2014 New Zealander of the Year Finalist: Three is a crowd-pleaser as Sol3 Mio sing way into Kiwi hearts

The achievements of (from left) Pene and Amitai Pati and Moses Mackay this year include scooping the highest-selling album category at the NZ Music Awards and singing in front of royalty in London. Photo / Dean Purcell

Sol3 Mio - For taking opera to the top of the charts, beating Lorde along the way.

When someone suggested brothers Amitai and Pene Pati and their cousin Moses Mackay form a trio, they laughed it off, but Sol3 Mio became bigger than Lorde - at least when it comes to New Zealand music sales.

The Auckland opera trio this year completed their first national tour, building on a stellar 2013 - where they pipped Lorde and topped the New Zealand Albums Chart for the year, for both the No1 album and No1 Kiwi album.

Sol3 Mio won the highest selling album award at this year's Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards.

The group also scooped the Best Pacific Album Tui in May.

The group are fiercely proud of their Samoan heritage and were so popular that three extra shows were announced for their New Zealand tour.

Thirteen of the 17 shows sold out.

Tenors Amitai and Pene, and baritone Moses also performed for the Queen at London's Royal Albert Hall during the Festival of Remembrance last month. The group sang Invictus at the annual memorial event, which was also attended by the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall.

The trio are touring with English tenor and actor Alfie Boe as special guests on his UK tour.

When they return to New Zealand, they are due to perform a special "Christmas in the Vines" show at Auckland's Villa Maria Winery before taking a brief break to rest up for their 2015 national tour - kicking off in February.

Last year, the group's self-titled debut album was the fastest-selling record, ranking at No1 after being on sale for five weeks and maintaining the top spot for 16 weeks.

In 2010, Pene won NZ Performer of the Year; in 2012 Amitai won the Lexus Song Quest and last year Moses was recognised as an Emerging Artist by the Dame Malvina Major Foundation.