It was great to listen to the 15 finalists of the Te Puke Highway Song Contest at Jubilee Park on August 28. There was an amazing range of talent and styles, including a local school class, as well as bands or individuals.

What a great idea to celebrate the new road and local community! It was a pretty cool prize to go to Route 66, if you were the original composer.

What disappointed many of us in the audience was that the winner had submitted an unfinished audio piece submitted prior, botched his on-stage performance and muddled a 'sort-of” encore.

This led me to investigate, why him? Well, I guess it was cute and commercial, but unfinished. Hold-on – the school group were criticised for 'unfinished”?

He maybe lived locally – no, he last visited 25 years ago. Maybe his audio submission was done beautifully a while ago and he forgot it? No, he admits to needing to complete the lyrics soon.

Surely it can't be because he's well known as the Brown Wiggle? Also he surely wouldn't work for the same company that promoted the event (MediaWorks)?

No, I am sure the judges considered these ethical points and deliberated carefully, but why didn't we feel that pleased? His pathetic applause at the end of the event sums up how I feel about the Te Puke Economic Development Group outcome.

No offense, Robert Rakete, but you really didn't deserve to win.

V Hill, Te Puke