Paradiso tops the NZ chart & Hayley breaks a record!

Record-Setting Hayley

Mother's Day proved the tipping point for Cantabrian Hayley Westenra's Paradiso as it moves to the top of the NZ Albums Charts. And in ascending the summit Hayley takes the outright lead as the local artist with the most #1 albums to her name, logging a fifth time on top.

She had previously been in a three-way tie with Split Enz and the feelers with four #1s apiece. Now Ms Westenra is the sole champion, though it should be noted that two other local artists have been to #1 more times but under different guises. No surprises, Neil and Tim Finn have each been party to more #1s overall, but theirs have been as members at different times of Split Enz, Crowded House, the Finn Brothers and as soloists.

Finn the younger totals 10 #1 albums in all, while Finn the elder has eight. Hayley's five make her the most capped New Zealand solo artist and the most capped New Zealand woman.

It's not the first time Hayley has set a notable chart benchmark. With 19 weeks at #1, her 2003 album Pure is the longest-running #1 by a Kiwi and is the third longest-running #1 set of all time (only bettered by Shania Twain's Come On Over at 23 weeks and Dire Straits' Brothers In Arms on 21 weeks).

Paradiso becomes the 85th local #1 album since the Official NZ Music Charts began in 1975.

Remarkably, over the 36 years the official charts have been compiled, Hayley's collected albums account for almost 18% of the time New Zealand artists have spent at the summit. She tallies 33 frames out of a total 185 weeks local acts have been on top. It's almost 10 years to the day since the 24-year-old Westenra first made the top.