The song “A Leggenda Du Piscaturi” composed by Maurizio Giannone and Roberto Giannone won the first place award at the 2015 International Songwriting Competition (ISC). Maurizio Giannone and Roberto Giannone are brothers and members of Italian band Corimè from Marsala in Italy. “A Leggenda Du Piscaturi” appears in the band’s album La Scelta.
The Second Place award went to “Ho Jamalo” by Chris McKhool, Kevin Laliberte, Anwar Khurshid and Waleed Abdulhamid of Canadian band Sultans of String from Toronto. “Ho Jamalo” is featured in the ensemble’s Subcontinental Drift album.
The Third Place award was given to “Ntsumi” by Isabel Novella from Maputo in Mozambique.
American singer-songwriter Skrizzly Adams took home the Grand Prize for his song “Tipping Point.” In addition to winning $25,000 (US) in cash, Skrizzly Adams receives almost $25,000 in services and merchandise, including a custom-built Lowden guitar valued at over $11,000, a Marshall amp and cabinet, a PDP drum kit, an Ultimate Ears MEGABOOM speaker, and much more.
ISC recognizes and honors excellence in the craft of songwriting. With over 18,000 entries submitted from almost 120 countries, a total of 351 deserving songwriters are honored this year in the competition, winning First, Second, Third, and Honorable Mention placements. ISC is now accepting entries for 2016. More information can be found at: www.songwritingcompetition.com.
Winners were selected by a panel of judges which included: Kesha; American Authors; Pat Metheny; Lorde; Sara Evans; Bastille; Bill Withers; Keane; Danilo Perez; Hardwell; Gerald Casale (Devo); Joy Williams (The Civil Wars); Keb’ Mo’; Sean Paul; Afro Celt Sound System; Craig Kallman (Chairman/CEO, Atlantic Records); Dan McCarroll (President, Warner Bros. Records); Daniel Glass (President, Glassnote Records); Craig Balsam (Owner, Razor & Tie Records); Kevin Welk (Chief Creative, Vanguard and Sugar Hill Records); Steve Yegelwel (Senior Vice President, Capitol Records); Bruce Iglauer (Founder/President, Alligator Records); and many more.
ISC is sponsored by: Ableton, Artist Growth, Berklee College Of Music, CAD Audio, Celebrity Access, D’Addario, Disc Makers, DW Drums, Focusrite, Gauge Microphones, George Stein, Esq., GigSalad, Gretsch, Indie Venue Bible, Latin Percussion, Lowden Guitars, Marshall Amplification, Musicians Institute, Ovation, Pacific Drums, Sessions Headphones, SongU.com, Thayers, The Music Business Registry and Ultimate Ears
The following is a complete list of winners:
Grand Prize
“Tipping Point” – Skrizzly Adams (Westfield, NJ, USA)
AAA (Adult Album Alternative)
First Place
“Never Be” – Megan McInerney (Meg Mac) – Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Second Place
“Trying” – Nick Fowler (Afternoon Men) – New York, NY, USA
Third Place
“Carousel Ride” – Alexander Toth (Rubblebucket)” – Lambertville, NJ, USA
Adult Contemporary (AC)
First Place
“Halfway Out Of Love” – Jordan Richman, Griffith Frank, Rayvon Owen, Samuel Plotkin – Sacramento, CA, USA
Second Place
“Lava” – Danielle Baylor, Jerome Baylor, Naïmah Muhammad, Dwight Baylor (Danni) – Fort Washington, MD, USA
Third Place
“Echo” – Paul Stark, Michael Arcaro, Kevin Arcaro, JD Perone, Alex Silverman, Sean Silverman (Wild Sons) – Palm Springs, CA, USA
Americana
First Place
“Love’s First Lesson” – Joel Rafael, Jack Tempchin – Escondido, CA, USA
Second Place
“Walking In The Dark” – Brock Zeman – Carleton Place, ON, Canada
Third Place
“Wolves (At My Door)” – David Roddie – Glasgow, Scotland
Blues
First Place
“I Won’t Forget About You” – Hailey Calvert – Brisbane, QLD, Australia
Second Place
“An Honest Man” – Xavier Dphrepaulezz (Fantastic Negrito) – Oakland, CA, USA
Third Place
“Tied My Worries To A Stone” – Matt Isbell (Ghost Town Blues) – Memphis, TN, USA
Children’s Music
First Place
“The Bright Side Of Me” – Alastair Moock – Melrose, MA, USA
Second Place
“Strawberry Love” – Morgan Taylor (Gustafer Yellowgold) – Kingston, NY, USA
Third Place
“Monday I Woke Up Purple” – Steve Weeks – Colorado Springs, CO, USA
Christian
First Place
“Circles” – Aaron Buchholz – Langley, BC, Canada
Second Place
“Jesus Forever” – Jeff Markey – Hopatcong, NJ, USA
Third Place
“Reaching In” – Brad Nickel – Edmonton, AB, Canada
Comedy/Novelty
First Place
“Let’s Get Wasted (Like We Do On Christmas)” – Sylvie Simhon, Hughie Stone Fish – Bogota, Colombia
Second Place
“Dead With You” – Gareth Cooper – London, England
Third Place
“Joe’s Ex-Girlfriends” – Carla Ulbrich – Clemson, SC, USA
Country
First Place
“Hands“ – Brad Hull, Deanna Harper, Holly Furman (Due West) – Whites Creek, TN, USA
Second Place
“I’m Down” – Andrew Peebles, Joe Fox – North Vancouver, BC, Canada
Third Place
“Like I Would ” – Megan Mace, Elizabeth Mace (Megan & Liz) – Edwardsburg, MI, USA
EDM
First Place
“Two Bodies Ft. Emma Louise” – Flight Facilities – Sydney, NSW, Australia
Second Place
“Hologram” – Ioana Udroiu, Felipe Mejia Saldarriaga (Elline) – Bucharest, Romania
Third Place
“It’s A London Thing” – Ninnee, JCX – Bromley, England
Folk/Singer-Songwriter
First Place
“A Ghost” – Kelsi Fadness (NickNervous) – Twin Falls, ID, USA
Second Place
“Life Without Sundays” – Joshua Meltzer – Northampton, MA, USA
Third Place
“Silk Ft. Thelma Plum” – Dustin Tebbutt – Armidale, NSW, Australia
Instrumental
First Place
“Oriental Fantasy” – Emma Lin – Taichung, Taiwan
Second Place
“Tanger” – Christian Xavier Rizo (Risengard) – Monterrey, Mexico
Third Place
“Wunderbaumgartner” – Esko Jarvela (Esko Jarvela Epic Male Band) – Kerava, Finland
Jazz
First Place
“Sad Meeting” – Omar Sosa – Camaguey, Cuba
Second Place
“Quantum Leaps (And Bounds)” – Carl Bartlett, Jr. – Queens, NY, USA
Third Place
“Halloween Song” – David Smith – Brooklyn, NY, USA
Latin
First Place
“Un Poquito De Amor” – San Miguel Perez, Colin Hay – Granma, Cuba / Los Angeles, CA, USA
Second Place
“El Dia Es Hoy” – Rakel, Jorge L.Piloto, Julio Reyes, Yoel Henríquez – Medellin, Colombia
Third Place
“Amor Sin Barreras” – Georgina Recamier (Madame Recamier) – Mexico City, Mexico
Lyrics Only
First Place
“Silence” – Jack O’Rourke – Cork, Ireland
Second Place
“Apple And Poison” – Suk Lan Ser – Subang Jaya, Malaysia
Third Place
“You And I” – Josh Birdsong – Howell, MI, USA
Music Video
First Place
“Clair De Lune” Directed by Dave Ma – Flight Facilities – Sydney, NSW, Australia
Second Place
“To The Bird” Directed by Vandad Kashefi – Felix Lajku – Budapest, Hungary
Third Place
“Ruthless Love” Directed by Montana Mann – Alexz Johnson, Brendan James Johnson – Vancouver, BC, Canada
Performance
First Place
“Gods Of War” – Celeste Buckingham – Borinka, Slovakia
Second Place
“Another Man’s Gun” – Mike Stocksdale – Palos Verdes, CA, USA
Third Place
“Wake Up” – Carito Plaza, DJ Acres – Santiago, Chile
Pop/Top 40
First Place
“The Girl On The TV Screen” – Aidan James, Tommy Cecil, Jay Brunswick, Matt Alderman – Honolulu, HI, USA
Second Place
“Climbing Trees” – Zimri, Gladius – Nashville, TN, USA
Third Place
“Gasoline” – Nick Bailey – Virginia Beach, VA, USA
R&B/Hip-Hop
First Place
“Stay Up” – Donnovan M. Blocker, Kehlani Parrish (DyMe-A-DuZiN) – Brooklyn, NY, USA
Second Place
“Sweatin’ Ft. Famous” – Pinnacle TheHustler – Cincinnati, OH, USA
Third Place
“Take This” – Zack Gray – Roseville, CA, USA
Rock
First Place
“Anchor” – Ian Berney, Ian Kenny, Glenn Sarangapany, Adam Spark, Adam Weston (Birds Of Tokyo) – Perth, WA, Australia
Second Place
“Kisser” – Step Rockets – Minneapolis, MN, USA
Third Place
“Waterslides” – Tropical Zombie – Byron Bay, NSW, Australia
Teen
First Place
“Labyrinth” – Julia Graye – Saint James, NY, USA
Second Place
“Who Am I” – Carmel Buckingham (The House United) – Borinka, Slovakia
Third Place
“O Captain! My Captain!” – Mitchell Brady (The Static Shift) – Calgary, AB, Canada
Unsigned Only
First Place
“Monsters Of The North” – Brady Parks (The National Parks) – Provo, UT, USA
Second Place
“Wax ‘n’ Wane” – Mickael Fortin (Orange O’Clock) – Sherbrooke, QC, Canada
Third Place
“When We Kiss” – Peter McVeigh – Belfast, Ireland
World
First Place
“A Leggenda Du Piscaturi” – Maurizio Giannone, Roberto Giannone (Corimè) – Marsala, Italy
Second Place
“Ho Jamalo” – Chris McKhool, Kevin Laliberte, Anwar Khurshid, Waleed Abdulhamid (Sultans Of String) – Toronto, ON, Canada
Third Place
“Ntsumi” – Isabel Novella – Maputo, Mozambique
People’s Voice Award
“Fake Fruits?” – Gergana Noykova, Ersin Mustafov, Tasho Kolev (JEREMY?) – Sofia, Bulgaria
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.