James Cook High School has gone viral for absolutely blowing people away with their Matariki performance in Tāmaki Makaurau.
The South Auckland students brought their talent to Takutai Square in Britomart last week for a lunchtime waiata and poi routine - and this rōpū nailed it.
This year’s Matariki theme, ‘Matariki mā Puanga’, encouraged embracing diversity and inclusion while celebrating the Māori New Year.
The moment was shared on Britomart’s Instagram with the caption: “We can’t get over this performance.”
And we’re right there with them after hearing that beautiful solo before the whole rōpū joined in a stunning harmony.
It took less that two seconds before the goosebumps kicked in.
One person wrote: “I’ve watched this soooo many times!! Woah!!”
Another asked: “Why is this 24 hours long?”
“Instant goosebumps and tears - absolutely beautiful,” said a third. “His tone is spectacular🔥🔥🔥.”
Someone else commented: “Ātaahua - All of it! The solo🔥the kapa haka😍, the group waiata. 👏”
The poi performance was just as mesmerising, with one person writing: “Beautiful voices, love you keeping your traditions alive and keep teaching them to generations to come.”
James Cook High even took a moment to thank Britomart, saying: “Thank you for always creating space for our akonga 🤩🙌🏾.”
Turns out, it’s becoming a bit of a tradition- 2023's performance also made waves on TikTok with over 463k views and 78k likes.
Safe to say, we’ll be rewatching both on loop until next Matariki.
