Play It Strange Announces 2026 Peace Project Competition Winners

After receiving 171 original song entries from secondary school students across Aotearoa, Play It Strange is thrilled to announce the winners and finalists of the 2026 Peace Project.

Taking out first place this year is Cameron Beattie from Long Bay College for his song The Sun On The Hill. A multiple-time Play It Strange finalist, this marks Cameron’s first competition win.

On winning the competition, Cameron says: “I am so honoured to win the Peace Project songwriting competition. To be recognised by some of Aotearoa’s top artists is such an incredible feeling and I am so grateful to them. All of the Play It Strange team have been so awesome and the opportunities they have provided me and so many others over the years means so much and I am forever thankful to them. I can’t wait for everyone to hear The Sun On The Hill alongside the amazing songs from all the finalists this year.”

Cameron receives a prize package including a 1:1 mentoring session with a competition judge, a $500 MusicWorks voucher, a JBL Bandbox Trio valued at $899, an artist development session with SOLE Music Academy founder Sacha Vee, a radio interview and airplay on 95bFM, a performance slot at the Play It Strange Annual Showcase, artist workshops held in the lead-up to the showcase, and a quartet backing arrangement with Auckland Philharmonia’s Aspiring Musicians. Composer James Cullen, who will work with Cameron to curate the backing arrangement as part of his prize, says: “The Sun On The Hill is a fantastic song. I am very excited to start the process – and am looking forward to working with him!”

Second place was awarded to Earl Legasto and Lucy Singleton for their song overgrown garden, receiving a $300 MusicWorks voucher, while third place went to Salem Māhia for A Song About Flowers, receiving a $200 MusicWorks voucher. Earl, Lucy and Salem are both also multiple-time Play It Strange competition finalists.

This year’s Peace Project was judged by pop powerhouse Paige, genre-blending 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.

Freshly renamed this year to better reflect its wider purpose, the 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.

Judge Paige says this year’s entries demonstrated the power of songwriting to spark conversation and inspire change.

“I was so excited to hear the meaningful and thought-provoking songs to come out of the Peace Project this year. I feel so lucky that through the Play It Strange competitions I can discover some incredible underground talent in Aotearoa. We’ve had some truly amazing entries come out of our Peace Project this year, it was very hard to judge. I can’t wait for the world to hear from our finalists. With each song I listened to this year I was more blown away by the talent of our Rangatahi.”

In total, 60 finalist songs have been selected for professional recording in studios across Aotearoa. Each finalist receives a $50 MusicWorks voucher and the opportunity to spend a full day in a professional recording studio bringing their original song to life in an industry-standard environment.

Play It Strange CEO Stephanie Brown says the Peace Project continues to provide a unique platform for young people to engage with important issues through music.

“This year we had the widest range of music styles and genres entered into this competition than ever before. The passion, talent and complex themes of peace, war, religion, grief and anger woven through left us speechless. There is some outstanding talent out there in secondary schools across the motu, and we encourage everyone to watch out for these songs once they are released on streaming platforms later this year – the talent is mindblowing!”

The Wright Family Foundation is once again the competition’s principal partner for 2026. Trustee, Ollie Wright says:

“The Wright Family Foundation are proud to be partnered with Play It Strange and to contribute to providing so many young people with a platform to explore their passion for music. 2026 is our third year supporting Play it Strange, and we continue to be excited and inspired by their influence on the songwriters throughout New Zealand. WFF is a huge supporter of the Peace Project, and myself and our team would like to congratulate the competition finalists. A special congratulations to Cameron on taking out the top spot!”

All 60 finalists will now become part of the wider Play It Strange alumni community, gaining access to performance opportunities, mentoring, ticket giveaways, backstage experiences, artist development opportunities and more throughout the year.

See the full list of finalists for the 2026 Play It Strange Peace Project HERE, and stream last year’s Peace Project finalist songs on Spotify: Vol 1, Vol 2, Vol 3.