Bic Runga is one of New Zealand’s most popular singers and has won numerous music awards beginning with her debut album Drive. One of the hit songs from that album, “Sway”, was featured in American Pie. Bic (pronounced Beck) is 26 years old and of Chinese and Maori ancestry. Thanks to northman for recommending her as a potential Asian sirens feature!
Here is another photo of her which I liked along with a more detailed bio and relevant links including one to a streaming video of her singing one of her hits “Get Some Sleep”:
A superstar in her native New Zealand while still in her teens, singer/songwriter Bic Runga was born in Christchurch in 1976; the product of a musical family — her mother was a Malaysian nightclub performer during the 1960s — she began playing the drums at the age of 11, and within a few years was also singing with local jazz groups. Upon learning guitar and keyboards, Runga began composing her first songs, and in 1994 she relocated to Auckland to pursue a professional music career. In 1995, aged 19, she made her Sony label debut with the single “Drive,” which rocketed into the Top Ten on the New Zealand pop charts and garnered her the prestigious 1996 Silver Scroll award, an honor given for excellence in songwriting. After touring in support of Neil and Tim Finn, Runga issued a follow-up single, “Bursting Through,” followed in 1997 by the Top Ten smash “Sway.” Her self-produced debut LP Drive appeared later that same year and garnered New Zealand’s top music awards. In the late ’90s, Bic Runga spent some time based in New York City, where she began writing songs for her follow-up album. She continued to work on new songs after returning to New Zealand, and embarked on a NZ tour with Tim Finn and Dave Dobbyn in August and September 2000, resulting in the 2001 release Together in Concert: Live. Runga’s Beautiful Collision hit stores in 2002; it was released internationally, and went 4x platinum in New Zealand, inspiring a re-release with a bonus disc the following year. 2003 also saw Runga found the record label Nu Shoo before kicking off another tour.
Streaming video of Bic Runga performing “Get Some Sleep”
Unofficial Bic Runga website
About Bic in her own words
Time Pacific: When Worlds Collide
Another good Bic Runga fansite
Official Bic Runga website by Sony Music
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A very beautiful mix!
Geez, why didn’t I think to post about this one? Here in Aus we often consider successful NZers our own (but unsuccessful ones are just New Zealanders!). I guess she’s just around so much here that I couldn’t see what was right in front of my face. 🙂
BTW, the “Beck” pronunciation is actually because New Zealanders always pronounce i like e, so it is actually disputed as to whether the rest of us should pronounce it ‘Bic’ or ‘Bec’.