Boh Runga (born 14 March 1970) is a New Zealand recording artist and was the lead singer and guitarist in New Zealand rock band Stellar. Boh is the older sister of Bic Runga and Pearl Runga who are also musicians.

Early life

Runga was born on 14 March 1970 and grew up in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, New Zealand. She is the daughter of Joseph Te Okoro Runga, a Maori ex-serviceman, and Sophia Tang, a Chinese singer who abandoned her own music career in Malaysia to join Joseph in his home country. Joseph was a self-taught pianist and died in 2005 from a heart attack. Runga is of

Ngāti Kahungunu Ngāti Kahungunu is a Māori iwi (tribe) located along the eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The iwi is traditionally centred in the Hawke's Bay and Wairārapa regions. The Kahungunu iwi also comprises 86 hapū (sub-tribes ...

descent. Runga left Christchurch for

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

to form Stellar in the late 1990s. After signing with

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

, Stellar released their 1999 debut album '' Mix'' and quickly became Sony's biggest selling New Zealand band as the album went multi-platinum. Stellar also secured eight

Tui Awards The Aotearoa Music Awards (previously called the New Zealand Music Awards), conferred annually by Recorded Music NZ, honour outstanding artistic and technical achievements in the recording industry. The awards are among the most significant that ...

for ''Mix'' and its 2001 follow up '' Magic Line''.

Early career

After the release of 'Magic Line' and the subsequent touring of New Zealand, Australia and Europe, Runga went to Los Angeles in 2003 to hone her skills as a songwriter at the invitation of her LA-based music publishers, Chrysalis. In 2007, a fortuitous introduction to the gold bullion company NZ Mint led Runga into designing and launching her first jewellery range called 'Birdland', based on her love of New Zealand's native birds. Due to the success of both 'Birdland' and her second collection, 'The Messenger Stories', Runga now plans to release the jewellery in Australia and North America.

Solo career

Runga's first solo album, '' Right Here'' was released on 14 July 2009. Strongly reflective of her time spent in Silver Lake, LA, the album tells tales of love, loss and life. Recorded over six months in the Hollywood studio of producer

Marshall Altman Marshall Noah Altman is a Nashville-based A&R for Nettwerk Music Group, and a record producer and songwriter who owns the Galt Line studio in Nashville, Tennessee. He was formerly an A&R person for such labels as Capitol Records, Hollywood Recor ...

, ''Right Here'' was warmly received on its recent New Zealand release. ''

The New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation in New Zealand, ...

'' gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, noting "its unashamed blockbuster urges and tunepower make it all the more irresistible" and Real Groove called it "an assured collection of streamlined tunes that's guaranteed to surf the airwaves. Collaborators on the album include

Serj Tankian Serj Tankian ( , ; born August 21, 1967) is an Armenian-American musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the alternative metal band System of a Down, which was formed in 1994. Tankian has released five albums with System of a Down ...

( System of a Down),

Greg Laswell Greg Laswell (born April 26, 1974) is an American musician, recording engineer, and record producer from San Diego, California. He attended Valley Christian High School in Cerritos, California. He has released 7 studio albums: ''Good Movie (Gre ...

and writing collaborations with

Wendy Melvoin Wendy Ann Melvoin (born January 26, 1964) is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter, best known for her work with Prince as part of his backing band the Revolution, and for her collaboration with Lisa Coleman as one half of the duo Wendy ...

( Prince and the Revolution),

Shelly Peiken Shelly Meg Peiken is an American songwriter who is best known for co-writing the US No. 1 hits " What a Girl Wants" and " Come On Over Baby" by Christina Aguilera the US No. 2 hit " Bitch" by Meredith Brooks, " Almost Doesn't Count" by Brandy, ...

and

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer and songwriter. Known for his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time, having sold ...

's songwriter Kevin Savigar. In December 2012, Runga starred in an online video campaign supporting

gay marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 billion people (20% ...

, alongside other New Zealand singers

Anika Moa Anika Rose Moa (born 21 May 1980) is a New Zealand recording artist and television presenter. Her debut studio album ''Thinking Room'', was released in September 2001, which reached number one on the Official New Zealand Music Chart, New Z ...

and Hollie Smith, as well as Olympian Danyon Loader and former

Governor-General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

Dame

Catherine Tizard Dame Catherine Anne Tizard (née Maclean; 4 April 1931 – 31 October 2021) was a New Zealand politician who served as mayor of Auckland City from 1983 to 1990, and the List of governors-general of New Zealand, 16th governor-general of New Zeal ...

. In August 2014, Runga featured with other New Zealand artists on the

charity single A charity record, charity album, or charity single is a recording with most or all proceeds raised going to a dedicated foundation or charity. In 1956, The Lord's Taverners released a 78 rpm disc which contained six tracks donated by popular artis ...

"Song for Everyone".

Personal life

In 2003, Runga married Campbell Smith, the manager for her sister Bic and chief executive of the

Recording Industry Association of New Zealand Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded ...

. She was living in Los Angeles by 2009. The singer has since separated from Smith and returned to her home country, where she lives in

Kumeū Kumeū is a town in the Auckland Region, situated north-west of the Auckland CBD, City Centre in New Zealand. New Zealand State Highway 16, State Highway 16 and the North Auckland Line pass through the town. Huapai lies to the west, Riverhead, N ...

Discography

Albums

* '' Right Here'' (2009)

Singles

References

External links

Stellar official website
*
Evelyn
music video released 2 June 2008 on NZ On Screen
Boh Runga
official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Runga, Boh 1970 births APRA Award winners Ngāti Kahungunu people New Zealand people of Chinese descent New Zealand people of Malaysian descent New Zealand guitarists New Zealand women guitarists New Zealand women singer-songwriters New Zealand singer-songwriters 20th-century New Zealand women singers New Zealand rock singers New Zealand Māori women singers Musicians from Christchurch Living people New Zealand LGBTQ rights activists 21st-century New Zealand women singers