January 2022 · NZ #1
Mr Reggae
L.A.B.
'Mr. Reggae' is a cover of a reggae single originally written and recorded by Hawaiian musician Billy Kaui in 1977, released by L.A.B. on 26 November 2021 through Loop Recordings as the lead single from their album L.A.B. V. It reached #1 on the Official NZ Top 20 Aotearoa Singles Chart, and went on to win Single of the Year at the 2022 Aotearoa Music Awards, one of the most celebrated songs in the band's catalogue.
The original was recorded by Kaui a year after the break-up of his band Country Comfort, and is considered the first known commercial recording by a Hawaiian musician to feature reggae influences, predating the Jawaiian movement that swept the Pacific in the early 1980s. It was released as a single in Japan in 1978 through Nippon Phonogram. The song found its way to Aotearoa through the Kora brothers, Stuart and Brad, who grew up playing it at beach jam sessions near their hometown of Whakatāne, and brought it into L.A.B. as a natural extension of the band's DNA.
L.A.B. formed in Raglan in 2016, bringing together Brad Kora (drums), Stuart Kora (guitar), Joel Shadbolt (vocals/guitar), Ara Adams-Tamatea (bass) and Miharo Gregory (keys). Their sound draws on reggae, soul, funk and dub, and the band built their following through relentless gigging before becoming one of the most-streamed NZ acts of their generation. Their connection to Whakatāne and the coastal Bay of Plenty runs deep - the same landscape that would later produce Te Wehi and Hori Shaw.
The cover incorporates wah-wah pedal guitar and features guest vocals from Reiki Ruawai, with Brad Kora producing. The week of 31 December 2021–6 January 2022, L.A.B. held eight of the Top 20 Aotearoa Singles Chart positions simultaneously: 'Mr. Reggae' at #1, 'In The Air' at #2, 'Under The Sun' at #3, 'Why Oh Why' at #4, 'Controller' at #6, 'Yes I Do' at #13, 'Can You Be The One' at #18, and 'Oh Honey' at #20.
It remains one of the most dominant single-artist chart performances in the chart's history.
'Mr. Reggae' was certified 5× Platinum in New Zealand.
How we choose the #1
Each entry represents the song with the most weeks at number one on the New Zealand charts during that calendar month. Where two songs share the same number of weeks, we apply a tiebreaker based on peak chart position, then chart run longevity.
Entries marked as inferred indicate months where primary RIANZ/RMNZ chart data is unavailable. These are reconstructed from contemporary music press, radio playlists, and secondary archival sources, and are clearly labelled.
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