2006 USA Songwriting Competition Kicks Off: Past Winners Gain Grammy Nomination

LOS ANGELES (Top40 Charts/ www.songwriting.net) - Entries for the 11th Annual USA Songwriting Competition are currently being accepted. Winning songs of the 2005 USA Songwriting Competition will receive airplay on a nationally syndicated radio program 'Acoustic Café' as well as XM Satellite Radio. This is the first Songwriting Competition that gives airplay to the winning songs, giving deserving bands, songwriters the recognition and exposure they deserve. Many USA Songwriting Competition winners in the past have received recording and publishing contracts, as well as having their songs placed on film and television. Judges include A&R managers from record labels such as Warner, Universal, BMG/SONY Music. Being in it's 11th year, USA Songwriting Competition is the longest running consecutive annual songwriting competition in North America.

SONG PLACED WITH FAITH HILL, ANOTHER WITH GRAMMY NOMINATION
Darrell Scott's song "Good Ol USA" (the first prize winner of the country category in 2005) will be cut and released by Faith Hill in her upcoming album. Darrell Scott is a singer-songwriter based in Nashville, TN.

Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer (Maryland) won the first prize in the Children's music category 2005 for their song "Scat Like That". The album of the same name is also nominated for a Grammy award in the "Best Musical Album For Children" category. The results of the Grammy awards will be out on February 8, 2006.

Hakim Young (New Jersey) won the Overall Grand Prize as well as the first prize in the R&B category of the 10th Annual USA Songwriting Competition. The song has now been cut by Columbia Records artist "St. Juste". He has worked with Musiq Soulchild (Def Jam Records), Anthony Hamilton (Zomba), Carl Thomas (Bad Boy Records), Blu Cantrell (Columbia) and Amerie (Columbia).
Other winners came from Indonesia, Scotland, Serbia & Montenegro, Denmark, Canada, England, Australia, Belgium and Spain.

'It's great that past winners of the 2005 competition is getting all this recognition such as Grammy nomination, songs placed with major artists', said Lee Lyndes, the executive director of the USA Songwriting Competition.

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