Bic Runga
| Bic Runga | |
|---|---|
 Bic Runga performing on the 2010 Winery Tour, in Auckland, New Zealand. |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Briolette Kah Bic Runga |
| Born | 13 January 1976 |
| Origin | Christchurch, New Zealand |
| Genres | Pop rock, folk rock |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, drums |
| Years active | 1996–present |
| Labels | Sony New Zealand |
| Website | www.bicrunga.com |
Briolette Kah Bic Runga MNZM (born 13 January 1976) recording as Bic Runga is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist pop artist whose first solo album, Drive, debuted at number one on the New Zealand Top 40 Album charts. She has since become one of the highest-selling New Zealand artists in recent history. Runga has also found success internationally in Australia, Ireland and to some extent in the UK.
In January 2006, the Queen made Runga a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the New Zealand New Year's Honours List.
Contents |
Pronunciation [edit]
"'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.'"[1] The "strange vowel" is a checked tone. For the meaning of "colour of jade", Bic is "碧" in Chinese characters.[2]
Biography [edit]
Early life [edit]
Runga was born in Christchurch. Her mother, Sophia Tang, was a Chinese Malaysian lounge singer in Malaysia when she met Joseph Runga, a Māori soldier on leave from Vietnam. 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 only 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,[3][4] joining high school bands and performing with local jazz groups by her mid-teens.
Musical career [edit]
Early releases [edit]
Runga and Kelly Horgan entered the 1993 smokefreerockquest in Christchurch under the name of "Love Soup". They won 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. She next released "Bursting Through", her first single from her upcoming album, also entitled Drive.
Drive (1997) [edit]
Early success eventually led to the release of her 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.
Together in Concert: Live (2000) [edit]
In 2000, she toured with Tim Finn and Dave Dobbyn, resulting in a release of a live album of the tour.
Beautiful Collision (2002) [edit]
Runga released her second solo album, Beautiful Collision, in 2002. It entered the New Zealand charts at number one.
Birds (2005) [edit]
Her third studio album, Birds, was released in New Zealand on 28 November 2005. It was her third studio album in a row to enter the New Zealand charts at number one. The first single, "Winning Arrow", can be heard at her official site. Birds has currently gone triple platinum. Some other well known New Zealand artists that contributed to this album are Neil Finn (piano) and Anika Moa (backing vocals).
Try to Remember Everything (2008) [edit]
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.[5][6]
My Wedding and Other Secrets (2011) [edit]
Bic 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 Bic's then-unreleased fourth album Belle (album).
Belle (2011) [edit]
Belle is the fourth studio album, released in November 2011.[7][8] The first track from the album, "Hello, Hello", was released as a free download in early September. Bic will tour New Zealand extensively in November and December.[dated info][9]
Anthology (2012) [edit]
Anothology is the best of album from Bic Runga to be released on 1 December 2012.
Personal life [edit]
Runga, born in New Zealand, has lived in New York for two years, Paris for a year, and London for a year.[citation needed] She has since returned home to New Zealand, where she lives with her son Joe, and partner Kody Nielson.[citation needed] Bic is due to give birth to her second child in 2013.[10]
Discography [edit]
 |
|
| Problems listening to this file? See media help. | |
|
|
|
| Problems listening to this file? See media help. | |
|
|
Sample from the single "Listening for the Weather" by Bic Runga
|
| Problems listening to this file? See media help. | |
Studio albums [edit]
| Year | Album details | Chart peak positions | Certifications (sales thresholds) |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS [11] |
NZ [12] |
UK [13] |
|||
| 1997 | Drive
|
49 | 1 | — |
|
| 2002 | Beautiful Collision
|
41 | 1 | 55 |
|
| 2005 | Birds
|
26 | 1 | 154 |
|
| 2011 | Belle
|
97 | 5 |
|
|
Compilation albums [edit]
| Year | Album details | Chart peak positions |
|---|---|---|
| NZ |
||
| 2008 | Try to Remember Everything
|
28 |
| 2012 | Anthology
|
24 |
Live albums [edit]
- Together in Concert: Live (2000) (with Tim Finn and Dave Dobbyn)
- Live in Concert with the Christchurch Symphony (2003)
- The Acoustic Winery Tour – Ascension Vineyard, Matakana, NZ (2007)
EPs [edit]
- Drive "Lovesoup" EP (1995)
- Live in Concert with the Christchurch Symphony EP (2004)
Singles [edit]
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS [11] |
NZ [12] |
UK [13] |
IRL | |||
| 1995 | "Drive" | — | 7 | — | — | Drive |
| 1996 | "Bursting Through" | — | 33 | — | — | |
| 1997 | "Sway" | 10 | 7 | 93 | 26 | |
| "Suddenly Strange" | — | 26 | — | — | ||
| "Roll into One" | — | 48 | — | — | ||
| 1998 | "Hey" | — | — | — | — | |
| 1999 | "Good Morning Baby" | — | 15 | — | — | American Pie: Music from the Motion Picture |
| "Sorry" | — | — | — | — | Drive | |
| 2002 | "Get Some Sleep" | 92 | 3 | 78 | 27 | Beautiful Collision |
| "Something Good" | — | 4 | 107 | — | ||
| 2003 | "Listening for the Weather" | — | 14 | — | — | |
| 2005 | "Winning Arrow" | — | 23 | — | — | Birds |
| "That's Alright" | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006 | "Say After Me" | — | — | — | — | |
| 2011 | "Hello Hello" | — | — | — | — | Belle |
| 2012 | "Tiny Little Piece of My Heart" | — | — | — | — | |
| "If You Really Do" | — | — | — | — | ||
Compilations [edit]
- Bic Runga has made an alternative version of "Sway" for Even Better than the Real Thing Vol. 2.
Film career [edit]
Runga played a 'Vietnamese lounge singer' in the 2005 film Little Fish, and covered Gene Pitney's "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart".
References [edit]
- ^ "Bic from the brink" by Alexa Moses, The Sydney Morning Herald, 13 September 2002
- ^ Middle age Chinese pronunciation search
- ^ "Performing Arts". Cashmere High School. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
- ^ "Bic Runga - Famous New Zealanders". Christchurch City Libraries. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ "The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Rianz.org.nz. Retrieved 2012-04-24.
- ^ "New single, tour for Bic Runga - Entertainment - NZ Herald News". Nzherald.co.nz. 27 September 2011. Retrieved 2012-04-24.
- ^ The New Zealand Herald http://www.nzherald.co.nz/music/news/article.cfm?c_id=264&objectid=10750042
|url=missing title (help). - ^ Bridget Jones (2011-09-27). "Big Runga Headlines Acoustic Church Tour 2011". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 2012-04-24.
- ^ "Bic & Kody are having a baby!". Groove Guide. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
- ^ a b "Bic Runga - Australian chart history". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 24 February 2009.
- ^ a b "Bic Runga - New Zealand chart history". Charts.org.nz. Retrieved 24 February 2009.
- ^ a b "Chart Log UK - The Rabble Army – RZA". zobbel.de. Retrieved 24 February 2009.
External links [edit]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bic Runga |
- Official website
- Bic Runga on Myspace
- Comprehensive fansite
- Bic Runga at the Internet Movie Database
- Bic Runga at Discogs
- My Wedding and Other Secrets Official Website - includes interview with Bic Runga
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
- 1976 births
- Female guitarists
- Living people
- Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit
- New Zealand people of Chinese descent
- New Zealand people of Malaysian descent
- New Zealand Māori people
- New Zealand female singers
- New Zealand musicians
- New Zealand singer-songwriters
- People from Christchurch
- New Zealand Māori singers
