Play It Strange is thrilled to announce the winners of the 2025 National Songwriting Competition for high school students in Year 9-13, sponsored by The Lion Foundation. This year’s competition attracted a record-breaking 474 entries, a testament to the array of passion, creativity and talent among Aotearoa’s next generation of songwriters.
Play It Strange CEO, Stephanie Brown states:
“Knowing that 474 young songwriters and bands across the motu have written songs, finished songs, and had the confidence to submit them to a competition is truly mindblowing. It is a privilege for us to see inside the hearts and minds of rangatahi across Aotearoa. The quality of entries was truly outstanding, which is why we are recording 74 finalists this year: the most recordings out of any of our competitions, ever, since we started in 2003”.
Each song was reviewed by their panel of nine respected judges: Troy Kingi, Mike Chunn, PAIGE, Elliette Roslin (Founder of Elliette's Music Academy) Laughton Kora, KINGS, Matt Kidd (Co-Managing Director at Universal Music NZ), Josh Fountain andRebel Reid, who will also go on to mentor the winner. They are proud to share that from these entries; 74 outstanding songs were selected as winners.
All 74 winners receive a $50 Rockshop gift card and a day in a professional recording studio of their choice to record their song, granting them the incredible opportunity to work alongside some of New Zealand’s most recognised producers and engineers. The recorded songs get released onto digital albums via Spotify, Apple Music and Bandcamp.
First place goes to Salem Māhia Randall from Gisborne Boys High School with his stunning song ‘A girl named Abigail.’
At just 16 years of age, Salem Māhia is a 3-time Play It Strange finalist (in 2023, 2024 and 2025), in 2023 won Rockquest Solo-Duo and in 2022 won Whakaata Māori TV’s singing series 5 Minutes of Fame. You can find his music on Spotify here.
Salem will also receive:
A $10,000 music promotional package from NZ On Air
$1,500 Rockshop gift card
A mentor session with musician and Play It Strange alumni Rebel Reid
A full day in a recording studio of your choice
An interview with 95bFM and the finished track played on the radio
A performance at our Annual Awards later this year and a full day of workshops
A 1:1 Artist Development Online Session with Sacha Vee, Platinum Award Winning Artist and Founder of SOLE Music Academy
Competition Judge and Play It Strange Marketing Manager at Play It Strange, Paige states:
“It’s been so amazing hearing the amount of talent coming out of Aotearoa. It's hard to believe that most of these songs were written and produced by high school students. We are feeling really excited about the future of the music industry here in NZ.”
The strength in talent meant that second and third place were decided only by a couple of points difference. Second place has been awarded to Anamika Jones from Trinity Catholic College for her song ‘Testing my Patience’ who receives a $500 Rockshop gift card. Third place goes to Shakira Lui from Southern Cross Campus for her song ‘Bluebird,’ who receives a $200 Rockshop gift card.
All 74 finalists will become part of the Play It Strange alumni community, gaining access to performance opportunities, mentoring, ticket giveaways, backstage experiences, and lots more throughout the year!
About their sponsorship of the competition, Lion Foundation CEO Tony Goldfinch says:
“The Lion Foundation are incredibly proud to support the Play it Strange Secondary Schools Songwriting Competition, which continues to attract more young, talented songwriters from across Aotearoa New Zealand every year. Congratulations to Salem Māhia Randall for taking first place - Salem has already achieved so many goals in his songwriting journey, and this reflects true passion and never giving up on what he loves. Congratulations too to all songwriting entrants - is truly amazing to witness the exceptional artistry and innovation that emerge from these young musicians”.
About Play It Strange:
Established in 2003, Play it Strange runs annual national songwriting competitions for high school students, with finalists awarded a day in a recording studio to professionally record their songs. Play it Strange releases these songs onto digital albums and provides mentorship and performance opportunities to further develop young artists in Aotearoa. Their alumni list includes Kimbra, Georgia Nott of Broods, Liz Stokes of The Beths, Frankie Venter, Annah Mac, Louis Baker, CHAII, Luca George, Ratbag and so many more.