Nashville, TN. (Top40 Charts/ ISC) - The International Songwriting Competition (ISC), the world's leading global songwriting event, is pleased to announce its 2006 winners. More than $150,000 in cash and prizes will be shared among the 56 winners, including an overall Grand Prize of $25,000 (US) cash - the largest cash Grand Prize of any songwriting competition in the world. ISC received almost 15,000 songs by amateur and professional songwriters from 88 countries in the 2006 competition, and has been called "the songwriting competition to take note of" by the New York Times. Entries were received from all across the globe, from Rwanda and Cameroon, to Croatia and Uzbekistan, to Panama and Guatemala, to China and Singapore, to New Zealand and Australia, and beyond.
"Tailwind," by Harmony James of Tennant Creek, NT, Australia, has been awarded First Place in the Country category. Judges included such high-profile artists as Rosanne Cash, Craig Morgan, and Mark Chesnutt. Not only is James the first Australian ever to win top honors for the Country category, but her song also beat out many extremely respected, high-profile Nashville songwriters - quite an achievement for such a young, virtually unknown songwriter! James wrote the autobiographical song last year, not long after graduating from the Australian College Of Country Music. Regarding the inspiration for the song, James says, "When things are getting a bit tough, my first thought has always been to load up the car and head off." Her winning song is also her first single on her newly released debut EP Harmony.
Second Place in the Country category is awarded to Liz Hengber and John Jarvis for their song, "When I Grow Up." Brooklyn-born Liz Hengber began her professional writing career with Reba McEntire's company, Starstruck, in 1991. During her 9 years there, she had four No 1 Hits with Reba. In 2000, she made Billboard Magazine's Top 10 Country Songwriters because of her back-to-back hits for Andy Griggs and Clay Davidson. She now writes for Clint Black's publishing company, Blacktop Music. John Barlow Jarvis' musical journey began in 1968 in Southern California at the age of 14, when after winning numerous classical competition awards, he was signed as a staff songwriter and studio musician at Edwin H. Morris Music. By the age of 18, he was already playing piano on hits by such artists as Ringo Starr, Diana Ross, Leo Sayer, John Mellancamp, Art Garfunkel, and many others. At the age of 20, John joined the Rod Stewart Band. Since relocating to Nashville, TN in 1982, John has continued to work as a recording artist, is a two-time Grammy-winning songwriter (for Country Songs of the Year "I Still Believe in You" and "Love Can Build a Bridge"), and studio musician playing with artists such as Vince Gill, Faith Hill, Shania Twain, George Strait, Reba MacEntire, and Hank Jr. John has just released a new critically acclaimed CD, View From a Southern Porch.
Lisa Carver is awarded Third Place for her song "Sideman." Born in Charleston, South Carolina, Carver moved with her family to a religious commune in Southeast Alaska at the age of 10, and spent the next five years in a cabin with no running water or electricity, letting the rugged wilderness around her fuel her creative passion and imagination. She moved to Nashville, TN at the age of 19 and stepped onto the road leading to songwriting success, getting her songs recorded by artists such as Tim McGraw, Reba, Shelly Fairchild, Julie Roberts, Thom Bresh, Tanya Tucker, Willie Nelson, and Sugarland (she has four cuts on the new record, Enjoy The Ride).
In addition to these winners, 11 other Country songs garnered an Honorable Mention:
"100 Proof" - Liz Carlisle/Russell Wolff - Cambridge, MA, USA
"12 Step Program Of Love" - Dennis Dupuis - N. Hampton, NH, USA
"Angel" - Jaque Faye/James Newton Russell/T. Kristian Russell - Nashville, TN, USA
"Fiona" - Sean Patrick McGraw - Nashville, TN, USA
"For The Ones I Love" - Ryan 'ryno' Nicholson/Jarrod Doucet - Franklin, TN, USA
"Good Boots" - Ed Williams - Dallas, TX, USA
"I Do This For You" - Eric Reading (The Readings)/Wendy Jans - Nashville, TN, USA
"Let Me Down Easy" - Maxwell Russell - Florence, AL, USA
"Line Dance" - Ed Lesniak/Seth Lesniak (Seth Edward & Papa James) - Columbus, MS, USA
"Runaround" - Wendy Newcomer - Nashville, TN, USA
"The All Overs" - Samantha King/Ted Hewitt - Edmonton, AB, Canada
In addition to the Country category, many other categories were represented by songwriters from all over the world. ISC's highest honor, the 2006 Grand Prize, is awarded to Scott Leger of Austin, TX, USA for his song "Maybe Tonight, Maybe Tomorrow." In addition to its lyrical content, the song's memorable chorus and strong pop sensibility resonated with the ISC judges, culminating in it being awarded this year's prestigious Grand Prize. Upon learning of a friend's cancer diagnosis, Leger wrote the song both as a personal coping mechanism and as a tribute to honor survivors across the world.
ISC is now accepting entries for 2007. The ISC Overall Grand Prize for 2007 includes a $25,000 cash prize, the largest cash Grand Prize of any songwriting competition. Visit www.songwritingcompetition.com for more information and entry forms.
