Winners of the Play It Strange 2026 Peace Project songwriting competition have been announced, with Cameron Beattie from Long Bay College in Tāmaki Makaurau taking first place for his song The Sun On The Hill. 

A multiple-time Play It Strange finalist, this was Cameron’s first competition win. 171 original song entries were received from secondary school students across Aotearoa.

His first prize package includes a mentoring session with a competition judge, an artist development session with SOLE Music Academy founder Sacha Vee, a radio interview and airplay on 95bFM, and a quartet backing arrangement with Auckland Philharmonia’s Aspiring Musicians. 

Second place was awarded to Earl Legasto and Lucy Singleton for their song overgrown garden, while third place went to Salem Māhia for A Song About Flowers. All three are also multiple-time Play It Strange competition finalists. 

Renamed this year to better reflect its wider purpose, the Play It Strange Peace Project encourages young people to use songwriting as a way to respond to the times they are living in and contribute something meaningful through their art. Entrants were invited to explore peace from their own perspective, whether through themes of personal wellbeing, relationships, community connection, cultural identity, or global issues, while considering why peace matters right now and how their song could contribute to the wider project.

The competition was judged by pop powerhouse Paige, neo-soul artist Jordyn with a Why,internationally acclaimed soul singer Deva Mahal, award-winning rapper and producer Tom Scott, and Play It Strange founder Mike Chunn.