2026 APRA Maioha Award Top Three finalists announced
APRA AMCOS Aotearoa are excited to announce the three waiata voted by APRA members as finalists for the 2026 APRA Tohu Maioha | Maioha Award.
The APRA Tohu Maioha | Maioha Award recognises the art of contemporary Māori music and celebrates kaitito creating waiata in te reo Māori, through a distinct cultural lens. This year's finalists reflect the fast growing and evolving landscape of waiata reo Māori.
Top three finalists:
- Mānawa Maiea Matariki, written by Tawaroa Kawana and Rangi-Ānehu Mātāmua, performed by TAWAZ, Stan Walker, Hera, Hone, Nepia, Rani, and Hops.
- Puna Ora, written by Charles Looker and Emily Looker, performed by Aro (Songbroker)
- Toitū Te Tiriti, written by Geneva Alexander-Marsters and Eric Scholes, performed by Geneva AM
More about each finalist below.
Mānawa Maiea Matariki
TAWAZ is a leading force in Māori music, a singer-songwriter, master of harmonies, and mātanga reo who is helping reshape the sound of Aotearoa. A proud graduate of Kōhanga Reo, Kura Kaupapa Māori, and Te Panekiretanga o te Reo (The Institute of Excellence in the Māori Language), he brings deep cultural knowledge and linguistic expertise to every lyric and performance.
Widely regarded as one of the top Māori artists and reo experts in the music industry today, his landmark single Mānawa Maiea Matariki has quickly become an anthem for the Māori New Year, a celebration of identity and whakapapa woven into melody.
In 2024, TAWAZ was honoured with the prestigious Mana Reo Award and Te Manu Taki Māori o te Tau (Best Māori Artist) at the Aotearoa Music Awards, and in 2026 he was once again awarded Best Māori Artist, solidifying his place as a leader and innovator in te ao puoro Māori.
Beyond the stage, TAWAZ is driven by kaupapa, committed to uplifting the next generation of Māori artists, singers, and songwriters. Through his music and mentorship, he’s not just preserving te reo Māori, he’s pushing it into new spaces, with heart, power, and purpose.
Watch the video for Mānawa Maiea Matariki
Puna Ora
Aro is a Tiriti-based duo made up of Charles Looker (Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa, Ngāti Te Ata, Ngāti Mutunga) and Emily Looker. Blending reo Māori with soul, folk, and RnB, Aro are known for their rich harmonies, heartfelt storytelling, and bilingual waiata inspired by whānau, whenua, and te ao Māori. Since forming in 2017, they have toured extensively across Aotearoa, released five studio projects, numerous singles in between, and won Best Pop Album at the Waiata Māori Music Awards for He Rākau He Ngārara (2024).
Their Maioha nominated waiata Puna Ora comes from Aro’s latest album Tāwauwau (2026) which explores fantasy, faith, beauty, and longing. Puna Ora plays on the richness of the word puna - as it flows through mokopuna and tūpuna. The waiata reflects on how each mokopuna is a union of the many beautiful puna they come from, becoming tūpuna themselves, in turn, a source, a puna of great things, both tangible and intangible, visible and invisible, but always deeply felt. “The song is about awakening that inner puna ora, that living spring inside us that connects us to our tūpuna, our tamariki, and to something beyond what we can see.”
Toitū Te Tiriti
Geneva AM is the moniker of Geneva Alexander-Marsters (she/her, Ngāti Ruapani mai Waikaremoana, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairoa, Aitutaki, Palmerston), an award-winning producer, beat maker and vocalist based in Tāmaki Makaurau.
Geneva AM’s award-winning debut album ‘PIKIPIKI’ includes the 2026 Maioha-nominated waiata Toitū Te Tiriti composed alongside longtime friend and collaborator Eric Scholes and performed with seven-piece string group, Ngā Whetu Ensemble. The song is a call to action for everyone to honour Te Tiriti and an invitation for everyone to speak Māori. Using repetition in a simple lyrical format, Geneva AM refers to the mountains, rivers and the people as a reminder to the listener of the natural landmarks which feature in a pepeha.
Geneva explains “For this waiata, I wanted to make a series of statements because I believe the power of singing words out loud can positively influence people who may need to draw strength and keep going with their kaupapa. I made this waiata very quickly in response to witnessing the greed of our current coalition government. Watching the Toitū movement unfold last year was a monumental part of our history, especially as we saw the Treaty Principles Bill get thrown out.”
Geneva has recently won the Auckland Live Best Independent Debut for the Taite Music Prize 2026. She was also nominated three times at the 2026 Aotearoa Music Awards for ‘PIKIPIKI’ which has been included in the top 10 albums of 2025 by Rolling Stone Magazine (#4), and Metro Magazine (#10). Her single ‘Urban Planning’ which also made the 2026 APRA Silver Scroll Award | Kaitito Kaiaka Top 20 longlist, was selected as part of the Rolingstone top 300 songs of the 21st Century (So Far).
Watch Toitū Te Tiriti by Geneva AM featuring Ngā Whetu Ensemble
The Tohu Maioha is a fully peer-voted award. The top three waiata were voted in by APRA members from a longlist of 11 waiata reo Māori - you can read more about the voting process here.
The winner of the award will be announced and celebrated at the 2026 APRA Silver Scroll Awards | Kaitito Kaiaka in Tāmaki Makaurau this October.
The other awards presented on the night are:
- APRA Silver Scroll Award | Kaitito Kaiaka
- SOUNZ Contemporary Award | Te Tohu Auaha
- APRA Best Original Music in a Feature Film Award | Tohu Pūmanawa
- APRA Best Original Music in a Series Award | Tohu Paerangi
- Te Tihi o te Maunga Tito | Kapa Haka Songwriting Award
More information:
- About the APRA Silver Scroll Awards
- Playlist celebrating the Scroll Top 20 & Maioha Top 11
- How the winner of the APRA Silver Scroll Award Kaitito Kaiaka is chosen
- Past presentations and performances
With thanks to NZ On Air, Te Māngai Pāho, OneMusic NZ, TAG, Radisson RED Auckland, Framingham Wines, Hallertau, and Scapegrace.
