JUDGES

From Home Brew to @Peace, Average Rap Band, and Avantdale Bowling Club, Tom Scott is an era-defining Aotearoa hip-hop artist. His work has been shortlisted for the Taite Music Prize six times (a record) and he's won Best Rap Album with Home Brew and Album of the Year with Avantdale Bowling Club.

Born in Hawai‘i and splitting her time between New York and Aotearoa, Deva has played legendary stages from Carnegie Hall to SXSW and the Montreal Jazz Festival. A multi-year APRA Silver Scroll finalist, Grammy-winning collaborator, and performer at the 2021 Biden/Harris inauguration, Deva’s music is powerful, purposeful, and impossible to forget.

Jordyn with a Why has won Best Female Artist at the 2023 Waiata Māori Awards, the 2024 APRA Maioha Award for her waiata “He Rei Niho,” and Best Pacific Music Album at the 2025 Pacific Music Awards with her debut record. She's an artist with a mission to share waiata reo with the world and has had 8 songs hit the NZ Top 20 Charts!

Aaradhna's music blends contemporary sounds with her Pacific and South Asian roots and had a platinum #1 hit 'Getting Stronger' in 2004. With a Grammy nomination and numeruous NZ Music & Pacific Music Awards, Aaradhna is one of the most influential voices across the Pacific.

In 2025 Cassie reached the finals of The Voice Australia, won an AMA for Best Pop Artist, and had two long-running #1 radio singles in NZ. She has headlined national tours, played major festivals, and supported international acts across Australia and NZ.

Pacific R&B artist Sam V has won Back-to-Back-to-Back-to-Back Best R&B-Soul Artist awards at the Pacific Music Awards in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025. A noted singer, songwriter and performer, Sam V's captivating vocal execution and musicality continues to distinguish himself as a trailblazer and pioneer of Pacific R&B in the national and global landscapes.

Kaylee Bell is the Most Streamed Female Country Artist in Australasia, has charted on the US billboard and won major international awards and multiple AMA's. She supported Ed Sheeran on his sold-out stadium shows, before releasing her #1 hit "Boots N All."

Shaan Singh is the lead singer and saxophonist for one of Aotearoa's biggest bands, Drax Project. Their triple-platinum smash hit "Woke Up Late" has been streamed over 100 million times and with countless AMA's under their belt, the band have also opened for huge acts such as Ed Sheeran, Lorde, Christina Aguilera and Camila Cabello.

A household name for over a decade, Gin Wigmore has released four albums to critical acclaim, with her first album release 'Holy Smoke' currently certified 4x Platinum and her second 'Gravel & Wine' 2x Platinum. Her hit "Oh My" took over airwaves across Aotearoa and was certified Gold after 10 weeks on the NZ charts.

Avondale MC, rapper and poet Melodownz started his career in his West Auckland bedroom, composing reggae-tinged hip hop rhymes and raps inspired by his Samoan/Pākehā upbringing and community. Melodownz was awarded Most Promising Artist at the 2019 Pacific Music Awards and was nominated for Breakthrough Artist of the Year award at the 2020 Aotearoa Music Awards.

Jennie Skulander is the lead singer of metal band Devilskin, who have scored 4 #1 albums – one of which went platinum – and been awarded Best Rock Artist (2017) and People's Choice (2025) at the Aotearoa Music Awards.

Bret McKenzie is a Grammy and Academy Award winning artist most well known for his band Flight of the Conchords and their TV show that brought huge international success. Bret released his solo album Songs Without Jokes in 2022 and recently wrote music for A Minecraft Movie.

Noema is a proud Ngāti Porou, award-winning artist, producer, songwriter and musician. He's worked with top Kiwi artists like Paige, Alayna, Troy Kingi, Kaylee Bell, Anna Coddington and MOHI, and received the APRA Silver Scroll in 2024 and APRA Maioha Award.

Ria is a blazing force in Aotearoa music, with a #1 record, an APRA Silver Scroll win, and multiple NZ chart-topping hits. Her music tackles both political and personal stories, cementing her as one of Aotearoa’s most powerful voices.

RIIKI REID is an indie-pop artist and producer who's had multiple hits on the NZ Hot Single Chart, including #1 "Good Times" and "Over Romantic," which was ZM's most played song and remained on the charts for 5 weeks straight. RIIKI has shared the stage with Lorde, Fazerdaze, L.A.B.m and Dave Dobbyn, and performed at major festivals like Homegrown.

Edy is a music producer, mix engineer, artist manager and content creator that you might recognise from his TikTok live streams, which have gained him over 358K followers on socials and surpassing 2M+ monthly content engagements across his platforms. His popular studio sessions have earned interactions from Timbaland, Charlie Puth, Ty Dolla $ign, Kehlani, Brandy, Jessie Reyez and Tone Stith to name a few.

A Play It Strange alumni from 2022, Frankie received a personal invite by Coldplay to open two sold-out Eden Park shows and wrapped up 2025 with a 12-date nationwide tour. She recently toured the USA, announced her first international festival in Sydney, and is set to headline a 7-show tour across Aotearoa. Frankie was also nominated for Best Pop Artist at the 2025 AMA’s.

A true Aotearoa music legend, Laughton Kora co-founded the platinum-selling band KORA with his brothers, touring NZ and the world and earning major award nominations. He’s also part of Black Comet, an original member of L.A.B, and a long-time member of Fly My Pretties.

Paige is an award-winning singer-songwriter from Auckland, New Zealand, who has won the world over with her honest and heartfelt songs. Her 2023 debut album KING CLOWN saw Paige nominated for Album of the Year and Best Pop Act at the 2024 AMAs. Paige's 2020 EP, ALWAYS GROWING, has been certified platinum in South Korea and won her the Best Māori Female Solo Artist award at the 2021 Waiata Māori Music Awards.

Before founding Play It Strange in 2003, Mike was the bassist of iconic kiwi band Split Enz and Citizen Band, before moving to Mushroom Records, where he signed The Exponents and DD Smash (Dave Dobbyn’s band). Mike was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) in 2005 for services to music and mental health awareness.

Nat is the front-woman and songwriter of Ōtautahi-born indie band There’s A Tuesday, who have played international headline shows and supported artists like Conan Gray, BENEE, Spacey Jane, Julia Jacklin and The Beths. The band have been APRA Silver Scroll Top 5 finalists twice, nominated for Best New Artist by Rolling Stone, as well as Breakthrough Artist of the Year at the 2022 AMA's.

Boh Runga is an iconic Aotearoa singer-songwriter, and is both the frontwoman and guitarist of hit band stellar* alongside a successful solo career. The band have scored chart-topping songs and won multiple Aotearoa Music Awards, helping shape kiwi pop in the 2000s and inspiring artists ever since.

With over 50 million streams to his name, Muroki was the first artist signed to BENEE’s label Olive records. Muroki has been praised by Elton John, performed at Aotearoa’s biggest music festivals, toured Australia and performed in LA and Berlin. An award-winning platinum artist, he’s collaborated with LEISURE, RIIKI REID and BENEE, and is one of NZ’s most exciting artists.