The music of New Zealand has been influenced by blues, jazz, country, rock and roll and hip hop, with many of these genres given a unique New Zealand interpretation. A number of popular artists have gone on to achieve international success including Lorde, Split Enz, Crowded House, OMC, Bic Runga, Benee, Kimbra, Ladyhawke, The Naked and Famous, Fat Freddy's Drop, Savage, Gin Wigmore, Keith Urban, Flight of the Conchords, and Brooke Fraser.
Briolette Kah Bic Runga, recording as Bic Runga, is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist pop artist. Her first three studio albums debuted at number one on the New Zealand Top 40 Album charts. Runga has also found success internationally in Australia, Ireland and the United Kingdom with her song "Sway".
David Joseph Dobbyn is a New Zealand musician, singer–songwriter and record producer. In his early career he was a member of the rock group Th' Dudes and was the main creative force in pop band DD Smash. Since then he has released the majority of his recordings as a solo performer.
Donald McGlashan is a New Zealand composer, singer and multi-instrumentalist who Is best known for inclusion in the bands Blam Blam Blam, The Front Lawn, and The Mutton Birds, before going solo. He has also composed for cinema and television. Among other instruments, McGlashan has played guitar, drums, euphonium and French horn.
Demetrius C. Savelio, better known by his stage name Savage, is a New Zealander rapper, singer, record producer, songwriter, and a former member of hip hop group the Deceptikonz. Savage was the first New Zealand hip hop artist in history to have a commercial single achieve platinum certification status in the United States. The "International Breakthrough" accolade of the Pacific Music Awards was created in his honour. Savage has recently applied his recognisable voice in the electronic dance music space with 5x platinum hit 'Freaks' with Timmy Trumpet, and 4x platinum hit 'Swing' with Joel Fletcher.
Anika Rose Moa is a New Zealand recording artist and television presenter. Her debut album Thinking Room, was released in September 2001, which reached number one on the New Zealand Albums Chart and provided two Top 5 singles, "Youthful" (2001) and "Falling in Love Again" (2002). Moa competed at the Rockquest songwriting contest in 1998, which led to a recording contract. She is the subject of two documentaries by film-maker Justin Pemberton: 3 Chords and the Truth: the Anika Moa Story (2003), detailing her signing to a record label and the release of Thinking Room, and In Bed with Anika Moa (2010) on her later career.
Hollie Smith is a New Zealand soul singer-songwriter based in Wellington. Her debut album Long Player reached number one on the RIANZ albums chart in 2007, and certified double platinum.
No. 2: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack to the New Zealand film No. 2. It was released alongside the film in 2006 by EMI
Boh Runga is a New Zealand recording artist and was the lead singer and guitarist in New Zealand rock band Stellar. Boh is the older sister of Bic Runga and Pearl Runga who are also musicians.
Christopher Banks is a New Zealand journalist, musician, record producer, songwriter and film-maker.
Tiki Taane, 17 December 1976) is a New Zealand-based musician, experimentalist, musical activist, producer, and live engineer. He was a member of leading New Zealand band Salmonella Dub but left after eleven years on 1 January 2007 to pursue a solo career. His debut album, Past, Present, Future, was released on 22 October 2007 in New Zealand and has since gone two times platinum, achieving a number one single, "Always on My Mind", which became the first digital single to reach platinum sales and also holds the record by staying in the NZ Top 40 Charts for 55 weeks. Taane is also the exclusive live sound engineer for New Zealand drum and bass act Shapeshifter since their first gig in 1999. Taane has also produced multi platinum albums for bands such as Six60, Salmonella Dub and Tiki Taane.
Mark Williams is a New Zealand singer with Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ) number one hit singles, "Yesterday Was Just the Beginning of My Life" (1975) and a cover of Paul Anka's "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" (1977) before he relocated to Australia later that year. His single, "Show No Mercy" (1990) was a top ten hit in both countries. He has undertaken extensive touring in support of numerous Australian bands and worked in television. In 2006 he became the vocalist for the reformed New Zealand-Australian band, Dragon.
Virginia Claire Wigmore is a New Zealand singer and songwriter. Featured on the Smashproof single "Brother" in 2009, Wigmore went on to release four albums Holy Smoke (2009), Gravel & Wine (2011), Blood to Bone (2015) and Ivory (2018), with the first three having been chart-toppers on the New Zealand Albums Chart. She is known for her high pitched and raspy voice.
"Always On My Mind" is a single by the New Zealand singer Tiki Taane. It was released as the first single from Taane's first solo album, Past, Present, Future. It reached number one on the New Zealand Singles Chart.
Stan Walker is an Australian-born New Zealand singer, actor, and television personality. In 2009, Walker was the winner of the seventh and last season of Australian Idol. He subsequently signed a recording contract with Sony Music Australia. In December 2009, Walker released his debut studio album, Introducing Stan Walker, which included the hit single, "Black Box". The album debuted at number three on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart and was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). It also appeared on the New Zealand Albums Chart at number two and was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ).
"Sensitive to a Smile" is a single from the New Zealand reggae band Herbs from the Sensitive to a Smile album. The single reached #9 in the New Zealand chart.
Joel Little is a New Zealand record producer, musician and Grammy Award-winning songwriter. He is best known for his work as a writer and producer with artists Lorde, Taylor Swift, Broods, Sam Smith, Imagine Dragons, Ellie Goulding, Khalid, Elliphant, Jarryd James, Shawn Mendes, Marina Diamandis and the Jonas Brothers.
The 2006 APRA Silver Scroll Awards were held on Wednesday 20 September 2006 at the Auckland Town Hall, celebrating excellence in New Zealand songwriting. The Silver Scroll Award was presented to Don McGlashan for his song "Bathe In the River", originally performed by the Mt Raskil Preservation Society for the soundtrack of the New Zealand film No. 2. This was the final year where winners were selected by genre-specific panels of judges.
This is a list of the top-selling singles in New Zealand for 2013 from the Official New Zealand Music Chart's end-of-year chart, compiled by Recorded Music NZ.
Whenua Patuwai is a New Zealand singer. He is known for his appearance on the first New Zealand series of The X Factor where he was the runner-up. Competing in the Boys category, he was mentored by Ruby Frost. His debut single "Something Special" was released in July 2013 and peaked at number three in the New Zealand singles chart. His debut album The Soul Sessions was released in June 2014 and debuted at number four in the album chart.
