The tumultuous year of 2021, a year of challenges and ups and downs. Throughout it all, one thing has been consistently positive and that is Tomorrow People. With their feel-good energy, the band has released a new song on the First Friday of every month during 2021, culminating now in the full album reveal – aptly titled 21.
The album 21 features the 11 #First Friday tracks, two Māori bonus tracks, and three new previously unreleased tracks.
“21 represents a celebration for us. After a year of challenges, it is a nice way to wrap everything up,” says band music director, Avina Kelekolio.
“21 not only showcases the hard work we put in during the year, but it also represents maturity within the band and in some ways, a new start, kinda like a 21st birthday,”
The Tomorrow People #FirstFridays campaign was born from a team decision by the Platinum-selling band in late 2020 where they would commit to writing and releasing a new song every month for the calendar year 2021.
Their unorthodox release strategy was initially a risk, but has become a huge success with fans and loyal supporters strongly behind the idea and loving the fresh approach. The band is extremely proud of the numbers they have been able to achieve to date.
The singles ‘Just A Little Bit’, ‘Vows’, ‘Don’t Worry Baby’ and ‘My Guy’ have all achieved substantial airplay this year - with the four songs prominent on the Radioscope charts across 46 weeks this year. ‘Just A Little Bit’ a particular stand-out with A rotate across Mai fm and 27 weeks in the top 100 airplay chart. An incredible feat!
On top of that, all singles released for #FirstFridays this year have featured on the Hot NZ Singles Chart, with seven of the singles also featured on the overall Hot 20 Chart.
The 16-track album features three new tracks, including ‘See You One Day’, ‘Da Da Da Da Da’ and ‘Better Off Alone’. These songs join the powerhouses that have preceded them this year and cemented the Tomorrow People name as one of the most popular played acts across New Zealand radio.
Wellington’s Tomorrow People are one of Aotearoa’s most loved reggae bands. The seven-piece group, made up of Avina Kelekolio, Tana Tupai, Hennie Tui, Fredwyn Kisona, Te Aranga Savage, Snow Chase and Duane Te Whetu, have a string of Gold and Platinum hits to their name including ‘Souljah Feeling’, ‘Feel Alright’ and ‘Take It Away’.
The band have also been nominated at the 2021 Aotearoa Music Awards with a nod for Best Roots Artist,
Since emerging in 2010, Tomorrow People have released two full-length albums and two EPs, including 2018’s critically-acclaimed BBQ REGGAE, which debuted at #1 in the Official NZ Album Charts and earned them a number of awards. 21 is out now - HERE
Catch up on where you can see Tomorrow People perform live in 2022 HERE