This Kiwi kapa haka group has gone viral for their AWESOME cover of Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' in Te Reo Māori!

Publish Date
Thursday, 29 November 2018, 10:13AM

The Hātea Kapa Haka group, from Whangarei, have found online fame after their awesome cover of Queen's iconic hit 'Bohemian Rhapsody' in Te Reo Māori went viral on Facebook.

The group, who collaborated with internet sensation William Wairua, created the music video as a way to pay tribute to the band's lead singer, Freddie Mercury, and to celebrate the release of the Queen biopic, also titled 'Bohemian Rhapsody'.

Hātea Kapa Haka head tutor Pauline Hopa said: "I have always loved the song, Bohemian Rhapsody. But never in my life did I think that we would be part of something this big."

WATCH MORE:
Kiwi woman's te reo Māori makeover of Disney hit will blow you away
New Zealand dance crew The Bradas wow with Māori-inspired routine on US dance show

"We only had two weeks to sort the song out with our group ... So we really had to get the team moulded because this was something new for us and some of our younger vocalists didn’t know the song. Once they did, it was like 'woah!'."

The music arrangement was conducted by David Tāpene, while the lyrics were translated by his daughter Te Amohaere Morehu, Otene Hopa and Raniera Harrison.

The video was shot at Waiwera, north of Auckland.

The video, posted to William Waiirua's Facebook page, has received over 3,000 likes and been shared over 2,000 times.

Take your Radio, Podcasts and Music with you