It’s been a whirlwind couple of weeks for Auckland band Resonate, whose mash-up of Moana songs went viral online with millions of hits and a thumbs up from talk show queen Ellen DeGeneres.
Māori Television caught up with the church group last night when they were special guests at the world premiere of the film Pork Pie in Auckland.
“This time last week we never thought we would be here and performing in front of all these people. It’s amazing,” says lead singer Leah Wolfgramm of Ngāpuhi.
The group consists of Leah’s husband Richard and his siblings William and Moala. Last night they performed in front of New Zealand’s top stars and celebrities at the Civic theatre.
They’ve been together for the past five years performing at churches and community events and had never put their music up on social media – until two weeks ago.
Their mash-up of songs from the Disney film Moana had one million views in three days and catapulted them into stardom – with media appearances and their video being shared on Ellen DeGeneres' website.
“My husband and his siblings are Tongan and I’m Maori-Samoan,” says Leah. “So it’s great that we are representing our cultures.“
Resonate will be performing at the Tamaki Herenga Waka festival in Auckland on Sunday at 4pm.