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 An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

debuted at number one on the New Zealand Top 40 Album charts. Runga has also found success internationally in Australia, Ireland and the United Kingdom with her song " Sway".

Early life

Runga was born 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 / ...

. Her mother, Sophia Tang, was a

Chinese Malaysian Malaysian Chinese (; Malay: ''Orang Cina Malaysia''), alternatively Chinese Malaysians, are Malaysian citizens of Han Chinese descent. They form the second largest ethnic group after the Malay majority constituting 22.4% of the Malaysian p ...

lounge singer in Malaysia when she met Joseph Te Okoro Runga, a

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 ...

ex-serviceman. They moved to New Zealand to live. Runga is of

Ngāti Kahungunu Ngāti Kahungunu is a Māori iwi located along the eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The iwi is traditionally centred in the Hawke's Bay and Wairārapa regions. The tribe is organised into six geographical and administrative di ...

descent. Regarding her name, she explains: "'You say it Bec, rather than Bic. ... It's Chinese, it's a strange vowel sound which doesn't seem to translate in Australia. It means the colour of jade, which might mean green.'" Runga grew up in

Hornby Hornby may refer to: Places In England * Hornby, Lancashire * Hornby, Hambleton, village in North Yorkshire * Hornby, Richmondshire, village in North Yorkshire Elsewhere * Hornby, Ontario, community in the town of Halton Hills, Ontario, Canad ...

surrounded by a musically inclined family, and started recording songs with her sisters, Boh and Pearl, when she was four years old. Runga's older sister Boh was the vocalist in the New Zealand rock group Stellar, while Pearl is a session singer. She learned how to play drums at the age of eleven, and guitar at about fourteen. Runga also learned to play the keyboard around this time. She attended

Cashmere High School Cashmere High School ( mi, Te iringa o Kahukura) is a state coeducational secondary school, located in southern Christchurch, New Zealand. It was opened in 1956 in response to population growth in southern Christchurch during the 1950s. The sch ...

, joining high school bands and performing with local

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

groups by her mid-teens.

Career

1993–1997: Early career and ''Drive''

Under the name of "Love Soup", Runga and Kelly Horgan entered the 1993

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 ...

, winning third place and a music contract with Pagan Records. Using a QE II Arts Council grant, Runga recorded the first ''Drive'' EP in Wellington. Unsatisfied with the direction that her music was being taken, she moved to

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

in 1994 and spent a year writing and performing. In 1995, she sent a new demo of "

Drive Drive or The Drive may refer to: Motoring * Driving, the act of controlling a vehicle * Road trip, a journey on roads Roadways Roadways called "drives" may include: * Driveway, a private road for local access to structures, abbreviated "drive" ...

" to

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

, who signed Runga in September of that year and bought her Wellington recordings from Pagan Records. Sony had her re-record the song with more instruments, but it was eventually her demo that was used on the upcoming album. It entered the Top 10 in New Zealand and won her the

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 S ...

award in 1996. Runga then released "

Bursting Through "Bursting Through" is a song by New Zealand artist Bic Runga, released in September 1996 as the first single from her debut studio album, ''Drive'' (1997). In 2001, the song was voted 51st-best New Zealand song of all time by members of APRA. ...

", the first single from her upcoming album, also entitled ''Drive''. The success of the singles led to the release of her debut album, ''

'', in 1997. Runga's song " Sway", along with a duet with Dan Wilson of

Semisonic Semisonic is an American rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1995, consisting of Dan Wilson (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), John Munson (bass, keyboards, backing vocals, guitar), and Jacob Slichter (drums, percussion, keyboards, ba ...

called "

Good Morning Baby Piper Lisa Perabo () (born October 31, 1976) is an American actress. Following her breakthrough in the comedy-drama film '' Coyote Ugly'' (2000), she starred in ''The Prestige'' (2006), ''Angel Has Fallen'' (2019), and as CIA agent Annie Walke ...

", were used in the films '' American Pie'', and ''

Cruel Intentions ''Cruel Intentions'' is a 1999 American teen romantic drama film written and directed by Roger Kumble and starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Reese Witherspoon, and Selma Blair. The film is a modern retelling of Pierre Choderlos de ...

''. Six singles were released from the album, while "Sway" was released in New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Germany. Runga has recorded two songs called "Drive". The first was her own, which appeared on her debut album of the same name. The second was a 1999 collaboration with fellow New Zealanders

Strawpeople Strawpeople are a New Zealand band. They were created by Paul Casserly and Mark Tierney after they had met while working at the Auckland university radio station now known as 95 bFM. Over the years, Strawpeople has brought together various N ...

, providing guest vocals for their cover of

The Cars The Cars were an American rock band formed in Boston in 1976. Emerging from the new wave scene in the late 1970s, they consisted of Ric Ocasek ( rhythm guitar), Benjamin Orr (bass guitar), Elliot Easton (lead guitar), Greg Hawkes (keyboards), ...

' classic 1984 hit.

2000–2008: ''Beautiful Collision'' and ''Birds''

In 2000, Runga toured with

Tim Finn Brian Timothy Finn (born 25 June 1952) is a New Zealand singer and musician. His musical career includes forming 1970s and 1980s New Zealand rock group Split Enz, a number of solo albums, temporary membership in his brother Neil's band Crowde ...

and

Dave Dobbyn Sir David Joseph Dobbyn (born 3 January 1957) 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 ...

, resulting in a release of a live album in November 2000, titled '' Together in Concert: Live''. It peaked at number 2 on the New Zealand charts and has been certified 3× platinum. Runga released her second solo album, ''

Beautiful Collision ''Beautiful Collision'' is the second solo album by New Zealand artist Bic Runga, released on 1 July 2002 in New Zealand, 15 July 2002 in Australia, and 5 November 2002 in the United States. Critical reception Ken Goldstein of PopMatters gave t ...

'' in 2002. It entered the New Zealand charts at number one and has been certified 10× platinum in New Zealand. Her third studio album, ''

Birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

'', was released in New Zealand on 28 November 2005. New Zealand artists

Neil Finn Neil Mullane Finn (born 27 May 1958) is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and musician who is known for being a member of Crowded House, Split Enz (which he co-fronted with brother Tim), and Fleetwood Mac. Finn rose to prominence in the late ...

(piano) and

Anika Moa Anika Rose Moa (born 21 May 1980) is a New Zealand recording artist and television presenter. Her debut album ''Thinking Room'', was released in September 2001, which reached number one on the New Zealand Albums Chart and provided two Top ...

(backing vocals) contributed to the album. The first single, " Winning Arrow", was released on the same day. It was her third consecutive studio album to enter the New Zealand charts at number one. ''Birds'' was certified triple platinum. Runga played a 'Vietnamese lounge singer' in the 2005 film '' Little Fish'', and covered

Gene Pitney Gene Francis Alan Pitney (February 17, 1940 – April 5, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. Pitney charted 16 top-40 hits in the United States, four in the top ten. In the United Kingdom, he had 22 top-40 hit singles, inclu ...

's "

Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart" is a song written by Roger Greenaway and Roger Cook (songwriter), Roger Cook. Originally recorded by David and Jonathan (band), David and Jonathan, and then Gene Pitney in 1967, the latter's version of the ...

" for the soundtrack. In the

2006 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2006 in some Commonwealth realms were announced (on 31 December 2005) in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Grenada, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, and Saint Christopher and Nevis to cel ...

, Runga was appointed a

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...

, for services to music. In November 2008, Runga released '' Try to Remember Everything'' which is a collection of unreleased, new and rare Bic Runga recordings from 1996 to 2008. The album was certified Gold in New Zealand on 14 December 2008, selling over 7,500 copies.

2011–2015: ''Belle'' and ''Anthology''

Runga contributed to the score and soundtrack to New Zealand filmmaker Roseanne Liang's debut feature film '' My Wedding and Other Secrets'' (2011). In addition to featuring "Say After Me" from ''Birds'', the film also included two tracks ("Hello Hello" and "This Girl's Prepared for War") from her fourth album '' Belle''. ''Belle'' was released in November 2011. Runga completed a 17 date tour across New Zealand and 13 dates across Ireland, United Kingdom and Australia. A greatest hits album, ''

Anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...

'', was released on 1 December 2012. In June 2015, Runga released a new single titled "Dreamed a Dream". This was a collaboration with

Hollie Fullbrook Hollie Fullbrook is an Auckland-based singer and multi instrumentalist who is the face of Tiny Ruins. She collaborated with Hamish Kilgour on the ''Hurtling Through'' EP. Background Fullbrook was born in 1985 and is originally from Bristol, Engl ...

of Tiny Ruins, with whom she toured New Zealand in June and July 2015. As well as solo performances by both artists, these shows included covers of songs by

Simon & Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, and their biggest hits—including the electric remix of " ...

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...

, Francoise Hardy,

Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter, and record producer. He developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelic rock and world mus ...

and

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epony ...

2016–present: ''Close Your Eyes'' and ''New Zealand Music Hall of Fame''

In October 2016, it was announced that Runga would release an album of consisting of ten covers and two original tracks titled '' Close Your Eyes''. "Close Your Eyes" was released on 14 October 2016 as a single. In November 2016, Runga was inducted into the

New Zealand Music Hall of Fame The New Zealand Music Hall of Fame , Te Whare Taonga Puoro o Aotearoa is a figurative hall of fame dedicated to noteworthy New Zealand musicians. The hall was created in 2007 by Recorded Music NZ (then known as the Recording Industry Associati ...

Recorded Music Sound recording and reproduction is the electrical, Mechanical system, mechanical, electronic, or digital inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of ...

CEO Damian Vaughan said "Bic is one of our most loved and treasured recording artists, her songs are instantly recognizable and have been part of the fabric of New Zealand for more than 20 years. We're honoured to present Bic with the 2016 Legacy Award and induct her into the NZ Music Hall of Fame".

Personal life

Runga's partner is singer

Kody Nielson Kody Seti Kimbulu (born 23 January 1978), known professionally as Kody or Kody Kim, is a Belgian television host, comedian, and radio personality. Kody was born in Schaerbeek, Belgium to a Congolese family. He attended the Université catholique ...

. She has three children: Joe (born 2007), Sophia (born 2013), and Frida (born 2015). She has two sisters who are also musicians, Pearl Runga and

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 ...

Honours

In the

Runga was appointed a

for services to music.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

'' (1997) * ''

'' (2002) * ''

'' (2005) * '' Belle'' (2011) * '' Close Your Eyes'' (2016)

Compilation albums

* '' Try to Remember Everything'' (2008) * ''

'' (2012)

Live albums

* '' Together in Concert: Live'' (with

and

) (2000) * ''

Live in Concert with the Christchurch Symphony ''Live in Concert with the Christchurch Symphony'' is a live album by New Zealand artist Bic Runga, her third album overall. Runga performed with the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Marc Taddei. The performance was recorded in Chris ...

'' (with The Christchurch Symphony) (2003)

New Zealand Music Awards

The

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 ...

are presented annually by

Recorded Music NZ Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded Mus ...

recognising outstanding artistic and technical achievements in the recording field.

References

External links

*
AudioCulture profile
*
Bic Runga
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Runga, Bic 1976 births Living people 20th-century guitarists 20th-century New Zealand women singers New Zealand Māori women singers 21st-century guitarists 21st-century New Zealand women singers APRA Award winners Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand women singer-songwriters New Zealand people of Chinese descent New Zealand people of Malaysian descent Ngāti Kahungunu people People educated at Cashmere High School People from Christchurch Sony Music New Zealand artists Māori-language singers 20th-century women guitarists 21st-century women guitarists