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Flight of the Conchords' Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement.

We pick the local talent who made the most significant contributions to our year in entertainment.

1 FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS

The comedy pair's big break into their own show on American primetime was the Kiwi showbiz success story of the year. Hey, we knew them before they were famous, when they were only "New Zealand's fourth most popular comedy-folk duo" and live, had a fine line in deadpan introductions and brilliantly funny songs which managed to parody entire genres in a single bound. No we couldn't quite see how that would work as a sitcom. Nor apparently could anyone in TV production here, and they're meant to have active creative imaginations. But there it was, Flight of the Conchords, a show backed by American telly giants HBO -about two Kiwi blokes and their guitars trying to make it big in New York being helped - well, in his own way - by Murray their manager from the New Zealand consulate.

Pity its timeslot and the company it kept - the awful local backpacker sitcom Welcome to Paradise on beforeheand - meant not a lot of New Zealanders have seen the best New Zealand comedy in decades, yet. But with a second series on the way, FOTC are on their way ... to becoming our third or even second most popular folk-comedy duo, at the very least.

2 HOLLIE SMITH

Having been the voice of hit song Bathe in the River in 2006, this year got even bigger for Hollie Smith when she released her debut album, Long Player, and signed a multi-album deal with legendary American label Blue Note. While her songwriting might not yet match her pipes, there are few voices as achingly soulful and unique in New Zealand and the world. She's in good hands for the future too because Blue Note knows its stuff, having singers like Al Green and Ella Fitzgerald on its books and more recently launching the career of Norah Jones.

3 TAIKA WAITITI

With his 2005 Oscar nomination for his short film Two Cars, One Night, ever-promising film-maker Taika Waititi faced some heavy local expectations on his first feature. Eagle Vs Shark wasn't meant to be that big important debut either. But the intended cheap DIY film inspired by the sweet deluded character of Lily - created by Waititi's partner Loren Horsley - kind of grew in scope. Waititi wrote a script, roped in acting mate Jemaine Clements (Flight of the Conchords) to play Jarrod to be Lily's equally oddball suitor and found the perfect suburban setting in Wellington's Titahi Bay for the film he defined as his "arthouse tragi-comedy". It also proved to be New Zealanders' favourite local movie of the year with its $900,000-plus at the local box office.

4 NEIL FINN

Even before Crowded House played their first reunion show in April or released new album Time on Earth Neil Finn was in the spotlight for his comments about government patronage of local music. In Real Groove magazine he said "it sort of makes me sick" that the PM takes so much credit for the success of the local music industry. He copped flak from the likes of Sir Howard Morrison and Ray Columbus but in Finn's retort in the Herald the following week he wrote "I will not be a nice little icon who just shakes hands and smiles at the camera". Then came that Crowded House reunion tour which played to thousands across North America and Europe brought it home playing a sold-out Vector Arena in October before heading to Australia and Up Over again. Having sold-out London's 12,000 Wembley Arena last Sunday, they added an encore show at the Royal Albert Hall on Tuesday.