After three weeks of showcasing talented teenagers from around Aotearoa, Take The Mic has crowned its winner! Molly Pawson from Dannevirke took out the top spot on the new WhitebaitMedia talent show, going up against 11 other emerging Kiwi singers and songwriters and premiering their music videos to audiences across the country.

Every weekday for the last three weeks, Take The Mic has highlighted rising musical stars from New Zealand aged between 15-18 years old, as they work with industry professionals to create their very own music video. The docu-series has brought some fantastic talent to our screens, with the teens handpicked by music video director Connor Pritchard and musician Mikey Dam. After audiences met all 12 contestants, voting opened for the public to choose their top three, with over 19,000 votes cast from around the country. Making it to the finale was Rhythm Titimaea, Carl Quaitchanon (CJ), and Molly Pawson, with Connor and Mikey ultimately decided that Molly’s passion and creativity when creating her music video should see her take out the competition.

Handpicked from over 200 entrants, Molly Pawson impressed the judges with her original song ‘Home’, before working with the professionals on an ethereal music video shot in the forest which featured breath-taking interpretive dance. For winning the competition, Molly will receive a song writing, coaching and brand development package with Sole Academy, a recording session with Five AM Studios, a music video directed by Connor Pritchard, and a Rockshop voucher, all to further develop her love of music and song writing.

Music video director Connor Pritchard commented on Molly’s win: “Mikey and I had the hard task of choosing the winner of Take The Mic, between three extremely talented and very different musicians. We chose Molly Pawson because of her amazing concept, and the planning and story boarding which resulted in an epic final music video which kept us engaged. Huge congratulations to Molly and the other contestants!”

Take The Mic was created by WhitebaitMedia with funding from NZ On Air. The full season is now available to stream on TVNZ+.