Behind the Scenes of the Koi Boys' first music video "Cry to Me"
They took over The Voice Australia with their laid-back, fun-loving style and now the Koi Boys are not only releasing their own album, they're coming home too.
The Koi Boys - made up of Danny Faifai, Kevin Keepa and Ngahere "Nuz" Ngatai - were the first trio to perform on The Voice and won over the judges and fans with their genre-splitting style and on-stage chemistry.
They were knocked out of the running before the finals but, since then, they've signed with international record label Universal, recorded their own album and they're planning a tour to go with it.
Ngahere Ngatai, who goes by Nuz, says it's all "slightly overwhelming".
"We're just taking it day by day as our schedule comes together. We're just trying to keep up," he laughs.
"We went into the blind auditions just hoping that we'd get through, we didn't expect that we'd have that sort of reaction - from Australia and New Zealand. So we were quite surprised, to tell you the truth."
The trio have been performing together for the better part of a decade, and Nuz says that's what helped them become such a huge success.
"I guess it's really helped us with our chemistry and being able to perform quite comfortably with each other. When we're on stage we just do what we do best, we don't think of anything else," he says.
"So I guess what everyone captured from our performance was that we're happy guys and that's how we feel all the time when we perform. It's always nice when you can make a living off something that you really enjoy."
Their new album and live show will provide more of a look into what the boys are all about, with a range of covers of old and new hits, and three original songs, having essentially written a song each.
Kevin wrote a sweet love song called Yes, Nuz wrote a reggae track called Angels Have to Fly, a tribute to his cousin who died from epilepsy, and Danny wrote the title ballad Meant To Be (Waiata's Song).
According to Nuz, what you saw on The Voice was just the beginning of what the Koi Boys have to offer.
"We sing in front of quite a diverse sort of audience, we perform in front of old people, young people, middle-aged people - so our genre of singing has to be pretty versatile so there's something for everyone," he says.
"We just have to fall in love with every song we sing so people connect to that song too."
And Kiwi audiences will soon get the chance to see the Koi Boys' live show for themselves, as the boys have announced their first New Zealand show this November.
"Seriously we haven't performed as a trio like this [in New Zealand] for...I don't think I can even remember," Nuz says.
"To go back home and perform in front of our people, it's just mind-blowing for us. We've always performed in Aussie for the last 10 years and we've loved it, but New Zealand hasn't been able to see us in action so we're very excited to come home."
The Koi Boys will play Auckland's Holy Trinity Cathedral on Friday, November 18. Tickets go on sale at midday on Friday, October 21, via ticketmaster.
Their debut album Meant To Be will come out on October 21, but pre-orders are available now.
The Lowdown:
Who: The Koi Boys What: First NZ show in more than a decade When: November 18 Where: Auckland's Holy Trinity Cathedral Plus: The Koi Boys' debut album Meant To Be releases October 21
