Sonatane Kaufusi

​Sonatane has just finished his schooling at Manurewa High School where he was headboy.  In 2018 Sonatane fronted the bands Mit Eldnar and Mit Eldnar XL and took out both the Smokefreerockquest competition and Smokefree Tagatabeats.  In doing so he also became the first person in the competitions 30 year history to win both the solo and band catergories after winning the solo in 2017.   Sonatane has also won the Play it Strange Peace song award – so was achieving and succeeding with his original music, at a young age.  As well as excelling in music, Sonatane is a talented athlete and rugby player.
Sonatane released his debut single 'Birdie' to critical acclaim.  The song is about “coping with stress and admiring the freedom that birds have” and has since received over 800,000 streams.  He has performed the song at numerous venues including Parliament and an audience with the Prime Minister.