The International Songwriting Competition (ISC) has announced the winners of its 2025 edition, with Ghanaian-American songwriter and artist Sam Opoku receiving the overall Grand Prize.
This year’s competition drew roughly 13,000 entries from more than 120 countries, reflecting a broad range of emerging and established talent across contemporary music genres.
Opoku earned the competition’s highest honor for his song “Old,” which examines aging, regret, and the search for joy later in life. ISC described the track as an example of emotionally direct songwriting and strong compositional craft.
After the announcement, Opoku said he felt “grateful and speechless” about the recognition. He also noted that acknowledgment from songwriters and music listeners can provide encouragement during difficult periods in an artist’s career.
Founded more than two decades ago, the International Songwriting Competition has built a reputation for spotlighting songwriters at different career stages. The competition connects participants with a judging panel that includes Grammy-winning artists, songwriters, and music industry executives.
Born in Ghana, Opoku moved to the United States at age eight after his mother won the U.S. visa lottery. During high school, he became a two-time Poetry Out Loud champion, an experience that later influenced his interest in songwriting and music.
Over the course of his career, Opoku has collaborated with producers including Timbaland and Darkchild. In addition, he has contributed songwriting work for artists such as Kehlani, Maroon 5, and Chris Brown.
As Grand Prize winner, Opoku will receive a package that includes $25,000 USD, music equipment, professional services, and industry exposure intended to support the next stage of his career. ISC also announced first-, second-, and third-place winners across 23 categories, recognizing songwriting achievement in multiple genres.
“Every year, ISC reveals an inspiring new wave of songwriters whose music moves us, challenges us, and connects us,” said Candace Avery, Founder and Director. “The 2025 winners have raised the bar yet again. We are honored to champion their work and excited to see where their music takes them next.”
Previous winners have included: Tones and I; Illenium; Vance Joy; Bastille; Jordan Adetunji; Coco Jones; David Kushner; Nate Smith; Fantastic Negrito; Dean Lewis; Gotye; Lindsey Stirling; Kimbra; Dustin Lynch; Faouzia; The Band Perry; Kehlani; Gregory Porter; Passenger; Gin Wigmore; Missy Higgins; For King & Country; Francesca Battistelli; Tenille Townes; Adrienne Lenker (Big Thief); Jordan St. Cyr; Tommy Castro; Andrew Bird; Omar Sosa; and many more.
Celebrity judges include: Jason Mraz; Tom Waits, Andy Grammer, Elle King, James Adam Shelley (American Authors), Kristian Bush (Sugarland), Topic, Lonnie Liston Smith, Armin Van Buuren, Steve Lillywhite, Sidewalk Prophets, Kim Wilson (The Fabulous Thunderbirds), Nancy Wilson (Heart), Tom Hambridge, Ian Felice (The Felice Brothers), Fantastic Negrito, Danilo Perez, Tracy Nelson, Above & Beyond, Stanley Jordan, Tim Rice-Oxley (Keane), James McNally, Antonio Vergara, Jordan St. Cyr, Ashwin Batish, Carter Burwell, Nicholas Gunn, Josh Johnson, and Sommore.
Industry judges include: John Doelp (Sr. VP of A&R Operations, Columbia Records); Matt D’Arduini (Co-President, Arista Records); Peter Strickland (Gen. Mgr., BBR Music Group); Bruce Iglauer (Founder/President, Alligator Records); Daniel Glass (President/Founder, Glassnote Records); Richard Stumpf (CEO/Founder, Hawkeye Music Group); Ed Vetri (President, Wind-Up Records); Golnar Khosrowshahi (President, Reservoir Media Management); Jacob Edgar (Founder, Cumbancha); Anton Powers (Head of A&R, Ministry of Sound); Steven Rosen (President/Creative Marketing and Music Publishing, Regime Music Group); Joel Timen (VP of A&R and Publishing, Curb/Word Entertainment); Justin Prager (Sr. Dir. of Programming, VEVO); Cesar Gomez Montoya (A&R, Codiscos); Cory Robbins (Founder/President, Robbins Entertainment); Julie Nakahara (Editor/General Manager, Hot Diggity Media); Jacqueline Post (Head of Publishing, Connection Music Publishing); Anita Chinkes-Ratner (EVP/Creative Strategy, Paramount); Jodie Cammidge (Managing Dir., Polydor Label Group); Leib Ostrow (Founder/CEO, Music For Little People); Katherine Dines (Advisory Board and Magic Penny Award Chair, Children’s Music Network); Claire S. Green (President, Parents’ Choice Foundation); Benjamin Groff (President, Brill Building Music Publishing); Tamara Conniff (EVP, Roc Nation Music Publishing); Julie Hurwitz (Founder, Songbird Creative); Michael Peek (Gen. Mgr., Armada Music Publishing); Carl Caprioglio (Founder/CEO, Oglio Entertainment); Elena Epstein (Director, National Parenting Product Awards)
Sponsors include: Baby Audio; Capital Music Gear; Celebrity Access; Ghost Rocket; Gibson; Godin Guitars; Graph Tech Guitar Labs; JZ Microphones; Lurssen Mastering; Modern Beats; Music Business Registry; Prodigy Camp; Play MPE; sE Electronics; Shure; Sonarworks; SongwritersdB; SongBay; Sweetwater; The Church Studio; The Online Recording Studio; Pressed Fresh Collective; Morely; Kyser; Booking-agent.io
For a complete list of winners and to listen to the winning songs, please visit the ISC website at https://www.songwritingcompetition.com/winners.
Entries are now open for ISC 2026. For more information and to enter, go to https://www.songwritingcompetition.com
Author: World Music Central News Room
World music news from the editors at World Music Central