Welcome To Chart Hitz New Zealand: New Zealand's Official Online Top 50 Music Chart
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This Week's Chart: Click here for the current Chart Hitz NZ Top 50 Chart.
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Best Of 2004 Chart: For the Best Of 2004 Chart and Awards, click here.
Best Of 2003 Chart: For the Best Of 2003 Chart and awards, click here.
Best Of 2002 Chart: For the Best Of 2002 Chart and awards, click here.
Best Of 2001 Chart: For the Best Of 2001 Singles Chart, TV Chart Show - NZ/International, Music Related TV Show, Concert/Performance (Within NZ), Newcomer, & Overall Artist/Group, click here.
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 The Chart Hitz New Zealand Best Of 2004 Charts were compiled from our members voting for the: Best TV Chart Show - New Zealand, Best TV Chart Show - International, Best Music Related TV Show, Best Concert/Performance (Within NZ), Best Newcomer, Best Comeback, Best New Zealand Artist/Group, Best International Artist/Group, Best Album - New Zealand, Best Album - International, Best Overall Compilation Album (By Series), Worst Overall Song, Worst Overall Artist/Group & Worst Overall Album/Compilation Album (By Series).
For previous charts from 2004 check out the Archives section.
If you would like to vote in the Chart Hitz NZ weekly chart then click here.

The Best Of 2004 feature has been broken down into several sections.  Click on a link to be taken to the respective section. Our final commentary for 2004 can be found at the end of this feature.




The Official Chart Hitz NZ Chart:
Best Of 2004 Singles Chart Top 50

The Way/Solitaire - CLAY AIKENThe Best Of 2004 Singles Chart is based on a points system where every single chart released during the year counted towards the final Best Of Chart.  Each time a song made the chart between: numbers fifty and thirty-one, ten points were added to it's total; numbers thirty and eleven, twenty points were added to it's total; numbers ten and one, thirty points were added to it's total.  This was used to reward those songs which had staying power in the chart but may not have necessarily reached the upper limits of the chart.

For each songs individual position in the weekly chart, number one was awarded fifty points, number two forty-nine points, and so on, with number fifty being awarded one point.  Then all weeks results were collated together and the results are displayed below with the total number of points each song accrued during the year.

For an explanation on what the asterisk(*) and hash(#) characters mean, see the notes below the chart.

PositionWeeks In Chart#Peak##Total No. Of Points#Song
ARTIST
Album/Single Release
1 47 1 (11 Weeks!) 3648 The Way/Solitaire
CLAY AIKEN
Measure Of A Man
2 46 1 (3 Weeks!) 3281 Measure Of A Man
CLAY AIKEN
Measure Of A Man
3 37 1 (22 Weeks!) 2882 Invisible
CLAY AIKEN
Measure Of A Man
4 24 2 1729 In The Shadows
THE RASMUS
Dead Letters
5 26 4 (3 Weeks!) 1648 This Love
MAROON 5
Songs About Jane
6 26 2 1632 Glow
ALIEN ANT FARM
TruANT
7 26 1 1625 Toxic
BRITNEY SPEARS
In The Zone
8 26 3 1624 I Miss You
BLINK 182
Blink 182
9 26 2 (2 Weeks!) 1604 Don't Worry Baby
ZED (NZ MUSIC)
This Little Empire
10 26 2 (2 Weeks!) 1574 She Glows
ZED (NZ MUSIC)
This Little Empire
11 26 2 1560 The Reason
HOOBASTANK
The Reason
12 24 3 1506 Getting Stronger
ADEAZE feat. AARADHNA (NZ MUSIC)
Always & For Real/Always & For Real (Special Collector's Edition - 2CD)
13 22 1 1495 Arithmetic
BROOKE FRASER (NZ MUSIC)
What To Do With Daylight/What To Do With Daylight (Limited Edition - CD+DVD)
14 26 3 1455 Superstar
JAMELIA
Thank You
15 24 6 1429 Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours
BLUE feat. STEVIE WONDER & ANGIE STONE
Guilty
16 26 4 1389 What About Me
SHANNON NOLL
That's What I'm Talking About
17 26 5 1385 Ocean Avenue
YELLOWCARD
Ocean Avenue
18 26 5 1350 Predictable
DELTA GOODREM
Innocent Eyes
19 26 5 1322 Saving The World
BROOKE FRASER (NZ MUSIC)
What To Do With Daylight
20 19 2 (4 Weeks!) 1307 Lifeline
BROOKE FRASER (NZ MUSIC)
What To Do With Daylight
21 19 2 1246* Here Without You
3 DOORS DOWN
Away From The Sun
22 17 1 (3 Weeks!) 1246* Leather And Tattoos
48MAY (NZ MUSIC)
The Mad Love
23 22 4 1211 Behind Blue Eyes
LIMP BIZKIT
Results May Vary
24 24 2 1162 Come Back Down
48MAY (NZ MUSIC)
The Mad Love
25 25 6 (2 Weeks!) 1157 Harder To Breathe
MAROON 5
Songs About Jane
26 26 4 (2 Weeks!) 1122 Northern Lights
GOLDENHORSE (NZ MUSIC)
Riverhead
27 20 1 1048 Dreaming/So Nice (feat. LADI 6)
SCRIBE (NZ MUSIC)
The Crusader
28 13 1 (9 Weeks!) 1030 I Will Carry You
CLAY AIKEN
Measure Of A Man
29 22 10 (2 Weeks!) 1021 Come Clean
HILARY DUFF
Metamorphosis
30 21 5 (2 Weeks!) 1016 She Will Be Loved
MAROON 5
Songs About Jane
31 21 3 1014 My Immortal
EVANESCENCE
Fallen
32 26 5 1010 I Believe In A Thing Called Love
THE DARKNESS
Permission To Land
33 25 7 981 Way Away
YELLOWCARD
Ocean Avenue
34 26 9 980 From The Inside
LINKIN PARK
Meteora/Meteora (Limited Edition - 2CD)
35 23 8 (2 Weeks!) 965 Perfect
SIMPLE PLAN
No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls
36 26 7 (2 Weeks!) 961 Breathe Easy
BLUE
Guilty/Best Of Blue
37 13 2 (2 Weeks!) 894 Hard To Find Her
ZED (NZ MUSIC)
This Little Empire
38 15 5 (4 Weeks!) 892 American Idiot
GREEN DAY
American Idiot
39 15 6 888 Guilty
THE RASMUS
Dead Letters
40 22 10 887 Urban Getaway
ELEMENO P (NZ MUSIC)
Love & Disrespect/Love & Disrespect (Bonus Edition - 2CD)
41 23 8 885 Take Your Mama
SCISSOR SISTERS
Scissor Sisters
42 22 6 880 Life For Rent
DIDO
Life For Rent
43 19 9 872 The Voice Within
CHRISTINA AGUILERA
Stripped
44 20 6 870 Thank You
JAMELIA
Thank You
45 20 5 855 Let's Get Retarded/Let's Get It Started (Clean Edit of "Let's Get Retarded")
THE BLACK EYED PEAS
Elephunk
46 18 9 833 Breaking The Habit
LINKIN PARK
Meteora/Meteora (Limited Edition - 2CD)
47 13 2 813 Innocent Eyes
DELTA GOODREM
Innocent Eyes
48 14 4 809 So Damn Beautiful
MICHAEL MURPHY (NZ Idol Runner-Up) (NZ MUSIC)
No Place To Land
49 19 9 793 Larger Than Life
THE FEELERS (NZ MUSIC)
Playground Battle
50 21 10 792 Who Painted The Moon Black?
HAYLEY WESTENRA (NZ MUSIC)
Pure/Pure (Bonus Disc - 2CD)

Notes:
* Positions based on number of weeks in chart during 2004 since point totals are the same.
# Based on all Chart Hitz NZ weekly charts released between 01/01/2004 and 31/12/2004 (Chart numbers 115 to 165).
## Based on all Chart Hitz NZ weekly charts released between 01/01/2004 and 31/12/2004 (Chart numbers 115 to 165).  Actual peak position and/or number of weeks at that position may be different if the song charted outside of the specified period.


The Official Chart Hitz NZ Chart:
Best TV Chart Show - New Zealand

The Official NZ Top 40 Music Chart (C4)C4 just edged out TV2 with its new chart show The Official NZ Top 40 Music Chart (based on the RIANZ chart).  While the TV2 music line-up saw major changes this year, it could not hold-off C4 from taking the crown.  Part of TVNZ's problem is that every year or two it keeps cancelling high profile shows (Video Hits, Coke RTR, etc.) and therefore has to start building the brand for a replacement.  It will be interesting to see how long they stick with the local Top Of The Pops format (i.e. When will the Alex Behan curse strike?)
  1. The Official NZ Top 40 Music Chart (C4)
  2. Coke Countdown (TV2)
  3. Top Of The Pops - New Zealand (TV2)

The Official Chart Hitz NZ Chart:
Best TV Chart Show - International

Top Of The PopsAs the only entrant in this category it was hard for it to lose.  Congratulations Top Of The Pops - UK.
But now it's off New Zealand television screens after being replaced by the local version of the show, this category will be history if we don't get some International Chart Shows.  (Are you listening TV programmers?!?)


The Official Chart Hitz NZ Chart:
Best Music Related TV Show

SelectIn a repeat of last year, the Top 2 are unchanged in this category despite C4's rapid expansion in this category.
  1. Select (C4)
  2. Coca-Cola New Releases (TV2)
  3. Flashbacks (C4)

The Official Chart Hitz NZ Chart:
Best Concert/Performance (Within New Zealand)

Big Day Out '04 - VARIOUS ARTISTSThe Big Day Out '04 was the clear winner here with over twice the number of votes of its nearest rival.  After one decade's worth of shows in Auckland, the Big Day Out is going stronger than ever and shows no sign of disappointing us in 2005.
  1. Big Day Out '04 - VARIOUS ARTISTS
  2. Duran Duran
  3. = Edgefest '04 - VARIOUS ARTISTS
    = Maroon 5

The Official Chart Hitz NZ Chart:
Best Newcomer

Nastasha BedingfieldThis certainly was a closely fought battle with each position having only a slim majority over its nearest rival.  However, it was Daniel Bedingfield's sister, Natasha, that came out on top after her second single "These Words" became one of the songs of the year and it's still hanging around with us.
  1. Nastasha Bedingfield
  2. Maroon 5
  3. The Rasmus

The Official Chart Hitz NZ Chart:
Best Comeback

Green DayGreen Day made a huge comeback this year with an album centred squarely around the US election.  It really seems to have a struck a chord with New Zealanders as they had a huge lead in this category.

U2 tried to hype their comeback but it didn't really stick.  They still came in a respectable second.

Old school popsters Duran Duran seem to have stood the test of time and their third placing tends to indicate that their fanbase is still strong.
  1. Green Day
  2. U2
  3. Duran Duran

The Official Chart Hitz NZ Chart:
Best New Zealand Artist/Group

Brooke FraserSwitching places with Zed this year, Brooke Fraser really has made a household name of herself.  She had triple the number of votes of her nearest rivals.

Scribe is attempting to break into the Australian market after his huge success at home this year.  He has certainly had more media attention than you can shake a stick at during the year.

After being the victors last year, Zed have to settle for second best this year as they have certainly not enjoyed the same success as before they went off to 'conquer' America.
  1. Brooke Fraser
  2. = Scribe
    = Zed

The Official Chart Hitz NZ Chart:
Best International Artist/Group

Clay AikenUnchanged from last year, it is hardly surprising that Clay Aiken won this category after taking out the top three positions in the Best of 2004 Singles Chart.  A well deserved win.

Green Day continue their comeback by placing second in this category.  Their fans obviously think 'American Idiot' is a great album.

Dido has quietly plugged away this year after receiving little recognition for her releases in New Zealand.  This isn't to say that they have been duds, infact some have been excellent songs.  More/better promotion is needed if she wants a long lasting career in New Zealand.
  1. Clay Aiken
  2. Green Day
  3. Dido

The Official Chart Hitz NZ Chart:
Best Album - New Zealand

What To Do With Daylight (Limited Edition - CD+DVD) - BROOKE FRASERAnother win for the talented Brooke Fraser.  Last year she was runner-up in this category with the original release of 'What To Do With Daylight'.  This year she added a 4-track live DVD to the mix and it won over the majority of voters in this category as she pulled away from her nearest rival with over twice as many votes.

48May have had an incredible year with the release of their debut album and scoring a number one hit with "Leather and Tattoos".  Could 2005 be an even better year for them?  Only time will tell.

Adeaze have ridden the wave of success this year after their major hit "Getting Stronger (feat. Aaradhna)" peaked in the Top 3.  Keep an eye on these brothers as they embark on taking over the country's airwaves.
  1. What To Do With Daylight (Limited Edition - CD+DVD) - BROOKE FRASER
  2. The Mad Love - 48MAY
  3. Always & For Real - ADEAZE

The Official Chart Hitz NZ Chart:
Best Album - International

Merry Christmas With Love - CLAY AIKENAfter coming in first last year, 'Measure of a Man' is bumped down to third by not only Green Day but also by Clay Aiken himself.  'Merry Christmas With Love' was released just in time to make a major impact on these awards with Clay's large fanbase.  But in doing so that mean't it took many votes away from his debut album allowing Green Day to sneak past into second place.
  1. Merry Christmas With Love - CLAY AIKEN
  2. American Idiot - GREEN DAY
  3. Measure Of A Man - CLAY AIKEN

The Official Chart Hitz NZ Chart:
Best Overall Compilation Album (By Series)

Now That's What I Call MusicThe NOW series has firmly cemented itself as the compilation series to own.  New series 'Playlist' did well after only two releases and is bringing some much needed innovation to the compilation albums market.  Top of the Pops continues its annual release cycle as a double CD set.
  1. Now That's What I Call Music
  2. Playlist
  3. Top Of The Pops

The Official Chart Hitz NZ Chart:
Worst Overall Song

Do They Know It's Christmas? - BAND AID 20The biggest charity single of the year is also the most loathed song of the year (by a small margin).  Expect "Do They Know It's Christmas?" to be in the bargain bins at The Warehouse in a months time as truckloads of the single were shipped but the sales have not matched these shipments.  It reminds me of the same fate "What's Going On" by the All Star Tribute suffered but there were far fewer people buying that single.

Surprise, surprise.  NZ Idol 2004 winner Ben Lummis' debut single loathed?  Never.  Oh well, I guess you can have too many Idol series.

And finally Eamon.  Don't worry, it appears as though he is a one-hit-wonder.
  1. Do They Know It's Christmas? - BAND AID 20
  2. = They Can't Take That Away - BEN LUMMIS
    = F**k It (I Don't Want You Back) - EAMON

The Official Chart Hitz NZ Chart:
Worst Overall Artist/Group

William HungDescribed as the worst contestant (in terms of singing ability) ever to have appeared on American Idol to date.  BMG, the record label involved in the pain that has become known the Idol series, saw a great money making oppourtunity so humiliated Hung until their was no more money they could squeeze out of a such a pathetic idea.  Let's hope Hung got to keep a good portion of the money because he will have to live with it for the rest of his life.

Britney Spears was relegated to second place.  Either she's improving or others are getting worse.

Runner-up NZ Idol 2004 Michael Murphy earns himself third place thanks to his annoying winking and pointing at the camera during the series and also those awful songs he released might have had something to do with it too.
  1. William Hung
  2. Britney Spears
  3. Michael Murphy

The Official Chart Hitz NZ Chart:
Worst Overall Album/Compilation Album (By Series)

Greatest Hits: My Prerogative - BRITNEY SPEARSA new greatest hits album has ensured that Britney Spears retains the title of 'Worst Overall Album/Compilation Album' for the second year running.

While Clay Aiken has many followers, he sure has his fair share of people who dislike his music, as 'Measure of a Man' comes in second.

Having only been released for just under three weeks, 'No Place To Land' still seems to have ruffled enough people's feathers to attain third place.
  1. Greatest Hits: My Prerogative - BRITNEY SPEARS
  2. Measure Of A Man - CLAY AIKEN
  3. No Place To Land - MICHAEL MURPHY

Chart Hitz NZ Commentary:

My predictions last year we're all well off the mark.  The biggest complaint of mine is that we are still left without a legal music download service that includes songs from all the major labels.  Hopefully Apple's iTunes isn't too far away as has been rumoured and DigiRama can get more of the labels on board.

I also take issue with DigiRama's pricing model as they charge you for the individual tracks on a single release or as a whole and often the prices are no cheaper than you could buy it for on CD in a store.  $2.49 per song is also excessive in comparison to music download services in most other countries.

In 2005 look out for:
  • A legal download service for New Zealanders that actually has a decent range of songs.
  • A new-look Chart Hitz New Zealand website.  (I know, I've said this before, but one can only hope I have enough time this year.)
  • Portable music devices going mainstream (and not just Apple's iPod.  There's also Creative and iRiver who are both worthy contenders.)
Well, that's it for another fun-filled year of chart action.  Hopefully I'll see you back here at the end of 2005.

Best wishes,
Stephen Heighway,
Chart Hitz New Zealand Editor
Email: webmaster <at> charthitz <dot> net <dot> nz

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