Kiwi singer/songwriter Anika Moa begins her New Zealand tour this week, and has revealed that songs from her latest album In Swings the Tide are about a difficult break-up with a woman.
"I can't pretend I'm not gay and keep acting completely straight," she told the Sunday Star-Times at the weekend. "So I just thought 'fuck it, I am who I am'."
Her sexuality had been a secret for a long time before she came out publically in the NZ Herald last October, she admits. "Then I just thought - most of these songs are about a woman, and I can't lie about that.
"Though to clarify things, I wouldn't say I was exclusively gay. I just love who I love. Whether it's a woman or a man, that's fine with me. But I thought it was time to be completely honest, and I'm glad I did. People love you for being yourself."
Moa's tour, with her band and pop musician Anna Coddington, begins in Whangarei this Thursday, then visits 14 cities and towns before ending in Auckland's Transmission Room on Saturday 9 August.
Further Anika Moa tour information is available on her official website, linked below. Her most recent video Standing In This Fire is shown below.
