This article is part of our series 'Nice Song, What's It About?,' where we revisit old greats and go deep to get the stories behind them. To see the column's archive, click here.It's been 20 years since Bic Runga first released Drive, her 1997 debut album that went seven-times platinum in New Zealand and quickly propelled the then-teenaged musician to local stardom. International recognition followed two years later when "Sway", the second single from the album, found itself in adolescent bedrooms everywhere after it soundtracked a pivotal scene in one of the horniest teen movies of all time, American Pie. (So central was the innocent love song to the movie that it even made another appearance in the 2012 sequel, American Reunion.)"Sway" debuted at number one on the New Zealand charts, and in 2001 the Australasian Performing Rights Association (APRA) named it the sixth best New Zealand song of all time, in a top ten that also included songs by Dave Dobbyn, Crowded House, Dragon and Split Enz. Since Drive, Runga's output has been sparse but strong, with countless accolades and five studio albums to her name, including two produced with her partner Kody Nielson (Silicon, Opossum, The Mint Chicks).In June, Runga will play three Australian shows in Melbourne and Sydney to celebrate 20 years in music and the release of her new The Very Best Of compilation. We caught up with her ahead of the tour to find out the story behind her biggest hit.Noisey: When you were writing Drive, did you have a sense that "Sway" would be the big hit of the album?
Bic Runga: I distinctly remember writing the song – I was sitting on my porch in Auckland, in a flat that I was renting in pretty uninteresting part of town, when I was maybe 19 years old. It was one of those songs that just happened, it wrote itself. But I don't remember thinking anything about it, like whether it was good or not. I didn't have any judgement when I was writing it. It just happened.Finish reading this interview on Noisey.
Bic Runga: I distinctly remember writing the song – I was sitting on my porch in Auckland, in a flat that I was renting in pretty uninteresting part of town, when I was maybe 19 years old. It was one of those songs that just happened, it wrote itself. But I don't remember thinking anything about it, like whether it was good or not. I didn't have any judgement when I was writing it. It just happened.Finish reading this interview on Noisey.