Irene Folau of Aorere College was the winner of the hotly contested solo vocal category at Friday night’s final of Stand Up, Stand Out.
The defending champion performed the Demi Lovato hit Stone Cold to reclaim the title at the Vodafone Events Centre, Manukau.
See more performances on the Stand Up Stand Out Facebook page.
Massive exposure
2016 was a breakthrough year for the competition with finalists receiving unprecedented exposure in the media and online.
Folau’s semi-final performance of Gnarls Barkley Crazy had already gone viral the week before with the clip viewed more than 300,000 times.
Solo vocal runner–up Selevasio Tu’ima’s rendition of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah for Radio New Zealand clocked up more than 650,000 views on the Checkpoint facebook page alone.
2016 winners
Winners share a $6000 prize pool, while talent identified for further development is offered on-going mentoring, recording assistance and performance opportunities at Auckland Council festivals.
- Group Vocal – Winner: Fa Man (Aorere College), Runner Up: Magnique Choir (Otahuhu College)
- Solo Instrumental – Winner: Finau Fulivai (Manurewa High School), Runner Up: Joshua Parker (Avondale College)
- Solo Vocal – Winner: Irene Folau (Aorere College), Runner Up: Selevasio Tu’ima (St Paul’s College)
- Dance – Winner: Deuces (Manurewa High School), Runner Up: TNT (Manurewa High School)
- Bands – Winner: Xist (Onehunga High School), Runner Up: Fusion 8 (Avondale College).
