Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern hugged singer Jenny Morris as she was inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern hugged singer Jenny Morris as she was inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern revealed how she and her sister used to pool their pocket money to buy cassette tapes together, saying the one artist they never disagreed on was Kiwi singer Jenny Morris.
Morris was inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame at last night's Silver Scroll Awards in Auckland, where the Prime Minister presented her with the award and paid tribute to the star.
Morris, who rose to fame in the late 80s with hits like Tears and She Has To Be Loved, was a favourite of Ardern and her sister, becoming the soundtrack to their road trips and doing the dishes.
It was just one of a number of special moments at the awards, in which Marlon Williams won the Silver Scroll for his song Nobody Gets What They Want Anymore.
Anika Moa hosted the Silver Scroll Awards barefoot and pregnant as only she could.
We've been campaigning for years for someone to let Anika Moa host a live awards show and APRA finally made our dreams come true when they unleashed the singer at this year's Silver Scrolls.
To be fair, any concerns organisers may have had were well founded. It was loose. There was swearing (quite a lot in fact), bawdiness and more than a few off-script remarks. But it was brilliant.
Opening with a musical tribute to previous winners, which saw her impersonate local legends like Dave Dobbyn, Scribe and Lorde, no one was off limits when it came to Moa's biting wit.
But any tears on the night were from laughter and we can honestly say it's the most fun we've had at an awards ceremony in years.
Anika, you are a taonga. Never change.
Teeks steals the show... Again
The Silver Scrolls is renowned for its live performances, where fellow musicians pay tribute to the finalists by covering their nominated songs.
Last night saw a number of excellent performances but the standout had to be Teeks.
Last year, the rising Kiwi talent stole the show at the New Zealand Music Awards, and this year he did it again, covering the Maioha Award-winning song Te Ahi Kai Pō, written by Ria Hall, Tiki Taane and Te Ori Paki.
Joined by Nick Dow and Ngā Tumanako kapa haka group, Teeks delivered a rousing, soulful performance that had the whole room entranced.
The repeat stage invader
The Silver Scrolls honour songwriting, which means they aren't just a win for the artist, but technically for their music publishers as well. Technically.
But in the same way film producers don't follow the best actor winner on stage at the Oscars, it's generally accepted that music publishers stay in their seats and let the artists enjoy their moment on stage.
Apparently no one sent that memo to Native Tongue's Aussie boss, who decided to get on stage, not once, not twice, but THREE times over the course of the evening, making a speech every time.
Clearly oblivious to the crowd's groans - or Anika Moa's open sledging - he just kept on getting up.
Marlon Williams won the Silver Scroll for his song Nobody Gets What They Want Anymore.
The wonderful thing about Marlon Williams is that while he writes heart-achingly beautiful ballads that will haunt your dreams, he doesn't take himself too seriously.
Hence, as he arrived on stage, he began telling the crowd about a funny exchange he'd had with a fellow Christchurch musician in the loo.
He also apologised for sniffing so much, explaining he had a cold and hadn't been partaking in any dubious rock'n'roll behaviour.
And then he went on to pay tribute to his former partner Aldous Harding, who performed on his winning song after the couple broke up. It was beautiful and heartfelt and would have been the perfect end to the night - until the Aussie stage invader arrived.
Netherworld Dancing Toys Reunite
It's been 33 years since Dunedin's Netherworld Dancing Toys hit the charts with their song For Today, which has remained a favourite pub singalong ever since.
Ending the night with a bang, the original line up took to the stage, along with some special guests, for a performance that had the whole room on their feet and dancing.
