Lavina Williams
Birth nameLavina Rose Williams
Also known asMiss L
Lavina Williams
Born (1979-06-13) 13 June 1979
Auckland, New Zealand
GenresRnB
Soul
Occupation(s)Singer
Musical Theatre Actress
Years active1996–present

Lavina Rose Williams (born 13 June 1979) is a New Zealand musical artist and musical theatre performer.

Williams began her career as a member of the 1990s the girl group Ma-V-Elle.[1] The group had multiple songs in the New Zealand music charts, including Never Say Goodbye, Freedom, Show Me Heaven, and Three Flow.[2]

In 2006, Williams competed in the 4th season of Australian Idol, finishing in the top 8 of the competition.[3]

Williams briefly joined her younger sister's girl group Young Divas in 2007.[4] She has since pursued a musical theatre career, performing in The Lion King,[5] Hairspray,[6] Dream Girls,[7] and Sister Act.[8]

As a singer, she has been the backing vocalist for many New Zealand artists including Ginny Blackmore and Stan Walker.[9] She featured in her brother J. Williams's song Stand with You, which reached 6th in the New Zealand charts.[10]

Williams has also featured in some of Mika Haka's singles, including Coffee[11] and Loved Me A Man.[12]

Ma-V-Elle

The group formed at James Cook High School, Manurewa in the mid 1990s. Ma-V-Elle's name comes from the first names of the three members - Marina, Lavina and Maybelle.[13] The group was originally managed by Tim Mahon.[14] Their debut album Spoken To was released in 1997, with the trio touring nationally and internationally, including two performances at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London.[15]

Member Marina Davis left in 1998 for religious reasons, with Maybelle and Lavina continuing as a duo. The group released their second album, Angel in 1999, with a heavier, drum and bass-inspired sound.[16] Both Maybelle Galuvao and Lavina Williams were nominated for the Most Promising Female Vocalist award at the 2000 New Zealand Music Awards, losing to Vanessa Kelly of Deep Obsession.[17]

Ma-V-Elle performed together for the first time in 13 years with a surprise reunion at the 2013 Pacific Music Awards.[18] The group released new single "Let's Go (To the Sky)"[19] and performed at the Parachute music festival in January 2014.[20]

Australian Idol

Top 24: "(You Make Me Feel like) a Natural Woman" by Aretha Franklin
Top 12: "If I Ain't Got You" by Alicia Keys Bottom 2
Top 11: "Bring Me to Life" by Evanescence
Top 10: "Don't Leave Me This Way" by Thelma Houston Bottom 3
Top 9: "Too Much Heaven" by The Bee Gees
Top 8: "Best of My Love" by The Emotions Eliminated

Notable performances

Williams has been a regular performer at Christmas in the Park. She performed in 2014,[21] and returned in 2015 to sing a solo of Joy to the World and perform Aotearoa with Stan Walker.[22][23] She also performed in 2016,[24] 2017,[25] 2018,[26] and 2019.[27]

She performed regularly at the Big Gay Out event at Coyle Park. She has performed in 2014,[28] 2015,[29] 2016[30] and 2017.[31]

Personal life

Williams is the older sister to J. Williams, Emily Williams and Ezra Williams.[32]

She was born in New Zealand, and is of Samoan and Fijian descent.[33]

Discography

with Ma-V-Elle

Albums

  • Spoken To (1997)
  • Angel (1999)

Singles

Year Title Peak chart positions Album
NZ[34]
1997 "Show Me Heaven" 36 Spoken To
"Three Flow" 43
"Depend On Me" —
1998 "Freedom" 29
"Love Is" —
"Angel" Angel
1999 "Never Say Goodbye" 26
"Don't Be So Shy" —
2013 "Let's Go (To the Sky)" Non-album single
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
Year Title NZ peak chart position
 Certifications
(sales thresholds)		 Album
2009 "Stand with You" (by J. Williams) 6 Young Love
(and Collector's Edition)
2014 "Coffee" (by Mika Haka) — — Non-Album Single
2016 "Loved Me A Man" (by Mika Haka)
2020 "Tahi" (by Mika Haka) The Aroha Collective[36]
"Rima" (by Mika Haka feat. Yorke)
"Whitu" (by Mika Haka feat. Mokoera Te amo )
"Waru" (by Mika Haka)
"Iwa" (by Mika Haka feat. King Homeboy & Te amo)

Awards

Year Award Ceremony Award Work Art Result Ref
2000 New Zealand Music Awards Most Promising Female Lavina Williams Music Nominated [37]
2017 The Variety Artists Club of New Zealand Inc Pacific Entertainment Award for Top Female Vocalist Won [38]

References

  1. ↑ "Throwback Thursday: Turns out the 'You Only Wanna Be With 2' ad is still an absolute banger". The Spin Off. 3 August 2017. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  2. ↑ "MA-V-ELLE charts". NZ Charts. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  3. ↑ "Lavina Williams Out Of Australian Idol 2006". Alistair Lattimore. 9 October 2006. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  4. ↑ "Divas pull out of gig". Herald Sun. 11 February 2007. Archived from the original on 14 May 2009. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  5. ↑ "About the Mentor". New Zealand Music Commission. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  6. ↑ "PRODUCTION INFORMATION: DOMINION RD THE MUSICAL". Theatre Review. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  7. ↑ "Lavina Willams – Vocal Coach for NZ's X-Factor Tutors our Students!". katikati college western bay of plenty. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  8. ↑ "Sister Act: POSTPONED". Eventfinda. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  9. ↑ "Singer shares her skills". Katikati Advertiser. 25 August 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  10. ↑ "Stand by you charts". Charts NZ. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  11. ↑ "Mika - "Coffee"". Scoop. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  12. ↑ "Mika Haka – Loved Me A Man". Scoop. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  13. ↑ "Names -> Band Name Origins -> M". Am I Right. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  14. ↑ "Blam Blam Blam Profile". Audio Culture. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  15. ↑ "Ma-v-elle". Amplifier. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  16. ↑ "Pair pressure". NZ Herald. 13 November 1999. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  17. ↑ "2000 Winners". NZ Music Awards. Archived from the original on 23 October 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  18. ↑ "Pasefika Proud Pacific Music Awards Winners Announced". NZ Music Awards. Archived from the original on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  19. ↑ "Ma-v-elle". Facebook. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  20. ↑ "MA-V-ELLE". Parachute. Archived from the original on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  21. ↑ "Broods headline Coca-Cola Christmas in the Park". NZ Herald. 18 November 2014. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  22. ↑ "Top 12 things to do in Auckland for Christmas". NZ Herald. 26 November 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  23. ↑ "Christchurch gets in the festive spirit". Stuff NZ. 29 November 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  24. ↑ "Thousands defy the rain to attend Christmas in the Park". NZ Herald. 10 December 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  25. ↑ "Christchurch gears up for annual Christmas in the Park". Stuff NZ. 25 November 2017. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  26. ↑ "Damp night ahead for Christchurch Christmas in the Park goers". Stuff NZ. 23 November 2018. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  27. ↑ "Christmas in the Park 2019: Rules, banned items, stage times and lineup". Stuff NZ. 10 December 2019. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  28. ↑ "LYC Big Gay Out 2014 celebrates diversity and condom culture". Scoop. 7 February 2014. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  29. ↑ "Lavina Williams, Emily Williams and J.Williams RATHER BE (cover) Clean Bandits". Youtube. 13 February 2015. Archived from the original on 17 December 2021. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  30. ↑ "Big Gay Out Auckland New Zealand 2016". Youtube. 5 June 2016. Archived from the original on 17 December 2021. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  31. ↑ "ENDING HIV BIG GAY OUT". Auckland Pride. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  32. ↑ "Kiwi singer Raze on her transition from dancer to soul singer". Newshub. 22 May 2019. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  33. ↑ "About the Artist". New Zealand Music Commission. 9 September 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  34. ↑ "MA-V-ELLE IN NEW ZEALAND CHARTS". charts.nz. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  35. ↑ "Gold / Platinum Singles". Radioscore. Archived from the original on 14 October 2008. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  36. ↑ "Aroha Collective". Spotify. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  37. ↑ "AWARD HISTORY 2000". New Zealand Music Awards. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  38. ↑ "AWARDS". The Variety Artists Club. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
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