Matthew Saunoa (born 1986) is a New Zealand

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

singer who rose to musical fame as the winner of the third season of ''

New Zealand Idol ''New Zealand Idol'', also known as ''NZ Idol'', was the New Zealand version of the ''Idol'' series which originated in the United Kingdom as '' Pop Idol''. New Zealand first saw the ''Idol'' format when TV2 aired '' American Idol 2'', which gar ...

'' in 2006. After winning the third season, his winner's single, "

Hold Out ''Hold Out'' is the sixth album by American singer-songwriter Jackson Browne, released in 1980. Although critically the album has not been as well-received as other Browne recordings, it remains his only album to date to reach number 1 on the '' ...

" topped the

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, however it did not secure Saunoa an album contract 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 ...

. In 2007 he appeared on ''

Pop's Ultimate Star ''Pop's Ultimate Star'' was TV2 (New Zealand), TV2's reality television show which pits former reality contestants against each other, most of whom are former ''NZ Idol'' contestants. The show was produced by Eyeworks Touchdown, with first prize $ ...

''. He has experienced drug and alcohol addiction, and in 2023 he was imprisoned for over six years for injuring a police officer in a deliberate hit-and-run.

Early life

Saunoa was born in

Papatoetoe Papatoetoe is a suburb in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest suburb in Auckland by population and is located to the northwest of Manukau, Manukau Central, and southeast of Auckland CBD. Papatoetoe was traditionally an important area fo ...

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 ...

. His mother is English and his father is Samoan. He attended De La Salle College, where he was a lead singer at school events. Before appearing on ''Idol'', he worked as a builder in Levin. Saunoa relocated to the Gold Coast in 2009.

''New Zealand Idol''

Saunoa unsuccessfully auditioned for the initial season of ''

'' in 2004. After the birth of his first son, Saunoa tried again and was accepted onto the show. On 17 October 2006, betting agency Centrebet announced their final-week prediction that Saunoa would win the competition, with his odds at $1.66 and runner up Indira Moala's at $2.10. However, before the finale began, the odds moved to put Moala as the favourite to win. Along with the 'New Zealand Idol' title, he won

NZ$ The New Zealand dollar (; currency sign, sign: $; ISO 4217, code: NZD) is the official currency and legal tender of New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue, the Ross Dependency, Tokelau, and a British territory, the Pitcairn Islands. Within New Zeal ...

50,000 cash, a

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, a holiday in

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and recording contract. Saunoa shared some of the prize money with Moala, and sold the Tarios to raise money for a deposit on a house purchase to provide security for his family.

After ''NZ Idol''

Saunoa performed his winner's single, "

", on the finale of ''New Zealand Idol'' on 29 October 2006. Written by James Reid of

The Feelers The Feelers are a New Zealand pop rock band formed in the early 1990s in Christchurch by James Reid (singer/guitarist) and Hamish Gee (drums/guitar). History The Feelers were signed by Warner Music and released their first album, '' Super ...

, it was released for purchase by

Shock Records Shock Records was an Australian independent record label, branded with the logo Shock or Shock Australia. Founded in 1988, it traded as Shock Records Pty. Ltd, and its publishing arm as Shock Music Publishing Pty. Ltd. Its most prominent sublab ...

on 31 October 2006, with a

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available on 6 November. The song debuted on the

at number one the day of its digital release, and remained on the chart for twenty-three weeks. "Hold Out" was also used as TV One's theme tune in the summer of 2006–07. However, due to the low sales of the song, Saunoa did not secure a contract to record a

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

. The following year, Saunoa contested the reality television show ''

'', and came third, with

TrueBliss TrueBliss were a New Zealand pop girl group formed in April 1999. The band were formed on the popular television show ''Popstars'', which aired on TVNZ's TV2 channel for nine weeks in the search for a new girl group. TrueBliss were the first e ...

singer

Joe Cotton Joanne Monique "Joe" Cotton, is a Canadian-born New Zealand pop singer who gained recognition as a member of the girl group TrueBliss, formed in 1999 on ''Popstars''. Cotton has since joined a cover band, The Mermaids Danceband. She has also w ...

and ''New Zealand Idol'' season two runner-up Nik Carlson receiving first and second places, respectively. As "Hold Out" was Saunoa's only solo musical release, Saunoa felt guilty for not making more of his ''New Zealand Idol'' title, and for letting his supporters down. In an interview with the '' Manawatu Standard'' in 2010, Saunoa stated, "I got to release a single, and that was it. I just felt I was left to rot. After climbing what seemed an impossible mountain it felt like I had fallen and landed flat on my face." However, in 2009, Saunoa formed a band with Lionel Nelson, formerly of

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, and Melaanie Viether. The group, named Brown Suga, began performing at the Gold Coast, in Australia. Of the collaboration, Saunoa said, "We work really well together and I get to do a lot of solo stuff...Being with Kiwi people and other Polynesian people, I don't know, something really clicks." Around this time, he moved to

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with his partner and children.

Convictions

Saunoa has struggled with drug and alcohol addiction since his teenage years. In 2020, Saunoa was sentenced to 13 months' imprisonment in Australia for various drug-related and property offences. He was deported from Australia after serving his sentence. On 18 October 2023, Saunoa was jailed in New Zealand for six years and seven months after he committed a deliberate hit-and-run and caused serious injuries to a police officer who was trying to stop him during a November 2021 car chase. Saunoa had pled guilty to aggravated grievous bodily harm, unlawfully taking a motor vehicle, burglary and other motor vehicle offences relating to the chase.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saunoa, Matthew 1986 births Living people Idols (TV series) winners New Zealand pop singers New Zealand Idol participants People from Levin, New Zealand Musicians from Auckland 21st-century New Zealand male singers