Ngaire Laun Joseph (born 1984, in Lae), known by her stage name Ngaiire (pronounced ny-ree or /naɪəriː/), is a Papua New Guinea-born Australian-based R&B and future soul singer-songwriter.

[10] Ngaiire and her family were living in Rabaul until the Mt Tarvurvur volcano erupted in September 1994 and covered most of the town (including their home) with volcanic ash.

"[13] In 2000, Ngaiire moved to Lismore, New South Wales, with her mother, Miriam Murphy,[8] and stepfather where she attended Kadina High School until 2003.

[8] In 2014, Buzzfeed's Mikey Nicholson ranked Ngaiire's rendition of India Arie's "Back to the Middle" in the top 10 all time Australian Idol performances.

[18] Following Australian Idol, Ngaiire returned to her jazz studies and attempted to reduce the perceived stigma associated with appearing on the talent show.

[19] She turned down offers from American recording industry professionals and remained independent by signing with Wantok Musik Foundation.

[24] Ngaiire was a vocalist on Paul Mac's Australian tour in support of his second studio album, Panic Room.

[25] Ngaiire recorded her debut extended play, Song for No One, in 2007 with Sydney-based producer, Tony Buchen (aka Buchman).

"Glorious" was a popular track with Triple J and National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) supporting the creation of a music video, produced by Karla Conway.

[29] In 2013, Ngaiire contacted jazz pianist and producer Aaron Choulai via email, starting with, "Hey, man, I just really love what you do.

[5] Prior to finishing the album Ngaiire damaged her spine in a car accident and experienced the death of two close relatives.

[33] In 2014, Ngaiire returned from performing at the Glastonbury Festival to the news that her partner of five years (and co-producer of Lamentations) had ended their relationship.

The accompanying music video was styled in the form of an interview and biographical dream, with a live recording also being produced in the Triple J Like a Version studio.

"Diggin'" is a track that speaks of "being found before you find yourself in a permanent state of no return", and was called a "triumphant celebration of life".

[43] Howl & Echoes called it "a carefully considered, cohesive and dynamic album",[44][45] while The Interns wrote that it "form[ed] a happy marriage of old soul, experimentation and futuristic vision".

[48] In October 2019, Ngaiire released "Shiver",[49] which she co-wrote with Jack Grace, and according to the AU Review is "bout getting goosebumps for no reason in broad daylight or seeing things that your mind doesn't have the intelligence to compute.

[51] On 12 March 2020, Ngaiire released "Boom", which is reported to explore the taboo nature of sex and the tension between lust and suppression.

[52] In May 2021, Ngaiire announced the release of her third studio album 3 with the aim of "extracting unique visual aspects of my culture to present in a contemporary context".

[53] These preparations have included trips back to Papua New Guinea and a much stronger focus on collaborative songwriting than has occurred in previous albums.

[63] Her collaborations span multiple genres; including experimental jazz, contemporary synth and electro-pop, Melanesian string band, roots, blues and world music as well as hip hop, rap and future bass.

Her sound was described by Jordan Hirst of Music Feeds, as a combination of Mary J. Blige and Erykah Badu's voices mixed with M.I.A.