Pnau are an Australian dance music trio originating from Sydney. The trio, a duo before 2016, consists of musicians Nick Littlemore, Peter Mayes and Sam Littlemore (production), with Sam joining in 2016. Pnau have achieved multiple successes throughout their career with their award-winning 1999 debut album Sambanova and their widely acclaimed 2007 release Pnau. They are also recognised for their heavily publicised apprenticeship under musician Elton John, who signed the duo after listening to their eponymous album Pnau. Several of Pnau's recent projects have featured John's involvement, such as Pnau's album Soft Universe and an album featuring Pnau recreations of Elton John's hits called Good Morning to the Night.
OMC, or Otara Millionaires Club, were a New Zealand music group, then duo, with vocalist Pauly Fuemana later becoming the sole member. OMC was best known for the 1995 hit "How Bizarre", named one of the greatest New Zealand songs of all time by the Australasian Performing Right Association. The full name of the band is a tongue-in-cheek reference to Otara's status as one of the poorest suburbs of Auckland.
Demetrius C. Savelio, better known by his stage name Savage, is a New Zealand rapper and a former member of hip hop group the Deceptikonz. Savage was the first New Zealand hip hop artist 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 also has applied his recognisable voice in the electronic dance music space with 5× platinum hit ''Freaks'' with Timmy Trumpet, and 4 times platinum hit ''Swing'' with Joel Fletcher.
Urban Pasifika is a New Zealand subgenre of hip hop, that developed primarily among Pasifika New Zealanders in South Auckland. Drawn from alternative hip hop and R&B influences, it was quickly blended with Pacific Island or Māori instrumentation and traditional songwriting and singing and rapping in a variety of Polynesian languages, such as Māori, Samoan, Niuean and Tongan. The genre's genesis in the 1980s blossomed into a unique, globally enrapturing cultural scene in its homeland of Auckland, especially in the next decade. Urban Pasifika is one of the most popular music genres to arise from New Zealand, and helped cement Auckland's reputation on the world stage as a major cultural centre, and the most ethnically Polynesian city in the world.
"Buses and Trains" is the debut single of Australian pop band Bachelor Girl. Released on 18 June 1998 as the first single from the band's debut album, Waiting for the Day (1998), the song peaked at number four on the ARIA Singles Chart and remains the band's highest-charting single. It was also a hit in New Zealand, where it reached number six and earned a Gold certification. Outside Australia, "Buses and Trains" reached number 29 in Sweden, number 35 in Iceland, and number 65 in the United Kingdom.
"Under the Milky Way" is a single by Australian alternative rock band The Church, released on 15 February 1988, and appears on their fifth studio album Starfish. The song was written by bass guitarist and lead vocalist Steve Kilbey and his then-girlfriend Karin Jansson of Curious (Yellow). It peaked at No. 22 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart, No. 24 on the United States Billboard Hot 100, No. 25 on the New Zealand Singles Chart and appeared in the Dutch Single Top 100. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1989, the song won 'Single of the Year'. It was issued simultaneously in both 7" vinyl and 12" vinyl formats by Arista Records (internationally) and Mushroom Records.
Sisters Underground was a New Zealand hip hop and R&B duo best known for their 1994 single "In the Neighbourhood".
Vika and Linda, also known as Vika and Linda Bull, are an Australian vocal duo consisting of Vika Susan Bull and her younger sister, Linda Rose Bull. They came to prominence after singing backing vocals in Joe Camilleri's band The Black Sorrows from 1988. They left that group early in 1994 to start their duo with a self-titled album appearing in June that year. The duo scored their first number 1 album in 2020, with their retrospective 'Akilotoa: Anthology (1994-2006).
Proud: An Urban Pacific Streetsoul Compilation is a 1994 New Zealand hip hop and R&B compilation album. It was released in New Zealand by Second Nature Records and in Australia by Volition Records, and later rereleased in New Zealand by Huh! Records in 2000. Proud has been described as "one of the most important NZ releases in the past decades" by New Zealand music industry figure Simon Grigg.
Empire of the Sun are an Australian electronic music duo formed in 2007. The duo is a collaboration between Luke Steele, of alternative rock band The Sleepy Jackson, and Nick Littlemore, of electronic dance band Pnau.
Joshua Elia Williams, known by his stage name J. Williams, is a New Zealand R&B recording artist and professional hip-hop dancer. He made his musical debut in 2008 with "Blow Your Mind" which peaked at number 13 on the New Zealand Singles Chart. In early 2009 his debut album Young Love was released with the single "You Got Me" featuring Scribe. It was certified platinum and became the #1 selling single of 2010 in New Zealand.
Kimbra Lee Johnson, known mononymously as Kimbra, is a New Zealand singer and songwriter. Known for mixing pop with R&B, jazz and rock musical elements, her accolades include four ARIA Music Awards, two Grammy Awards and seven New Zealand Music Awards. Her musical influences range from Prince and Minnie Riperton to Björk and Jeff Buckley.
"Not Many" is a hip hop single by New Zealand rapper Scribe, taken from his debut album, The Crusader. It was released as a double A-side with "Stand Up".
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, Amy Shark, Goodnight Nurse, Olivia Rodrigo, Years & Years, and the Jonas Brothers.
The 2013 APRA Silver Scroll Awards were held on Tuesday 15 October 2013 at Vector Arena in Auckland, celebrating excellence in New Zealand songwriting. This is the first year the ceremony was held at Vector Arena, moving from its previous location of the Auckland Town Hall in order to accommodate more of APRA's 8000 New Zealand members.
Peking Duk are an electronic music group made up of disc jockeys and music producers Adam Hyde and Reuben Styles. The pair first garnered attention in 2012 with the release of a Passion Pit bootleg remix. Their biggest hit "High" reached 5 on the ARIA Singles Chart, achieved a triple platinum certification and won the ARIA Award for Best Dance Release at the ARIA Music Awards of 2014..
Broods is a New Zealand musical duo from Nelson, composed of Georgia Josiena Nott on lead vocals, with older brother and multi-instrumentalist Caleb Allan Joseph Nott on production and backing vocals. They released the single "Bridges", which went to No. 8 on the New Zealand singles chart, and signed with Capitol and Polydor Records. They released their self-titled debut EP, Broods, on 30 January 2014, which was followed by a full-length album, Evergreen, on 22 August 2014. The band has toured with Ellie Goulding, Haim, Sam Smith, Tove Lo and Taylor Swift. They have won ten New Zealand Music Awards. On 24 June 2016, Broods released their second album, Conscious. They released their third album Don't Feed the Pop Monster on 1 February 2019.
"Can't Get Enough" is a 1994 single from New Zealand funk rock band Supergroove. It peaked at number one in the New Zealand singles chart and later charted at 36 in Australia. The song was included on Supergroove's debut album Traction.
"Cruise Control" is a song by New Zealand band Headless Chickens. Written by members Chris Matthews and Michael Lawry, the track was released as the second single from the band's second studio album, Body Blow (1991), in 1991 and reached number six on the New Zealand Singles Chart. Three years later, the song was remixed and re-released as the "Eskimos in Egypt" mix. This version of the song peaked at number 26 in Australia and topped the New Zealand chart as a double A-side with "George".
Jess Bourke, better known as JessB, is a rapper and former professional netballer from Auckland, New Zealand. She has released two EPs and won Best New Zealand Act at the 2019 MTV Europe Music Awards.
