Opetaia Foaʻi is the singer-songwriter credited for songs on *Moana* (2026) alongside Lin-Manuel Miranda and Mark Mancina.
Foaʻi is a Tokelauan-Tuvaluan musician born in Samoa and raised in New Zealand. He is best known as the founder and lead figure of Te Vaka, a Polynesian band whose music helped bring Pacific musical traditions and languages into the *Moana* project. His contribution complements Miranda’s English-language songwriting and Mancina’s arranging and film-score work.
Foaʻi’s connection to the franchise began with the 2016 animated film. He composed or co-composed material including “We Know the Way,” “An Innocent Warrior,” and “Logo Te Pate”; Miranda wrote English lyrics for “We Know the Way.” Foaʻi and Mancina also returned for *Moana 2* and the live-action adaptation.
A common mix-up is to treat Miranda as the sole songwriter because of his fame and prominent credits. The music’s distinctive Pacific identity is a collaboration, with Foaʻi supplying cultural, linguistic, melodic, and performance expertise.