Play It Strange national secondary school songwriting winner Salem Māhia Randall at Kaiti Beach, where he grew up. Photo / Kim Parkinson
Gisborne rising musical talent Salem Māhia Randall has won the top prize at the biggest ever edition of the Play It Strange secondary school national songwriting competition.
The Gisborne Boys’ High School student’s song A Girl Named Abigail was judged the overall winner out of a record 474 entries in the Lion Foundation-sponsored competition – the quality of which was described as “truly outstanding”.
The prize pack comprises an NZ On Air $10,000 music promotional package; $1500 Rockshop gift card; mentor session with musician and Play It Strange alumni Rebel Reid; a full day in a recording studio; an interview with 95bFM and the finished track played on the radio; a performance at the Play It Strange annual awards; and a full day of workshops and an online artist development session with Sacha Vee, platinum award-winning artist and founder of SOLE Music Academy.
Having been a finalist in Play It Strange in 2023 and 2024, Salem said he was surprised when he got the call to say he was the 2025 winner.
“I was very, very happy – it’s really cool,“ the 16-year-old said.
The winning song was one of his more emotional songs, he said.
“It’s a metaphorical song that I wrote after watching a movie called We Live in Time [a romantic drama starring Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh].”
“It’s about a woman with cancer and [the song] is based on my auntie Keri, who passed away from cancer when I was 4.”
Abigail was a name that appealed to him and “randomly popped into my head”.
Salem started songwriting in Year 9 and enjoyed success in the Smokefreerockquest secondary school music competition with his band IWI (Idiots With Instruments).
The same group, with a few new members, have made the 2025 national finals of Smokefreerockquest and Tangata Beats, to be held in Auckland next month.
Salem’s first song to be released (on Spotify) was called Drift By and was recorded after being named a finalist in the Play It Strange competition in 2023.
“It’s my most popular song and one a lot of my family members like, probably because it’s very upbeat.”
His second most popular song on Spotify – A False Disposition – was also written for and recorded through Play It Strange.
“Most of my songs on Spotify, apart from The Way I Love You, have been recorded by Play It Strange."
In 2022 Salem won the Under-16 category in Whakaata Māori TV’s singing series 5 Minutes of Fame and he won the Smokefreerockquest solo-duo category in 2023.
Salem’s main instrument is guitar, although he taught himself to play piano during the Covid lockdown of 2020.
He developed his musical talent at Equippers Church, which he has attended with his family since a young age.
Next year he plans to live with older brother Janai in Auckland and attend Equippers Bible College in Manukau.
He then hopes to study towards a degree in music, but hasn’t decided yet which university he will attend.
His dad, Andrew Randall, is a counsellor, while mother Justine Read-Bloomfield shares his passion for music and sings at local venues in Gisborne.
“We have sung together at Siduri [wine bar] a few times with my brother Manawa,” he said.
Older sister Cassia also has “a great voice” and he hopes his 9-year-old brother Kerehi will pursue music when he gets older.
Play It Strange chief executive Stephanie Brown said the quality of entries this year was “truly outstanding”.
“Knowing that 474 young songwriters and bands across the motu have written songs, finished songs and had the confidence to submit them to a competition is truly mindblowing,” she said.
“That’s why we are recording 74 finalists this year – the most recordings out of any of our competitions since we started in 2003.”
Each song was reviewed by a panel of nine respected judges from the music industry.
The recorded songs will be released on to digital albums via Spotify, Apple Music and Bandcamp.
“It’s hard to believe that most of these songs were written and produced by high school students,” Play It Strange marketing manager and musician Paige Tapara said. ”We are feeling really excited about the future of the music industry here in New Zealand."
Second place overall went to Anamika Jones from Trinity Catholic College for her song Testing my Patience.
Third was Shakira Lui from Southern Cross Campus for her song Bluebird.
Lion Foundation chief executive Tony Goldfinch congratulated Salem on his win.
“Salem has already achieved so many goals in his songwriting journey, and this reflects true passion and never giving up on what he loves.”
Salem said he was looking forward to recording his song in the next couple of months in Auckland and attending the prizegiving later in the year.
“It’s brought me a lot of attention ... but it’s very cool.”
Play It Strange
Established in 2003, Play it Strange is a charitable trust that promotes and inspires songwriting for New Zealand secondary school students through programmes and competitions. Competition finalists get the chance to professionally record their songs in a studio and Play It Strange releases these songs on digital albums, while also providing mentorship and performance opportunities. Its alumni list includes Kimbra, Georgia Nott of Broods, Liz Stokes of The Beths, Frankie Venter, Annah Mac, Louis Baker, CHAII, Luca George, Ratbag and many more.