Albion Park's Aodhan Whitehall, 15, has had his Australian radio debut after being chosen as triple j's Unearthed High Indigenous winner for 2019.
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Aodhan uploaded songs Whenever Your Eyes Speak and Love Is Hard To Write About to their web platform after encouragement from family, not expecting much feedback.
"I wasn't expecting anything to happen this soon," he said.
Part of his prize will be a mentorship with an Australian artist, which Aodhan's dream would be with Josh Pyke or Matt Corby.
Dave Ruby Howe, triple j Unearthed Music Director, said Aodhan's music gave "the whole team collective goosebumps".
"Without any other online presence [he] won us over completely," he said.
"The talented NSW South Coast teenager writes, records and produces himself and harkens to coastal folk heroes like Hein Cooper and Angus & Julia Stone."
The Albion Park High School student comes from a musical family - his father Glenn is a music teacher who also is found playing regular gigs around the Illawarra and South Coast.
"It's kind of a little scary, it's a really incredible opportunity for him and will hopefully open some more doors," Mr Whitehall said.
"Hopefully it keeps him working in music and interested in it and keeps him passionate about it ... rather than finding it a chore."
Mr Whitehall said he's never pressured is son or daughter to be musical but left plenty of tuned guitars around the house for them to play with and find their own way.
As well as the mentoriship, Aodhan will also receive a songwriting workshop at his school, delivered by the APRA AMCOS Songmakers program.