Bic Runga

Early life

Runga was born in Christchurch. Her mother, Sophia Tang, was a Chinese Malaysian lounge singer in Malaysia when she met Joseph Runga, a Maori. They moved to New Zealand to live.

Runga grew up in Hornby, Christchurch surrounded by a musically-inclined family, and started recording songs with her sisters, Boh and Pearl, when she was four years old. Runga's older sister Boh is now a vocalist in the New Zealand rock group Stellar, while Pearl is a session singer.

She learned how to play drums at the age of eleven, and guitar at about fourteen. Runga also learned to play the keyboard around this time. She attended Cashmere High School, joining high school bands and performing with local jazz groups by her mid-teens.

1993–1997: Early career and Drive

Under the name of "Love Soup", Runga and Kelly Horgan entered the 1993 Smokefreerockquest in Christchurch, winning third place and a music contract with Pagan Records. Using a QE II Arts Council grant, Runga recorded the first Drive EP in Wellington. Unsatisfied with the direction that her music was being taken, she moved to Auckland in 1994 and spent a year writing and performing.

In 1995, she sent a new demo of "Drive" to Sony Music, who signed Runga in September of that year and bought her Wellington recordings from Pagan Records. Sony had her re-record the song with more instruments, but it was eventually her demo that was used on the upcoming album. It entered the Top 10 in New Zealand and won her the Silver Scroll Songwriting Award in 1996.

Runga then released "Bursting Through", the first single from her upcoming album, also entitled Drive. The success of the singles led to the release of her debut album, Drive, in 1997. Runga's song "Sway", along with a duet with Dan Wilson of Semisonic called "Good Morning Baby", were used in the films American Pie, and Cruel Intentions. Six singles were released from the album, while "Sway" was released in New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Germany.

Runga has recorded two songs called "Drive". The first was her own, which appeared on her debut album of the same name. The second was a 1999 collaboration with fellow New Zealanders Strawpeople, providing guest vocals for their cover of The Cars' classic 1984 hit.

2000–2008: Beautiful Collision, Birds, and Little Fish cameo

In 2000, Runga toured with Tim Finn and Dave Dobbyn, resulting in a release of a live album of the tour.

Runga released her second solo album, Beautiful Collision, in 2002. It entered the New Zealand charts at number one.

Her third studio album, Birds, was released in New Zealand on 28 November 2005. New Zealand artists Neil Finn (piano) and Anika Moa (backing vocals) contributed to the album. The first single, "Winning Arrow", was released on the same day. It was her third consecutive studio album to enter the New Zealand charts at number one. Birds was certified triple platinum.

Runga played a 'Vietnamese lounge singer' in the 2005 film Little Fish, and covered Gene Pitney's "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart".

Released on 24 November 2008 in her native New Zealand, Try to Remember Everything contains 14 unique recordings. Three years on from the recording of Birds, Try to Remember Everything brings together a collection of unreleased, new and rare Bic Runga recordings from 1996 to 2008. The album was certified Gold in New Zealand on 14 December 2008, selling over 7,500 copies.

2011–present: Belle and after

Runga contributed to the score and soundtrack to New Zealand filmmaker Roseanne Liang's debut feature film My Wedding and Other Secrets (2011). In addition to featuring "Say After Me" from Birds, the film also included two tracks ("Hello Hello" and "This Girl's Prepared for War") from her fourth album Belle.

Belle was released in November 2011. The first track from the album, "Hello, Hello", was released as a free download in early September. Runga toured New Zealand extensively in November and December.

A greatest hits album, Anthology, was released on 1 December 2012. June 2015 saw the release of a new single, "I dreamed a dream"

Personal life

Runga was born and lives in New Zealand with her son Joseph, and partner Kody Nielson. Bic gave birth to her second child in 2013. Bic is expected to give birth to her third child sometime in 2015.

"'You say it Bec, rather than Bic,' explains New Zealand singer-songwriter Bic Runga. 'It's Chinese, it's a strange vowel sound which doesn't seem to translate in Australia. It means the colour of jade, which might mean green.'" The "strange vowel" is a checked tone. For the meaning of "colour of jade", Bic is " 碧" in Chinese characters.

Honours

In January 2006, Queen Elizabeth II made Runga a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the New Zealand New Year's Honours List.

Live albums

EPs