49 AUSTRALIAN SONGS HONOURED IN INTERNATIONAL SONGWRITING COMPETITION (ISC)

Greg Phillips May 13, 2022 Blog

Multi-category winner Sahara Beck

The International Songwriting Competition (ISC) is pleased to announce its 2021 winners. Launched in 2002, ISC is considered the most prestigious songwriting competition in the world, receiving more than 21,000 entries this year from over 150 countries. Renowned for its panel of high-caliber judges, ISC has been called “the songwriting competition to take note of” by The New York Times.

This year continues the amazing winning streak by Australian songwriters, once again taking home the most wins of any country second only to the USA. Australians have garnered four First Places, two Second Places, five Third Places, and 37 Honourable Mentions in the competition. Additionally, an Aussie has been awarded the winner in ISC’s special Stocking Stuffer promotion.

“The number of wins by Australians is impressive but not surprising,” said Candace Avery, ISC Founder and Director. “The entries we receive from Australians have a sound that is fresh and inspired. Perhaps this is partially due to Triple J and their mandate to play (and break) local artists. This offers such a unique and valuable outlet for Aussie artists to be heard nationally in their country and allows for a lot of musical freedom and creativity. We always look forward to hearing what Aussie songwriters produce, and we are often blown away by what we hear.”

Throughout the years, many Australian artists have been honored in ISC, including four Grand Prize winners: Tones And I; Kate Miller-Heidke; Kasey Chambers; and Vance Joy. Additional winners have included Amy Shark; Augie March; Big Scary; Birds of Tokyo; Dean Lewis; Eskimo Joe; Flight Facilities; Gang of Youths; Gotye; Guy Sebastian; Jebediah; Matt Corby; Missy Higgins; Ocean Alley; Ruel; Sarah Blasko; Shane Nicholson; The Living End; Troy Cassar-Daley; Vera Blue; Washington; and many, many more. In addition to Australian winners, other previous winners have included: Illenium; Bastille; Fantastic Negrito; R.LUM.R; Lindsey Stirling; Kimbra; Dustin Lynch; Faouzia; The Band Perry; Kehlani; Gregory Porter; Passenger; Gin Wigmore; For King and Country; Adrienne Lenker (Big Thief); and many more.

Overall, the ISC winners hail from all over the world (56% of this year’s winners come from outside the USA) and range from talented amateurs to seasoned songwriting veterans. The 23 categories include all genres of contemporary music, from Rock to Pop to Country to R&B/Hip-Hop and more.

The overall Grand Prize is ISC ‘s highest honor and this year is awarded to Alt Pop songwriter and performing artist Stephanie Middleton (aka Notelle) from Richmond, VA, USA for her song “Sufjan Stevens.” This award, selected by ISC’s panel of celebrity judges and music industry executives, is given to one songwriter in the competition who embodies the highest degree of excellence in the craft of songwriting.

The list of Australian winners includes:

First Place Winners

“Blink Twice” – Joey Cirillo, Dylan Nash (San Joseph) – Melbourne, VIC – Pop/Top 40

“Goodbye” – Bree Rusev – Newcastle, NSW – Teen

“Nothing Wrong With That” – Sahara Beck, Anthony Buchen, Damon Syme (Sahara Beck) – Brisbane, QLD – Unsigned

“Treading Water” – Mabel Windred-Wornes, Ivy Windred-Wornes (Charm Of Finches) – Melbourne, VIC – Music Video

Second Place Winners

“Bad Decisions” – Emmy Mack, Craig Wilkinson, Stevie Knight (RedHook) – Sydney, NSW – Rock

“Nothing Wrong With That” – Sahara Beck, Anthony Buchen, Damon Syme (Sahara Beck) – Brisbane, QLD – AAA (Adult Album Alternative)

Third Place Winners

“Air” – Phebe Starr, Alister Wright (Phebe Starr) – Dorrigo, NSW – AAA (Adult Album Alternative)

“Good For A Girl” – Georgia Germein, Ella Germein, Clara Germein (Germein) ­ Adelaide, SA –  Unsigned

 “Ode To A Guitar (In My Hands)” – Jessie Che – Adelaide, SA, –  Lyrics Only

“This Is Our Time” – Jack Gray, Robert Conley (Jack Gray) – North Queensland, QLD – AC (Adult Contemporary)

“Window Shopping” – Grace Hughes, Louis Schoorl (Yorke) Bangalow, NSW –Pop/Top 40

Stocking Stuffer Winner

“How To Write A Song” – Shane Nicholson – Brisbane, QLD, Australia – Americana

Honorable Mentions

“99 Ways” – Kavyen Temperley, Stuart MacLeod, Joel Quartermain (Eskimo Joe) – Melbourne, VIC – Rock

“Awe! ” – Anna Beaden – Melbourne, VIC – Christian

“Beautifully Broken” – Jediael – Brisbane, QLD – Teen

“Blink Twice” – Joey Cirillo, Dylan Nash (San Joseph) – Melbourne, VIC – Unpublished

“Bloom” – Nicholas de la Hoyde, Timothy de la Hoyde (D.E.L) – Sydney, NSW – AC (Adult Contemporary)

“Born Yesterday” – Kevin Mitchell (Bob Evans) – Melbourne, VIC – AAA (Adult Album Alternative)

“Bottle It Up” – Riley Pearce – Hilton, WA– Folk/Singer-Songwriter

“Clown” – Janaki Easwar – Melbourne, VIC – Teen

“DISC0VR” – Trent-Jean Michel (Trent-Jean) – Perth, WA – Rock

“Fred The Frog” – Joshua Arnold – Newtown, QLD– Children’s Music

“Good For A Girl” – Georgia Germein, Ella Germein, Clara Germein (Germein) – Adelaide, SA – Lyrics Only

“Goodbye” – Bree Rusev – Newcastle, NSW – Folk/Singer-Songwriter

“Goodbye” – Bree Rusev – Newcastle, NSW – Unsigned

“Home” – Sally Jefferys, Aidan Hogg (JEFFE) – Brisbane, QLD – AC (Adult Contemporary)

“How To Write A Song” – Shane Nicholson – Brisbane, QLD – Americana

“How Would It Feel” – LT – Cairns, QLD – AAA (Adult Album Alternative)

“How Would It Feel” – LT – Cairns, QLD – Unpublished

“I Am Released” – Andy Zarins (L.I.D.) – Candelo, NSW – Lyrics Only

“I Can’t Let It Go” – Angus Brill Reed – Adelaide, SA – EDM

“I Can’t Let It Go” – Angus Brill Reed – Adelaide, SA – Teen

“I’m Closed” – Aidan Whitehall (Aodhan) – Tullimbar, NSW – Teen

“Just For You” – Grace Newton-Wordsworth, Aaron Birch (Joan & The Giants) – Perth, WA – AC (Adult Contemporary)

“Just For You” – Grace Newton-Wordsworth, Aaron Birch (Joan & The Giants) – Perth, WA – Music Video

“Just For You” – Grace Newton-Wordsworth, Aaron Birch (Joan & The Giants) – Perth, WA – Unsigned

“Let Me Go” – Mitchell Curley, Lenny Pearce (RUMOR) Sydney, NSW – EDM

“Life Ain’t Fine” – Shane Nicholson – Brisbane, QLD – Folk/Singer-Songwriter

“Little Too Late” – Lachlan Edwards – Newcastle, NSW – Folk/Singer-Songwriter

“Oil & Water” – Mitchell King, Mark Lizotte (Mitch King) – Gold Coast, QLD – AAA (Adult Album Alternative)

“Read” – Zoe Marshall, Kyran Daniel, Richelle Cox (Zoe A’Dore) – Melbourne, VIC – Pop/Top 40

“Rescue Me” – Andy Golledge, Caitlin Harnett, Leigh Boland, Joshua Piltz, Nick Ryan, Aaron Ballantyne (Andy Golledge) – Tamworth, NSW – Americana

“Shoosh! ” – Nadia Sunde, Simon Howe (Nadia Sunde) – Annerley, QLD – Children’s Music

“Superglue Ft. Stand Atlantic” – Ian Kenny, Adam Spark, Adam Weston, Ian Berney, Bonnie Fraser – (Birds Of Tokyo) – Sydney, NSW – Pop/Top 40

“Trainwreck” – Rachael Brady, Cameron Kinsey (Rachael Brady) – Katoomba, NSW – Americana

“Trawler” – Nick Milwright, Damian Cazaly, Tristan Courtney, Guy Kable (Blackchords) – Collingwood, VIC – AAA (Adult Album Alternative)

“When The Machine Starts – Melissa Higgins (Missy Higgins) – Sydney, NSW – AC (Adult Contemporary)

“Window Shopping” – Grace Hughes, Louis Schoorl (Yorke) – Bangalow, NSW – Music Video

For a complete list of all ISC 2021 winners, go to: https://www.songwritingcompetition.com/winners

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