A viral kapa haka performance by high school students from Nga Puna o Waiorea in Tamaki Makaurau has caught the attention of international superstar SZA.
The clip was first shared by Whaea Zara on TikTok last month, where it earned over 55,000 views before being picked up by the Maori Worldwide Instagram account this week.
The waiata tira (choral song without actions) was called "heavenly" and "powerful" by commenters from Aotearoa and across the world. One of those international fans was SZA, who is among the nearly 4,300 people who have liked the clip.
"Can we just appreciate the goddess SZA has liked this?" one comment read.
"Sza approved y'all!" said another.
Others commented on the mana of the performance and one mentioned what an "ataahuaa language" we have in te reo Maori.
Nga Puna o Waiorea, a Te Reo immersion kura within Western Springs college, have consistently placed highly at kapa haka competitions for years now, but how awesome is it for them to get this extra global recognition?
Now we've just gotta get SZA to NZ so Waiorea can perform for her in person!
