Opetaia Foa’I is the latest recipience of APRA AMCOS’ Billions Award, collecting honors for “We Know The Way,” one of the standout ballads from Disney’s original Moana soundtrack.
Written alongside Lin-Manuel Miranda (In The Heights, Hamilton) and Mark Mancina (The Lion King Broadway) and published by Universal Music Publishing, “We Know The Way” celebrates the rich voyaging history of Oceanic peoples.
Released in 2016, the number includes languages of Tokelau and Sāmoa sung by Opetaia, logged two weeks on the Billboard Top 100, peaking at No. 93, and was highlighted by Billboard’s Greatest of All Time Disney Songs Chart — an “historic moment for Pacific peoples with traditional Polynesian performance and storytelling reaching global audiences,” reads a statement from the PRO.
Foa’I was on hand Thursday night, July 23 at APRA AMCOS’s Sydney headquarters for the award presentation.
“One billion streams is an incredible achievement for Opetaia Foa’i and ‘We Know the Way,’” remarks Ant Healey, head of APRA AMCOS NZ. “The massive success of Moana reflects the power of authenticity – bringing Polynesian languages, culture and storytelling to global audiences in a genuine, uplifting and deeply meaningful way. It shows that authentic voices can connect with people everywhere. We are incredibly proud of his achievements.”
Alongside his band Te Vaka, Foa’I played a “pivotal role in shaping the cultural identity of the Moana soundtrack,” a statement reads, and he continued this legacy in the franchise with Moana 2 (2024) and the recently-released live action Moana remake.
The Billions Award acknowledges the rights society’s songwriter members and their publishers, and takes into account streaming numbers from Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.
It’s said to be the first award of its kind to celebrate a songwriter’s streaming achievement, and is the inspiration for the BPI’s BRIT Billion Award, which the U.K. trade association introduced in 2023.
Previous inductees into APRA AMCOS’ 1,000,000,000 List include Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker (for “The Less I Know The Better”), Flume (“Never Be Like You”), Troye Sivan and Alex Hope (“Youth”), Tones And I (“Dance Monkey”), 5 Seconds of Summer (“Youngblood”), and SHOUSE (“Love Tonight”).
