Waiata 100: The whole country picked the same #1 - except one region

​The 1987 cult classic sung entirely in te reo Māori came in at number two in Gisborne, with another 1987 release, the reggae hit 'Sensitive to a Smile' by Herbs, taking the top honour. This is just one of the fun facts we found on the cutting room floor after RNZ’s data nerds tallied up the 65,000-plus votes that came in to find New Zealand’s favourite song.

Overseas voters also opted for a different top tune. The emotional and bittersweet ballad 'Don’t Dream It’s Over' by Crowded House took pole position for expat New Zealanders who are perhaps cultivating resilience in the face of homesickness.

How the cities and regions voted

Perhaps unsurprisingly, urban Auckland is full of hip-hop and R&B heads. Songs by DLT, Che Fu, Ardijah, Adeaze and Scribe all ranked higher than in the national tally. However, the biggest mover was King Kapisi’s 'Screems From Tha Old Plantation,' which came in at 47 in Auckland, 43 places higher than the slot it filled on the national tally.

New Zealand’s metal artists, such as Devilskin and Alien Weaponry, did better outside of New Zealand’s cities. For example, Devilskin's 'Start A Revolution' came in at 34 for the Waikato and 15 for Bay of Plenty voters. The 2014 song came in at 122 for national voters.

Reggae and dub, a subgenre of reggae, did well in the warmer climates of Northland and the Gisborne region. L.A.B’s 'In the Air' sits at 21 for Northland, up 60 places from the national tally. Herbs, 1814, the Black Seeds and TrinityRoots all have songs that sit higher than their national position.

Across the country, some of our biggest artists benefited from local love. Stan Walker’s 'Aotearoa' and 'Māori Ki Te Ao' both jumped into the top 50 in the Bay of Plenty, where he was raised. 'Tally Ho!' by The Clean, an indie-rock band from Dunedin, jumped 80 places to 42 for deep south voters. The Chills and Straitjacket Fits, who also have Dunedin roots, were well-loved in the region. The Phoenix Foundation cracked the top 50 in their home of Wellington, a jump of 54 spots from the national tally.

Songs with placenames proved to be local anthems in some cases, with 'Parihaka' by Tim Finn and the Herbs coming in at 23 for Taranaki voters. However, the 1984 song didn’t break the top 100 in the national votes. 'Victoria' by Dance Exponents cracked the top 20 in Wellington, and 'April Sun in Cuba' by Dragon climbed five places with overseas voters (although we cannot confirm how many New Zealanders voted from Cuba).

How the generations voted

The 18 to 25-year-old category, made entirely of Gen Z voters, leaned heavily towards female artists from the 2000s onwards. Lorde, The Beths, Devilskin, Goldenhorse and Ladyhawke all jumped dozens of places for that age group compared to the national tally. Lorde’s 'Ribs' came out ahead of her breakthrough song 'Royals' for Gen Z. BENEE also did well amongst Gen Z voters with three of her songs - 'Glitter,' 'Supalonely' and 'Soaked' - breaking into the top 50.

'Poi E' did well across all age groups, coming in at number one for Gen Z and those aged 45-54, which is part of Gen X. However, those aged 25 to 34 (so older Gen Z and younger Millennials) crowned 'Sway' by Bic Runga with their number one spot. Older millennials went with 'Slice of Heaven' by Dave Dobbyn and the Herbs. The 55 to 64-year-olds, made up of older Gen Zers and younger baby boomers, opted for indie rock song 'No Given Lightly' by Chris Knox as their favourite.

Across the genres

It’s not surprising that self-declared metalhead voters went with metal and hard rock artists. Blindspott, Shihad, and Devilskin all did well with this group. Metal fans showed some love to bands that landed outside the national top 100, with Wellington’s Bewastwars nabbing spot 34 with 'Damn the Sky.' 'Comfortably Shagged' by Head Like a Hole came in at 38 and the Datsuns took spot 50 with 'Harmonic Generator.'

Punk and Avantgarde/Experimental music fans leaned heavily towards the Dunedin Sound, the music movement of the 1980s that came out of the region. For example, 'Not Given Lightly' by Chris Knox came in at number one for punk fans and 'Pink Frost' by the Chills for the experimenters. Aldous Harding, the Mint Chicks, Headless Chickens and Straitjacket Fits also did well for fans of this genre.

Waiata Māori followers added a few fresh faces to their top 50, including Hirini Melbourne’s 'Purea Nui,' 35 by Ka Hao and 'Blue Eyed Māori' by Corrella. Waiata Anthem, a music project where artists sing and re-record popular songs in te reo Māori, did well with versions of existing songs.

The hip-hop heads put 'Poi E' on top. After all, the music video features breakdancing on a waka. Other favourites for fans of this genre were 'Not Many' by Scribe, 'Misty Frequencies' from Che Fu and 'Chains' by DLT featuring Che Fu.

The first fully New Zealand-recorded song, 'Blue Smoke,' rose to number 24 for classical fans. Blues and country voters also gave the 1949 release some love.

Sign up for RNZ's daily newsletter

Help

Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, is a curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.