APRA has named the five songs shortlisted for the 2026 Silver Scroll, New Zealand’s top songwriting award, and for once ‘shortlist’ undersells how wide-ranging it is.
The finalists: ‘Afters’ by Troy Kingi feat. MĀ (written by Kingi and Maarire Brunning-Kouka), ‘One Stop’ by Aldous Harding (written by Hannah Topp), ‘Someone’s Daughter’ by Deva Mahal (written by Mahal and Chris Wethey), ‘LALELEI’ by LEAO (written by David Feauai-Afaese, Navakatoa Tekela-Pule, Levi Gemmell and Larsen Taylor), and ‘Wrong Party’ by Fazed on a Pony (written by Peter McCall).
Two names carry real form here. Harding returns to the top five for the first time since she won the award outright in 2019, and Mahal reaches the top five for the first time after four previous appearances on the wider shortlist. LEAO, by contrast, is a first-time finalist. What sets ‘LALELEI’ apart is the language it’s sung in: gagana Samoa, the Samoan language, and no song performed entirely in it has reached the Silver Scroll top five before this year, according to coverage of the announcement.
There’s a second shortlist running alongside it. The Maioha Award, for waiata Māori, has three finalists this year: ‘Mānawa Maiea Matariki’ by TAWAZ (written by Tawaroa Kawana and Rangi-Ānehu Mātāmua), ‘Puna Ora’ by Aro (written by Charles and Emily Looker), and ‘Toitū Te Tiriti’ by Geneva AM (written by Geneva Alexander-Marsters and Eric Scholes).
APRA has also introduced a brand new category for 2026: Te Tihi o te Maunga Tito, the Kapa Haka Songwriting Award, recognising original compositions written for kapa haka performance in te reo Māori. The Music Network reports three finalists for the inaugural prize, with work from Dr Hinurewa Poutū, Rob Ruha and Tā Derek Lardelli.
“This year’s finalists are a celebration of us, our stories, our languages, our communities and the many different ways music is made and shared across Aotearoa,” said Anthony Healey, Head of APRA AMCOS Aotearoa.
The timing isn’t an accident. This year’s ceremony, at Auckland’s Aotea Centre on Wednesday 14 October, lands as part of APRA’s own centenary, a hundred years of the organisation representing New Zealand songwriters.
What’s genuinely nice about this list is how little separates the names on it by profile. Harding tours internationally and has done for years; LEAO is a breakout act making history with her first finalist nod. The Silver Scroll doesn’t grade on a curve for fame, and that’s exactly why it’s worth paying attention to every year, not just when a name you already know is up for it.
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