The Greatest (Six60 song)

2019 single by Six60

"The Greatest"

Single by Six60
from the album  Six60
Released| 26 July 2019 (2019-07-26)
Genre| Pop
Length| 2:51
Label| Epic, Massive
Songwriter(s)|

* Evan Bogart
* Malay
* Marlon Gerbes
* Matiu Walters
* Printz Board

Producer(s)| Malay
Six60 singles chronology
| "Up There"
(2017)  | "The Greatest"
(2019)  | "Catching Feelings"
(2019)

|
|

Music video
"The Greatest" (lyric video) on YouTube

"The Greatest" is a song by New Zealand band Six60, released as the lead single from their third album Six60 in July 2019. The song was a commercial success, becoming triple Platinum certified in New Zealand. In 2023, a new Māori language version of the song, "Te Taumata", was used as the theme song for the 2023 Te Matatini kapa haka festival.

## Background and composition

[edit]

The song was written and produced by the band in collaboration with American music producer Malay, and was one of the first songs the group wrote together with Malay.[1] The song was inspired by a 1964 photo of British band the Beatles meeting boxer Muhammad Ali. The band wanted to create a song expressing how they wanted to continue to strive to be better musicians and people.[2] The song was not one of the first tracks recorded during the album's recording sessions, but after its creation became the song that expressed the energy of what they wanted to achieve for their 2019 album.[3]

The single artwork is an homage to the photo of the Beatles and Ali.[2]

## Release and promotion

[edit]

The song was released on 26 July 2019, as the leading single from their third studio album Six60.[4][5] The band released a trailer for their documentary Six60: Till the Lights Go Out at the time of the release of "The Greatest".[6]

In 2023, "The Greatest" was re-recorded in Māori as "Te Taumata". The track was translated with the help of Max Matenga, and served as the theme song of the 2023 Te Matatini kapa haka festival. The song will be released as the 50th song released from He Tau Makuru, an album project celebrating the 50th anniversary of Te Matatini.[7][8]

## Critical reception

[edit]

The song was nominated for the Aotearoa Music Award for Single of the Year at the 2019 New Zealand Music Awards, losing to "Soaked" by Benee[9]

## Credits and personnel

[edit]

Credits adapted from Tidal.[10][11]

* Printz Board – songwriting
* Evan Bogart – songwriting
* Matt Chamberlain – drums
* Ji Fraser – guitar
* Malay – engineer, guitar, production, songwriting
* Marlon Gerbes – guitar, keyboards, songwriting
* Raul Lopez – assistant recording engineer
* Chris Mac – bass guitar
* Emerson Mancini – mastering engineer
* Manny Marroquin – mixer
* Eli Paewai – drums
* Six60 – performer
* Matiu Walters – songwriting, vocals

## Charts

[edit]

| Chart (2019)  | Peak
position

|

New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[12] | 3

### Year-end charts

[edit]

| Chart (2019)  | Position

|

New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[13] | 30
Chart (2020)  | Position
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[14] | 24
Chart (2021)  | Position
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[15] | 50

## Certifications

[edit]

Certifications for "The Greatest"  Region  | Certification | Certified units/sales

|
|

New Zealand (RMNZ)[16] | 6× Platinum  | 180,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Schulz, Chris (8 October 2022). "Meet the secret super producer behind Lorde and Six60's success". The Spinoff. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
2. ^ a b "Kiwi music giants Six60 release first single from new album drawing inspiration from iconic photo". The New Zealand Herald. 26 July 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
3. ^ Six60 (25 March 2020). "SIX60 - The Greatest (Behind the song)". YouTube. Retrieved 12 April 2023.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
4. ^ "LISTEN: Six60 Drop New Single 'The Greatest'". George FM. 26 July 2019. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
5. ^ "The Greatest - Single". iTunes. 26 July 2019. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
6. ^ "Six60 Are Back With Feel-Good Song 'The Greatest'". More FM. 26 July 2019. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
7. ^ Hurihanganui, Te Aniwa (12 January 2023). "Six60 tune transformed into kapa haka festival anthem". 1News. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
8. ^ "TE MATATINI HERENGA WAKA HERENGA TANGATA 2023 THEME SONG INSPIRES GREATNESS". Te Matatini. 22 February 2023. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
9. ^ Andelane, Lana (14 November 2019). "As it happened: 2019 Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards". Newshub. Archived from the original on 14 November 2019. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
10. ^ "Credits / The Greatest / SIX60". Tidal. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
11. ^ "Credits / SIX60 / SIX60". Tidal. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
12. ^ "Six60 – The Greatest". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
13. ^ "END OF YEAR CHARTS 2019". NZ Music Charts. RMNZ. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
14. ^ "END OF YEAR CHARTS 2020". NZ Music Charts. RMNZ. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
15. ^ "END OF YEAR CHARTS 2021". NZ Music Charts. RMNZ. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
16. ^ "New Zealand single certifications – Six60 – The Greatest". Radioscope. Retrieved 21 February 2025. Type The Greatest  in the "Search:" field.

* v
* t
* e

Six60

* Eli Paewai
* Chris Mac
* Ji Fraser
* Marlon Gerbes
* Matiu Walters

Albums|

* Six60 (2011)
* Six60 (2015)
* Six60 (2019)
* Castle St (2022)

EPs|

* Six60 (2017)

Songs|

* "Someone to Be Around"
* "Rise Up 2.0"
* "Don't Forget Your Roots"
* "Only to Be"
* "Forever"
* "Don't Give It Up"
* "Rivers"
* "Closer"
* "Rolling Stone"
* "Vibes"
* "Up There"
* "The Greatest"
* "Catching Feelings"
* "Please Don't Go"
* "Raining"
* "Never Enough"
* "Long Gone"
* "Sundown"
* "Fade Away"
* "All She Wrote"
* "Pepeha"
* "Before You Leave"
* "Never Been Tonight"
* "Always Beside You"

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