New York, NY (Top40 Charts / International Songwriting Competition (ISC)) The International Songwriting Competition (ISC), considered to be the most prestigious and selective songwriting competition in the world, has announced its 2015 winners selected from 18,500 entries from 120 countries worldwide.
The overall Grand Prize is awarded to the gifted songwriter/performer Skrizzly Adams for his song "Tipping Point." Upon learning that he won the overall Grand Prize, New Jersey native Skrizzly said, "Songwriting is my passion in life, so winning ISC is like winning the Heisman trophy!"
Skrizzly Adams is a songwriter who is difficult to pigeonhole (critics have described him as
Bruce Springsteen meets Kanye West). Originally applying his musical talents to the art of producing, he only began to pursue singing professionally a couple of years ago, releasing his self-produced debut project, Stains, a year later. The EPquickly garnered the attention of several high-profile figures including blogger Perez Hilton and urban super producer Boi-1da, ultimately landing him a major label deal with Atlantic Records. In November, 2015, Skrizzly joined
Elle King on her North American tour. He is currently working on his debut album.
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.
Previous ISC winners have included: Vance Joy, Bastille, Passenger, Kate Miller-Heidke, Lindsey Stirling, Gotye, The Band Perry, Kasey Chambers, Gin Wigmore, King Charles, Kimbra, Gregory Porter, Omar Sosa, For King & Country, and more.
To see the complete list of all 68 winners and to hear the winning songs, go to https://www.songwritingcompetition.com/winners