Mark Williams - Murray Cammick Collection

Selected standout moments for New Zealand musicians in the first 50 years of the “official” Aotearoa/New Zealand music charts. For chart history before 1975, read New Zealand Charts – The Genesis. On 2 May 2025, the 50th anniversary of the “official” charts, Lorde’s single ‘What Was That’ entered the chart at No.1. 

1. 1975 – On June 27, seven weeks after the inaugural “official” chart, Mark Williams’ ‘Yesterday Was Just The Beginning Of My Life’ becomes the first-ever official No.1 New Zealand single.

2. 1976 – Bill & Boyd’s self-titled LP becomes the first No.1 album by a New Zealand act.

3. 1979 – Jon Stevens has his first No.1 single for ‘Jezebel’ in December, then in January 1980 knocks himself out of the No.1 position with ‘Montego Bay’, becoming the first New Zealander to have two singles in the Top Five simultaneously (‘Jezebel’ at No.1 and ‘Montego Bay’ at No.4).

Split Enz, True Colours (Polydor, 1980)

4. 1980 – Split Enz goes to No.1 with True Colours – which went on to set a record for the album with the longest span between weeks at No.1, beginning with two weeks in 1980, then re-entering at No.1 again 40 years later. Over the years they’ve also had 14 albums in the New Zealand Top 40.

5. 1981 – Deane Waretini becomes the first artist to use te reo Māori in a No.1 single as ‘The Bridge’ tops the Singles Chart; in May 1982, Prince Tui Teka’s ‘E-Ipo’ is almost completely sung in te reo Māori and reaches No.1. 

6. 1981 – One New Zealand single replaces another at No.1 when The Swingers’ ‘Counting The Beat’ bumps Dean Waretini’s ‘The Bridge’ from the top spot. (See Jon Stevens at #3, above.)

7. 1981 – With ‘See Me Go’, Screaming Meemees become the first New Zealand act to have a song enter the Singles Chart at No.1; in April 1982, DD Smash’s Cool Bananas is the first local album to debut at No.1 on the Top 40 Albums Chart.

8. 1981 – Flying Nun act The Clean reaches No.19 on the Singles Chart with ‘Tally Ho’. Two months later the band's debut EP Boodle Boodle Boodle reaches No.5 on the Albums Chart.

9. 1982 – Sir Howard Morrison claims his first No.1 with ‘Whakaaria Mai’ (‘How Great Thou Art’). The track stayed at No.1 for five weeks.

DD Smash - Cool Bananas (Mushroom NZ, 1982)

10. 1984 – Pātea Māori Club hits No.1 on the Singles Chart with ‘Poi E’, the first No.1 to be sung entirely in te reo Māori.

11. 1987 – Dave Dobbyn becomes the first New Zealand artist to feature on three singles in the Top 10 simultaneously: ‘Sailing Away’ by All of Us (No.5) and two hits from the Footrot Flats soundtrack, ‘You Oughta Be In Love’ (No.8) and ‘Slice Of Heaven’ with Herbs (No.9).

12. 1988 – Tex Pistol (aka Ian Morris) follows up his October 1987 No.1 ‘The Game a Love’ with another No.1: ‘Nobody Else’, a duet written and sung by his brother, Rikki Morris.

13. 1988 – When The Cat’s Away is the first all-female group to hit No.1 on the Singles Chart with ‘Melting Pot’.

14. 1989 – Margaret Urlich claims a No.1 single with ‘Escaping’, the first solo female artist to do so since the “official” chart was launched in 1975 (Allison Durbin and Maria Dallas did so in the earlier system).

15. 1990 – Moonlight Sax by Brian Smith becomes the first No.1 album by a New Zealand jazz musician.

16. 1991 – The Mikey Havoc-fronted Push Push go to No.1 with their breakout hit, ‘Trippin’.

17. 1992 – Crowded House’s third album Woodface is their first to reach No.1.

18. 1994 – Supergroove lands its first No.1 single, ‘Can't Get Enough’, and album, Traction. Traction spent 41 weeks in the Top 40.

The single sleeve of OMC's How Bizarre.

19. 1996 – OMC go to No.1 with ‘How Bizarre’. The song became a worldwide hit and is still one of the best-known tracks to come out of Aotearoa.

20. 1997 – Bic Runga releases Drive, the first No.1 album by a New Zealand solo female artist.

21. 1999 – TV reality show creation TrueBliss hits No.1 with the single ‘Tonight’. Their album Dream goes to No.1 on the Albums Chart.

Shihad. - Photo by Sophie Howarth

22. 1999 – The General Electric becomes the first of five No.1 albums for Shihad. In 2025, the rockers still hold the record for the most No.1 albums by a New Zealand band.

23. 2000 – With airplay – as well as actual sales – now a criteria for determining chart placement, Fur Patrol hits No.1 with ‘Lydia’, bumping Destiny’s Child from the top spot. ‘Lydia’ spends 19 weeks in the Top 40.

24. 2001 – Hayley Westenra’s self-titled debut album goes to No.1, her first of five albums to do so. At May 2025, Westenra still holds the record for the most No.1 albums by a New Zealand solo artist. 

Anika Moa's Thinking Room (2001)

25. 2001 – Anika Moa releases Thinking Room – the album peaks at No.1 on the Top 40 and spends 45 weeks on the Chart.

26. 2002 – New Zealand artists dominate the end of this year, with albums by The Datsuns, Blindspott and Nesian Mystik all reaching No.1 during November and December.

27. 2003 – Scribe hits No.1 with double A-side single ‘Stand Up’/ ‘Not Many’, beginning a 12-week non-consecutive run at No.1. The single claims the most weeks at No.1 for any New Zealand artist: 13 weeks.

Elemeno P

28. 2003 – Elemeno P goes to No.1 with their debut album Love & Disrespect. The band has a combined 68 weeks in the Top 40 Albums Chart.

29. 2004 – Ben Lummis wins the inaugural NZ Idol and debuts at No.1 with ‘They Can't Take That Away’.

30. 2004 – Goldenhorse claims its first No.1 album with Riverhead and sets a record for the slowest climb to No.1, reaching the summit 55 weeks after the album's release.

31. 2004 – A big year for New Zealand No.1s: 28 weeks of the year had a local release at the top of one or both of the Top 40 Charts, including Misfits of Science with ‘Fools Love’, Dei Hamo with ‘We Gon Ride’, and Adeaze featuring Aaradhna with ‘Getting Stronger’.

Fat Freddy's Drop - Based on a True Story (2005)

32. 2005 – Fat Freddy's Drop claim their first No.1 album, Based On A True Story. The record stayed in the Top 40 for a whopping 111 weeks, and remains in the Aotearoa Catalogue Chart in 2025.

33. 2005 – Savage releases back-to-back No.1 singles, ‘Swing’ and ‘Moonshine’. The artist has spent 17 weeks at No.1 on the Top 40 Singles Chart, the most of any New Zealand artist after Scribe (22).

34. 2007 – Hollie Smith’s debut Long Player enters the Top 40 at No.1 on release; all four of her solo albums have done so.

35. 2008 – Tiki Taane hits No.1 with ‘Always On My Mind’. The song remained in the Chart for 55 weeks, a record at the time by a New Zealand artist.

36. 2009 – Smashproof and Gin Wigmore hit No.1 with ‘Brother’. The song still holds the record for the most consecutive weeks at No.1 by a local single: 11.

37. 2009 – Stan Walker goes to No.1 with his first single ‘Black Box’. By May 2025 he had placed a further 10 singles in the Top 40, and in 2024 dominated the Te Reo Māori Top 10 with his single ‘Māori Ki Te Ao’.

38. 2010 – Brooke Fraser goes to No.1 with FLAGS, her third album to top the Top 40. Fraser has spent 171 weeks in the Chart across her career.

39. 2011 – Technically an Australian release, ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ – the duet by Gotye and Hamilton-born artist Kimbra – hits No.1 in New Zealand as well as breaking internationally.

Lorde performs at Auckland's Laneway festival, 2014 - Lorde Facebook collection

40. 2013 – North Shore teenager Lorde hits No.1 in New Zealand and becomes a global sensation with her debut single ‘Royals’.

41. 2014 – Streaming is added to the Official Charts. Fittingly, the first act to secure a No.1 in the streaming era is Six60 with ‘Special’.

42. 2016 – Aaradhna goes to No.1 with her acclaimed album Brown Girl.

43. 2019 – The first Waiata / Anthems compilation becomes the first fully te reo Māori album to go to No.1 on the Top 40.

44. 2020 – South Auckland teenage beatmaker Jawsh 685 teams with Jason Derulo on ‘Savage Love (Laxed – Siren Beat)’, hitting No.1 in both Aotearoa and the US.

45. 2020 – Troy Kingi’s The Ghost Of Freddie Cesar goes to No.2 on the Top 40, the first of his 10|10|10 series to land in the Chart. Seven albums from the series have cracked the Top 40 so far.

46. 2021 – Six60 notch up their third No.1 single with ‘All She Wrote’, joining Lorde and Deep Obsession as the New Zealand acts with – to that point – the most No.1s (a record beaten by Lorde with her May 2025 single ‘What Was That’). Six60 have had the most singles in the Top 40 to date with 28, and most combined weeks in the Top 40 (600) of any act from Aotearoa.

L.A.B. in a 2019 promotional photo by Gladys Smith

47. 2021 – L.A.B. pulls off an unprecedented one-two-three finish, claiming the top three spots on the Singles Chart simultaneously with ‘Why Oh Why’ (No.1), ‘In The Air’ ( No.2) and ‘Controller’ (No.3). ‘In The Air’ went on to spend 168 weeks in the Top 40, the most of any New Zealand act.

48. 2022 – Don McGlashan, Aldous Harding, Tami Neilson, The Beths, and Avantdale Bowling Club all claim their first No.1 albums on the Top 40.

49. 2024 – DARTZ join L.A.B. as the only New Zealand act to top both the Top 40 and Top 20 Aotearoa Albums Chart on release in 2024 with their record Dangerous Day To Be A Cold One.

Marlon Williams, San Fran, Wellington, 2017. - Rebekah Parsons-King/Radio NZ

50. 2025 – Marlon Williams debuts at No.1 on both the Top 40 and the Aotearoa Top 20 with his first fully te reo Māori album, Te Whare Tīwekaweka. The artist’s third dual No.1, it’s the first fully te reo album of original waiata to top the Top 40. The first Waiata / Anthems compilation, which features songs by some of the biggest artists in Aotearoa, translated into te reo Māori, was the first fully te reo album to go to No.1, in 2019.

--

Visit the Official Aotearoa Music Charts’ 50-year archive – aotearoamusiccharts.co.nz/archive