APRA members win ISC Grand Prize
Wednesday, 29 April 2009
The International Songwriting Competition (ISC) is pleased to announce its 2008 winners. It is with great pleasure that ISC bestows its highest honour, the ISC Grand Prize, to APRA members Kate Miller-Heidke and Keir Nuttall of Brisbane, QLD, Australia for their song "Caught In The Crowd," a brilliantly quirky pop song with an emotional message about schoolyard bullying and peer pressure. The Grand Prize winner takes home $25,000 in cash (US) and over $20,000 (US) in prizes - the largest Grand Prize of any songwriting competition.
With judges as diverse as Tom Waits, Neil Finn, Rob Thomas (Matchbox 20), Ray Davies (The Kinks), Chaka Khan, McCoy Tyner, Jerry Lee Lewis, Robert Smith (The Cure) and many more, winning the ISC Grand Prize is an accomplishment that recognizes excellence in the craft of songwriting.
In its seventh year, ISC received over 15,500 songs from amateur and professional songwriters from 100 countries worldwide, confirming ISC's status as the leading global songwriting event. In all, ISC bestows prizes on 62 winners, awarding more than $150,000 US in cash and prizes.
Click here for a complete list of 2008 ISC winners and to hear the winning songs.
APRA members Kate Miller-Heidke and Keir Nuttall win Grand Prize
The Grand Prize winning song, "Caught In The Crowd," struck an emotive chord with the ISC judges for its narrative about a young girl who befriends a fellow student but then, succumbing to peer pressure, turns her back on him when he gets bullied at school. The song, entered in the Pop/Top 40 category, was praised by the ISC judges for its powerful lyrical content and strong pop sensibility.
Candace Avery, the founder and director of ISC, states, "The song tugs at my heart and give me chills every time I hear it. Its theme is so personal yet universal that everyone can relate to it. That, combined with its infectious melody, makes the song a stand-out. This is the first time the Grand Prize has ever been awarded to Australian songwriters, and we hope this throws the spotlight on the extraordinary and creative music scene in Australia."
The co-writers, Kate Miller-Heidke and Keir Nuttall, are not just bandmates and musical collaborators but also husband and wife. Strong songwriters in their own right, together they create a yin-yang of music that brings out the best of each other. Miller-Heidke is already a rising star in her home country, Australia. With her early training as an operatic singer, Miller-Heike has evolved into a pop artist whose debut CD, Little Eve, went Gold on the back of four ARIA nominations. Her latest CD, Curioser, was produced in the USA by Mickey Petralia (Beck, Flight of the Conchords) and released in Australia at the end of 2008.
"Caught In The Crowd" is the newest single from the CD and was part of a national campaign in Australia where high school students were invited to make a video for the song addressing the issue of bullying, a common and disturbing occurrence in schools worldwide.
APRA Members big winners in other ISC Categories
In addition to the Grand Prize winner, many other Australian songwriters also share in the prestige and kudos of winning their respective categories.
Winning First Place in the Pop/Top 40 category are Melbourne co-songwriters Paris Wells and Ryan "RhyNO" Ritchie. Wells and Ritchie are some of Australia's most compelling new artists, writing songs that are melodically in the pocket, infectiously memorable, and vocally mesmerizing. The winning song "Lonely" is the follow-up to her first single, "Dat Du Dat," from the CD "Keep It Up," which was released in July, 2008. Both singles have enjoyed airplay from ultra-hip community stations to the country's largest commercial networks. She has built an incredible street-level buzz throughout the underground circuit and has also supported Justin Timberlake. The CD was produced by her co-writer RhyNo of True Live, a unique ensemble known for crossing boundaries of genre and style.
New Zealanders took out the top spots in the Blues and World Music categories: Darren Watson won first place for blues with "All Going Wrong"; and Opetaia Foa'i (Te Vaka) and Malcom Smith won first place for World Music for "Tamahana".
Winning Second Place in the Gospel/Christian category is Wade Iedema of the band Lifetone for the song "We're Not The Losers." Hailing from Lismore Heights, NSW, Iedema is the force behind Lifetone. Their first album, "Who hopes for what they always had?" was released in 2007. This is the second year in a row that Iedema has won Second Place in the Gospel/Christian category.
Third Place honors in the Country category go to Drew Timothy McAlister of Sydney, NSW, for the song "Somewhere Somehow" and in the Lyrics Only category to Ashley Godfrey of Canberra, ACT, for the song My Father's Son (A Country Man).
Third Place in the Music Video category is awarded to Nick Milwright of Melbourne, VIC, for the song and video "Broken Bones." This was a brand new category for ISC in 2008, and was an extremely competitive one, attracting a lot of diverse and creative entries from all over the world. Directed by Kasamir Burgess, the video has already won awards at various Australian festivals. The song is on the Blackchords' much-anticipated self-titled CD which was released in stores in April, 2009 and is being called "a widescreen sense of melody, drama, and stunning arrangements."
APRA Members garner Honourable Mentions
In addition to these winners, many Australian songwriters garnered an Honourable Mention in their respective categories:
- "Heart It Was A Desert" - Sara Tindley - Byron Bay, NSW - Americana
- "Get Up (Raise Your Head)" - Marshall Okell, Mathew Cummings (Marshall & The Fro) -Byron Bay, NSW - Blues
- "Natural Condition" - Karl Francis Morgan - Perth, WA - Blues
- "Commotion In The Ocean" - John Simmons, Leah Thomas (Bus-ta-groove) - Sydney, NSW - Children's Music
- "Fuss On The Bus" Radha Sahar (Radha & the Kiwi Kid) – Wellington, New Zealand - Children's Music
- "Doppleganger" - Brian Daly - Newcastle, NSW - Comedy
- "I've Done It" - Brent Lillie, Paul Harris - Gold Coast, QLD - Comedy
- "Not In This Life" - Mark Phillips (Nik Phillips) - Brisbane, QLD - Country
- "Open Your Eyes" - Tom Watson (Transparent) - Adelaide, SA - Dance/Electronic
- "The Story" - Martin Koszolko (Koshowko) - Melbourne, VIC, - Dance/Electronic
- "Lost Along The Way" - Jordie William Lane, Tracy Beth McNeil (Fireside Bellows) - Melbourne, VIC - Folk/Singer-Songwriter
- "Love Look What You've Done" - Sam Buckingham - Sydney, NSW - Folk/Singer- Songwriter
- "Grace Baby" - Paris Wells, Ryan Ritchie - Melbourne, VIC - Gospel/Christian
- "I Need A Miracle" - Roma Waterman - Melbourne, VIC - Gospel/Christian
- "Black & White" - Marcela Taylor - Melbourne, VIC - Instrumental
- "Sail On" - Adrian Heath - Sydney, NSW - Lyrics Only
- "The Wishing" - Bridget a'Beckett - Melbourne, VIC - Lyrics Only
- "A Cop's Job Is Never Done" - Michael L Vidale, Ian G Hildebrand (St. Jam) - Sydney,NSW - Music Video
- "Hospice for Destitute Lovers" Steve Abel – Auckland, New Zealand - Music Video
- "Time" - Julian Abrahams, Nick Keeling, Muchtar Johnson, Munro Melano, Pat Lillicrap, Kane Watters, Yen Nguyen (Casual Projects) - Canberra, ACT - Music Video
- "Black Cat 3 Notes" - Grant Walmsley, Mark Tinson (Grant Walmsley And The Agents Of Peace) - Newcastle, NSW - Performance
- "Creepin" - Doc Span, Matthew Cang - Diamond Valley, QLD - Performance
- "Dat Du Dat " - Paris Wells, Ryan Ritchie - Melbourne, VIC - Performance
- "Little Piece of Love" - Anthony Snape, Lindsay Rimes - Sydney, NSW - Performance
- "The Belljar" - Susannah Legge, Julian Hewitt, Gavin Crawcour (The Hampdens) - Melbourne, VIC - Performance
- "It's Not My Problem" - Angus McDonald, Connie Mitchell (Sneaky Sound System) - Darlinghurst, NSW - Pop/Top 40
- "Jealousy" - Alexander Burnett, David Hall (Sparkadia) - Sydney, NSW - Pop/Top 40
- "Bright White Teeth" - Daniel James Maguire (Mog) - Canberra, ACT - Rock
- "Broken Bones" - Nick Milwright (Blackchords) - Melbourne, VIC - Rock
- "Carry On" - Leigh Davies, James Livesey, Daniel Teng (Sleep Parade) - Annandale, NSW - Rock
- "One Crowded Hour" - Glenn Richards (Augie March) - Melbourne, VIC - Rock
- "Two For My Seconds" - Amandah Wilkinson (Operator Please) - Gold Coast, QLD - Rock
- "No Surprise" - Steffi Burns (Steffi) - Ashmore City, QLD - Teen
- "Strings Attached" - Sophie Aboud - Robina, QLD - Teen
Stellar gathering of judges & sponsors
Applauded for its high caliber of judges, ISC compiled a stellar panel of judges for the 2008 competition, including: Neil Finn (Crowded House);Rob Thomas (Matchbox 20); Chaka Khan; Tom Waits; KT Tunstall; Robert Smith (The Cure); Ricky Martin; Loretta Lynn; Buckcherry; T-Pain; James Cotton; Jerry Lee Lewis; Craig Morgan; Ray Davies (The Kinks); McCoy Tyner; Darryl McDaniels (Run DMC); Michael W. Smith; Chris Hillman (The Byrds); John Scofield; Mario; Black Francis (The Pixies); Youssou N'Dour; John Mayall; DJ Tiesto; Paul Van Dyk; Jon Secada; Natalie Grant; Jeremy Camp; Matt Thiessen (Relient K); Pittbull; Angelique Kidjo; "Weird Al" Yankovic; Sandra Bernhard; David Brenner; Monte Lipman (President, Universal Records); Nick Burgess (Head of A&R, Virgin Records UK); Angel Carrasco (Sr. VP of A&R, Latin America Sony BMG and President, Discos 605); Cameron Strang (President, New West Records); John Echevarria (President, Universal Music Latino); Rick Krim (Executive VP Talent and Programming, VH1); Amy Doyle (Sr. VP of Music and Talent, MTV); Kim Buie (VP of A&R, Lost Highway); Jon Pikus (Director of A&R, MySpace Records); Mitchell Cohen (VP of A&R, Verve Music Group); Bruce Iglauer (Founder/President, Alligator Records); Dan Storper (President, Putumayo World Music); Rene Bell (Executive VP A&R, Sony BMG Nashville); Peter Strickland (Senior VP, Jack Records/Warner Bros.); Steve Lillywhite (Producer - credits include U2, The Rolling Stones, Morrissey, Peter Gabriel, and more); Douglas C. Cohn (Sr. VP, Music Marketing & Talent, Nickelodeon); Cory Robbins (Founder/President, Robbins Entertainment); Betty Pino (DJ, WAMR Miami); Paul Majors (CEO/Founder Majors Music); Leib Ostrow (CEO, Music for Little People); and Dr. Demento (Radio Host of The Dr. Demento Show)
Sponsors included: Luna Guitars, Berklee College Of Music, Shure, D'Addario, M-Audio, Griffin Technology, Hear Technologies, Po Boy Drums, Thayers, Disc Makers, ASCAP, Phase One Studios, Stuph Merch, Sonicbids, Sam Ash, Alphabet Arm Design, Shari's Berries, Taxi, George Stein, Esq., The Music Business Registry, SongU.com,
Sibelius, and Onlinegigs.
Entries now open for 2009 International Songwriting Competition
ISC is now accepting entries for 2009. The 2009 competition will include many new judges and a new Adult Contemporary (AC) category. Click here for more information and an entry form.
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