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First Place in the 2021 Lion Foundation Songwriting Competition was Morgan Castello from Kaipara College, with her song ‘Strange Love'. Congratulations!
Morgan received the Lion Foundation Songwriting Competition 1st Place Trophy,
and $1,000 NZ Rockshop voucher. Also an NZ On Air “Special Tracks” grant of up to $8,000 for recording the track professionally and to make a music video.
All finalists received a signed certificate, a $50 NZ Rockshop voucher and a day in a professional recording studio to the value of $750 to record the song entered- well done to all of our finalists.
All songs have been mastered for the annual album, available for download Free on all platforms.
To all entrants, thank you for entering and sharing your original songs with us.
Thank you to the Lion Foundation, NZ On Air, Rockshop, Trillian Trust - all of our funders, patrons and supporters who make this possible. We love working for young NZ songwriters
"Strange Love"
Kaipara College
(Auckland)
The first place-getter in the 2021 Lion Foundation Songwriting Competition is Morgan Costello with her song 'Strange Love'. Morgan has been a successful Play It Stranger songwriter for the last three years.
Mike Chunn - our CEO - says: "Morgan has a complete array of songwriting skills. From cool chord structures to evocative lyrics; an understanding of prosody and how it brings songs to the right detail and story-telling. Her time at Kaipara College has proved her to be a musician and writer of great worth. 'Strange Love' is a song that deserves first place."
The 2021 Play It Strange School Of The Year Award goes to Gisborne Girls High School for having the most songs in the Top finalist list of 93 songs - Congratulations!
"Pōhutukawa"
Kaipara College
(Auckland)
This is so exciting and I am over the moon for the girls. They have put many years of hard work into bringing waiata into our music way and they can be very proud of the contribution they have made for us and all supporting the kaupapa. Love your work - Nick Roberts, Kaipara College Tumuaki Tuarua/ Deputy Principal
"Dance With Me"
Wakatipu High School
(Queenstown)
Our Lyric Award judge this year was Play It Strange trustee Sonja Hawkins. She had this to say about Billie’s song; 'I choose this song because I felt a real beauty in the words, both in a literal sense and metaphorically. A story of living life, overcoming struggles and love and companionship overriding.’
"All In My Head"
Kaipara (Auckland)
"Almost"
St Patrick's College (Kilbirnie)
"Angel Of Something"
St Andrew's College (Christchurch)
"Angels Cries Of Joy"
Tolaga Bay Area School
"Be You"
Otumoetai College
"Beats Generation"
Otumoetai College
"Better Off On Mars"
Gisborne Girls' High School
"Bitter"
Selwyn College
"Bleed"
St Andrew's College (Christchurch)
"Boneman"
Taieri College
"Breathe"
Gisborne Girls' High School
"Broken Love"
Otumoetai College
"Come And Go"
Mt Aspiring College
"Complexion"
Papamoa College
"Consequences"
Kaipara College
"Cousins"
Hutt International Boys' School
"Crooked Teeth"
Epsom Girls' Grammar School
"Dance with me"
Wakatipu High School (Queenstown)
"Designer Perfume"
ACG Parnell College
"Different"
Gisborne Girls' High School
"Distance Is Just Space"
Marist College
"Earthquake"
St Andrew's College (Christchurch)
"Fake Angel Energy"
Baradene College
"Feel My Vibe"
Papatoetoe High School
"Freedom"
Gisborne Girls' High School
"Girl Named Sue"
Western Springs College, Mt Albert Grammar and Epsom Girls Grammar
"Golden Sand"
Kerikeri High School
"Gumboots And Rugby Shorts"
Wellington College
"Home"
Long Bay College
"I Can't Remember
What I'm Chasing After"
Selwyn College
"I Don't Talk To No One"
Home Schooled
"I Wanna Fly With You"
Liston College
"In Another Life"
Epsom Girls' Grammar School
"In My Head"
Gisborne Girls' High School
"In The Evening"
St Andrew's College (Christchurch)
"Its Time To Stop"
Kristin School
"Justify"
Rangitikei College
"Ka Pōpōroroa ahau"
Papatoetoe High School
"Kopara"
Gisborne Girls' High School
"Let Me Drown"
St Andrew's College (Christchurch)
"Let Them Eat Cake"
Hamilton Girls' High School
"Let's Move To The Seaside
And Never Feel Lonely Again"
Thames High School
"Lose Control"
Papamoa College
"Materialistic Paradise"
St Peter's College (Palmerston North)
"Medusa's Son"
Otumoetai College
"Meet Me In Rome"
Napier Girls' High School
"Move Forward"
Gisborne Girls' High School
"Mumma"
Rototuna Senior High School
"My Everything In
One Picture"
Gisborne Girls' High School
"No Rush"
Pukekohe High School
"Noisy"
St Cuthbert's College (Epsom)
"Okay"
Gisborne Girls' High School
"Other Girl"
Hagley Community College
"Out Of Town"
Rangitoto College
"Paradise"
St Hildas Collegiate
"Part Of A Man"
Hamilton Girls' High School
"Please You"
Kaipara College
"Poetry With Justice"
Ormiston Senior College
"Pōhutukawa"
Kaipara College
"Poison"
Gisborne Girls' High School
"Reason For The Rhyme"
Wanganui High School
"Roadtrip"
Hillcrest High School
"Running Through Mars"
St Margaret's College
"Safe In My Blood"
Gisborne Girls' High School
"Scared With You"
Epsom Girls' Grammar School
"Slow"
Otumoetai College
"Smoke"
Taieri College
"Snow Job"
Sacred Heart College (Auckland)
"So Much More"
Albany Junior High School
"Sober"
Nelson College For Girls
"Soul Sister"
Gisborne Girls' High School
"Strange Love"
Kaipara College
"String Around My Ears"
Hillcrest High School
"Stuck In Time"
Hamilton Boys' High School
"Subtle Dreams"
Manurewa High School
"Summer"
Samuel Marsden Collegiate School
"Take Me home"
Tolaga Bay Area School
"Te Po"
Gisborne Girls' High School
"Teenage Refuge"
Papamoa College
"The Late Late Show"
Hillcrest High School
"THE LOVERS (Epilogue)"
Northcote College
"The Unwanted"
Mt Aspiring College
"Those Girls"
Epsom Girls' Grammar School
"Time"
Mt Maunganui College
"To My (fake) Exes"
Selwyn College
"Turn A Blind Eye"
Home Schooled
"U-92"
Te Kauwhata College
"Unity"
Papatoetoe High School
"Vaccine"
Ormiston Senior College
"We Dance In The Rain"
St Andrew's College (Christchurch)
"What do I do?"
Gisborne Girls' High School
"Windowpane"
Kaipara College
"With You"
Gisborne Girls' High School
"You are Enough"
Gisborne Girls' High School
"You Don't Care About Me"
Westlake Girls' High School
*If there is incorrect finalists information regarding a song title, writer name, etc please email info@playitstrange.org.nz to have it corrected -please put the song title in the subject line.
The Lion Foundation Songwriting Competition
This is New Zealand’s national secondary school songwriting competition, and has yielded thousands of entries from around the country over the past 15 years.
The competition is open to all secondary school students, years 9 to 13, in New Zealand.
This competition celebrates and embraces the voice of our youth through song.
Here is a chance to have your song recorded in a professional recording studio to the value of $750. Over forty songs are recorded, mastered and included on the annual Play It Strange album which is made available for free download and streaming. These songs are enjoyed and embraced by many - schools, community, whanau, peers and the wider music community.
2022 Winners | 2022 Soundtrack • 2021 Winners | 2021 Soundtrack • 2020 Winners | 2020 Soundtrack • 2019 Winners | 2019 Soundtrack • 2018 Winners | 2018 Soundtrack • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011 • 2010 • 2009 • 2008 • 2007 • 2006 • 2005 • 2004
Songwriting is a craft of the imagination and we believe that the creative environment surrounding songwriters should foster, expose and celebrate these songs.
We run songwriting competitions with lyric, Maori language, Peace Song awards and others alongside. And we record at least 40 finalists each year in professional recording studios.
Songwriting, performance, and recording are the three pivots of our music evolution.
NZ Songwriters have their own take on what makes songwriting a vibrant, creative practice - read their fresh perspectives in our Songwriters Speak page
Songwriters SpeakWe've designed a poster with all key deadlines and dates for our competitions. Make sure to stick them in your calendar!
Further information about each competitions entry requirements can be found below in our "Competitions" section.
Online entry forms are now available for each competition.
Download the PDF and print it out, stick it up at school and hand it out to friends, get the word out there!
Director/Producer: Mareea Vegas / DOP: Kent Belcher / Art dept: Alex Matthews / Editor: Zac Blair /
Post production: Henry Williamson @ Thievery Studio / Hair: Luci Hare / Makeup: Tiveshni Naidoo / Clothing: Thanks to Lela Jacobs
Special thanks to NZ On Air for their Special Tracks grant which covered the recording and film making.
2018 ENTRY FORM NOW AVAILABLE
The National Secondary School Songwriting Competition is the flagship programme of the Play It Strange Trust.
2018 ENTRY FORM NOW AVAILABLE
This competition seeks songs with the lyrics embodying a focus on Peace. N.B. We are unable to offer the Hiroshima Exchange prizes this year.
2018 ENTRY FORM NOW AVAILABLE
The Winner and all Finalists have been announced.
For all secondary school students in NZ.
The competition is judged based on the originality of the cover you choose to rearrange and sing, written and performed by a kiwi artist.
Supported by a Music Grant from Recorded Music NZ.
2018 ENTRY FORM NOW AVAILABLE
Play It Strange presents a Cover Art competition to celebrate all creatives at New Zealand Secondary Schools.
This competition seeks an Album Artwork for the front cover of the 2018 Play It Strange Lion Foundation Songwriting Competition.
Play It Strange has worked for over 10 years, striving to provide secondary students with a platform they can use to pursue their musical adventures. We've held concerts, workshops and competitions, all with the intentions to provide the right environment from which students can gain confidence, self-belief and an impetus for a career path they would like to follow.
Read MorePatrons, Strange Friend Stars and our Strange Friends are a crucial and valuable community that support us.
We would love you to come on board.
All donations are tax deductible.
If you are interested in becoming a Platinum Patron or Strange Friends Star or indeed support Play It Strange in any way please give us a call, we would love to catch up and talk.
University of Waikato summer paper ‘Introduction To SONGWRITING’ has just finished.
Students have finalised the tracking of their two songs and the results are very cool.
I Know This To Be True was conceived and assembled by Geoff Blackwell of PQ Blackwell, and Ric Salizzo. It is a book about truth, beauty and wisdom. "Sixty New Zealanders in the middle of interesting lives talk about what really matters, truth and beauty, and the things they hold dear to their hearts."
Royalties from the book sales will be forwarded to PLAY IT STRANGE to further their website and school programmes.
I Know This To Be True is an incredible collection of New Zealanders discussing what it is that is important to them. PQ Blackwell have generously donated all profits from book sales to Play It Strange. We cannot thank them enough for their support of Play It Strange, and we are so grateful to be part of such a rich, inspiring project.
The book is available for purchase from any good book store in New Zealand and online. Go and get one and enjoy!
Play It Strange songwriters that have had their songs recorded for the annual CD are making cool inroads out into the world. Their career paths were fuelled from their time at school during which they sent their songs into our competitions and triumphed.
Here we have a selection of those who hit the ground running when they left school. With songwriting, performance and recording experience they were capable and poised for action.
CUSTOMERS: Those philanthropic institutions, individuals, grants bodies and funding agencies. We applaud their generosity in supporting us and their focus on the benefits we bring to the society around us.
CLIENTS: The songwriters and performers that bring their imaginative craft and performing skills to bear and we are all rewarded. From the secondary school songwriting competitions to the recording sessions for the top 40 songs.
Watch Seven Sharp's story on our WE ARE ONE - Concert for Autism here
Photo GalleryNZ Musician Magazine Review
