A trio of young Samoan-Kiwi opera singers who toppled Lorde from the top of the album sales podium last year have signed a record deal in the UK.
Sol3 Mio, made up of brothers Pene and Amitai Pati and their cousin Moses Mackay, formed as a way for the trio to pay their way to the prestigious Wales International Academy of Voice in Cardiff.
Now, they've signed a record deal with the UK's Decca Records.
The label's president Dickon Stainer said the signing marked "the arrival of the next global superstars in mainstream classical music".
Released just five weeks before the end of 2013, Sol3 Mio's self-titled album sold so quickly it became the best-selling album in New Zealand for the year.
It took over Pure Heroine by Lorde, who had to cope with second-highest album sales.
The album features Sol3 Mio's take on opera classics such as O Sole Mio and Nessun Dorma, and pop songs including My Way and Ten Guitars.
The trio were born in Samoa but moved to New Zealand at a young age and are now based in Wales but will return home for a national tour in March.
