Bic Runga (born Briolette Kah Bic Runga on January 13, 1976) is a New Zealand singer-songwriter, musician, producer, and occasional actress. Born in Christchurch, she is of Maori and Chinese Malaysian descent. Her music combines pop, folk rock, and understated singer-songwriter traditions, marked by intimate vocals, melodic clarity, and carefully arranged instrumentation. She plays guitar, drums, and keyboards.
Runga began performing while still at school, learning drums at eleven and guitar at fourteen. In 1993, she and musician Kelly Horgan entered the Smokefreerockquest competition as the duo Love Soup. Their third-place finish led to a recording contract with Pagan Records. With support from an Arts Council grant, Runga recorded an early version of the material that would become her debut release. She later moved to Auckland, where she spent time writing and performing in cafes before signing with Sony Music New Zealand in 1995.
Her breakthrough came with "Drive," a restrained pop ballad that became a Top 10 hit in New Zealand and won the 1996 APRA Silver Scroll for songwriting. The song formed the centerpiece of her debut album, Drive, released in 1997. The album reached number one in New Zealand, became one of the country's best-selling records, and established Runga as a major figure in local music. Its singles included "Bursting Through," "Sway," "Good Morning Baby," and "Drive." "Sway" later gained a wider international audience after appearing in the films American Pie and Cruel Intentions.
Runga followed the success of her debut with the live album Together in Concert: Live (2000), recorded with Tim Finn and Dave Dobbyn. Her second studio album, Beautiful Collision (2002), extended her commercial and artistic reach. It again topped the New Zealand album chart and produced several enduring songs, including "Get Some Sleep," "Something Good," and "Listening for the Weather." The album eventually received a ten-times-platinum certification in New Zealand.
Her third studio album, Birds (2005), continued her collaboration with prominent New Zealand musicians, including Neil Finn and Anika Moa. It became her third consecutive number-one studio album. That year, Runga also appeared in the Australian film Little Fish as a nightclub singer and recorded a version of "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart" for the soundtrack.
Runga's later albums include Belle (2011) and Close Your Eyes (2016), while Try to Remember Everything (2008) collected rare, unreleased, and previously unavailable recordings. Her work has earned numerous New Zealand Music Awards, including a reported total of twenty Tui awards. In 2006, she was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to music. She was inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame in 2016.
After a long gap between albums of original material, Runga returned in 2026 with Red Sunset. Co-produced with Kody Nielson and partly written and recorded in Paris, the album introduces vintage French-pop influences while retaining the measured, melodic character of her earlier work. It confirmed her continuing importance in New Zealand music and demonstrated her willingness to develop rather than simply revisit her established sound.