Matt Epp & Faouzia Take Top Honors At International Songwriting Competition
The International Songwriting Competition has announced that Canadian musician Matt Epp and Morocco-born Manitoba-raised Faouzia have won the contest's grand prize for 2016 for their co-written song “The Sound Ft. Faouzia.”
The International Songwriting Competition (ISC) said that Matt Epp was inspired to write the chorus of the winning entry while on tour and missing his family and later completed the song after meeting Faouzia through a mentorship group. The song has already found traction on the radio, hitting #1 on the CBC Radio 2 chart, and it recently earned the SOCAN No.1 Song Award in Canada based on its radio success.
When Epp heard that they had won the Grand Prize, he said, "I've always felt that we songwriters receive songs, more than write them. I'm so grateful for this one to have chosen me and my very talented collaborator Faouzia, and especially to the ISC for this prestigious Grand Prize award!"
The Grand Prize winners take home $25,000 in cash and over $45,000 in additional prizes.
In addition to the Grand Prize winners, numerous other songwriters won first, second and third place in a variety of categories, ranging from folk to EDM, as well as special categories for unsigned songwriters. Judges for 2016 included both artists and industry execs, including Tom Waits, Lorde, Donovan, Bastille, Joe Bonamassa, India Arie, Sara Evans, Craig Kallman (Chairman/CEO, Atlantic Records); John Esposito (Chairman & CEO, Warner Music Nashville); Dan McCarroll (President, Warner Bros. Records); Daniel Glass (President, Glassnote Records); Bruce Iglauer (Founder/President, Alligator Records); and numerous others.
The full list of winners for the 2016 ISC
AAA (ADULT ALBUM ALTERNATIVE)
1ST PLACE
Jason Dill, Frank Hammonds, Brock Berryhill, Stephen Campbell, Evan Coffman (The Upset Victory)
Cincinnati, OH, USA
2ND PLACE
Tom Iansek, Jo Syme (Big Scary)
Melbourne, VIC, Australia
3RD PLACE
Phebe Starr
Sydney, NSW, Australia
AC (ADULT CONTEMPORARY)
1ST PLACE
Lauren Riley, Melissa Fuller, Joel Heumann (Lauren Riley) Cave Creek, AZ, USA 2ND PLACE
Grace Kelly, April Bender (Grace Kelly)
New York, NY, USA
3RD PLACE
Rob Storm
Johannesburg, South Africa
AMERICANA
1ST PLACE
Grace Askew
Memphis, TN, USA
2ND PLACE
Tim Easton
Nashville, TN, USA
3RD PLACE
Josh Rennie-Hynes
Woodford, QLD, Australia
BLUES
1ST PLACE
Thessex Johns (Johnny Drummer)
Chicago, IL, USA
2ND PLACE
Jai Malano, Daniel Barrett (JaiDan)
Austin, TX, USA
3RD PLACE
Spencer Mackenzie, Richard Mackenzie (Spencer Mackenzie)
Ridgeway, ON, Canada
CHILDREN'S MUSIC
1ST PLACE
Lucy Kalantari
Brooklyn, NY, USA
2ND PLACE
Lalo Crane, Kyler England (Freckleland)
Los Angeles, CA, USA
3RD PLACE
Laszlo Kerekgyarto, Csilla Kovacs (Buborek Band)
Budapest, Hungary
CHRISTIAN
1ST PLACE
Ryan Payne, Jeff Edgel, Christian Morris, Melanie Morris (Attaboy)
Huntington, IN, USA
2ND PLACE
Jaylene Johnson
Winnipeg, MB, Canada
3RD PLACE
Troy Kokol, Tenille Nadkrynechny (Tenille)
Calgary, AB, Canada
COMEDY/NOVELTY
1ST PLACE
Kate Miller-Heidke, Keir Nuttall, Louis Schoorl (Kate Miller-Heidke Ft. The Beards)
Brisbane, QLD, Australia
2ND PLACE
Joey White
Upper Arlington, OH, USA
3RD PLACE
John Pearson, Dave Freeland (Johnny and the TipperZ)
Ossining, NY, USA
COUNTRY
1ST PLACE
Caitlin Notey, Matias Mora, Jeannie Lurie, Keith Armstrong
Los Angeles, CA, USA
2ND PLACE
Caitlin Rushing
Orlando, FL, USA
3RD PLACE
Katrina Burgoyne, Goran Kralj, Joe Doyle (Katrina Burgoyne)
Gunnedah, NSW, Australia / Nashville, TN, USA
EDM (ELECTRONIC DANCE MUSIC)
1ST PLACE
Sophie Simmons
Los Angeles, CA, USA
2ND PLACE
Adam Katz, Tim Maxx (Tim Maxx Ft. Adam Katz)
Sydney, NSW, Australia / Los Angeles, CA, USA
3RD PLACE
Zimri, John Hiler, KVSH (Zimri)
Nashville, TN, USA / Chicago, IL, USA / Belo Horizonte, Brazil
FOLK/SINGER-SONGWRITER
1ST PLACE
Prateek Kuhad
New Delhi, India
2ND PLACE
Nate Ihara
Chantilly, VA, USA
3RD PLACE
Joe Brooks
Southampton, England
INSTRUMENTAL
1ST PLACE
Gustavo Assis-Brasil
Santa Maria, Brazil / Arlington, MA, USA
2ND PLACE
Dexter Britain
Brighton, England
3RD PLACE
Yves Barbieux (Urban Trad)
Marche en Famenne, Belgium
JAZZ
1ST PLACE
Shunzo Ohno
Gifu, Japan
2ND PLACE
Paolo Fresu (Omar Sosa & Paolo Fresu)
Berchidda, Italy
3RD PLACE
Xavier Faro (Meajam)
Cahors, France
LATIN
1ST PLACE
Maca Torres
La Serena, Chile
2ND PLACE
Oscar Jimenez (Oscar Jimenez Ft. La Phonoclorica)
Barranquilla, Colombia / Melbourne, VIC, Australia
3RD PLACE
Cindy Arguello, Javier Arguello (Chaostronaut)
Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico
LYRICS ONLY
1ST PLACE
Gordon Anthony Patrick Barry
Wexford, Ireland
2ND PLACE
Michael Harmel (Government Town)
Regina, SK, Canada
3RD PLACE
Salar Nasir Khan (Salar Khan)
Peshawar, Pakistan
MUSIC VIDEO
1ST PLACE
Claire Pamella Kamahoro (Kleyah)
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
2ND PLACE
Tan Peng Sing, Johnathan Lim, Jonathan Ong, Jeryl Yeo, Siow Wen Sing (Take Two)
Singapore, Republic of Singapore
3RD PLACE
Piper Madison
Louisville, KY, USA
PERFORMANCE
1ST PLACE
Glenn Cardier
Sydney, NSW, Australia
2ND PLACE
Taavi Paomets, Sander Molder (Avoid Dave)
Tallinn, Estonia
3RD PLACE
Tatiana Mayfield, Ben Bohorquez (Tatiana LadyMay Mayfield)
Fort Worth, TX, USA
POP/TOP 40
1ST PLACE
Fly By Midnight
Staten Island, NY, USA
2ND PLACE
Carla Cappa (CAPPA), Kenny Fleetwood, Dylan Bauld
Philadelphia, PA, USA
3RD PLACE
Ravi Kumar, Anjulie Persaud, David Bache (Anjulie)
Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England
R&B/HIP-HOP
1ST PLACE
Ravi Kumar, Whitney Phillips, Zac Poor, David Bache (Zac Poor)
Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England
2ND PLACE
Kyle Bent
Randolph, MA, USA
3RD PLACE
Paul Evans
Los Angeles, CA, USA
ROCK
1ST PLACE
David Leaupepe (Gang Of Youths)
Sydney, NSW, Australia
2ND PLACE
Keaton Simons, John Nathaniel (Keaton Simons)
Laval, QC, Canada
3RD PLACE
Sam Roberts (Sam Roberts Band)
Montreal, QC, Canada
TEEN
1ST PLACE
Kayla Korpics
Gibsonton, FL, USA
2ND PLACE
Avonlea
Santa Rosa, CA, USA
3RD PLACE
Olivia Swinton
Scarsdale, NY, USA
UNPUBLISHED
1ST PLACE
Matt Gresham
Perth, WA, Australia
2ND PLACE
Thom Chacon
Durango, CO, USA
3RD PLACE
Holly Harding, Jungle Boi, Mallie
London, England
UNSIGNED ONLY
1ST PLACE
Mike Chetcuti (Lava Dolls)
Hamilton, ON, Canada
2ND PLACE
Raquel Cole, Jack Williams, Jon Coleman (Raquel Cole)
Vernon, BC, Canada
3RD PLACE
Council
Baldwinsville, NY, USA
WORLD
1ST PLACE
Daby Toure
Paris, France
2ND PLACE
Dino Miranda
Maputo, Tchumene, Mozambique
3RD PLACE
Shahed Mohseni Zonoozi, Salar Hamzei
Tehran, Iran
