By:                            REBECCA BARRY

After eight months in Paris Bic Runga is back in New Zealand for a tour with a difference.

The New Zealand singer-songwriter has shunned the usual nightclubs and stadium venues, instead opting for playing acoustically in churches.

"I have never been at home in that drinking pub venue - it doesn't really suit my music," Runga said.

Runga says the idea to play in churches was inspired by a performance she did at the Union Chapel in London last year.

"It's a real privilege to be allowed into these places and to bring people into these places."

Reverend Jenny Chalmers from the Holy Trinity Cathedral says, musical arts have often performed in churches and cathedrals.

"We always have good acoustics, even small country churches have good acoustics and they are great places for concerts," Chalmers said.

Runga has spent the past eight months making her mark in Europe. Her album Beautiful Collision has cracked the Irish top10 and British top 50.

"I have never cared about the charts before, but realised it is a tangible way of seeing your work come to fruition," Runga said.

Despite the controversy surrounding allegations of racism here, her heart is in one place only.

"I will come home, my family is here and I think New Zealanders always come home. I've been back twice, because I am a sook."

Original article is copyright 2004 to TV One