SIX60 Revealed As Inaugural Aotearoa Charts Icon, Live At The 2025 Aotearoa Music Awards

As part of the celebration of 50 years of the Official Top 40 Music Charts in New Zealand, the Aotearoa Charts Icon award has been established by Recorded Music NZ to recognise local artists that have had significant success in the Official Charts over an extended period.

As well as picking up the Te Taumata o te Hokona | Highest Selling Artist Tūī for a record-extending seventh time at AMA 2025, SIX60 was announced as the very first Aotearoa Charts Icon.

For the last decade and a half, SIX60 has been a near constant fixture in the Aotearoa Charts. No local act has notched up more Top 40 Singles, with 28. No other New Zealand band has landed more #1 singles, with three. The band also have an incredible four #1 albums.

Collectively, SIX60’s releases have spent a combined 586 weeks on the Singles Chart and a staggering 1,232 weeks on the Albums Chart. SIX60’s albums have collectively been certified 38x platinum, their singles 48x platinum. Their first #1 was their hit ‘Rise Up 2.0’ in September 2010. ‘Special’ hit the top of the Chart in November 2014 and ‘All She Wrote’ made it in March 2021. Many more of the group’s songs have graced the Top 10, including stone cold NZ classics like ‘Don't Forget Your Roots’ (#2), ‘White Lines’ (#5), ‘Don't Give It Up’ (#4), ‘Vibes’ (#9), ‘The Greatest’ (#3), ‘Please Don't Go’ (#2), ‘Pepeha’ (#2) and ‘Before You Leave’ (#3), to name but a few.

The hugely popular group were presented with the inaugural Aotearoa Charts Icon award, designed and sculpted in glass by internationally renowned artist Te Rongo Kirkwood. Kirkwood created the taonga following an initial concept design by Mark Roach of Muse Creative. The design centres on the kōtuku (white heron) feather, drawn from the whakataukī “He kōtuku rerenga tahi” – “a white heron’s flight is seen but once.” In te ao Māori, the kōtuku symbolises rarity, prestige and mana. As such, presenting an award with this symbol acknowledges the recipient’s exceptional impact and enduring legacy within the music landscape of Aotearoa.

Recorded Music NZ CEO Jo Oliver says:

“SIX60’s achievements in the Charts are iconic. We are very pleased to be able to recognise them with this new award in 2025 as we celebrate 50 years of the Official Music Charts in Aotearoa. The Charts and AMA are key touchstones in our musical heritage and have evolved over the years to reflect our unique cultural identity. Going forward, the Aotearoa Charts Icon award will serve as a wonderful complement to the Tūī presented by Recorded Music NZ and will provide opportunities to recognise and celebrate our most successful charting artists.”

For more iconic moments from the history of the Official Aotearoa Music Charts, click here

Official Aotearoa Music Charts

The Official Aotearoa Music Charts reflect the most popular singles and albums in Aotearoa each week. They are the only charts endorsed by the music industry and are compiled according to globally recognised guidelines.

The Charts are compiled by Recorded Music NZ and published at 4pm every Friday – the first to be published in the world each week.

For more, please visit aotearoamusiccharts.co.nz

Aotearoa Music Awards

The Aotearoa Music Awards is the annual showcase event for the music industry, celebrating artists and music from Aotearoa. The event recognises the biggest musical successes of the year while also providing a platform to promote emerging artists. Grounded in 60 years of history, the Aotearoa Music Awards has evolved to reflect our unique cultural identity. It has launched music careers, told artists’ stories and created memorable moments.

Recorded Music NZ produces the Aotearoa Music Awards and acts as its kaitiaki – preserving our musical heritage, celebrating the hits of today and paving the way for the artists of tomorrow.

For more, please visit aotearoamusicawards.co.nz

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