Lifetime Achievement Award to be celebrated at 2017 Vodafone Pacific Music Awards

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​The Manukau Institute of Technology Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Rahui Vaka aka Brother Love at the upcoming Vodafone Pacific Music Awards on 1 June.

Alongside celebrating our Pacific Music Award winners, there will be live performances from Aaradhna, Kings, Kylie Auldist, SWIDT, Tommy Nee, La Coco, and Three Houses Down. There will also be special performances by SUPA (Saintzup Performing Arts Trust) and Lifetime Achievement recipient Brother Love.

Brother Love is best known for his 1996 classic ‘Ruketekete Te Mamae (aka The Roimata Song’). He has been endeared across the Pacific for this song and for his skills as both vocalist and percussion musician.

He developed a unique sound, which first became known through a string band competition started in the early 1990s by at the legendary Banana Court bar.

His influence encouraged a new sound, which was rawer and stripped-back, reflecting the true sound of the Cook Islands. He has worked with Heimana Music for the last 30 years to promote Cook Island music to the world and off a glimpse of paradise through song.

He has also seen success as a founding member of Sunset Special, as well as performing with The Commodores when they toured Australia and The Herbs during their New Zealand tour.

In 2014, Rahui Vaka was inducted into the Cook Islands Music Hall of Fame. He will now join a prestigious line up of past recipients for the Lifetime Achievement Award, including Bill Sevesi, The Yandall Sisters, Ardijah and Tigilau Ness.

The awards will be held at the Vodafone Events Centre in Manukau, Auckland on 1 June and are now in their 13th year. Tickets to the ceremony will be available through www.ticketdirect.co.nz.
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​2017 Vodafone Pacific Music Awards finalists

​Virgin Australia Best Pacific Female Artist Award
Aaradhna – Brown Girl
La Coco – Love & Other Things
Olivia Foa’i – ‘Tulou Tagaloa’

NZ Music Commission Best Pacific Male Artist
KINGS – KINGS EP
Savage – ‘Zooby Doo’
Tommy Nee – Colorblind

Niu FM Best Pacific Urban Artist
KINGS – KINGS EP
SWIDT – SWIDT vs EVERYBODY
Three Houses Down feat. General Fiyah – ‘Love & Affection’

Radio 531pi Best Pacific Group
Three Houses Down feat. General Fiyah – ‘Love & Affection’
Tomorrow People – ‘Writings on the Wall’
Unity Pacific – Blackbirder Dread

NZ On Air Best Pacific Music Video
Aaradhna – ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ (Directed by Sophie Findlay)
Parri$ – ‘Friday’ (Directed by Parris Goebel)
Three Houses Down feat. General Fiyah – ‘Love & Affection’ (Directed by Samson Rambo)

APRA Best Pacific Song
Aaradhna – ‘Brown Girl’ (Written by Aaradhna Patel)
KINGS – ‘Don’t Worry Bout’ It’ (Written by Kings)
Opetaia Foa’i – ‘We Know The Way’ (Written by Opetaia Foa’i and Lin-Manuel Miranda)

SunPix Best Pacific Language
Annie Grace – ‘Loimata o le Fiafia’
Olivia Foa’i – ‘Tulou Tagaloa’
Vai Mahina/Sulata Foa’i-Amiatu, Matthew Ineleo – ‘An Innocent Warrior’

Best Pacific Gospel Artist
Annie Grace – ‘Unchangeable Love’
La Coco – Love & Other Things
Revere – ‘Groove Thing’

Flava Best International Pacific Artist
J Boog – Rose Petals
Kylie Auldist – Family Tree
CRSB – Evolution of Love

Recorded Music NZ Best Pacific Music Album
Aaradhna – Brown Girl
KINGS – KINGS EP
Unity Pacific – Blackbirder Dread

MAINZ Best Producer
KINGS – KINGS EP (Produced by Kings)
La Coco – Love & Other Things (Produced by Dee Letoa)
SWIDT – SWIDT vs EVERYBODY (Produced by SmokeyGotBeatz)

All the finalists:
1. Aaradhna – Brown Girl
2. Annie Grace – ‘Loimata o le Fiafia’/’Unchangeable Love’
3. CRSB – Evolution of Love
4. J Boog – Rose Petals
5. KINGS – KINGS EP
6. Kylie Auldist – Family Tree
7. La Coco – Love & Other Things
8. Olivia Foa’i – ‘Tulou Tagaloa’
9. Opetaia Foa’i – ‘We Know The Way’
10. Parri$ – ‘Friday’
11. Revere – ‘Groove Thing’
12. Savage – ‘Zooby Doo’
13. SWIDT – SWIDT vs EVERYBODY
14. Three Houses Down (featuring General Fiyah) – ‘Love & Affection’
15. Tommy Nee – Colorblind
16. Tomorrow People – ‘Writings on the Wall’
17. Unity Pacific – Blackbirder Dread
18. Vai Mahina/Sulata Foa’i-Amiatu, Matthew Ineleo – ‘An Innocent Warrior’

​For more information: www.pacificmusicawards.org.nz
Issued for the Vodafone Pacific Music Awards by Pead PR
About the Vodafone Pacific Music Awards:

In 2004 the Pacific Music Awards Committee (PMAC) was formed to realise a vision and the inaugural Pacific Music Awards debuted at Pasifika Festival in March 2005. Encouraged by the success of the awards the PMAC set about developing an annual event as a significant highlight of the New Zealand music industry calendar. The awards committee formed a Charitable Trust to organise and host the awards, and are driven by a simple core objective: to create and manage an event that acknowledges the success of Pacific artists, celebrates and promotes excellence in Pacific music and encourages young Pacific musicians to aspire to a higher level of achievement.

Contact:
Adam Warin, Pead PR | P. 09 551 2375 | M. 021 029 01388 | E. adam@peadpr.co.nz
Jack Wheeler, Pead PR | P. 09 918 5581 | M. 021 0233 5803 | E. jack@peadpr.co.nz