Lou’ana channels love, healing, and disco in new single ‘Heartbeat’

For Auckland-born Sāmoan singer songwriter Lou’ana, music has always been more than performance. It is heritage, healing, and connection.

With roots in the villages of Toamua and Saleufi, Lou’ana weaves her cultural identity proudly into her artistry, blending the life she knows in Aotearoa with the values and traditions of her aiga (family).

“It [music] was a lifeline,” Lou’ana says in an interview on 531pi Pacific Days. “It was a way for my family to really bond.”

“My nana, my papa and his children, their children, we all love to play music together. It's just a part of us. It's just our way of life.”

That grounding in familial musicality has shaped Lou’ana’s 12-year creative journey. She has gained notoriety for her unique sound, airy vocals, and blending nostalgic grooves with her own spirit and story.

Her latest single Heartbeat is a vibrant, disco-inspired anthem that captures the healing power and unshakable joy of music.

“Music is a heartbeat. It’s a rhythm, it’s healing, and it can just have this bliss to it,” Lou’ana says.

Lou’ana credits pioneering American disco band Chic as her muse in writing Heartbeat.

“We were able to really draw upon disco inspirations like Chic, like Nile Rodgers and really bring in that disco liberation and that disco euphoric feeling to create it.”

Watch Lou'ana's full interview below.

Having written the song years ago in a collaborative session with fellow songwriters that focused on music as a source of healing, she says Heartbeat channels both freedom and uplift.

“At the end of the day, I just want everyone to feel some joy. That song, when you hear it, definitely gives you joy.”

Heartbeat is a taste of her upcoming album Disco Witch, due for release on 31 October.

“This record is more about my self-growth, the inner work that I've done and the evolution of myself and then putting it into music. Then hopefully giving that gift to others so that they can also do the same if they want to.”

The funk-soul-disco songstress has over 2 million Spotify streams and her hit Night Creature reached number two on the Hot 20 NZ Singles Chart in 2023. Her debut album Moonlight Madness earned her Best Pacific Female Artist at the 2021 Pacific Music Awards and hit the 18th spot on the NZ Top 20 Album charts.

Lou'ana. Photo/Facebook

A seasoned performer, Lou’ana has toured solo, appeared in high-profile shows, and collaborated on tribute performances for industry legends like David Bowie, Elton John, the Rolling Stones, and the soundtrack of Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge.

While she has many milestones to celebrate, Lou’ana says it has been a winding journey.

“I’ve been a professional full-time musician for the last 12 years. There's been a lot of times where I'm like, ‘what am I doing? Why am I doing this? It’s so hard, it’s so difficult’.

“But I just always come back to the trust that there is a reason why I do it and this is all I want to do and I've been very blessed with a gift that I just have to keep trusting in.”

Beyond the stage, Lou’ana holds ‘moon circles’. She creates safe sacred spaces for women to gather, be vulnerable, and connect without judgement - a natural extension of the care and spirituality that threads through her music.

“I naturally just am always working on myself, always thinking about how to develop and evolve so that I can continue to be the best person for myself and for everyone else around me.

“I think that just naturally inspires the music.”

Through all of this - Lou'ana's Sāmoan identity, the resilience inherited from her grandparents’ migration journey from the motherland to Aotearoa, the love of her family, and her drive to foster community - her music is a vessel for healing, a bridge between worlds, and pure celebration.

“Peace and joy and fun. Just have a good time. I just would love to have you on the journey with me if my music resonates, if anything I talk about resonates…thank you so much for being a part of it and listening.”

Heartbeat is out now on all streaming platforms.