The announcement that hip-hop star Cardi B is coming to Bay Dreams 2019 is the biggest thing to happen to Tauranga for years, according to superfan Sharmila Ngawharau.

"It's huge, not just that she's coming to New Zealand, but she's coming to Tauranga."

The 25-year-old female rapper, who is arguably one of the biggest names in music today, will perform at Mount Maunganui's ASB Baypark Stadium on January 2 as a headline act at Bay Dreams. It will be her first New Zealand performance, also headlining Nelson's Bay Dreams festival on January 4.

Ngawharau said Cardi B could easily have had her own show in Auckland.

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"I think it's really awesome. It's really exciting, and it's everywhere - my friends, family, everyone is talking about it," she said.

"I was just on the phone to a friend, and all we talked about was that Cardi B was coming, where is she going to stay? Will she take her baby to the beach? etc."

Ngawharau said she had been unsure whether she would go to Bay Dreams this summer "but now Cardi B is going I really want to go".

"I think why I like her so much is she's a different version of Nicki Minaj. Cardi B still has something about her that's humble."

The former Love and Hip Hop: New York reality television star really broke through the music scene last year with her track Bodak Yellow (Money Moves). It was with that single she became the first solo female rapper to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Ngawharau said she was a little worried that, due to demand, she might miss out on tickets.

"I don't have the money to just get a ticket right now. If a had known earlier she was coming, I would have made sure I was able to get a ticket. I might have to try to win some competitions or something."

Final tickets for Bay Dreams went on sale last night at 7pm.