“Since winning the Aotearoa Country Music Songwriter Award 2026, finally, I can say that I’m an award winning artist. From here on in, no matter what happens, there will always be that one time I won that one award ✨ And that’s a privilege that I am immensely grateful for.

I know that all of us who write songs share things that matter to us at a very personal level.

We write about our lives, our world views, our hopes, fears, heartaches and all that people reflect on. We envisage a better life, a stronger self, a more perfect world. We break. We escape. We’re cheeky. We’re deeply serious. And if we’re really lucky, we find ourselves. And what we say resonates with someone else in the room.

The song that won this year’s award, ‘The Sun Shines Again’ is autobiographical. It is me, reflecting on the toughest parts of life, inviting them to engulf me (as at times, they have) whilst finding comfort in knowing that the worst times do not define me – or in fact, life itself. 

It took a while to get to this point

I cherish the journey of songwriting.

I wrote my first song in my early teens.  It was called ‘Christmas Every Day’, and the gist of it was that the spirit of Christmas shouldn’t be pulled out just annually, for that one single day. 

As I played it to an aunty and others, I waited for someone to tell me that they’d heard the tune before – that subconsciously, I’d pinched it from someone else.  But that didn’t happen. The words were how I wanted the world to be – and the tune fitted those words. So, little by little, more thoughts, feelings and observations made it onto paper.

Like many, I grew up in state houses. I was moved around a lot and attended 10 schools (which taught me that things could be done differently and still be right). I wore hand-me-down clothes with waist bands that needed to be taken in because I was skinny. 

Back then, I was an introverted and serious kid – the predictable product of a dysfunctional home.

So, for years, I doubted myself.  And when I started to try and carve out my own identity, and find my worth, instead of looking inside, I looked to others who I admired for affirmation.  I didn’t know how to gauge that I was anybody special – except in being affirmed by people I looked up to.

What a journey!

I’m grateful that I got to keep living, because with time, and the kindness of some of the best friends a girl could hope for, I started to find my feet. And my voice. 

I got to grow into the woman I am today. Still, a work in progress. But emphasis on progress!

Writing has been cathartic. It has helped me square off to things that were meant to stop me. It’s allowed me to zone in on, and celebrate, the very best that life can be!! I’ve gone from singing in my room, with a dog at my feet – to stepping onto a stage and knowing that others have really similar stories – and that what I’m feeling is someone else’s story too. It’s become a two-way thing. I sing. And together, we experience something shared.

It’s been a good way to work through things that might otherwise spin around in my head. And fun to write songs that people get up and dance to!

I’m told that gratitude is powerful. Yep. I believe that.

I have been one to say ‘but’ too often. “I could do this, or that – but…”

Increasingly, I’m getting better at pulling myself up on this.

And when I take a beat to acknowledge the things that I am grateful for, there’s a kind of calm that settles in. Like, I’ve got this!

So, thank Goodness for my friends with childlike honesty, who remind me to laugh at myself.

Thank Goodness that I was born in New Zealand and can call this beautiful land home.

Thank Goodness that an imperfect life can grow resilience.

Thank Goodness that the world doesn’t get two of me – LOL – but that the one that I am is enough.

Thank Goodness for our planet, and for creativity, kindness and art.” ❤️

— Rosie Kiwi Beth 2026