APRA AMCOS Aotearoa, Recorded Music NZ, and NZ On Air are bursting with excitement to share the winners for the 2025 Aotearoa Children's Music Awards | Ngā Manu Tīrairaka – celebrating music written and recorded for children.
Sunday afternoon, June 29, at a family friendly event at Auckland's Tuning Fork, children's music creators from across the motu joined forces to celebrate and spotlight tunes especially made for the tamariki of Aotearoa and beyond.
Christchurch-based Loopy Tunes were announced as winners in an exceptional three categories including the coveted Tūī for Recorded Music NZ Te Manu Taki Kerekahu o te Tau | Best Children's Music Artist. This is the first Aotearoa Children’s Music Award win for the sibling music duo of Siu Williams-Lemi and Leah Williams-Partington, who released their first recordings for children in 2019. Bringing a super-fun vibe to the children’s music world, they create waiata reo rua / bilingual Māori and Pasifika children’s music, sung in their own harmonious style. With Māori and Tongan ancestry, Loopy Tunes’ kaupapa is to normalise the use of Māori and Pacific languages in everyday life, through music. Currently playing shows at festivals and libraries, touring their most recent album Matariki, they regularly perform their Outreach Music Classes, visit preschools, and run workshops for educators - all while continuing to create episodes for their YouTube series Music Time with Loopy Tunes.
Also from Christchurch, Michal Bush, who performs under the name Music with Michal won the APRA Best Children’s Song - Primary | He Pī Ka Rere for her fun guitar-based pop song ‘Shapes and Colours’, bringing vibrancy and fun to fundamental learning. Having won a Tūī for Best Children’s Artist in 2022, Michal continues to create joyful, imaginative songs and videos for young children and their families.
Sistema Aotearoa were honoured as 2025 recipients of the Baysting Prize for Children’s Champion. Since 2011, Sistema Aotearoa have been providing free, high-quality music education to tamariki in South Auckland, with a focus on building strong communities through collective music-making. The award, established in 2019 by APRA AMCOS Aotearoa, is presented in honour of the late Arthur Baysting.
Also presented was the Kōkako Award, nurturing our young performers in their endeavours and was won by 11-year-old Emery Goodwin of Dunedin [pictured right, above]. Emery will have their performance of their mother's original song, 'Enjoy the Ride', arranged by the Auckland Philharmonia - performing it live on stage with the orchestra later this year.
The Kōkako judging panel offered: "What an incredible group of finalists we had for this year’s Kōkako Award – five outstanding young performers (Aiden Gao, Emery Goodwin, Naledi Mhuka, Sophie Jack, Yumi Chen), each of whom performed an original song. The talent on display was truly inspiring, making for a very tough decision. Our 2025 winner, Emery Goodwin, stood out with a performance full of maturity, vocal range, and expressive depth. On behalf of Kiwi Kids Music, NZ Opera, and Auckland Philharmonia, we warmly congratulate Emery and all of the finalists – we’re excited to watch all your musical journeys unfold."
The Kōkako Award for Best Children's Performer is presented by Kiwi Kids Music, NZ Opera and the Auckland Philharmonia.
APRA AMCOS Aotearoa wishes to thank the team involved in presenting the Aotearoa Children's Music Awards: Suzy Cato, Sounds Fun, Recorded Music NZ, Spark Arena, NZ On Air, NZ Music Commission, Kiwi Kids Music, NZ Opera and the Auckland Philharmonia.
A playlist celebrating this year's finalists is available here.