HELENA Valley band Helena has won WAM’s 2025 song of the year for the rock category and the overall grand prize with their new single Ps get degrees.

The win came as a surprise to Helena’s lead singer and guitarist Amos Staer, who attended the ceremony alongside bassist Josh Van Zuylen.

“We were still just kind of taking it in that we’d won the rock category and then listened to the second runner-up Brightsider and was like, ‘Wow, what an amazing song’,” Mr Staer said.

“Then (runner-up) Elianie came up next and that sounded even better and I just remember talking to Josh like, ‘Man, the winner must have had a banger,’ and then they called Ps get degrees out which left us very much speechless at the moment.

“It was a very funny yet great moment for us.”

Helena, named after the Helena Valley suburb where the band first came together, formed in 2020 during the Covid lockdowns.

Mr Staer and co-lead guitarist and vocalist Nathan Wells had been friends since Year 1 at Swan Christian College while Mr Well’s younger brother and drummer Aaron and Mr Van Zuylen joined shortly after.

The award-winning track Ps get degrees was born from Mr Staer’s memories of growing up in the hills and strove to capture the carefree energy of youth spent outdoors at places like Helena Valley dam.

“The song Ps get degrees was (written) mainly because I didn’t want to spend time in a classroom half of the time,” he said.

“We just had such a great experience outdoors with so much more space in the hills than you get in the suburbs, so very fortunate in growing up with that aspect.”

While originally a four-piece, the band recently farewelled founding member Nathan Wells, who stepped down amicably to focus on personal commitments.

“There’s no hard feelings at all,” Mr Staer said.

“We’re still good mates and we still see him on the weekend.”

The band is working on their next single No Evidence which explores the ease of sharing unsubstantiated opinions.

Helena’s sound blends rock and punk influences with melodic harmony drawing inspiration from bands like Anberlin, Bon Iver, and Relient K.

Mr Staer credited the band’s roots for fostering creativity and expressed gratitude for the support that made the journey possible.

“Thanks to WAM for putting on such a great event and as Josh said on the night, ‘Thanks to the wives of Helena’,” he said.

“All four of us have got married in the last three years and so all the wives are pretty damn supportive of us playing music and going out and coming home late at night so that’s pretty fortunate.”

Helena’s EP Within Your Means, featuring P’s get degrees, is out now and their new single is expected later this year.