The Koi Boys Land First Record Deal!

Publish Date
Tuesday, 23 August 2016, 12:51PM

The Koi Boys, the Kiwi favourites who took over the X Factor Australia, have secured their own record deal and are releasing their debut album soon.

Kiwi boys Danny Faifai, Kevin Keepa and Ngahere "Nuz" Ngatai took the Aussie TV show by storm when they auditioned, setting their three-part harmonies to 50s doo-wop hit Sh-Boom, by the Chords (above).

They were eliminated from the competition a few weeks later when their mentor Jessie J picked another member of her team over them. It was a blow and fans retaliated, lashing out at the pop star, however things have been on the up and up for the boys since.

The Koi Boys: Kevin Keepa, Ngahere "Nuz" Ngatai and Danny Faifai. Photo / Facebook

The Koi Boys: Kevin Keepa, Ngahere "Nuz" Ngatai and Danny Faifai. Photo / Facebook

After the show, they landed a record deal with Universal and are now due to release their debut album - a mix of covers and originals - in October.

Keepa told TV3's The Hui that this is the first time a group which was eliminated outside of the X Factor's top 10 has secured such a deal.

Not bad from a group of guys from humble beginnings. Keepa was busking on the street when Faifai came across him and invited him to join his group Temperatures Rising.

They worked together, split up, and eventually reconnected in Australia, picking up Nuz - who was working in a bar called the Koi Lounge at the time (hence their name) - along the way.

Now, they work so well together their performances can be improvised using body language and eyebrow signals to find their parts and correct each others' harmonies, they told TV One's Sunday.

"It's just a platform - even if you're not the winner it's all about the exposure," Faifai says of the X Factor.

"Right now is the time for the Koi Boys. This is the strongest we've ever been. I can only see us going forward from here now we are a unit."

NZ Herald

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