Pop duo Laiika remember the musical moments that made them in this week’s episode of FIRST.

What was the first CD you ever bought? Heidi Simpson thinks hers was probably a Hannah Montana CD. “I was the biggest Hannah Montana fan for years.” The first song her bandmate Grace Moller remembers loving? ‘Just Dance’ by Lady Gaga. “It was like this song from outer space … like this new level of exciting music.”

First big concert? Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream tour was “life-changing … the most incredible thing I’d ever seen”, says Heidi. Grace remembers spotting Taylor Swift’s mum in the crowd during the Red tour. “I waved at her, and she waved back, and I cried.”

What does this tell us? For one thing, they are probably a lot younger than you (maybe you know Grace’s dad Buzz from indie legends Voom), and also they’ve been living and breathing huge pop anthems most of their lives. And that comes through in the music they’re now making under the name Laiika.

The duo’s latest single ‘Any Way You Want It’, with its SingStar-inspired music video, distills all these influences into the kind of pure pop banger we haven’t heard here since the days of TrueBliss and Deep Obsession. Between that song and their first single ‘Crush’, Laiika could be our next big pop hope.

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This episode of FIRST was made with the support of NZ On Air.