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Entertainment | Alien Weaponry

Alien Weaponry's new waiata leaps into new Te Reo Māori chart

Source / YouTube

Alien Weaponry's waiataTangaroa has lept into the official Te Reo Māori singles chart, close behind Stan Walker's single Tua which is in top spot for a second consecutive week. The new weekly Te Reo Māori chart was launched last week.

Thrash metal band Alien Weaponry are sitting at no. 4 in their first week in the chart after the video for their new track dropped last week. Tangaroa is the title track to their second album due out on 17 September. It follows their debut album Tū released in 2018.

“Tangaroa is a heavy and angry message about how we are destroying the ocean with pollution and overfishing. The video ties in with this message, with us drowning in plastic conveying the struggle of ocean life,” says drummer Henry de Jong.

Stan Walker had Aoteraoa's inaugural no. 1 te reo Māori single on the brand new chart last week and has backed that up with a second week in the top spot.

Sony Music says the track which was released in August 2020 captures Walker's love for his culture, whakapapa and whānau, as well as his hopes for future generations.

In an interview last year, Walker (Tūhoe, Ngāti Tuwharetoa) told Newstalk ZB, "I'm unapologetically Māori. When people ask 'Are you a Kiwi, are you an Aussie?' I'm Māori, I live in both countries but I'm Māori."

To make the chart, as a general rule at least 70 percent of the song's vocals must be in te reo Māori. The chart lists the 10 biggest tracks in te reo based on sales, streams and airplay.

The top 10 Te Reo Māori singles for this coming week are:

1. Tua, Stan Walker feat. Ibanez Maeva

2. Utua, Maimoa

3. Karawhiua, Katchafire

4. Tangaroa, Alien Weaponry

5. Tukituki Te Manawa, DRAX Project

6. Kōrukutia/Bathe in the River, Hollie Smith feat. Don McGlashan

7. Waitī Waitā, Maisey Rika

8. He Kākano Āhau, Stan Walker with The Levites

9. E Te Tau, Maimoa And Hops

10. Hiwa-i-te-Rangi, Maisey Rika.