Rotorua's Turanga Merito is adding his expert advice to a group of young singers trying to write a number one song for this year's Maori Language Week.
But there's a twist. They are doing it as part of a reality TV show that starts on Maori Television tonight. Voice Of Our Future will feature singing group Maimoa Music which knocked Justin Timberlake off the top of the iTunes charts last year with their song Maimoatia, the first te reo Maori song to be number one in New Zealand since Poi E.
This year Maimoa Music plan to do it again, but it's being documented on the new reality show.
Voice Of Our Future will follow the lives of 12 young singers who hold the common goal to take te reo Maori to the world through song.
They have until September to come up with their hit song, with Maori Language Week running from September 7 to 11.
Singers in a new reality show on Maori Television. Photo/supplied
To knuckle down and get their creativity flowing, the group will move in together and work on new co-creations and performances that will help them on their rise to fame.
In good reality television fashion, the series will explore each of Maimoa Music's members, including the dynamics, their secrets and relationships.
Merito, who has worked on X Factor and NZ Idol, comes into the show in the second episode as the artistic and musical director.
He helps the group draw focus and add some international sparkle to their performances while opening doors to his contacts.
Merito said he had only seen a rough edit of episode one but from what he had seen, he loved it.
"I love the fact it follows the journey to success in the musical industry in a way that I believe has never been showcased before.
"Yes we as a society are getting a little sick of reality talent shows, so the fact that it takes 12 incredible voices and personalities, and documents the journey with their point of difference being their love for the te reo Maori - its appeal is both interesting and fresh."
Merito said it was a true fly-on-the-wall documentation of how hard the music industry was.
"My job was to get them all on the same page, moving forward together as one, give them a formula for composition and artistic programming in terms of their performance sets - it is epic, and I've enjoyed every bit of it."
- Voices of our Future #VOOF premieres tonight at 9.30pm.
