Molly Pawson, following her win on Take the Mic. Photo / Supplied
Dannervirke teenager Molly Pawson is still in shock after hearing her name called as the winner of a television talent competition.
Pawson was still trying to process everything when Hawke's Bay Today rang her on Tuesday, the night after she won TVNZ's Take the Mic competition.
While sitting in the studio with the two other finalists, she had been all ready to clap for the winner.
"They said my name and I went, 'Oh wait, that's me! What do I do?'"
Molly has been singing "for as long as I can remember".
She began playing piano from the age of six, but it wasn't until she began learning guitar that she started to write her own songs.
At 11, she performed for the very first time at an Anzac Day concert, and at about 13 wrote her first song, Bellbirds' Call.
"It was one of the first proper songs that I'd ever written."
Last year, the Napier Girls' High student was able to perform the song accompanied by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra as part of the Young People's Showcase.
She also sang at Dannevirke's memorial service for Queen Elizabeth II last month.
The song she performed for Take the Mic, Home, was written late last year.
"It's written for someone who's really close to me, and I kind of wanted to portray that I see them as home, instead of like a physical place being home."
Molly first heard about the competition through the head of music at Napier Girls' High, who showed the class the poster promoting it, and she decided she would give it a shot.
She was notified she was in the top 30, but almost missed the email telling her she had made it through to the next round.
"It was really quite funny," her mum Steph said. "She spent 24 hours thinking she hadn't made the cut."
As part of the talent show, she had to film a video performing her song, which included storyboarding and production.
"That was so difficult," the 16-year-old said. "I was like looking at it for a solid week before I even started it."
As part of the show, Molly had to get votes from the public to be in the top three out of the 12 teenagers showcased.
She said she "did a thing at the RSA", telling them: "We need to prove that Dannevirke is the best town in New Zealand."
She was up against some tough competition, as many of the other contestants had followings on social media, but was able to get enough support.
"To have the whole community getting behind her, it's really heartwarming," Steph said.
Steph said the whole family was very proud of Molly's achievement.
"It takes a lot to put something that you've written out there and to have what you're putting out there judged, it's nerve-wracking."
It came as quite a surprise when judges Connor Pritchard and Mikey Dam declared her the winner.
Molly said both judges liked her songwriting and thought the music video portrayed her idea "quite well".
Her prize included brand development, a recording session and a music video for her next song.
She would also receive mentoring from both judges, who would show her how to promote music and produce it.
Marsha Cashmore waited for days without her family to be sent home to Hawke's Bay.