Girl in a Savage World – Theia
by Metropol | June 24, 2026 8:35 am
She grew up riding her bike around the streets of Hoon Hay, but now this Ōtautahi-born alt-pop-rock powerhouse is hanging out in Beverly Hills. Metropol deputy editor Tamara Pitelen chats with Theia (Ngāti Tīpā, Waikato-Tainui) about music, Māori rights, and walking barefoot in liquefaction.
Long before she was touring the world, releasing critically acclaimed albums, being called the ‘future of music’ by Rolling Stone AU/NZ, or speaking at the United Nations for the rights of Māori, pop/rock star Theia was riding her bike around Hoon Hay.
“I spent most of my childhood and teens on my bike. I had a Rally 20 and I pretty much took it everywhere. I’d go to the Rowley Ave skate park, hang out at Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Whānau Tahi, and the Hoon Hay dairy. I still love the fish and chips, whether it’s from the Cracroft fish and chip shop or the one on Hoon Hay Road by Pioneer,” she says.
The earthquakes remain etched into her memories of Christchurch, too. She was working as a lifeguard at Waltham Lido when the February 2011 quake struck.
“It was terrifying, we had a little kura group in the pool at the time. I had to cycle home; I kept having to get off my bike and walk barefoot through the liquefaction.
“But damn, I would like to say Ōtautahi is looking fine! I’m so proud of how the city is coming along, because being a teenager in the quake was devastating. I’m proud to see how it’s evolving.”
Back then, Theia was known as Em-Haley Kukutai Walker. She chose the stage name Theia at the request of the record label that released her first hit single, Roam, in 2016. The name references both a Greek goddess and a mythical planet that crashed into Earth. She liked the juxtaposition. Within four months, Roam had three million plays on Spotify.
Hoon Hay to Hollywood
On the afternoon I speak to Theia through a screen, she’s staying at a friend’s house in the iconic Laurel Canyon, a neighbourhood in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles. In the 1960s, it was home to legends such as The Byrds, The Mamas & the Papas, Carole King, Jim Morrison, and more. Today, laughs Theia, its large lesbian community is also an attraction for her.
I’ve managed to catch her the day before she flies to Canada to go on tour; meanwhile, she waits for a renewed US artist visa. Since 2021, life has largely been spent between airports, hotels, stages and temporary homes.
“It’s been an endless summer situation,” she says. “Technically, I’ve been living out of my suitcase since 2021.”
Let me try to sum up her staggering evolution as an artist in the last 10 years. Since releasing her first hit single Roam, Theia has morphed from an ethereal glitter pop princess into a fire-breathing, unapologetic warrior queen. In the best possible way.
With a loyal global fan base and critical acclaim from the likes of Rolling Stone, Clash and Billboard Magazine, her songs have earned a multitude of nominations at the New Zealand Music Awards and the Waiata Māori Music Awards. She has opened for international acts such as Sia, Mika and Peaches.
Her latest album, Girl, In a Savage World, does not, to put it mildly, pull any punches. As a fierce advocate for the revitalisation of Māori language and culture, Theia’s latest music blisters with righteous fury. Her protest single BALDH3AD! was nominated for Single of the Year at the 2025 AMAs; she calls it her “musical assault on the plague of colonisation” with lyrics like:
Plunder my motherland, pollute the sea. But still, I survive though you clip my wings. Baldhead, you tricked us with your treaty.”
Essentially, this is a woman who has no more frocks to give. With a BA from the University of Canterbury in Māori and Indigenous Studies, she was the perfect person to champion the rights of Māori at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Rights in April. She took the stand after being appointed Oceania Ambassador for the Indigenous Youth Storytellers Circle, an initiative connected to the United Nations International Decade of Indigenous Languages.
“I’m obviously extremely political. My new music has been able to have such strong political messaging and reach communities all over the world, in terms of not holding back any punches regarding my feelings about the coalition government and this new wave of colonialism… I am here to represent my nannies who were beaten till they bled in the native school system. There’s no way that my nannies would cower, so I’m not going to.”
In her speech to the world’s leaders at United Nations (which you can watch on her Facebook page), Theia said: “The New Zealand government continues to lick the festering wounds of colonialism and dispossession with their right-wing policies, which incite anti-Maori sentiment and dismantle the decades of progress we have made in recovering and strengthening our culture, language, identity, health, and well-being, violating the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
“Since 2023, they have forcibly removed our native language from government agency names and practise with their English-first policy… the government is silencing our native language that just three generations ago was beaten off the tongue of my grandmother in the native school system, punished till she bled for speaking her own tongue, punished for being Māori.”
Wahine toa
The fact that Theia has found her voice is even more surprising when we go back to the shy little girl on her bike in Hoon Hay who struggled with confidence.
“When I was about seven or eight, I really struggled with bullying and expressing my feelings. I would barely utter a word at school. I didn’t even take music in high school because I was
so intimidated.”
Instead, she wrote poetry, which became songs. Then she found someone in Halswell who could help with basic beats. “I started making tinny recordings of those songs and pitched them to radio stations like RDU and George.”
Local radio played her music, which led to an opportunity in Auckland. Then Sydney. Then a record deal. In the decade since then, she has undergone a metamorphosis into the “fearless” (as described by Rolling Stone AU/NZ) artist she is today, but for all the international success, global stages and growing influence, home remains the constant thread running through her story. She has just finished her first term of a Masters degree in Indigenous Studies at Auckland University, and as Matariki approaches, her thoughts are with her marae.
“Every year, our marae celebrates Matariki with a hautapu. It’s so beautiful. I’ll be celebrating alone, mokemoke for home and wishing I was there.”
From here, I get the feeling that Theia is going to go harder and dig deeper. Whawhai tonu, e te wahine toa.
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Quickfire with Theia
Favourite dish from childhood: My mum’s mac and cheese, which I still sometimes try and make. It’s so banging, and she would serve it with the Bluebird sour cream and chives crisps on the side, and coleslaw. It sounds super random, but that’s literally my favourite. And Moosies from school, those cute frozen squeegee drinks.”
Any pets? I had a cat but she died during Covid. Shout out to my gorgeous cat, Ginnikins was her name. My family was so sweet. I was in Tāmaki Makaurau, so when she got put down at the Hoon Hay Vets, they FaceTimed me, so I was able to give her a karakia as she was going to sleep. We had a lovely departure ceremony. She’s buried in mum’s garden.
Best thing about living in LA? You see so many icons everywhere. I went to the Beverly Center last week, and as I was walking in, Jane Lynch walked out. She was really cute, she
smiled. Then I was going for a walk and Shawn Mendez was just walking along. It’s really funny. You just see everyone. They’re just people, very successful people, but they’re just normal and doing their thing.
Sunday morning? I go to a café, see a friend, then go straight to uni, because it’s the quietest day, and work on my studies until about 6pm. But I always start with a beautiful coffee, no matter what, it is a ritual. I just love it. It’s so fun getting dressed up, getting cute, and going out for a coffee. And then locking in on study.
What’s your coffee? A cortado with oat milk, which is pretty much like a really cute, teeny-tiny flat white. It’s technically equal parts espresso with milk. It’s strong, it whacks you across your face, and that wakes me up. I love it.
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