Opportunities can come from the most unlikely circumstances. Or so it seems for Porirua teenagers Tiresa Foma’i, Rosetta Lopa and Anastasia Sirila, who recently posted on Facebook a video of themselves singing the New Zealand national anthem after American singer, Crystal Collins, murdered it at a rugby league game between the Kiwis and England.
Their sweet rendition, sung in both Māori and English, went viral and New Zealanders rallied behind them, launching a petition requesting to have them sing it at the All Blacks versus South Africa test in Wellington on September 15.
New Zealand rugby have come to the party, announcing on Twitter that the trio, who call themselves LE ART and attend Porirua College, will sing the anthem at a domestic game later this year. Their announcement read:
“We’re excited to announce that sweet-sounding trio Anastasia Sirila, Rosetta Lopa & Tiresa Foma’i, Le ART, will sing at a domestic competition Final this year. Music mentor Jonny Viliamu: “It’s perfect for them & they are so excited.”
Music mentor and manager Jonny Viliamu told Stuff that they’d probably tweak their version a little so the “whole crowd can sing along”.
LE ART’s Anastasia Sirila added, “It’s really awesome – just any opportunity to sing our anthem is great and we’d just like to say thank you to everybody for their support.”
To hear just how beautiful they sound, watch our video, above.
