But having your song sung by tens of thousands of young people around the world at the same time — "it’s unbelievable".
Dunedin singer and songwriter Tomuri Spicer sang his song Blossom Out with about 300 pupils and teachers from nine of the city’s primary schools at Otago Museum yesterday, as part of international Sing Up Day.
The song was also sung throughout the day by children from the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Spain, the United States, China, South Africa, Australia and elsewhere in New Zealand, in the UK-organised event aimed at celebrating the power of song and spreading a little singing.
"It’s amazing. It’s so unbelievable that my song has gone as far as it has."
The lyrics by the 2023 Six60 Scholarship recipient encourage children to recognise their individual strengths, gifts, and uniqueness to "blossom out like a flower" and "stand strong like a forest".
The song was one of three written by songwriters around the world to be selected.
"In this day and age, a lot of people — especially adults — often worry about the little things in life and really struggle to take time for themselves," Mr Spicer said.
"I wrote this song to encourage the children of our generation to have the courage to take some time for themselves, be fine with who they are and just go for gold. Do whatever you dream of doing.
"Don’t sweat the small stuff."
The gentle song is a summery celebration of the Earth and our connection to the natural world.It features taonga pūoro (traditional Māori instruments) and snippets of haka based on Māori proverbs.
Sing Up chief executive officer Michelle James said the organisation "absolutely loved" Mr Spicer’s submission.
"We’ve been fortunate to have him share his breadth of knowledge of Māori language and culture.
"We are excited to share the song with schools and choirs around the world."
