Heartbreak was the reason behind Matt Bodman's winning entry into a song writing competition on Saturday night, and despite the depressing topic, the song was a hit.
The 24-year-old Mount Maunganui man won the final of the Primal Acoustic Sessions competition, with his song When I Burn, which he wrote in
July last year.
"It's about coming to terms with infidelity," he said. "That's what all my songs have been fed on."
When he performed on the night he made a few mistakes but wasn't too worried.
"No one could tell because you cover it up, because people don't know the song."
He found out about the national competition through some teenagers at Otumoetai College, where he was working as a student teacher as part of the Graduate Diploma in Secondary School Teaching he is completing.
"The kids there told me about it and they were going in it and they are fantastic songwriters," he said.
Mr Bodman was seven when his musical family started him on the piano.
"My nan was teaching me one-fingered nursery rhymes," he said.
From piano, he learnt guitar and bass and honed his vocal skills. He started writing songs at 15 with a heavy metal band and has been working at the Rock Shop in Tauranga for the past eight months.
He was stoked he could take home an expensive guitar after dreaming about the them at work.
"I was buzzing, just totally in shock.
"Because I have a guitar but we have a totally bad working relationship," he said.
"I never win stuff and there were some pretty fantastic people in the final.
"To be honest I didn't know if I was going to be able to pull it off," he said.
Mr Bodman had to go through the Tauranga heats, central North Island regional semi-final and the final in Auckland before he took away the top spot.
He was greeted by a crowd of around 300 at Orange Coronation Ballroom in Auckland and battled five others to win.
He won a $2500 guitar, guitar accessories and a microphone.
Mr Bodman does gigs around Tauranga.
He will be playing with his band and Sons of Beaches at Sunrise Cafe on Wharf St on Saturday.
