Opetaia Foa'i presented the Billions Award for 'We Know The Way'
Opetaia Foa’i joins the APRA AMCOS 1,000,000,000 List for ‘We Know The Way’ from the Moana soundtrack.
Foa’i has shaped the musical identity of Disney’s Moana franchise including Moana (2016), Moana 2 (2024), and Moana Live Action (2026).
The APRA AMCOS Billions Award acknowledges the considerable feat of amassing over 1,000,000,000 streams for a single song across major streaming platforms.
Opetaia Foa’i has been presented with the Billions Award for ‘We Know The Way’ one of the centrepiece ballads from Disney’s original Moana soundtrack. Written alongside Lin-Manuel Miranda (In The Heights, Hamilton) and Mark Mancina (The Lion King Broadway), ‘We Know The Way’ celebrates the rich voyaging history of Oceanic peoples.
The song which includes languages of Tokelau and Sāmoa sung by Opetaia, spent two weeks on the Billboard Top 100 and was listed on Billboard’s Greatest of All Time Disney Songs Chart, an historic moment for Pacific peoples with traditional Polynesian performance and storytelling reaching global audiences. It was the first song written for the original movie and continues to make a lasting impression across generations all around the world.
Alongside his renowned band Te Vaka, Opetaia played a pivotal role in shaping the cultural identity of the Moana soundtrack bringing various Pacific languages and traditional sounds of the South Pacific to the world. Opetaia continued this legacy with Moana 2 (2024) and Moana Live-Action (2026), making him one of the few creatives to have contributed to every chapter of Disney's beloved Moana franchise.
Opetaia was presented his Billions Award following an intimate, vinyl playback session of Moana and Moana 2 songs.
“One billion streams is an incredible achievement for Opetaia Foa’i and We Know the Way. The massive success of Moana reflects the power of authenticity - bringing Polynesian languages, culture and storytelling to global audiences in a genuine, uplifting and deeply meaningful way. It shows that authentic voices can connect with people everywhere. We are incredibly proud of his achievements.” says Ant Healey, Head of APRA AMCOS NZ
Through music that celebrates the richness of Pacific culture, storytelling and identity, Opetaia's work has helped bring the spirit of Moana to audiences across generations. Fakamālō atu Opetaia and the Te Vaka kāiga.
The 1,000,000,000 List takes into account streaming numbers from major services Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube. It is the first award of its kind to recognise a songwriter’s achievement.