They were labelled “very boy-bandy and done” by The Voice Australia judge Jessie J, who promptly kicked them off the hit show last year. But it was water off a duck’s back to Maori crooners The Koi Boys.
Indeed, following their unceremonious rejection from the show, the Kiwi-born, Gold Coast-based trio – Ngahere “Nuz” Ngatai, 32, Danny Faifai, 44, and Kevin Keepa, 47 – were inspired to write their debut album Meant to Be.
“Jessie J did give us a bit of a hard time, but it was just another wave of publicity for us,” grins the youngest band member and seasoned reality TV star Nuz, who has also appeared on The GC and The X Factor Australia. “One of the things we learnt from our time with her was to commit to everything we wanted to do with positivity.”
And the boys have had the last laugh – just a couple of months ago, their record went platinum in New Zealand!
“Geez, it was amazing getting the plaque,” says Rotorua-born Nuz – who is related to the late Sir Howard Morrison – talking to Woman’s Day on a visit home to Aotearoa. “Once we understood what platinum meant – in excess of 15,000 albums sold – we were really blown away.”
The Koi Boys played a celebratory show at Rotorua’s Lakeside Festival in March alongside the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra, Annie Crummer and Jason Kerrison.
“It was really special and such a massive reception – 10,000 people,” Nuz enthuses.
“I left Rotorua when I was three, but I remember our house, all my uncles and aunties, and going to kohanga reo there so that I could communicate with my granddad and keep the language going.”
Proudly present at the show was the Koi Boys’ biggest fan, Nuz’s 85-year-old grandma Nari. The octogenarian and her husband moved to the Gold Coast 30 years ago to look after the youngster while his parents bought and renovated a home.
“I grew up with my grandparents, so we’re really, really close,” tells Nuz, who was inspired by his parents to buy his first home at the tender age of 19. “She’s a Morrison – like a lot of people in Rotorua! She’s Sir Howard’s first cousin. She came to New Zealand just to watch me. She’s always on Facebook, sharing our stuff and liking our comments.”
It’s been a long road to success for the Koi Boys, who dispute the “boy band” label because of their ages. “I’d say we’re modern-day crooners,” insists Nuz. “We’re best known for the barbershop-quartet sound, but we do so many different genres.”
The group came together after Wellington transplants Kevin – formerly in the group Sex & Chocolate – and Danny – a one-time karaoke operator – connected with Nuz on the Gold Coast music scene.
“Danny and Kevin were the pioneers,” says former dancer Nuz, who performed in a copycat group called Straight Up. “They sang all the latest R&B songs, danced and interacted with their audiences. I’d admired them for a long time.”
The trio clicked immediately and have played a Sunday afternoon residence at the Gold Coast’s Koi Dining and Lounge Bar – from which they get their name – for the past few years, honing
their harmonising skills by playing weddings and corporate events.
Nuz says they have been brought even closer by the tragic, sudden deaths of three close friends – including Sex & Chocolate singer Tony Williams, in recent years. Tragically, it was bandmate Kevin who discovered Tony on Christmas Eve in 2011, brutally murdered at home in a jealous rage by his ex-girlfriend’s new lover Matthew Cox.
“Kevin has had a lot of counselling,” tells Nuz. “He was under a lot of pressure because he was the one who found Tony. I can’t imagine how he copes at times. I take my hat off to him.
“We’ve always been there for each other, that’s what we are about and these tragedies have united us and made us even stronger than ever.”
The loss of their pals can be hard for the group, sighs Nuz. “Those boys touched so many lives, but we have to put our masks on. You’ve always gotta smile and make your customers happy. All the songs we play are important to people and we have to do them justice, regardless of how we’re feeling.”
Still buzzing from the success of their Kiwi platinum debut, the trio, who are signed to top record label Universal, are now hoping that they can replicate that success with their second album, which is now under way.
“We’ve recorded a quarter of it already,” Nuz tells us excitedly. “We can’t wait to have a second album out and we’d love to go platinum in New Zealand again – and hopefully Australia this time too. It’s exciting times.”
