The music stars in this country just keep getting younger and younger. Benee is only 20, Jawsh 685 is a teenager, but the next rising star - Stan Walker's niece Ibanez Maeva - is just seven years old.
Known to her whanau as 'Ibee', the talented young singer took to the stage with her proud uncle for a performance of his hit song 'Bigger/Tua' in both te reo Māori and English at the 2020 Aotearoa Music Awards (AMA) on Sunday.
Ibee's moving solo produced an 'awww' felt around the motu, but no one was more moved than Stan, beaming proudly at his god-daughter as she brought the house down at Auckland's Spark Arena.
"I couldn't have thought of a better night and a better performance, and a better performer to perform with!" Stan told Newshub after the show.
Having been performing since she was two, Ibee admitted it was "kind of" a big deal, and definitely "cool" to perform at the AMA, dressed in her little brother's korowai and a pounamu necklace her uncle bought for her when she was born.
"We love representing who we are, our culture, we love being Māori, we love being Polynesian. Anytime we can, we want to represent," Stan explained.
"We're two different generations but we came together tonight."
Watch the full video to see Ibee take a twirl on the red carpet and hear more about what the performance meant to Stan.
