Quick Facts
Biography
Pere Te Ruru o te Ramana Wihongi (born 1993 or 1994), sometimes known mononymously as PERE, is a New Zealand musician, voice actor, choreographer, and kapa haka performer. He is part of the award-winning music groups Maimoa and Te Kākano.
Early life
Wihongi was born and raised in Herekino. The family moved to Auckland when Wihongi was 9, and he began attending the Te Kura Kaupapa Māori ā Rohe o Māngere immersion school. While there he competed in and won the Ngā Manu Kōrero speech competition. He then attended South Seas Film & Television School to pursue a career in television.
Career
Television
Wihongi's first job was as a production assistant, but eventually he worked his way up to be a reporter on current affairs shows such as Te Karere and Marae, and presenting the children's show Pūkana. In 2019, Wihongi started doing music and voice acting for the children's cartoon Pipi Mā. In 2021, Wihongi was a judge on the talent show 5 Minutes Of Fame.
Music
In 2015, Wihongi formed the music group Pūkana and Whānau with fellow Pūkana presenters. They changed their name to Maimoa in 2017. Maimoa appeared on the reality television shows Voices of Our Future and Waiata Nation, which documented the creation of their second single "Wairua" and their debut album Rongomaiwhiti respectively. Wihongi formed another music group, Te Kākano, in 2018.
Wihongi had his solo debut in 2019 with the single "High on Ingoingo". He won Best Māori Male Solo Artist at that years Waiata Māori Music Awards, alongside winning Best Traditional Album and Best Māori Pop Album for Te Kākano's self-titled debut album.
Film
In 2022, Wihongi joined the production company Matewa Media as the co-musical director alongside Rob Ruha for the Māori dub of the 1994 Disney film The Lion King. In addition to this role, he also provided the voice of Olaf in the dub of Frozen.
Kapa haka
Wihongi has competed in kapa haka competition Te Matatini since he was 15. He founded the kapa haka group Angitū. At Te Matatini 2023, Angitū broke gender norms by having Wihongi and Tuhoe Tamaiparea perform in the poi line.
Personal life
Wihongi identifies as takatāpui and uses both masculine and feminine pronouns. His iwi are Te Rarawa, Ngāti Kurī, Ngāpuhi, and Ngāti Wai.
Discography
Extended plays
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Pere Kirihimete |
|
Singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NZHot | NZHotArtist | ||||||
| "High on Ingoingo" | 2019 | 19 | 1 | Non-album singles | |||
| "Te Haa o Aotearoa" | — | — | |||||
| "E Raka e" (with Maimoa) | 2020 | — | — | Rongomaiwhiti | |||
| "Iarere Āio" (featuring Mohi) | 2022 | 40 | 4 | Non-album single | |||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart. | |||||||
Singles as featured artist
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NZArtist | NZHot | NZHotArtist | |||||
| "Te Matatini Ki Te Ao" (among National Kapa Haka Festival 2019) | 2018 | — | 31 | 8 | Non-album singles | ||
| "Pakipaki Mai" (Te Nūtube featuring Pere and Friends) | 2019 | — | 24 | 4 | |||
| "Stay" (among Tūtahi) | 2020 | 16 | 10 | 1 | |||
| "Minamina" (Valkyrie featuring Pere) | — | — | — | ||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart. | |||||||
Promotional singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NZHotArtist | |||||||
| "Mahuru" | 2020 | 9 | Non-album single | ||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart. | |||||||
Other charted songs
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NZArtist | NZHot | NZHotArtist | |||||
| "Tōrea" (Makaira Berry, Hamiora Tuari and Pere Wihongi) | 2018 | 20 | 27 | 13 | Te Kākano | ||
| "Kia Tika Rā" (Pere Wihongi and Makaira Berry) | — | — | 13 | ||||
| "Raumati" | 2019 | — | — | 14 | |||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart. | |||||||
Guest appearances
| Title | Year | Other artists | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| "He Rā Hou Tēnai" | 2017 | Awatea Wihongi | Pao Pao Pao, Vol. 1 |
| "Pao Pao Pao" | Te Whānau Pao Pao Pao, Makaira Berry, Mareikura Nathan, Awarea Wihongi | ||
| "Tū Mai" | 2018 | Makaira Berry, Hamiora Tuari, Mere Arihi Pipi-Takoko | Te Kākano |
| "Raumati" | — | ||
| "Hikaia Te Ahikōmau" | Makaira Berry | ||
| "Tōrea" | Makaira Berry, Hamiora Tuari | ||
| "Kia Tika Rā" | Makaira Berry | ||
| "Te Puea" | Makaira Berry, Mere Arihi Pipi-Takoko, Hamiora Tuari | ||
| "Matike Maranga" | 2019 | Makaira Berry, Puawai Taiapa | Tākaro Tribe |
| "Ahakamana" | Makaira Berry, Puawai Taiapa |