
Entries for 2026 close at midnight on Sunday 3 May.
Please read the Terms & Conditions before entering.
*Please note you can only enter one song per competition but you can enter multiple competitions.
Competition Summary:
For Year 9-11 students, this competition encourages young songwriters to explore their identity through the connections and experiences that shape who they are, regardless of genre, language, or style.
This year's competition will be judged by a panel of judges. The recording quality of the entry is not taken into account in the judging process.
1st place wins:
1:1 mentor session with a competition judge
Performance at our Annual Awards
Artist Development session with Sacha Vee
Lots more to be announced!
ALL finalists will have their song recorded in a professional recording studio (one day up to the value of $850+GST) to go on one of the 2026 Junior Songwriting Competition digital albums.
Entries for 2026 close at midnight on Sunday 3 May.
Please read the Terms & Conditions before entering.
*Please note you can only enter one song per competition but you can enter multiple competitions.
2025
1st Place: 'Sweetness' - Sienna Fitzgerald, Northcote College
2nd Place: 'In Ten Years'- Isabella Bedoya-Lopez, Rangitoto College
3rd Place: 'The Ballad of a Broken Poet' - Lucy Hassan, Marist College
2024
1st Place: 'He Can't Be Mine' - Breanna Osgood-lloyd Hinemaurea Wikitapu Waikari, Gisborne Girls' High School
2nd Place: 'Addicted' – Cameron Beattie, Long BayCollege
3rd Place: 'When You Say You Love Me' - Moreen Felea'i, DJ Vili & Taisha LeighLaomahei (MDT), Southern Cross Campus
2023
1st Place: 'Out of My Mind' - Rachel Stevens, Otumoetai College
2nd Place: 'Woulds & Shoulds' - Piper Grant, home school
3rd Place: 'Freak' - Vinny Haynes, Ollie Sutcliffe, Oliver Spence, Nathan Brown & Tallulah Haynes, Papamoa College

Entries for 2026 close at midnight on Sunday 24 May.
Please read the Terms & Conditions before entering.
*Please note you can only enter one song per competition but you can enter multiple competitions.
Competition Summary:
The Peace Project is a collective songwriting initiative inviting rangatahi across Aotearoa to create original works exploring what peace means to them. The focus is on purpose: using songwriting to respond to the times we are living in and contribute something meaningful through your art.
For your entry, we encourage you to write lyrics that reflect your perspective on peace – this could be personal wellbeing, relationships, communal unity, cultural identity, or global issues. Think about why peace matters right now, what it looks like in your world, and how your song can add to the wider project, regardless of genre, language, or style.
This year's competition will be judged by a panel of judges. The recording quality of the entry is not taken into account in the judging process.
1st place wins:
1:1 mentor session with a competition judge
Performance at our Annual Awards
Artist Development session with Sacha Vee
Lots more to be announced!
ALL finalists will have their song recorded in a professional recording studio (one day up to the value of $850+GST) to go on one of the 2026 Peace Project digital albums.
Entries for 2026 close at midnight on Sunday 24 May.
Please read the Terms & Conditions before entering.
*Please note you can only enter one song per competition but you can enter multiple competitions.
2025:
'At Least I'll Try' - Betty Shen, Long Bay College
2024:
'Be There With You' - Joy Feng, Westlake Girls' High School
2023:
'Fireflies' - Dani Leonie, Alice Tehaki & Sara Iese Leiataua, Papatoetoe High School


Entries for 2026 close at midnight on Sunday 28 June.
Please read the Terms & Conditions before entering.
Competition Summary:
This competition invites Year 9-13 secondary school students to share their kōrero and bring reo rangatira to life through waiata. The waiata must incorporate te reo Māori – whether it’s a few kupu (words) or the entire waiata.
This year's competition will be judged by a panel of judges. The recording quality of the entry is not taken into account in the judging process.
1st place wins:
1:1 mentor session with a competition judge
Performance at our Annual Awards
Artist Development session with Sacha Vee
Lots more to be announced!
ALL finalists will have their song recorded in a professional recording studio (one day up to the value of $850+GST) to go on the 2026 Waiata Māori Competition digital album.
Entries for 2026 close at midnight on Sunday 28 June.
Please read the Terms & Conditions before entering.
2025:
'Tai o Mate' - Ihaka Whanarere-Tauri, Manukura School
2024:
'Aku Karu Pohewa' - Uta Te Whanga Ripia-McGregor, Te Kura Māori o Porirua
2023 (Junior Maioha Award):
'E tū ngā tāngata' - Lovonia Pluck, Nayland College

Entries for 2026 close at midnight on Sunday 26 July.
Please read the Terms & Conditions before entering.
*Please note you can only enter one song per competition but you can enter multiple competitions.
Competition Summary:
Open to NZ secondary school students in Years 9-13, this flagship competition encourages rangatahi songwriters to creatively express themselves no matter the theme, genre, language or style.
This year's competition will be judged by a panel of judges. The recording quality of the entry is not taken into account in the judging process.
1st place wins:
$10,000 music video promo package thanks to NZ On Air
1:1 mentor session with a competition judge
Performance at our Annual Awards
Artist Development session with Sacha Vee
Lots more to be announced!
ALL finalists will have their song recorded in a professional recording studio (one day up to the value of $850+GST) to go on one of the 2026 National Songwriting Competition digital albums.
Entries for 2026 close at midnight on Sunday 26 July.
Please read the Terms & Conditions before entering.
*Please note you can only enter one song per competition but you can enter multiple competitions.
2025:
1st place: 'A girl named Abigail' - Salem Māhia Randall, Gisborne Boys' High School
2nd place: 'Testing my Patience' - Anamika Jones, Trinity Catholic College
3rd place: 'Bluebird' - Shakira Lui - Southern Cross Campus
2024 1st place: 'Lambs Aren't Waking Yet' - Keira Wallace, Taieri College
2024 Play It Strange School of the Year Award:
Most Winners Overall - Gisborne Girls’ High School & Papatoetoe High School
Most Winners Year 9 - 13 National Songwriting Comp - Westlake Girls' High School
2024 Best Lyric Award: 'Inside' - Declan Matthews, Kerikeri High School
2023 1st place: 'Will you love me?' - Grace Gemmell, Bayfield High School
2023 Play It Strange School of the Year Award - Gisborne Girls’ High School & Papatoetoe High School
2023 David Richwhite Lyric Award - 'Smoking' - Olive Mortimer, Rangitoto College


Entries for 2026 close at midnight on Sunday 3 August.
Please read the Terms & Conditions before entering.
Competition Summary:
This competition seeks 4 artworks to feature as the cover art for each 2026 Play It Strange competition albums. Your submission could feature as the cover art for our Junior Songwriting Competition, Peace Project, National Songwriting Competition or the Waiata Māori Competition.
This competition is open to anyone aged 13-19.
How to enter:
Submit your details and a digital file (jpeg or png) of your artwork. Artwork should be in a square format, with space for logos and the album title.
You can submit more than one artwork.
Entries for 2026 close at midnight on Sunday 3 August.
Please read the Terms & Conditions before entering.
2025
Junior Songwriting Competition - Stella Dixon 'Little Big Girl' - Mt Maunganui College
Peace Song Competition - Hanah Hammond 'Peace' - Kaiapoi High School
National Songwriting Competition - Hazel Jeffreys 'Seeds of Hope' - Queen Margaret College
Waiata reo Māori Competition - Grace Fox 'Matariki's Children' - Motueka High School
2024
Year 9 - 13 - Kyra Mayers "Blueprint Constructs", St Margaret's College
Peace - Betty Shen "In Context", Long Bay College
Year 9 - 13 - Emily Walker "Perfect People", Kaiapoi College
Te Reo Māori - Genevieve Judge "The art of Māori", Queen Margaret College
2023
1st place - Bryn Trainor "Circle", Bayfield High School, Dunedin
2nd place - Jessica Botha "Women at Work", Kingsway School, Red Beach
2022
Alia Cauty "Conspiranoid", Long Bay College, Auckland
