The Vodafone Pacific Music Awards 2018 winners were announced last night at the Vodafone Events Centre in Manukau honouring Pacific Island musicians contributions to NZ music throughout the years as well as up and coming artists.

Here is the full list of winners as well as performance, red carpet and behind the scenes pics from the night.

On the red carpet - 

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AWARDS & WINNERS 

Phillip Fuemana Award - Most Promising Pacific Artist 

POETIK 

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NZ on Air Radio Airplay Award 

BROOKE FRASER - 'THERAPY' 

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NZ on Air Streaming Award 

KINGS - 'WE'LL NEVER KNOW' 

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Sam Kiles who was nominated for 'Best International Artist' performing at the Pacific Music Awards 

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NZ on Air Best Pacific Music Video Award 

SAMSON RAMBO - 'HERE TO STAY' (GENERAL FIYAH) 

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SIT/MAINZ Best Producer 

PARKS, BRANDAN HARU & JULIEN DYNE - 'ROYAL BLUE 3000 EP (LADI6)

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FLAVA Best International Artist 

TENELLE - 'FOR THE LOVERS' 

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Raze (Ezra Williams) who was nominated for Best Female Pacific Artist performing at the Pacific Music Awards 

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Last night Janet Jackson was honoured with an 'Icon' award becoming the first black female artist to receive the award.  She performed a medley of her hits and dancing right alongside her on stage was Samoan professional dancer Isaac Tualaulelei.

At the 0:49 mark he comes into view on the far right side of the stage (black & white checkered shirt) dancing to Janets 'Nasty Girls' 

He tweeted after the performance: 

And in celebration of Janet's new doco mini series coming out yesterday, he tweeted his look from behind the scenes at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards 

Check out more of Isaac's dance & choreography work on his Youtube channel here

Isaac is a proud Samoan Professional Dancer, Instructor and aspiring Choreographer originally from Seattle, WA and currently residing in Los Angeles.…more

LEITIS IN WAITING is the story of Joey Mataele and the Tonga leitis, an intrepid group of indigenous transgender women fighting a rising tide of religious fundamentalism and intolerance in their South Pacific Kingdom.

The film follows devout Catholic Joey as she organises an exuberant beauty pageant presided over by a princess, provides shelter and training for a young contestant rejected by her family, and spars with American-financed evangelicals who threaten to resurrect colonial-era laws which would criminalise the leitis’ lives.

With unexpected humour and extraordinary access to the kingdom’s royals and religious leaders, Joey’s emotional journey illuminates what it means to be different in a society ruled by tradition, and what it takes to be accepted without forsaking that tradition and culture.

This film won the Audience Awards at FIFO International Documentary Festival in Tahiti 2018 and the Commonwealth Film Festival 2018 in London. Joey was recently awarded the Commonwealth heads of Government Award as one of the influential LGBTI leaders in the Commonwealth.…more

40 Samoan teams from Australia, Samoa and New Zealand compete in the Auckland Samoan Basketball Competition!

Ratu Kadavulevu Schools under 18 side have created history by becoming the first Fijian school to win the Sanix World Youth Rugby Tournament in Japan!

RKS defeated New Zealand's champion high school, Hastings Boys High School 35 - 5 in the final and beat out Framesby High School from South Africa in the quarter finals and Australia's St Augustine's College in the semis.

Awesome for development for the game in the Pacific! 

Watch the 1st half of the game in the video above and the 2nd half in the video below 

Photo credit: Facebook/Sanix World Rugby Youth Tournament

WANTOK -'One Talk' is a gathering of Melanesian artists, who explore the spiritual and symbolic nature of hair

"We are taking ownership over ourselves, our bodies, our stories, and telling them ourselves." – Reina Sutton. 

Curated by Luisa Tora, the show acts as a voice to empower and amplify the artists’ stories. “This conversation about hair is one we've all had at some point, with family, with friends, with complete strangers. I think people with curly hair stand on the front line in the battle against othering and attempts to control brown bodies.” – Luisa Tora.

Nine Melanesian female artists based in Australia and Aotearoa, contributed the high impact works, commenting on the power and the colonisation of Pacifica women's hair in different ways.

‘Black Birds’ members Emele Ugavule and Ayeesha Ash opened the morning with a performance in the gallery space. “It was important for us to be a voice for those who’ve lived outside of Fiji because that’s our lived experience and it’s a valid one, just as valid as those who do live back in Fiji.…more

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson was on the Graham Norton show recently promoting his latest movie 'Rampage'.

He talks about his grandfather High Chief Peter Maivia being the inspiration behind his character Maui in the Moana movie, Samoan tatau and then raps one of his Maui verses!