Laisa Vulakoro (born 13 August 1960Facebook profile
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Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

an singer known as the Queen of Vude. She comes from the

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

of Yacata in

Cakaudrove Province Cakaudrove () is one of fourteen provinces of Fiji, and one of three based principally on the northern island of Vanua Levu, occupying the south-eastern third of the island and including the nearby islands of Taveuni, Rabi, Kioa, and numerous othe ...

. Her music combines

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

and Fijian

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

. Vulakoro has performed since the 1980s and has released sixteen albums. During a period in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in the 1990s, Vulakoro performed with Australian rock singer

Jimmy Barnes James Dixon Barnes ( Swan; born 28 April 1956) is an Australian rock singer. His career, both as a solo performer and as the lead vocalist with the rock band Cold Chisel, has made him one of the most popular and best-selling Australian music a ...

. Now a resident of

Suva Suva (, ) is the Capital city, capital and the most populous city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rew ...

, Fiji's

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

, Vulakoro is seen regularly at major national events. Her style incorporates a unique blend of Fiji traditional music, R&B, jazz and rock. She has been described as Fiji's answer to Renée Geyer.

Political activities

Vulakoro condemned the

military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

that deposed the elected government of

Laisenia Qarase Laisenia Qarase (pronounced ; 4 February 1941 – 21 April 2020) was a Fijian politician. He served as the Prime Minister of Fiji, sixth Prime Minister of Fiji from 2000 to 2006. After Republic of Fiji Military Forces, the military quashed the 2 ...

on 5 December 2006. After writing an unsympathetic letter to a local newspaper, Vulakoro found her Suva home raided and searched by members of the

Republic of Fiji Military Forces The Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF, formerly the Royal Fiji Military Forces until 1987 when the Dominion of Fiji was overthrown) is the military force of the Pacific Ocean, Pacific island nation of Fiji. With a total manpower of about ...

on 26 December. She was subsequently taken to Suva's Queen Elizabeth Barracks for questioning at 1a.m. on 28 December. Before being released, she was warned to stop speaking out against the Military. Fiji Television reported on 12 January 2007 that Vulakoro faced possible imprisonment on her return to Fiji, following the unexplained disappearance of international criminal Peter Foster, for whom she had put up F$5,000 in

bail Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Court bail may be offered to secure the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when ...

. Vulakoro is reportedly the niece of war hero Sefania Sukanaivalu, the sole Fijian recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

Media appearances

In 2010 Vulakoro became a judge on the 3rd season of

talent contest Vodafone M.I.C She continued her run on the show in 2011, and was set to return for the 5th season in 2012 but was later replaced. However she appeared as a guest judge in three episodes. She appeared in episode 2 of the

Martin Clunes Alexander Martin Clunes (born 28 November 1961) is an English actor, director and television presenter. He is best known for portraying Martin Ellingham in the ITV comedy-drama series '' Doc Martin'', Gary Strang in the BBC sitcom ''Men Behavin ...

miniseries ''Islands of the Pacific'', which aired on January 20, 2022 and has been repeated since then.

References

1960 births People from Yacata Fijian musicians Living people I-Taukei Fijian people {{singer-stub