Australian artists come up trumps in International Songwriting Competition

The results of the 2014 International Songwriting Competition (ISC) are in and Australian songwriters have done extremely well.

The ISC is hosted every year, inviting authors of original songs to send in works that are appraised by a panel of very impressive judges.

With over 18,000 entries submitted from 118 countries for 2014, a total of 62 Australians were honoured in the competition, garnering one Grand Prize win, three First Place wins, four Second Place wins, three Third Place wins, and 51 Honorable Mentions. Now. That. Is. Impressive.

The big winner, taking home the Grand Prize was singer/songwriter Vance Joy for his songRiptide. This marks the first time in the 14-year history of the competition that any song has received perfect scores from every judge. Upon hearing the news of his win, Vance said, “It is such an honour to win this songwriting prize. Writing songs is what gives me a feeling of purpose. I’m proud to receive this award voted on by my songwriting peers.”

This year’s winners were selected by a panel of judges that included band members of Keane, Sarah McLachlan, Bastille, Avicii and London Grammar.

Previous ISC winners have included Passenger, Kate Miller-Heidke, Gotye, Kasey Chambers, Gin Wigmore, Kimbra, and For King & Country.  Michael Mastess

For a complete list of 2014 ISC Winners and to hear the winning songs, go to www.songwritingcompetition.com/winners.

AUSTRALIAN WINNERS

Grand Prize Winner
“Riptide” – James Keogh (Glen Iris, VIC, Australia) – AAA (Adult Album Alternative)

First Place Winners
“90s Music” – Kimbra Johnson, Matt Morris, Mark Foster, Timon Martin, Stephen McQuinn (Melbourne, VIC, Australia) – Music Video, Performance
“90s Music” – Kimbra Johnson, Matt Morris, Mark Foster, Timon Martin, Stephen McQuinn (Melbourne, VIC, Australia) – Performance
“Run” – San Cisco (Fremantle, WA, Australia) – Rock

Second Place Winners
“Ohio” – Alexander Laska, Fergus Linacre, Jeremy Hunter (Melbourne, VIC, Australia) – Rock
“Prehistoric Love” – Tenielle Neda, Rob Agostini, Denny Thakrar (Perth, WA, Australia) – Pop/Top 40
“Something I Said Ft. Thom Crawford” – Thundamentals (Sydney, NSW, Australia) – R&B/Hip-Hop
“State of War” – Paul McDermott, Jessica Malakouti, W. Cate (Sydney, NSW, Australia) – Dance/Electronica

Third Place Winners
“Pull The Trigger” – Benjamin Dowd (Melbourne, VIC, Australia) – Rock
“Sirens” – Lucy Mason (Sydney, NSW, Australia) – Adult Contemporary
“Stars” – Justin Snowball (Perth, WA, Australia) – Unsigned Only