Anika Rose Moa (born 21 May 1980) is a New Zealand recording artist and television presenter. Her debut album ''

Thinking Room ''Thinking Room'' is the debut album by New Zealand Pop recording artist Anika Moa, released on 28 September 2001 by Warner, Atlantic Records. It reached number one on the New Zealand Albums Chart and was certified double platinum selling over ...

'', was released in September 2001, which reached number one on the

New Zealand Albums Chart The Official New Zealand Music Chart ( mi, Te Papa Tātai Waiata Matua o Aotearoa) is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The Music ...

and provided two Top 5 singles, "Youthful" (2001) and "Falling in Love Again" (2002). Moa competed at the Rockquest songwriting contest in 1998, which led to a recording contract. She is the subject of two documentaries by film-maker

Justin Pemberton Justin Pemberton is a documentary filmmaker based in New Zealand. Life and career Pemberton's adaptation of economist Thomas Piketty’s NY Times bestseller ''Capital in the Twenty-First Century'' premièred at the 2019 Sydney Film Festival and e ...

: ''3 Chords and the Truth: the Anika Moa Story'' (2003), detailing her signing to a record label and the release of ''Thinking Room'', and ''In Bed with Anika Moa'' (2010) on her later career.

Early life

Anika Moa was born in 1980 in the Auckland suburb of

Papakura Papakura is a southern suburb of Auckland, in northern New Zealand. It is located on the shores of the Pahurehure Inlet, approximately 32 kilometres south of the Auckland CBD. It is under the authority of the Auckland Council. Papakura is a M� ...

. She grew up in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

and attended Hornby High School. Her father Tia, who died in 2007, was

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

(

Ngāpuhi Ngāpuhi (or Ngā Puhi) is a Māori iwi associated with the Northland region of New Zealand and centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands, and Whangārei. According to the 2018 New Zealand census, the estimated population of Ngāpuhi is 165, ...

Te Aupōuri Te Aupōuri is the second northernmost Māori iwi (tribal group), located north of Kaitaia, Northland, New Zealand, a region known as the Te Hiku o te Ika. The iwi is one of the six Muriwhenua iwi of the far north of the North Island. Te Reo ...

) and her mother Bernadette is of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

descent. Moa and her siblings were raised by Bernadette, who was a member of a band, which performed three days a week. Moa met Tia at 13 – he gave her a guitar and encouraged her to learn songwriting on it. While at secondary school she joined musicals, choirs and rock bands.

Music career

1998–2007: ''Thinking Room'' to ''Stolen Hill''

In 1998, Moa won an award for Most Promising Female Musician and a music school scholarship at the New Zealand

Smokefreerockquest Smokefreerockquest (SFRQ) is an annual music competition for intermediate and high school bands throughout New Zealand. The first Rockquest was held in 1988, and was organised by Christchurch radio station C93FM as a local event. The following ...

high school music competition. After recording a demo tape, she signed a record deal with

Warner Music Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...

in New Zealand and

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

in New York. She moved to New York to record her first album, ''

'' (September 2001), with

Victor Van Vugt Victor Van Vugt is a music producer, mixer and engineer. An Australian based in New York, he has had a long association with the careers of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Beth Orton. He has also worked with the likes of P.J. Harvey, Depeche Mo ...

producing. Her lead single, "Youthful", appeared in July 2001, which reached No. 5 on the

New Zealand Singles Chart The Official New Zealand Music Chart ( mi, Te Papa Tātai Waiata Matua o Aotearoa) is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The Music ...

. Moa became homesick and uncomfortable with the "superficial" imagery used by her manager to promote her. In 2002 she returned to Auckland. She released her second album '' Stolen Hill'' on 1 August 2005, describing the album as "more sparse" and true to herself, compared to her first. One track, "In the Morning", refers to her abortion in 2000. The album was

certified gold Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

. She toured New Zealand in October of that year. In 2005 Moa was one of many New Zealand musicians who contributed to single " Anchor Me", which commemorated the twentieth anniversary of the bombing of the ''Rainbow Warrior''.

2007–2012: ''In Swings the Tide'', civil union and ''Love in Motion''

In October 2007 Moa released her third studio album, '' In Swings The Tide'', which went

platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...

and won a number of rave reviews. For the first time she was credited with producing the album alone. In 2009 ''

The New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspapers ...

'' named Moa as one of the "Top 10 Kiwi music successes of the past 10 years". Anika Moa 2010 VNZMA

Moa

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

as openly

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

in 2007. She entered into a

civil union A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, created primarily as a means to provide recognition in law for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage ...

with Australian burlesque dancer, Azaria Universe (Angela Fyfe), in February 2010. Her partner was the inspiration for Moa's fourth album, '' Love in Motion'' (March 2010), which peaked at number four. Fyfe became pregnant with twins in the following year. To support the album, she embarked on a nationwide tour from October to December 2010. Moa has collaborated with other New Zealand solo artists, SJD and

Bic Runga Briolette Kah Bic Runga (born 13 January 1976), recording as Bic Runga, is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist pop artist. Her first three studio albums debuted at number one on the Recording Industry Association of New Ze ...

. She performed with the band,

Dimmer A dimmer is a device connected to a light fixture and used to lower the brightness of the lighting, light. By changing the voltage waveform applied to the lamp, it is possible to lower the luminous intensity, intensity of the light output. Alt ...

, in a backup and touring capacity. She has DJed under the name, DJ Unika.

2013: ''Peace of Mind'', separation and ''Songs for Bubbas''

In February 2013 Moa teamed with

Boh Runga Boh Runga (born 1969/1970) is a New Zealand recording artist and was the lead singer and guitarist in New Zealand rock band Stellar. Boh is the older sister of Bic Runga and Pearl Runga who are also musicians. Early life Boh grew up in Chris ...

and

Hollie Smith Hollie Smith (born 17 November 1982) is a New Zealand soul singer-songwriter based in Auckland, New Zealand. Her four solo albums ''Long Player, Humour and the Misfortune of Others, Water or Gold,'' and ''Coming In From The Dark'' have all reach ...

to release an album, ''Peace of Mind''. Moa and Fyfe separated, and they have joint custody of the twins. In November 2013 she released her first children's album, ''Songs for Bubbas''.

Television and radio work

''All Talk with Anika Moa'' (2016–2017)

In September 2016 Moa debuted her interview talk show ''All Talk with Anika Moa'', which was broadcast for the

Māori Television Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

, developed with support from

NZ on Air NZ On Air (NZOA; mi, Irirangi te Motu), formally the Broadcasting Commission, is an autonomous Crown entity and commission of the New Zealand Government responsible for funding support for broadcasting and creative works. The commission oper ...

. The show is filmed in front of a small studio audience, and has featured appearances from a number of New Zealand celebrities including actor

Temuera Morrison Temuera Derek Morrison (born 26 December 1960) is a New Zealand actor and Singer who first gained recognition for his role as Dr. Hone Ropata on the soap opera ''Shortland Street''. He gained critical acclaim for his starring role as Jake "The ...

and musician

Stan Walker Stan Walker (born 23 October 1990) is an Australian-born New Zealand singer, actor, and television personality. In 2009, Walker was the winner of the seventh and last season of '' Australian Idol''. He subsequently signed a recording contrac ...

. There were two series developed, each consisting of 10 episodes, as well as a special episode highlighting moments from the series. The final episode of series two aired in July 2017.

''Anika Moa Unleashed'' (2018)

In March 2018, Moa debuted a new interview show, ''Anika Moa Unleashed'', available online through

TVNZ OnDemand TVNZ+ ( mi, Te Reo Tātaki Ā-Tono), formerly known as TVNZ OnDemand, is an online New Zealand television and video on demand streaming service offered by TVNZ. It offers a variety of free content, such as news updates and programmes seen on TVN ...

. In 2019 the show started showing on

TVNZ 1 TVNZ 1 ( mi, Te Reo Tātaki Tahi) is the first national television channel owned and operated by the state-owned broadcaster Television New Zealand (TVNZ). It is the oldest television broadcaster in New Zealand, starting out from 1960 as indep ...

on Saturday nights. The show features Moa visiting the homes of notable New Zealand celebrities, public figures, and personalities. She has reportedly signed to develop twelve episodes.

Other Appearances

In April 2018, Moa had a stint as a television presenter for the current affairs programme Seven Sharp, filling in for

Jeremy Wells Jeremy Wells (born 7 June 1977) is a New Zealand media personality who hosts the Radio Hauraki breakfast show with Matt Heath, '' Seven Sharp'' alongside Hilary Barry, and the NZ version of '' Taskmaster''. Career Wells first appeared on tel ...

. She co-hosted alongside

Hilary Barry Hilary Ann Barry (née Pankhurst, born 4 December 1969) is a New Zealand journalist and television personality who co-hosts '' Seven Sharp'' with Jeremy Wells on TVNZ 1. She was a newsreader on TV3 for many years and until 2016, presented the 6 ...

for several episodes. Her final broadcast was on 20 April. She started working at radio network

NZME New Zealand Media and Entertainment (abbreviated NZME) is a New Zealand newspaper, radio and digital media business. It was launched in 2014 as the formal merger of the New Zealand division of APN News & Media, APN New Zealand; The Radio Netw ...

in August 2019, first working at

The Hits The Hits was a music video channel broadcast in the United Kingdom and Ireland, owned by Box Television. On 15 August 2008 it was rebranded as 4Music. Overview and availability The channel showcased a range of pop centred on chart hits and cur ...

, later moving to the breakfast show on Flava, which she co-hosted until late 2022, before leaving to focus on her music career.

Activism

In December 2012, Moa starred in an online video campaign supporting

gay marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

, alongside New Zealand singers

and

, as well as Olympian

Danyon Loader Danyon Joseph Loader (born 21 April 1975) is an Olympic champion, former world record holder swimmer from New Zealand, based in Dunedin. He remains the national record holder in the 400 metre freestyle short course. He swam for New Zealand a ...

and former

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

Dame

Catherine Tizard Dame Catherine Anne Tizard (née Maclean; 4 April 1931 – 31 October 2021) was a New Zealand politician who served as mayor of Auckland City from 1983 to 1990, and the 16th governor-general of New Zealand from 1990 to 1996. She was the first ...

. She was openly critical of New Zealand's National-led government until it left office in 2017.

Awards and nominations

; APRA Awards , - , 2005 , "Stolen Hill" , rowspan="3",

APRA Silver Scroll 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 ...

, , - , 2008 , "

Dreams in My Head "Dreams In My Head" is the lead single from ''In Swings the Tide'', New Zealand singer-songwriter Anika Moa's third studio album. It was released on 8 October 2007. A New Zealand Herald review of the album said it "soon finds its feet on the lush ...

" , , - , 2010 , " Running Through the Fire (Storm)" , ;

New Zealand Music Awards The Aotearoa Music Awards (previously called the New Zealand Music Awards), conferred annually by Recorded Music NZ, honour outstanding artistic and technical achievements in the recording industry. The awards are among the most significant that ...

, - , rowspan="5", 2002 , rowspan="3", ''

'' , Album of the Year , , - , Top Female vocalist , , - , International Achievement , , - , rowspan="2", " Youthful" , Single of the Year , , - , Songwriter of the Year , , - , rowspan="2", 2006 , rowspan="2", '' Stolen Hill'' , Best Female Solo Artist , , - , Best Aotearoa Roots Album , , - , rowspan="2", 2008 , rowspan="2", '' In Swings the Tide'' , Nokia Album of the Year , , - , Mazda Best Female Solo Artist , , - , rowspan="3",

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, rowspan="3", '' Love in Motion'' , Vodafone Album of the Year , , - , Mazda Best Female Solo Artist , , - , Best Pop Album ,

Discography

* ''

'' (2001) * '' Stolen Hill'' (2005) * '' In Swings the Tide'' (2007) * '' Love in Motion'' (2010) * ''Songs for Bubbas'' (2013) * ''Queen at the Table'' (2015) * ''Songs for Bubbas 2'' (2016) * ''Anika Moa'' (2018) * ''Songs for Bubbas 3'' (2019)

References

External links

Anika Moa
on Myspace {{DEFAULTSORT:Moa, Anika 1980 births Lesbian musicians LGBT musicians from New Zealand LGBT singers from New Zealand LGBT rights activists from New Zealand New Zealand Māori women singers New Zealand Māori musicians People from Christchurch Living people New Zealand women pop singers New Zealand women singer-songwriters 21st-century New Zealand women singers 21st-century guitarists The Adults members Ngāpuhi people Te Aupōuri people 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people 21st-century women guitarists