Coco Talanoa — Entertainment / Page 24

Australian Rock Band 'Gang of Youths' received the most nominations at this years ARIA awards in Australia last week - 8 nominations in total - and they came away with 4 for Album of the Year, Best Group, Best Rock Album and Producer of the Year.

Two of the band are Pacific Island!  Lead Singer David Le'aupepe is Samoan/Jewish and guitarist Joji Malani is Fijian!

In his acceptance speech David said ...

"This country was built on a strong Indigenous people and on the backs of immigrants, to be heralded in the cultural and entertainment landscape in Australia is quite something.  

"The presumption of Pacific islanders is they play footy, do security or play R'n'B and that's just not the case."

Get to know some of Davids story in the video above.

David also stopped by the 13th floor to preview 3 new songs off their album "Go farther in Lightness" & also shared his views on youth suicide in the video link below:

https://youtu.be/IQm8ooEfLWY

Dinah Jane sang the national anthem unaccompanied at the Semi Final of the Rugby League World Cup where Mate Ma'a Tonga took on England on Saturday .... and she NAILED it.

She talks about what it meant to her grandfather when she sang it for the first time here

Fabulous. Brilliant. Vibrant. Fun. A whole lot of “colossal” brought into one!

Fez Fa’anana, creative director of Breifs - Close encounters, has brought the magic to Auckland. A variety show that encompasses circus, drag, burlesque and comedy all through the art of theatre.

“It’s theatre in a bent, upside down world”. He chuckles.

A New Zealand born Samoan, raised in Australia, Fez felt responsible in portraying strong messages through his new show as an expression of protest and peace.

“For this show in particular, I wanted to address some of the crazy stuff that’s going on at the moment. Cars are being used as weapons, we’ve been questioned about equality and marriage; in Australia there’s uncertainty and un-rest in public spaces… …I just wanted to make a show to demonstrate how extraordinary we humans are.”

Being a Samoan bearded lady brings elements of uniqueness to a show such as this one.

“The Samoan culture is about reflecting your habitat and reflecting your lifestyle.…more

We're keepin it fresh at the 2017 Vodafone Pacific Music Awards in South Auckland.

Suggested Links: 

Get to know Beulah Koale on Fresh

Beulah Koale hosts Fresh

Thank You for Your Service is an upcoming 2017 American biographical war drama film written and directed by Jason Hall in his directorial debut, based on the non-fiction book of the same name by David Finkel. The film is about posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depicting United States soldiers who try to adjust to civilian life after returning from Iraq. The film is produced by DreamWorks Pictures and distributed by Universal Pictures, starring Miles Teller, Haley Bennett, Beulah Koale, Amy Schumer, and Scott Haze. Principal photography began on February 9, 2016 in Atlanta. It will be released on October 27, 2017

Tēnā koutou te whānau, The Walt Disney Animation Studios and Matewa Media are proud to announce that we will be dubbing a reo Māori version of the movie Moana. 

Now on the search for our very own reo Māori speaking Moana! If you love singing and acting and think this might be the part for you, please send us your audition. There's not a lot of time, so be quick!

Check out more info here

The Vodafone Pacific Music Awards went down last night celebrating the best in Pacific Music over the last year & the artists that brought us the music.

Check out some of the well known faces who were on the Red Carpet at the Vodafone Events Centre in Manukau.

And here are the full list of the 2017 winners:

Best Pacific Group - Three Houses Down 

Best Pacific Male Artist - KINGS 

Best Pacific Female Artist - Aaradhna 

Best Pacific Urban Artist - KINGS 

Best Pacific Song - 'Brown Girl' by Aaradhna 

Best Pacific Language Song - 'Tulou Tagaloa' by Olivia Foa'i 

Best Pacific Gospel Artist - Annie Grace 

Best Pacific Music Video - 'Welcome to the Jungle' - Aaradhna.…more

For 48 hours, TVNZ have unlocked the geo block on Shortland Streets 25 year anniversary so their global fans can watch and enjoy!

Check it out now .....

The Common Kings were back in town for their "Lost in Paradise" NZ/Aus tour on Saturday night where they played to a full house at the Power Station.

Earlier in the day they were also presented with their Best International Pacific Artist Award from the Vodafone Pacific Music Awards which they'd won at last years VPMAs.

We've got a few highlights from the night below and look out for them hosting Fresh some time this season.

And check out their latest music video for 'Mary Wanna' here ...

The boys are currently in Rarotonga where they'll be playing at Rehab before continuing on with the rest of the tour in Australia.