KINGS

New Zealand born producer, rapper, singer, songwriter, KINGS (Kingdon Chapple-Wilson) hails from Auckland’s North Shore and has been producing music under his self-run label Arch Angel Records since 2010.

Career

Based out of Northcote, Auckland’s Awataha marae, which was built by his grandfather Arnold Manaaki Wilson, KINGS (Tūhoe, Te Arawa) started his career providing music production services for companies around the world for use in commercials, television and film^[1]. He first learned the skills of his trade from completing a foundation year course at MAINZ^[2]. Taking what he had learned in commercial music production, KINGS embarked on a solo career in the mid-2010s, first making a name for himself on a number of tracks with some of New Zealand’s established electronic producers including Dan Aux, General Lee, and Jolyon Petch.

KINGS then burst onto the music scene in 2016 with the release of his debut single ‘Don’t Worry ‘Bout It’. The track went on to become the biggest local release that year and surpassed the record for longest #1^[3] on the New Zealand Singles Chart, spending 33 consecutive weeks at the top. Written, recorded, mixed and mastered by Kingdon, like all of his music, the same went for the DIY music video^[4], which he filmed impromptu in Fiji and then edited on the plane ride home. ‘Don’t Worry ‘Bout It’ went on to sell double platinum, has had over 8 million streams and 1.5 million video views, and took home the ‘Highest Selling New Zealand Single’ and ‘Radio Airplay Record of the Year’ awards at the 2017 Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards.

KINGS’ followed up ‘Don’t Worry ‘Bout It’ with his self-titled debut EP, which also included the singles ‘What We Supposed To Do’ and ‘Someday’. KINGS then cemented his big year by taking home ‘Breakthrough Artist of The Year’ at the 2016 Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards, as well as ‘Best Pacific Male Artist’, ‘Best Urban Artist’, ‘Best Producer’ at the Vodafone Pacific Music Awards.^[5]

In late 2017, KINGS returned with his independently released debut album ‘Chapter One’^[6]. Featuring the singles ‘We’ll Never Know’^[7], ‘Domino’^[8] and ‘In The Sun’, the album has clocked up over 3 million streams across its 13 tracks. KINGS quickly followed it up with his second album ‘TWO’, in early 2018, which featured the singles 'You Do' and ‘Temporary Me’^[9]. In less than six months the album clocked up over 4 million streams and saw KINGS receive an 2018 APRA Silver Scroll Award finalist nomination for ‘Temporary Me’.

In the live setting, KINGS has performed at some of New Zealand's biggest events and festivals, including Rhythm and Vines, One Love, Bay Dreams, Electric Coastline, Soundsplash, as part of the 2017 British and Irish Lions tour and at the Wellington Sevens and ASB Tennis Classic. He also supported Six60 on their 2018 summer tour alongside Norwegian duo Nico & Vinz.

In recent times, KINGS has collaborated with some New Zealand’s most acclaimed artists including Tali, Melodownz, Ria Hall and Shihad Jon Toogood’s The Adults project.

Discography

EPs

Year	Title	Details	Peak chart positions
Year	Title	Details	NZ
2016	KINGS	Label: Arch Angel Records/Warner Music NZ

Studio Albums

Year	Title	Details	Peak chart positions
Year	Title	Details	NZ
2017	Chapter One	Label: Arch Angel Records
2018	TWO	Label: Arch Angel Records

External Links

This sandbox is in the article namespace. Either move this page into your userspace, or remove the {{User sandbox}} template.

KINGS

New Zealand born producer, rapper, singer, songwriter, KINGS (Kingdon Chapple-Wilson) hails from Auckland’s North Shore and has been producing music under his self-run label Arch Angel Records since 2010.

Career

Based out of Northcote, Auckland’s Awataha marae, which was built by his grandfather Arnold Manaaki Wilson, KINGS (Tūhoe, Te Arawa) started his career providing music production services for companies around the world for use in commercials, television and film^[10]. He first learned the skills of his trade from completing a foundation year course at MAINZ^[11]. Taking what he had learned in commercial music production, KINGS embarked on a solo career in the mid-2010s, first making a name for himself on a number of tracks with some of New Zealand’s established electronic producers including Dan Aux, General Lee, and Jolyon Petch.

KINGS then burst onto the music scene in 2016 with the release of his debut single ‘Don’t Worry ‘Bout It’. The track went on to become the biggest local release that year and surpassed the record for longest #1^[12] on the New Zealand Singles Chart, spending 33 consecutive weeks at the top. Written, recorded, mixed and mastered by Kingdon, like all of his music, the same went for the DIY music video^[13], which he filmed impromptu in Fiji and then edited on the plane ride home. ‘Don’t Worry ‘Bout It’ went on to sell double platinum, has had over 8 million streams and 1.5 million video views, and took home the ‘Highest Selling New Zealand Single’ and ‘Radio Airplay Record of the Year’ awards at the 2017 Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards.

KINGS’ followed up ‘Don’t Worry ‘Bout It’ with his self-titled debut EP, which also included the singles ‘What We Supposed To Do’ and ‘Someday’. KINGS then cemented his big year by taking home ‘Breakthrough Artist of The Year’ at the 2016 Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards, as well as ‘Best Pacific Male Artist’, ‘Best Urban Artist’, ‘Best Producer’ at the Vodafone Pacific Music Awards.^[14]

In late 2017, KINGS returned with his independently released debut album ‘Chapter One’^[15]. Featuring the singles ‘We’ll Never Know’^[16], ‘Domino’^[17] and ‘In The Sun’, the album has clocked up over 3 million streams across its 13 tracks. KINGS quickly followed it up with his second album ‘TWO’, in early 2018, which featured the singles 'You Do' and ‘Temporary Me’^[18]. In less than six months the album clocked up over 4 million streams and saw KINGS receive an 2018 APRA Silver Scroll Award finalist nomination for ‘Temporary Me’.