At numerous live performances, people grooved in their seats – and the crowd cheered when Hawaiian-born Tongan singer Josh Tatofi took the stage.
The singer is currently on a South Pacific tour and has just returned from sold-out shows in the Pacific Islands and Australia. His shows in Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington this weekend are also sold out.
Tatofi was named International Pacific Artist of the Year for his hits including: ‘Ouana, Storms never stop, I will love you And Tears on my pillow.
It seems that Tatofi’s presence at this year’s ceremony was a major draw and resulted in tremendous audience participation.
In his acceptance speech, he credited God for his talent and drew laughter from the crowd when he mentioned the Tongan village of Vaini.
During his performance, he sang a mix of two of his most popular songs and the entire audience was on their feet, dancing and cheering him on – while security struggled to keep fans away from the stage.
Auckland hip hop artist Diggy Dupe, who was nominated for four awards this year, was named Best Pacific Hip Hop Artist as well as the coveted Best Pacific Male Artist.
The other big winner of the night was South Auckland-based Polynesian heavy metal band Shepherds Reign. The group, who were nominated in six award categories this year, took home the award for Best Pacific Song for their hit: Ala Mai.
The group also took home the coveted award for Best Pacific Music Album.
Onehunga’s top rap group SWIDT was nominated for three awards this year. They were named Best Pacific Group, singer Sam V received the award for Best Pacific Soul/RnB Artist and Pacific roots reggae queen Unity Pacific was named Best Pacific Roots/Reggae Artist.
The other big wins last night went to Signature Choir, Mana Moana, whose performances wowed audiences last year. They were named Best Pacific Gospel Artist.
The award for Best Producer went to Haz Beats and the People’s Choice Award for Best Pacific Artist went to singer Shane Walker, while the special Phillip Fuemana Award for Most Promising Pacific Artist went to MITI.
Teremoana Rapley honored with Lifetime Achievement Award
Samoan singer Jordan Gavet won the Radio Airplay Award for her catchy song He said: Noa Records won the Creative NZ Award and Aaron Strickland – Astro won the Independent Music Award.
This year’s Pacific Music Awards Lifetime Achievement Award went to Auckland-based singer and songwriter Teremoana Rapley, whose contribution to Pacific music and to music in Aotearoa more generally spans decades.
A live tribute recognised Rapley’s long-standing work in Aotearoa’s hip hop scene and her contribution to groups such as Upper Hutt Posse and Moana and the Moahunters in the 1990s.
Vaimoana Mase is the Pasifika editor of the Herald’s Talanoa section, stories from the Pacific Community. She was named Junior Reporter of the Year at the 2010 Qantas Media Awards and won Best Opinion Article at the 2023 Voyager Media Awards.
