Whānau

William Singe kicked off his music career as a member of The Collective, a boy band formed for The X Factor Australia in 2012. Soon after going solo, his smooth R'n'B, reggae and hip hop sound found a legion of new fans, through his covers of popular tracks on YouTube. 'Whānau' was written after Singe (Ngāti Porou) returned home to Sydney from America, and found inspiration in his taha Māori (Māori identity). Musician Tawaroa Kawana helped Singe translate and record the song for Waiata Anthems in 2023. In this performance video, Singe delivers his ode to old friends on a pink-tinged set. 

The biggest thing that I dealt with [in the music industry] was identity issues and being told that I was supposed to sound like this and do these things a certain way, and appeal to this crowd when I had a totally different vision of that. What I really want to do is just relate to people’s emotions.

– Musician William Singe on launching his solo career on his terms, Stuff, 3 May 2023

Key Cast & Crew

Taine Noble

Director, Editor, Camera Operator

Julia Parnell

Producer

Parehuia Mackay

Production Manager

Breeze O'Connor

Camera Operator

Jason Crane

Camera Operator