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Bic Runga

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New Zealand (1996 – present)

Briolette Kah Bic Runga (born 13 January 1976) is a New Zealand singer-songwriter whose first solo album, Drive, debuted at number one in the New Zealand charts, and has since become one of the highest-selling New Zealand artists of our time. Runga has also found success internationally in Australia and the UK.

Regarding the pronunciation of “Bic”: “‘You say it Bec, rather than Bic,’ explains New Zealand singer-songwriter Bic Runga. ‘It’s Chinese, it’s a strange vowel sound which doesn’t seem to translate in English. It means the colour of jade, which I suppose is just green.’”

Runga was born in Christchurch. Her mother, Sophia Tang, was a Chinese Malaysian lounge singer in Malaysia when she met Joseph Runga, a Māori soldier on leave from Vietnam. They both moved to New Zealand to live.

Runga grew up in Hornby, Christchurch surrounded by a musically-inclined family, and started recording songs with her sisters, Boh and Pearl, when she was only four years old. Runga’s older sister Boh is now a vocalist in the New Zealand rock group Stellar*, while Pearl is a session singer.

She learned how to play drums at the age of eleven, and guitar at about fourteen. Runga also learnt to play the keyboard at around this time. She attended Cashmere High School, joining high school bands and performing with local jazz groups by her mid-teens.

Singles

* “Bursting Through” (1996)
* “Sway” (1997) #10 Australia #1 Ireland (re-issue Ireland in 2004 went to #26)
* “Suddenly Strange” (1997)
* “Roll into One” (1997)
* “Hey” (1998)
* “Sorry” (1999)
* “Get Some Sleep” (2002) #75 United Kingdom #3 New Zealand #27 Ireland
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Top Albums

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Top Tracks

1 Play
Sway full track
900
2 Play
Get Some Sleep full track
197
3 Play
Drive full track
151
4 Play
123
5 Play
Say After Me full track
119
6 Play
Something Good full track
113
7 Play
93
7 Play
Gravity full track
93
9 Play
92
10 Play
Birds full track
81
11 Play
Hey full track
77
11 Play
Beautiful Collision full track
77
13 Play
Bursting Through full track
76
14 Play
Honest Goodbyes full track
74
14 Play
Precious Things full track
74
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7 Worlds Collide at Largo, L.A.

11 Aug 2009 | from blog.myspace.com/bicrunga

7 Worlds Collide in Los AngelesOn Sunday, 16 August, 7 Worlds Collide will be coming to Largo for a very special surprise show. Neil Finn will be joined on stage by KT Tunstall, Lisa Germano and Bic …

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