Music Industry News

The End of Year Top 50 Singles Chart is led by Alex Warren with his runaway hit ‘Ordinary’, which spent 15 weeks at #1 in 2025 – the most of any artist this year. It also matches Pharrell Williams’ record for the highest number of weeks at #1 for any Top 40 single in the history of the Aotearoa Charts, which Williams hit in 2014 with ‘Happy’. KPop Demon Hunters are a close second with ‘Golden’ – the biggest of a number of hits that feature on the official soundtrack of the blockbuster animated film.

The Demon Hunters soundtrack – which has spent more weeks at #1 than any other animated film soundtrack – secures the #1 spot on the EOY Top 50 Albums Chart ahead of a who’s who of solo artists that fall in step behind, including Taylor Swift (#2 – The Life Of A Showgirl) and Ed Sheeran (#3 – +-=÷×). Six60 (#9 – The Six60 Collection), Lorde (#25 – Virgin), Marlon Williams (#28 – Te Whare Tīwekaweka) and L.A.B (#29 – Introducing L.A.B) are the local artists to feature in the Chart, which is otherwise dominated by international releases.

These same four local acts top the End of Year Aotearoa Albums Chart in 2025 – led by our inaugural Aotearoa Charts Icons, Six60. The Chart captures those albums by Aotearoa artists that had the biggest impact in the year that was; some of the other top NZ albums include those from the now global superstar ROSÉ (#6 – rosie), 2025 Aotearoa Music Awards People’s Choice winners Devilskin (#8 – RE-EVOLUTION) and the unmatched waiata reo Māori success story that is the Aotearoa Songbook (#9).

The End of Year Aotearoa Top 20 Singles Chart, however, showcases the undeniable impact of an artist that doesn’t feature on the Albums Chart at all: Te Wehi. The Bay of Plenty roots artist tops the Chart with ‘Unaware’ after an astounding breakthrough year, also claiming three other spots in the EOY Top 20 as a solo artist (#9 – ‘Inside My Head’, #16 – ‘Dead Or Alive’, #17 – ‘Unfortunately’), and one for his collaboration with 2025 Breakthrough Tūī-winner Hori Shaw (#8 – ‘Ready To Ride’). ‘Unaware’ also lands at #40 on the End of Year Top 50, one of two local tracks to feature in that Chart. The other is Hori Shaw’s ‘Back In My Arms’ at #46, which also closes out the year at #2 on the 2025 Aotearoa Top 20, ahead of another of the year’s biggest local tunes, Shane Walker’s ‘Coasty Girl’ (#3).

The Tukutahi Te Reo Māori Tiketike End of Year Top 20 reveals the biggest waiata reo Māori of 2025. The Aotearoa Songbook’s ‘Tōku Reo Tōku Ohooho’ leads the Chart, having also topped the weekly Tiketike for 18 weeks (and counting), and other waiata from the release land at #9 (‘He Aha Kei Taku Uma’), #13 (‘Tōia Mai’) and #14 (‘Aku Mahi’). AMA 2024 Te Tino Reo o te Tau | Best Solo Artist Marlon Williams claims six spots on the Top 20 with songs from his Top 40-topping, first fully reo Māori album Te Whare Tīwekaweka. TAWAZ is also a frequent flyer, appearing multiple times with a series of collabs that compound his own AMA 2024 Te Manu Taki Māori o te Tau | Best Māori Artist status.

Find out who else made this year’s End of Year Charts at the links below:

Top 50 Singles Chart
Top 50 Albums Chart
Top 20 Aotearoa Singles Chart
Top 20 Aotearoa Albums Chart
Top 20 Te Reo Māori Chart

Check out all things Official Aotearoa Music Charts below:
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