Based in Wellington, the female girl group are quickly becoming one of the most exciting acts to emerge from the contemporary Pasifika scene, with their highly ambitious “First Thursdays” project – a year-long campaign whereby the girls release a new track on the first Thursday of every month.
The girls met each other in Intermediate, when they were just 11 and 12 years old. “We were so delusional back then. We were like, okay guys, we’re going to be signed to a label by 19 and then we’re gonig to be famous by 22′, and none of those things have happened yet – except for the label part. Shout out to Icon, love them! We just knew we were meant to do more in life, and we’re currently trying.”
As many young artists do, the girls started off doing small shows here and there, figuring our their sound and playing a lot of R&B and soul covers. “We had no business singing those love songs at such a young age. We hadn’t even had our first kiss yet, and we were singing love songs like that!”. The cover which really jumps out for Anastasia as a turning point was I Care About You, a 1997 Babyface track. “As soon as we nailed that, we figured that our blend together at such a young age was something special for us. That will always be our karaoke go-to whenever we have to warm up.”
It was also at Intermediate that the girls first met internationally recognised Pacific artist Sammy Johnson, who the trio would later go on to collaborate with on their track Make Me Believe, in what Anastasia describes as a “full circle moment”. Perhaps most surprisingly was that Sammy remembered the girls years later, when they met up again as adults. Learning that Sammy wanted to collaborate with them didn’t seem real at first. “We thought we were getting pranked. Our first conversation that we had was ‘oh my gosh, remember when we were 11 and 12 singing for him in school?’ But even back then, I remember him telling us that we have something special together, and to keep singing. We took that advice, and now we’re here.”
The road took them to nationwide television in 2021, when the group appeared on TVNZ’s Pop Stars, a reality show in which the second season brought young musicians together to live in a house and placed emphasis on original songwriting from the performers. “It was definitely a crazy experience. You go from practicing every now and then to basically living together for a couple of months. It definitely tested our friendship, but we made it out together”. Anastasia credits both the constant pressure to perform, as well as living together, which helped to shape their sisterhood. She remembers them being among the first to rise in the morning, and the last to sleep at night, always rehearsing, rehearsing, rehearsing.
Since then, the group have continued on an upward trajectory, having been nominated for Best Group and Radio Airplay awards at the 2025 Pacific Music Awards. “Our management knew that we were winning, but they never told us. We were up against legends like Adeaze, and they’re like, they’re up there in terms of music legends and people that we look up to. When it was announced, I’m literally ‘jaw-drop’. My jaw is on the ground and the camera catches it as well.”
Earlier this year saw the girls opening for Samoan artist Josh Tatofi, both in New Zealand and Australia. One of the things which sticks out the most for Anastasia was “just being able to have a crowd full of our own people, seeing them being proud of us becuase we see all our Polynesian families as our family. It was loud!” One of their favourite shows was in Christchurch, performing to a more intimate crowd of perhaps 50-100 people. “It was the smallest crowd, but you could feel the pride.”
The girls are currently right in the middle of their “First Thursdays” project, where a new single is released on the first Thursday of every month. “I don’t know who’s idea it was to release a song every 1st Thursday of the month, but me and the girls are currently eating, sleeping, waking up to music, and it’s now a lifestyle that we enjoy. It’s hard, definitely hard, but it’s helping to shape our music. It’s allowing us to think more freely when it comes to songwriting becuase you don’t have time to be hard on yourself. You’re kind of just following your intuition, or following your heart in a sense.”
A highly ambitious project, there is an element of pressure as each of the girls have their own families, jobs, and timelines. Trying to balance these has been a journey by itself, but it seems to be working. The juggling of a 9 to 5 is a reality for a lot of music artists in New Zealand, and Anastasia describes it perfectly as being “like living two different lives”. While there is a lot of sleep lost, the girls rely on each other, and support each other whenever needed.
Their record label, Ikon, have been like “big brothers” on the journey, helping out with anything they can. The girls signed with Ikon very soon after concluding their Pop Stars run, just as the group were on the verge of breaking up, with some of the group wanting to move overseas and start new chapters in their lives. The label’s desire to sign the group was a sign to the girls that they needed to stay together.
Outside of music, Anastasia says that family is the most important thing for her. “We hold our families in high regard, and we just just up knowing that we’re going to be taking care of our parents when they’re old, just like they took care of us growing up. Trying to spend time with them is the number one thing that we’ll do, if we’re not making music.”
When she does have a little time to herself, Anastasia is a bit of a gamer, with Modern Warfare being her game of choice. “Obviously with first thursdays, I haven’t had time to log on, but I would say I’m pretty decent. I just found out that Aaradnah also plays Modern Warfare, so that’s pretty cool”. But, it sounds that a challenge isn’t going to be on the cards any time soon – “she would kick my ass, I’m okay, but I don’t think I’m that level. I feel like Aaradnah is a pro player. I’ve been trying to convince the girls, but they just aren’t having it!”
Keep an eye out on the first of each month for First Thursdays, where the girls will be releasing a new track – the rest of which are yet to be written.
