There's no doubt Tauranga teenage brother and sister duo Elijah and Leilani Taula can sing individually – but get them on stage together and their voices make a 'powerful” performance.

Tauranga teenage brother-sister duo Leilani and Elijah Taula. Photo: Victor Alexeyev.

Elijah, 15, and his 17-year-old sister Leilani, sang together for the first time in front of about 20,000 people at Parachute Music Festival's talent show – Parachute's Gotta Lotta Talent – on January 25-27 at Mystery Creek Events Centre in Hamilton.

Together, Elijah and Leilani sang their way through auditions and semi-finals judged by celebrity judges including Auckland singer/songwriter Ginny Blackmore – but in the end it was an open text vote that saw the pair take out the competition.

'It was really nerve racking to begin with,” says Elijah. 'We were practising and making mistakes backstage, but as soon as we got out there we just got really confident.”

Despite the usual sibling squabble to begin with, Elijah says Leilani convinced him to sing ‘Little Talks' by Of Monsters and Men at the talent show, which he is grateful for and is pleased he listened to his big sister. After all – it is Leilani who inspired him to start singing.

'She's been singing ever since she was born; and as a little kid, I always looked up to her and thought maybe I should try singing as well,” says Elijah.

The win has secured the pair a spot in next year's line-up at Parachute Music Festival 2015 – and a recording of their single, to be played on Christian radio network Life FM, is also on the cards.

'God played a big role in it. It's a lifelong dream of ours to be doing stuff with music and we're hoping this is just the beginning,” says Elijah.