Ngaiire

Ngaire Laun Joseph (born 1984, in Lae), known by her stage name Ngaiire (pronounced ny-ree or /naɪəriː/), is a Papua New Guinea-born Australian-based R&B and future soul singer-songwriter.

Ngaiire was born, as Ngaire Laun J Joseph, in 1984 in Lae, Papua New Guinea, and is the eldest of three siblings.

Her Grandfather was a pastor.

She is bilingual: being fluent in English and Tok Pisin.

Her parents moved to Palmerston North, New Zealand when she was one year old to study and the family returned to Papua New Guinea (PNG) six years later.

While in New Zealand Ngaiire was diagnosed with ganglioneuroblastoma, which manifested as a cancer of her adrenal glands at the age of three.

Ngaiire and her family were living in Rabaul until the Mt Tarvurvur volcano erupted in September 1994 and covered most of the town (including their home) with volcanic ash.

She attended Sacred Heart International Primary School, Rabaul before going to Lae Christian Academy.

Her parents had divorced after returning to PNG, both subsequently remarried.

She learnt that music could make her life more stable, "When I was about 11 or 12 and I was living in PNG and singing was just one of those things I did. I listened to a lot of music. Life there has loads of craziness and so many unexpected things happen. Music gave me the ability to talk about and feel all the things that were going on in my world."

She explained, "I always viewed songs as a form of poetry that didn't necessarily need to make sense to anyone else."

In 2000, Ngaiire moved to Lismore, New South Wales, with her mother, Miriam Murphy, and stepfather where she attended Kadina High School until 2003.

She entered the local Accelerator music competition in 2002 and recorded her first song, "I Remember", for the Accelerator 2002: The Winners album at Top Cat Recording Studios, Alstonville for Windsong Records.

Her musical career commenced in 2003 with an enrollment in a bachelor of Jazz Studies at the Central Queensland University (CQU).

In 2003, She moved to Mackay, Queensland to start her Bachelor of Jazz Studies at Central Queensland University (CQU).

While at university she fronted local jazz bands.

In 2004, she competed in the second season of Australian Idol, where she competed as a semi-finalist but did not make it to the final 12 singers.

In 2004, Ngaiire's entered the second season of Australian Idol.

She was voted off while in the top 30 but was brought back as a "wild card" for the live shows.

Ngaiire was voted off a second time in the top 13.

Ngaiire with other top 12 contestants, guested on the grand final night.

Ngaiire joined Blue King Brown as a backing vocalist in 2004 following their debut single, "Water".

She recorded it with a Lismore-based band, the Rent, in 2005 and released it in Australia through WindSong Records label.

Ngaiire and the Rent toured PNG in support of the single.

Ngaiire was the featured vocalist on Paul Mac's single, "It's Not Me, It's You", released in December 2005.

The song reached No. 8 on the ARIA Club Tracks chart.

Ngaiire was a vocalist on Paul Mac's Australian tour in support of his second studio album, Panic Room.

He described her as a "diminutive bomb of goodness" to AustralianStage's Lloyd Bradford Syke.

She toured with them for the next four years in support of the band's self-titled debut EP and first album, Stand Up in 2006.

With Ngaiire they toured the United Kingdom, Japan, Europe and Canada as well as regional Australia.

She explained to Miranda Freeman of Rip It Up! that during this period she matured as a musician and learned how to be a successful independent artist.

She then worked with Blue King Brown and Paul Mac as a session vocalist before re-focusing on her solo career in 2008.

Ngaiire's debut studio album, Lamentations, was released in July 2013 and her second album, Blastoma, was released in June 2016.

Her third, 3, was released in August 2021.

This later influenced the music video for her 2013 single, "Dirty Hercules" and choice of title for the album "Blastoma".

In 2014, Buzzfeed's Mikey Nicholson ranked Ngaiire's rendition of India Arie's "Back to the Middle" in the top 10 all time Australian Idol performances.

Following Australian Idol, Ngaiire returned to her jazz studies and attempted to reduce the perceived stigma associated with appearing on the talent show.

She turned down offers from American recording industry professionals and remained independent by signing with Wantok Musik Foundation.

Her second solo recording was a four-track single, "Luv Sa Giaman", which translates as "Love Tells Lies".

In 2018 APRA AMCOS appointed Ngaiire as an ambassador.