Waiata / Anthems

In 1999, singer and songwriter Hinewehi Mohi stood in front of 70,000 people at a 1999 Rugby World Cup pool stage match in Twickenham and sang the New Zealand national anthem in Te Reo Māori language instead of English. The feedback was overwhelmingly negative, and Mohi was forced to defend herself. This proved to be a turning point, sparking a national conversation about cultural identity and the first language of New Zealand. Today, New Zealanders all over the country proudly sing the national anthem in both English and Te Reo Māori. 20 years on, Mohi decided to mark that anniversary and 11 of New Zealand's best-loved artists performing their hit songs in Te Reo Māori, as well as the national anthem "Aotearoa / God Defend New Zealand" by Hātea Kapa Haka. Mohi said, "It was initially meant to be a bilingual album, but the artists said to me 'I want to do it all in Māori' [and] only one is a fluent speaker, so for most of them this was their first real opportunity to sing in Māori." Mohi worked directly with artists in the studio to guide their intonation and understanding of the new Māori lyrics, with translations assisted by Sir Tīmoti Kāretu. The album was recorded over 10 weeks in 2019 and released to coincide with te Wiki o te Reo Māori (Māori Language Week). The album artwork was by Kauri Hawkins and represents the 'manu' or songbird and how music can be used to tell stories and to share Te Reo Māori. The manu figure can be seen as a face and has references to te reo Māori the 'native tongue'. == Continuation ==

Due to the success of the project, by 2021 Waiata / Anthems was expanded to become Waiata Anthems Week, an annual release of music in Te Reo Māori scheduled for release just prior to te Wiki o te Reo Māori. In 2021, 30 musicians participated in the project, which was compiled into a playlist instead of a traditional album. This included musicians such as Six60, Hollie Smith, Tomorrow People. and Stan Walker, who released an entire Māori language album, Te Arohanui. In the first week of September, Six60's composition "Pepeha" debuted at number two on the Official New Zealand Music Chart. ==Track listing==

• Simon Gooding}} • Ji Fraser • Matiu Walters • Tīmoti Kāretu }} • Marlon Gerbes • Matiu Walters}} • Michael Fatkin • Stan Walker • Vince Harder • Kāretu}} • Stan Walker}} • Stella Bennett • Joshua Fountain • Djeisan Suskov • Kāretu}} • Fountain • Soskov}} • Devin Abrams • Shaan Singh • Matt Beachen • Ben O'Leary • Sam Thomson • Kāretu • Jeremy Tātere MacLeod}} • Shaan Singh}} • Abrams • Nicholas Robinson • Paora Apera • Samuel Trevethick • Kāretu}} • Greg Haver}} • Kingdon Chapple-Wilson}} • Kingdon Chapple-Wilson}} • Nathan Glen Taane Tinorau • Glen Nathan • Kāretu}} • Tiki Taane}} • Matt Sadgrove • Kāretu}} • Matt Sadgrove}} • Bic Runga • Kāretu}} • Kody Nielson}} • Te Karehana Gardiner-Toi}} • Te Karehana Gardiner-Toi}} • Tami Neilson • Kāretu • Tama Waipara}} • Tami Neilson}} }} ==Charts==

Weekly charts Year-end charts == Certifications ==

{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|award=Platinum|type=album|artist=Various Artist ==See also==