This is a list of the top-selling singles in New Zealand for 2023 from the Official New Zealand Music Chart's end-of-year chart, compiled by Recorded Music NZ. [1] Recorded Music NZ also published 2023 lists for two sub-charts, the top 20 singles released by New Zealand artists, [2] and the top 20 singles primarily performed in te reo Māori. [3]
| Rank | Artist | Song |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | L.A.B. | "In the Air" |
| 2 | L.A.B. | "Take It Away" |
| 3 | L.A.B. | "Mr Reggae" |
| 4 | L.A.B. | "Controller" |
| 5 | Six60 | "Don't Forget Your Roots" |
| 6 | Six60 | "Before You Leave" |
| 7 | Fat Freddy's Drop | "Wandering Eye" |
| 8 | Corrella | "Blue Eyed Māori" |
| 9 | L.A.B. | "Why Oh Why" |
| 10 | Six60 | "Someone to Be Around" |
| 11 | Coterie | "Cool It Down" |
| 12 | Savage featuring Aaradhna | "They Don't Know" |
| 13 | The Black Seeds | "So True" |
| 14 | Drax Project featuring Six60 | "Catching Feelings" |
| 15 | Crowded House | "Don't Dream It's Over" |
| 16 | Brutha Rodz featuring Wiz Tokelau | "Heart of a Lion" |
| 17 | Dave Dobbyn and Herbs | "Slice of Heaven" |
| 18 | Tiki Taane | "Always on My Mind" |
| 19 | Nesian Mystik | "Sun Goes Down" |
| 20 | 1814 | "Jah Rastafari" |
| Rank | Artist | Song |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Te Matatini and Te Pikikōtuku o Ngāti Rongomai featuring Whenua Patuwai | "Te Ata Māhina" |
| 2 | Corrella | "Raumati" |
| 3 | Coterie | "Purea / Cool It Down" |
| 4 | Illumingāti | "Proud to Be Māori" |
| 5 | Tawaz | "He Aho" |
| 6 | Papa's Pack | "Muriwhenua Waiata" |
| 7 | Te Matatini and Ngā Tūmanako | "Waerea" |
| 8 | Tuari Brothers | "Whakatau Wairua" |
| 9 | Kora | "Kia Arohatia Tātou" |
| 10 | Origin Roots Aotearoa (O.R.A.) | "Ko Tāua" |
| 11 | Maimoa | "Manako" |
| 12 | Te Matatini and Hatea Kapa Haka featuring Maimoa | "Waiora" |
| 13 | Te Matatini and Te Kapa Haka o Te Whanau a Apanui | "Hai o Mo Apanui" |
| 14 | Te Matatini and Te Tu Mataora | "Hunara" |
| 15 | Kora | "Taraketi" |
| 16 | Rakai Whauwhau | "E Ihowa" |
| 17 | Rob Ruha and Drax Project | "Ka Taria" |
| 18 | Jordyn with a Why | "Raumati" |
| 19 | The Lion King Reo Māori Cast | "Kia Tu Au Hei Ariki" |
| 20 | Mohi | "Te Atarau" |
Te Wiki o te Reo Māori is a government-sponsored initiative intended to encourage New Zealanders to promote the use of the Māori language which is an official language of the country. Māori Language Week is part of a broader movement to revive the Māori language. It has been celebrated since 1975 and is currently spearheaded by Te Puni Kōkiri and the Māori Language Commission, with many organisations including schools, libraries, and government departments participating.
Recorded Music NZ is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded Music NZ is open to any owner of recorded music rights operating in New Zealand, inclusive of major labels, independent labels and self-released artists. Recorded Music NZ has over 2000 rights-holders.
Jah Rydem is the debut studio album by New Zealand reggae band 1814. Independently released in 2008, the album received a wider distribution throughout New Zealand in 2010. The album was a commercial success in New Zealand, receiving a double platinum certification. The song "Whakahonohono Mai" was the most played Māori language song on New Zealand radio stations in 2010 and 2011, and in 2023, the song "Jah Rastafari" was the 20th most commercially successful song by a New Zealand artist in the country for the year.
"Tukituki Te Manawa" is a song by New Zealand band Drax Project, performed in Māori language. It was the band's second song released as a part of the Waiata / Anthems project, with their first being a re-release of their 2017 single "Woke Up Late" for the 2019 Waiata / Anthems compilation album. An unreleased song by the band originally written in English, "Tukituki Te Manawa" translated into Māori by Hinewehi Mohi and Sir Tīmoti Kāretu and released on Christmas Day 2020. In 2021, the song was the subject of an episode of a TVNZ OnDemand documentary series, documenting the creation of music for Waiata / Anthems.
Ka Hao is a New Zealand youth choir that formed in 2019. Coming from the Gisborne District, the group performs music in the Māori language. In 2020 the group won the Mana Reo Award at the 2020 Aotearoa Music Awards, as a part of the supergroup Mōhau. In 2021 the group released their debut single "35", which after gaining popularity through TikTok was one of the most successful songs performed in Māori during Te Wiki o te Reo Māori 2021.
"Pepeha" is a song by New Zealand band Six60, performed bilingually in English and Māori. "Pepeha" is the band's second song to be recorded in Te Reo Māori, and was released as a single in 2021 to coincide with Te Wiki o te Reo Māori. The song was written by Six60 band members Marlon Gerbes and Matiu Walters, alongside Te Reo experts Mahuia Bridgman-Cooper, Jeremy Tātere MacLeod and Sir Tīmoti Kāretu.
Maimoa is a New Zealand musical group. Formed from current and former presenters from the Māori Television show Pūkana, the group debuted in 2016 with the single "Maimoatia", which was released to celebrate te Wiki o te Reo Māori. Since their debut, the group has continued to release pop singles sung in te Reo Māori, including "Wairua" (2017), a viral hit produced by members of the New Zealand band Sons of Zion.
Maisey Rika is a New Zealand singer, songwriter and composer, performing in both English and Māori. Her five original albums have each reached the Top 40 in the Official New Zealand Music Chart. She was named an Arts Foundation Laureate in 2021, has received awards at the Waiata Māori Music Awards and APRA Awards, including APRA Best Māori Songwriter in 2010 and 2013, and has twice won Best Māori Language Album at the NZ Music Awards.
Rob Ruha, is a New Zealand musician from Wharekahika, Gisborne District. He debuted as a solo musician in 2013, and is known for his singles sung in te Reo Māori, including "Kalega" (2017), "Ka Mānu" (2019), "35" with Ka Hao (2021), and "Taera" (2021). Ruha worked as the music director for the Māori language version of the Walt Disney Pictures films Moana and The Lion King.
This is a list of the top-selling singles in New Zealand for 2021 from the Official New Zealand Music Chart's end-of-year chart, compiled by Recorded Music NZ. Recorded Music NZ also published 2021 lists for two sub-charts, the top 20 singles released by New Zealand artists, and the top 20 singles primarily performed in Te Reo Māori.
"35" is a song by New Zealand youth choir Ka Hao featuring musician Rob Ruha. "35" was the group's first single, and preceded the release of their debut album Ka Hao: One Tira, One Voice. The song, performed primarily in Māori, was a sleeper hit, first entering the New Zealand Singles Chart in Te Wiki o te Reo Māori in September 2021 and peaking at number 12 in November. "35", alongside New Zealand band Six60's song "Pepeha", are the best performing songs sung in Māori since Stan Walker's "Aotearoa" (2014).
"Matemateāone" is a song by New Zealand musician Stan Walker. A bilingual ballad sung primarily in Māori language, the song was released as a single a week before Walker's first album sung in Māori, Te Arohanui. A love ballad, the song's music video celebrates his marriage to his partner Lou Tyson.
"Taera" is a Māori language song by New Zealand musician Rob Ruha. It was released as the main single from his third studio album Preservation of Society on 8 October 2021. The song was the 7th most commercially successful song sung in Te Reo Māori for 2021.
Coterie is a four-member Australian-New Zealand band. Formed from four brothers who were born in New Zealand and grew up in Perth, Western Australia, the band received recognition for the 2021 single "Cool It Down", which was a hit in New Zealand.
This is a list of the top-selling singles in New Zealand for 2022 from the Official New Zealand Music Chart's end-of-year chart, compiled by Recorded Music NZ. Recorded Music NZ also published 2022 lists for two sub-charts, the top 20 singles released by New Zealand artists, and the top 20 singles primarily performed in te reo Māori.
"Ka Taria" ("Waiting") is a song by New Zealand musicians Rob Ruha and Drax Project. A song sung in Māori and English, it was released as a single during Te Wiki o te Reo Māori. It was the third Drax Project song released as a part of the Waiata / Anthems project, following "I Moeroa / Woke Up Late", and Ruha's second, after "35". The song debuted at number 17 on the New Zealand Hot Singles chart, the highest position by a New Zealand artist's song that week. By the end of 2022, it was the 20th most successful Te Reo Māori song of the year in New Zealand.
Te Pikikōtuku o Ngāti Rongomai is a New Zealand kapa haka group that formed in 2013, formed from members of Ngāti Rongomai from the Lake Rotoiti area of the Rotorua Lakes District. The group placed second at the 2019 Te Matatini competition. In 2022, the group recorded "Te Ata Māhina", the waiata tira from this performance for the 50th anniversary of Te Matatini. The song became one of the most successful Māori language songs for 2022 in New Zealand.
"Love on the Run" is a song by New Zealand band Sons of Zion, performed in collaboration with singer Jackson Owens, released as a single in June 2021. In September 2021 for Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, the band re-recorded the song as "He Aroha Hinemoa / Love on the Run". Both the English and Māori language versions of the song were hits in New Zealand.
Corrella is an eight-member New Zealand roots reggae band. Formed in 2017 by members of the Royal New Zealand Navy in the North Shore, Auckland, suburb of Belmont, the group came to prominence in New Zealand in 2023 with the single "Blue Eyed Māori". Lead singer Pipiwharauroa Campbell grew up speaking Māori as his first language, and the band has released two songs in te reo Māori, "Raumati" (2022) and "Ko Au " (2023).