'Culturally sensitive king': Harry Styles charms New Zealand crowd with rendition of Māori folk song

The Australian and New Zealand leg of the pop star's Love on Tour shows have featured moments honouring Aboriginal and Māori culture.

Harry Styles sang Māori folk song Tūtira Mai Ngā Iwi at his Auckland show on Tuesday night. Source: Press Association / Ian West

Key Points

• Harry Styles incorproated Māori elements into his Auckland concert on Tuesday night.
• The 29-year-old sang a folk song and draped the national Māori flag around his shoulders during his performance.
• He included a Welcome to Country before each show on the Australian leg of his tour, and waved the Aboriginal flag.

English pop star Harry Styles has been praised for embracing Māori culture, following his Love on Tour show in Auckland on Tuesday night.

Videos shared on social media show Styles singing the opening line of Tūtira Mai Ngā Iwi — a Māori folk song — before the 40,000-strong crowd at Mt Smart Stadium enthusiastically joined in.

Fans expressed surprise that the 29-year-old's was aware of the song, and commended his pronunciation of the lyrics.

"We love our culturally sensitive king," New Zealand-based social media site, Sh*t You Should Care About, captioned a TikTok video of the moment.

"His pronunciation was great, some of our New Zealand media should take note," one fan wrote.

"Harry Styles singing Tūtira Mai Ngā Iwi was NOT on my 2023 bingo card," another commented.

Tūtira Mai Ngā Iwi was written in the 1950s by Māori priest Wiremu Te Tau Huata, gaining popularity after New Zealand's Ministry of Education published it in school books in the 1960s.

The song is one of unity, and is regularly sung at sporting matches and in classrooms around New Zealand.

Later in the show, Styles danced around the stage with the national Māori flag — the Tino Rangatiratanga — draped around his shoulders.

"Harry Styles asked me for the Tino Rangatiratanga fan [sic] last night and gave it back to me at the end of the show," the owner of the flag wrote alongside a TikTok video.

Before the show, Styles met with local Kapa haka group Angitu, who delivered a Pōwhiri — a traditional Māori welcoming ceremony.

The former member of One Direction attracted similar praise for his respect of First Nations people and culture during the Australian leg of his tour.

Styles included a Welcome to Country before each show, and waved a fan's Aboriginal flag around the stage in Sydney on Friday night.

Embracing other less traditional parts of Australian culture, he also did a "shoey" at his Perth show and wore a Bunnings hat in Melbourne.

The rainbow flag also regularly features at Styles' concerts around the world.