•
1989/1990 — Bobby Kennedy and Clint Harris, members from the 1989 winning band Outer Control, formed the popular New Zealand rock band
Opshop with Jason Kerrison, whose band De Funk Express won the Rockquest in 1990. •
1991 — 1991 winners, Auntie Beatrice, featured brothers Bradley, Laughton and Francis Kora who later formed Reggae/dub band
Kora. Kora's debut EP
Volume was released in 2004 and achieved platinum status with over 10,000 copies sold. •
1993 — Pagan Records signed
Bic Runga directly after her Rockquest national final performance, and she was subsequently signed to Sony for international release. •
1998 — In 1998,
Atlantic Records signed
Anika Moa directly after her national final performance. She has released a total of four studio albums and has received numerous
APRA and
New Zealand Music Award nominations. •
2000 —
Evermore have gone on to international success since winning the competition in 2000. The band used their Rockquest prize money to build their own recording facility, Red Sky Studio. They have since released four popular albums and have been nominated for numerous
ARIA Awards and
New Zealand Music Awards. •
2001 — Andrew Wilson and Michael Prain of
Die! Die! Die! originally played in the band Carriage H who won the SFRQ in 2001. As well as releasing five studio albums, Die! Die! Die! have toured with
Franz Ferdinand,
Wolfmother and
Wire. •
2004 —
Sam McCarthy and
Jordan Arts, members of the 2004 winning band Insurca, formed the new wave duo,
Kids of 88 who released two albums. McCarthy also played in pop punk band
Goodnight Nurse who released several top 40 singles. •
2014 — Georgia and Caleb Nott, members of The Peasants (2011 SFRQ winners), splintered off to form the duo
Broods. They have released two albums and have enjoyed some success in the United States. •
2016 — Alien Weaponry have won a New Zealand 2022 Music Award for Best Rock Act, opened for Guns N' Roses and released 2 studio albums. ==See also==