Popstars panel tells all ROCK REGRETS, SECRET CRUSHES & DAD JOKES

What really happened when Vince, Kimbra and Nathan joined forces for their reality reboot

- Sebastian van der Zwan

When new Popstars panellists Kimbra, Nathan King and Vince Harder were first assembled in one room about two months ago, there was a lot of fangirling going on.

“To be completely honest, I was buzzing out over Nathan because I was a big fan of Zed when I was young,” confesses Kimbra, 31, who’d just escaped managed isolation after flying in from her home in New York.

“That was my era when I lived in New Zealand. I had a crush on him, but don’t worry – I’ve told his wife and she’s fine with it!”

“She thinks it’s just beautiful,” laughs Nathan, 42, adding that he and Vince had collaborated on a track a few years back. “So I knew him a little, but I was excited to take it to the next level.”

“Yeah, we’d hung out at his house and kept in touch afterwards, but we didn’t actually see each other again until we were doing this, so it was awesome to reconnect,” continues Vince, 38. “And obviously I’d followed Kimbra’s music and seen her on TV, but when I saw her in person, I was like, ‘Wow!’ I was hoping that we’d get to jam together.”

In the months since the pair have indeed been working on some tunes in the studio – and all three have formed a firm friendship, bonding over the struggles they’ve faced on their paths to stardom and the many emotional moments that come while mentoring young Kiwi musicians on the TVNZ 2 reality series.

“We’re BBFs for life now,” smiles Nathan. “We connect on a spiritual level. We’ve all had our own different journeys, but we understand each other.”