Pere Te Ruru o te Ramana Wihongi (born ), sometimes known mononymously as PERE, is a New Zealand musician, voice actor, choreographer, and kapa haka performer. She 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 she began attending the Te Kura Kaupapa Māori ā Rohe o Māngere immersion school. While there she competed in and won the Ngā Manu Kōrero speech competition. She 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 she worked her way up to be a reporter on news and 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 her solo debut in 2019 with the single "High on Ingoingo". She won Best Māori Male Solo Artist at that year's 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, she also provided the voice of Olaf in the dub of Frozen.
Kapa haka Wihongi has competed in kapa haka competition Te Matatini since she was 15. She founded the kapa haka group Angitu. At Te Matatini 2023, Angitu broke gender norms by having Wihongi and Tuhoe Tamaiparea perform in the poi line.
Personal life Wihongi identifies as takatāpui and has used both masculine and feminine pronouns but states in her social media profiles that she/her are her preferred pronouns. Her iwi are Te Rarawa, Ngāti Kurī, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Rehua and Ngāti Wai.
Discography Extended plays
Title Album details Pere Kirihimete Released: 17 December 2021 Label: Self-published Format: Digital download, streaming
Singles
Title Year Peak chart positions Album NZHotPeak positions for Pere's singles on the NZ hot singles chart: For "Tōrea": For "Te Matatini Ki Te Ao": For "High on Ingoingo": For "Pakipaki Mai": For "Stay": For "Iarere Āio": NZHotArtistPeak positions for Seth Haapu's singles on the NZ artist hot singles chart: For "Tōrea", "Kia Tika Rā": For "Te Matatini Ki Te Ao": For "High on Ingoingo": For "Raumati": For "Pakipaki Mai": For "Stay": For "Mahuru": For "Iarere Āio": "High on Ingoingo"2019 19 1 rowspan="2" "Te Haa o Aotearoa" — — "E Raka e" 2020 — — Rongomaiwhiti "Iarere Āio" 2022 40 4 "—" denotes a recording that did not chart.
Singles as featured artist Title Year Peak chart positions Album NZArtistPeak positions for Pere's singles on the NZ Artist singles chart: For "Tōrea": NZHot NZHotArtist "Te Matatini Ki Te Ao" 2018 — 31 8 rowspan="4" "Pakipaki Mai" 2019 — 24 4 "Stay" 2020 16 10 1 "Minamina" — — — "—" denotes a recording that did not chart.
Promotional singles
Title Year Peak chart positions Album NZHotArtist "Mahuru" 2020 9 "—" denotes a recording that did not chart.
Other charted songs
Title Year Peak chart positions Album NZArtist NZHot NZHotArtist "Tōrea"2018 20 27 13Te Kākano "Kia Tika Rā" — — 13 "Raumati" 2019 — — 14 "—" denotes a recording that did not chart.
Guest appearances Title Year Other artists Album "He Rā Hou Tēnai"2017 Awatea WihongiPao Pao Pao, Vol. 1 "Pao Pao Pao" Te Whānau Pao Pao Pao, Makaira Berry, Mareikura Nathan, Awatea Wihongi "Tū Mai"2018 Makaira Berry, Hamiora Tuari, Mere Arihi Pipi-TakokoTe 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 TaiapaTākaro Tribe "Ahakamana" Makaira Berry, Puawai Taiapa
References