Keira continues Quest success

THE SOUND OF SUCCESS: Singer/songwriter and Gisborne Girls' High student Keira Batten Coogan is the winner of the solo/duo section in this year's Smokefreerockquet East Coast regional competition. Her song can be viewed on YouTube. Search Smokefreerockquest 2020 East Coast Keira. File picture by Liam Clayton

Gisborne Girls' High School student Keira Batten Coogan has won the solo/duo section of the Smokefreerockquest East Coast regional competition for the second time in three years.

Keira won in 2018 and was second last year.

“It felt good to win,” says the 15 year-old indie alt-pop musician, who performed her self-penned piece I Don't Want To Talk.

“My song is essentially about moving on from someone,” she said.

“It's letting go of a version of a person that maybe doesn't exist any more or that isn't healthy.”

Keira led a Girls' High one-two in the East Coast regional competition, with Johelonn Toroa-Taare placing second.

No live competition was held this year due to Covid-19.

Instead, students submitted videos of their performances.

Keira and Johelonn will now submit another video of two songs to compete for a place in the Smokefreerockquest national finals in Auckland in September.

Meanwhile, groups have until Friday to submit their videos for the band section of the competition.

Regional winners will be announced on August 7.

Keira enjoyed combined success earlier this year. She and Girls' High student Malia Suluka co-wrote the song Enough, which won youth music support organisation Play It Strange's peace song-writing contest.