Music Industry News

Today, Lovers Comet, the new album from Aotearoa soul artist TEEKS (Ngāpuhi, Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Ranginui) bursts into our stratosphere marking the arrival of a bold new chapter for one of Aotearoa’s most renowned musical voices.

Five years on from his platinum-certified, chart-topping debut Something To Feel, TEEKS returns with a 12-track collection that finds him stepping into his most liberated and fully realised form. At its heart, Lovers Comet is a celebration of love in all its complexity, exploring desire, sexuality, identity and the transformative power of trusting yourself.

Leading the album’s release is focus track Headlights, a standout moment in a body of work that sees TEEKS embrace a lighter, more playful and intricately layered sound, without losing the emotional depth and unmistakable vocal power that have defined his artistry. As TEEKS explains:

“Sonically nostalgic of the 80’s, I wanted to make something I could put on in the car on a late night drive. This is a song about choosing yourself and finally walking away from a relationship that wasn’t good for you.”

Crafted alongside producers Terence O’Connor and VIIN (Vincent Pham) across Aotearoa and Australia, Lovers Comet emerged from a creative environment built on trust, openness and a shared commitment to pushing boundaries. The result is a record that feels both expansive and deeply intimate, with TEEKS allowing parts of himself previously held back to come into the light.

Where Something To Feel explored emotional awareness, longing and unrequited love, Lovers Comet shifts the perspective towards freedom, self-discovery and the exhilaration of letting go. Charged with lust, tenderness and romanticism, the album takes its name from the rare celestial phenomenon of a comet passing through the sky, reflecting the fleeting yet profound nature of love and the lasting impact it can leave behind.

“I think I’ve gotten really good at trusting my intuition,” TEEKS shares. “Early on in my career, creating the first couple projects, I was very young and still trying to figure myself out. It’s hard to trust yourself when you’re new to everything, and still figuring out who you are and what you want to say. I definitely learned that trusting my intuition above anything else is the most valuable thing.”

That trust has opened the door to some of TEEKS’ most vulnerable songwriting to date. Beyond its exploration of romance and desire, Lovers Comet challenges colonised ideas of masculinity and invites a more fluid understanding of love, sexuality and sensuality. Across its 12 tracks, TEEKS explores the many dimensions of queerness and the ways culture, identity and social conditioning shape our relationships with ourselves and others.

Titled after the Greek god of love and passion, opening track Eros sets the tone for an album pulsing with yearning and desire, pairing celestial strings with atmospheric drums and impassioned vocals. ‘Promised Land’ explores love as a spiritual ritual, while ‘Overdose’ captures the addictive nature of desire. Written in LA with New Zealand pop artist Thomston, ‘Put Your Love On Me’ playfully unpacks the push and pull of a situationship. Five years on from his debut, TEEKS is more sure of himself than ever, with Lovers Comet marking the arrival of an artist fully coming into his own.

Since emerging with his platinum-certified 2017 EP The Grapefruit Skies, TEEKS has established himself as one of Aotearoa’s most distinctive and celebrated artists. His 2021 debut album Something To Feel debuted at #1 on The Official Top 40 Album Chart and delivered platinum-certified singles Remember Me and First Time. The record earned him multiple Aotearoa Music Awards, including Best Solo Artist, Best Soul/RnB Artist and Best Māori Artist, alongside MTV Europe Music Awards’ Best NZ Act in 2021 and Rolling Stone AU’s Best New Artist in 2022.

TEEKS’ international reach continues to grow, with the United States now his biggest streaming market and more than 200 million global streams and 2.5 billion short-form video views to his name. His music has also found a particularly devoted audience in South Africa, where First Time has achieved 2x platinum certification, while Something To Feel bonus track Oil & Water has also achieved platinum status in the country. In August this year, TEEKS made his South African live debut, with shows in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg.

With Lovers Comet, TEEKS invites listeners into his intimate inner universe. It is the sound of an artist embracing every facet of himself, trusting his instincts and discovering the freedom that comes with loving without limits.

Stay tuned for New Zealand tour dates announcing next week.

TEEKS AUSTRALIAN TOUR DATES
NOV 10 – Astor Theatre | Perth
NOV 12 – The Forum | Melbourne
NOV 14 – The Princess Theatre | Brisbane
NOV 18 – Sydney Opera House | Sydney
NOV 19 – Her Majesty’s Theatre | Adelaide
Tickets here.

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TEEKS creates a sacred space where deep intention and integrity intertwine, demanding to be felt by all senses. Blending a rich baritone timbre with storytelling steeped in liberating vulnerability, the critically acclaimed Māori soul artist weaves together emotional catharsis, connection and culture to create a musical experience that is nothing short of spiritual.

TEEKS has established himself as one of New Zealand’s most acclaimed artists, creating music that resonates deeply with audiences around the world while remaining grounded in authenticity, culture and purpose.
Globally recognised for his rich, raw vocal range and captivating storytelling, the multi-award winning singer-songwriter has been likened as the male version of Adele by Vogue, found fans in legacy acts including Wu Tang’s RZA, and made an undeniable global impact as one of New Zealand’s most successful musical exports. His platinum certified 2017 debut EP, The Grapefruit Skies, introduced TEEKS as a rare visionary voice, earning him the Aotearoa Music Award’s Best Māori Artist honour.

In 2021, his acclaimed platinum debut album Something To Feel solidified TEEKS’ magnetic star power, reaching #1 on the NZ Album Chart and producing the platinum-selling singles ‘Remember Me’ and ‘First Time’. The record saw TEEKS recognised as the Aotearoa Music Award’s Best Solo Artist, Best Soul/RnB Artist, and Best Māori Artist, as well as taking out the MTV European Music Award’s Best NZ Act 2021 and Rolling Stone AU’s Best New Artist 2022, placing him as an unparalleled act with an innate ability to alchemise deep emotional release into globally resonating storytelling.

Built through pure, organic connection and an uncompromising sense of self, TEEKS has established a dedicated community of fans around the world, today accumulating more than 200 million global streams and 2.5 billion short form video views. The US has become TEEKS’ #1 streaming market, his international reach emphasized by 2025 American Idol winner Jamal Roberts covering First Time on the show’s grand finale. First Time also took on a life of its own in South Africa, going viral and becoming 2x platinum certified after South African actor Natasha Thahane shared the track to her millions of followers. Something to Feel bonus track Oil & Water followed suit with platinum certification in SA.