The music of New Zealand has been influenced by a number of traditions, including Māori music, the music introduced by European settlers during the nineteenth century, and a variety of styles imported during the twentieth century, including blues, jazz, country, rock and roll, reggae, and hip hop, with many of these genres given a unique New Zealand interpretation.
Sir 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.
Peter Wadams, better known by his stage name P-Money, is a New Zealand hip-hop DJ and producer.
Greg Johnson is a New Zealand singer songwriter.
"Anchor Me" is a 1994 single by New Zealand rock band The Mutton Birds. The song peaked at #10 in the New Zealand singles chart, and charted for nine weeks. The song was from the group's 1993 album Salty, with three other album tracks used on the single. "Anchor Me" is a love song, written by the Mutton Birds' lead singer Don McGlashan about his wife.
"Counting the Beat" is a single by New Zealand rock band The Swingers released in 1981 from their album Practical Jokers.
"Tomorrow" is a song by Australian rock band Silverchair, which was released on 16 September 1994 on their debut extended play album, also titled Tomorrow. The song was later released on Frogstomp, the band's debut studio album, in 1995. Written by lead singer and guitarist Daniel Johns and drummer Ben Gillies, it was produced and engineered by Phil McKellar at the national radio station Triple J's studios for SBS-TV's show, Nomad, which aired on 16 June 1994. After the broadcast the band were signed to the Murmur label – a Sony Music subsidiary – which subsequently issued the Tomorrow EP.
Siren Records was an independent music label based in Auckland, New Zealand formed in 2000.
"Albertine" is a song by singer-songwriter Brooke Fraser, and the third single from her second studio album, Albertine. It was largely inspired by a Rwandan orphan, by the name of Albertine, whom Fraser met while there in 2005.
"Running Through the Fire (Storm)" is a single by Anika Moa, a singer-songwriter from New Zealand. It is the lead single from her fourth studio album, Love in Motion.
"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".
The Radio Airplay Record of the Year is an Aotearoa Music Award presented annually to songs by local artists that receive high airplay. It was first presented in 2004 to Goldenhorse for "Maybe Tomorrow". No award was presented in 2005, but in 2006 it was reintroduced, with The Feelers claiming it for their single "Stand Up". Brooke Fraser's "Deciphering Me" followed in 2007, while Opshop won the award in 2008 with "Maybe". In 2009, "Always on My Mind", by Tiki Taane, was awarded the title. Stan Walker twice won the award two years in a row — in 2010 with "Black Box" and in 2011 with "Choose You", and again with "Take It Easy" in 2013 and "Bulletproof" in 2014.
"Welcome Home" is a single by New Zealand singer/songwriter Dave Dobbyn, released in 2005 from the album Available Light. The song reached number 10 on the New Zealand charts.
The APRA Music Awards are several annual and two-yearly award ceremonies run in New Zealand by Australasian Performing Right Association to recognise songwriting skills, sales and airplay performance by its members. APRA hold the annual Silver Scroll Awards and song awards, selects an inductee into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame, and makes three professional development awards every second year. APRA also runs awards for its Australian members.
"Nature" is a 1969 single by New Zealand band The Fourmyula. The song peaked at number one in the New Zealand singles chart in 1970, won the APRA Silver Scroll songwriting award the same year, and in 2001 was voted the top song in APRA New Zealand's Top 100 New Zealand Songs of All Time. "Nature" was notably covered in 1992 by New Zealand rock band The Mutton Birds.
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, Noah Kahan, Years & Years, the Jonas Brothers, and Niall Horan.
"In the Neighbourhood" is the 1994 debut single by the New Zealand hip hop duo Sisters Underground. The song peaked at #6 in the New Zealand singles charts and is now regarded as a landmark single both in the emerging South Auckland music scene of the 1990s and for New Zealand music as a whole.
Tamara "Tami" Neilson is a Canadian-born New Zealand country & soul singer/songwriter. She is the winner of multiple awards, including the 2014 APRA Silver Scroll Awards and Best Country Song Award; she is also the winner of the Best Country Album at the New Zealand Music Awards in 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2015, and Best Female Artist at the New Zealand Country Music Awards in 2010, 2011 & 2014.
Maisey Rika is a New Zealand singer, songwriter and composer, performing in both English and Māori. Her five original albums have each reached the Top 40 in the Official New Zealand Music Chart. She was named an Arts Foundation Laureate in 2021, has received awards at the Waiata Māori Music Awards and APRA Awards, including APRA Best Māori Songwriter in 2010 and 2013, and has twice won Best Māori Language Album at the NZ Music Awards.
"Youthful" is a song by New Zealand singer and television presenter Anika Moa, released as her debut single and as the lead single from her first studio album, Thinking Room (2001). Moa wrote the song before she joined Atlantic Records and recorded Thinking Room, which was produced by Victor Van Vugt. Although the song was released commercially in Australia and was serviced to US radio in early 2002, it was never issued as a single in New Zealand. Despite this, it received plentiful airplay in the country, allowing it to reach number five on the RIANZ Singles Chart in October 2001. At the 2002 New Zealand Music Awards, "Youthful" won Moa the award for Best Songwriter.
