here.
This wasn’t quite as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia, or more accurately, it had stiffer competition over there with all of the entries we’ve looked at so far on this list given how the Foo fighters were not quite as legendary as some of the legends on this list but were also among the older artists compared to a lot of the newer names on this list.
This is another successful throwback album to a legend (or a group of legends in this case) to make it big in the southern hemisphere, this was a success in NZ the same reason it was here in Australia.
This will be the final appearance of Hayley Westenra on this site, rather coincidentally, it was the last album she released as a teenager as she would turn twenty shortly after its release, suggesting that her fans were only interested in her music while she was underage.
Although it was a commercial disappointment for her over there much more than it was over here, Avril’s second album was enough of a modest success that the kiwis no doubt would’ve been as perplexed with her selling out on her third album even if it managed to restore her popularity over there like it did everywhere else in the world.
Given how this debut album from Mika only managed to spawn the one hit for him over in NZ, it only makes sense that it wasn’t as bit a hit over there as it was over here even if it has roughly the same placement on this list as it does on the Australian equivalent. This is because it bounced in and out of our top twenty down under as opposed to it sticking to the lower half of the NZ charts.
One of the more popular shows to come out of NZ this decade was Outrageous fortune, a crime show about a family who decides to go straight after leading a life of crime with hijinks ensuing from there. I do remember this show being massively popular here in Australia back in the day, so it’s little wonder it was a critical darling in its homeland and that it spawned a hugely successful soundtrack as well.
It looked like James Blunt saw equal success with his second album in NZ like he did here in Australia, I’m guessing because the kiwis considered him to be an album artist even though the lead single from the album was more of a hit over there than it was over here likely due to the assistance of digital sales. His popularity would continue into the 2010’s over there like it did over here.
This was a collaboration album between Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant and unknown folk singer Alison Krauss that was originally released the previous year to deafening silence likely due to him being considered too old for the mainstream (despite massive success that the Eagles were receiving at the time) and her being a no name in the music industry. Naturally the kiwis eventually saw the brilliance of this album and made it a hit over there.
I guess I’m not surprised that this debut album from Sean Kingston managed to be a success in NZ given how it spawned multiple hits for him over there, that said I’m also not surprised this was a flop for him here in Australia given how the lead single from this album became an instant meme back in the day due to how many times the word “suicidal” is repeated in what’s meant to be a love ballad.
Here’s the other big album that Anika Moa had in her homeland before she retired from music to become a TV presenter, this is actually a huge comeback for her given how her second album from 2005 bombed over there and threatened to leave her as a one album wonder in her homeland.
It appears that the kiwis didn’t have much left for Norah Jones by this point in her career, sure this third album of hers was still a success given how influential she had been throughout the decade, however it was clear that they wanted to move on from her to the likes of Amy Winehouse and Duffy moving forward.
Although it failed to appear on this side of my site, White stripes second album Get behind me Satan made up for its failure in NZ by producing a genuine hit for the duo over there with “My doorbell.” Their third album failed to spawn a charting single for them, although it was at least a decent success for them in exchange.
This was a bit of a comeback for Katchafire given how their second album was too much of a sleeper hit to make an appearance on this site, indeed none of their albums was much of a mainstream success since the reggae band always found themselves on the lower half of the album charts in their homeland with their releases.
Although each of his studio albums were successful in NZ, the fact that they all failed to live up to the hype they had here in Australia over there goes to show how unimpressed the kiwis were with his catalogue by comparison. Admittedly this could be due to them not buying music for their mothers like we Aussies do as KD Lang also saw a decline in popularity over there throughout the years.
I feel this was only a success for Britney in NZ due to the strength of its second single, that’s why I believe that her earlier entry on this list was her true comeback over in NZ even if this did revive her popularity with the kiwis after seven years of nothing (save for “Toxic” being a massive hit of course.)
Here we have another opera album to make it big from a NZ artist this decade, this time it was from Will Martin who managed to wow his fellow kiwis with his killer pipes in a way that many of the other popular crooners of the decade were able to do so.
This was more of a success in NZ than it was here in Australia for Elvis Presley, again I’m not sure why this was a success given how the nostalgia bug had already kicked in for his back catalogue due to the success of Disney’s Lilo and Stich from earlier in the decade.
Given how Police managed to put their differences aside this year long enough for a reunion tour, it makes sense that this greatest hits package would be a success for them even if this was the third greatest hits album they released since their final album from fifteen years prior. I’m guessing this is why it was a hit in NZ and not in Australia given how nostalgia was working at the time.
This is the second greatest hits package to come from Prince Tui Teka posthumously this decade, I guess this was a success due to the nostalgia circuit being strong enough to keep his memory alive this decade much more so than in his lifetime.
Andre Bocelli had a good run in the mainstream while it lasted, as such it makes sense he would find success with a greatest hits package just as his popularity was coming to an end in favour for the likes of Andre Rieu and Paul Potts worldwide.
This is a bit bizarre since it was us Aussies that not only made Abba a household name in the 70’s, but are also responsible for their lasting legacy given the love movies like Priscilla queen of the desert and Muriel’s wedding gave them back in the 90’s. As such, you’d think this greatest hits package would’ve been a success over here like it was in NZ but alas, you’d be wrong.
This is the final successful album that Salmonella dub had in their career, mainly because this was released just before former frontman Tiki Tane released his solo album which would go on to be one of the most successful albums of the decade in their homeland.
Well this really struggled to make the cut on this side of my site, admittedly this was due to the kiwis not being as impressed with the singles as we Aussies were which is odd as these guys did wonders on our digital charts and the kiwis had already incorporated digital stats onto their main charts by the time this saw the light of day over there.
I would’ve thought that 50 cent kept the momentum going in NZ given how the lead single to his third album managed to go to number one over there, it turns out that didn’t help as this was only as successful over there as it was over here for the controversial rapper.
As far as I can tell, the only hit that Joe Cocker has had in NZ is with “Up where we belong” back in early 1983. Heck he now has more greatest hits albums on this side of my site than he does studio albums and likely would have even more had NZ tracked album stats prior to 1975.
I guess the kiwis weren’t as big of fans of Hairspray as we Aussies were, either that or they liked the film despite the music given how much less popular the soundtrack was over there compared to over here.
I’m a bit surprised this wasn’t more of a success for Elton John in NZ than it was here in Australia given how much more successful nostalgia acts were doing over there around this time, then again this did chart higher over there, so perhaps it underperforming there is more a result of stiffer competition than anything.
It’s been a hot minute since we’ve looked at Van Morrison on this site, hasn’t it? Here he is with the last album he’s released that anyone has cared about from his catalogue (as of this writing of course.) It was a predictable flop here in Australia as is many albums on this list from legacy artists, however the kiwis were willing to look at this album which collects all the songs from him and his band Them that heavily feature in Hollywood blockbusters.
