Australian songwriters Kate Miller-Heidke and Keir Nuttall have won the Grand Prize at the International Songwriting Contest for `Caught In The Crowd`.
An all-star panel selecting the winning song included Rob Thomas (matchbox twenty), Neil Finn, Loretta Lynn, Robert Smith (The Cure), Ray Davies (The Kinks), KT Tunstall, Jerry Lee Lewis, T-Pain, Tom Waits and Frank Black (The Pixies).Kate and Keir have won $US25,000 in cash and a further $20,000 in merchandise.
In a statement, International Songwriting Competition founder Candace Avery said, "The song tugs at my heart and give me chills every time I hear it. Its theme is so personal yet universal that everyone can relate to it. That, combined with its infectious melody, makes the song a stand-out. This is the first time the Grand Prize has ever been awarded to Australian songwriters, and we hope this throws the spotlight on the extraordinary and creative music scene in Australia."
This year, the judges had to filter through 15,500 songs from 100 countries.
Other Australian winners in the contest this year were Drew McAlister from Sydney for ‘Somewhere Somehow’ (third place for country), Wade Iedema from Lismore for ‘We’re Not The Losers’ (Second place for Christian/Gospel), Ashley Godfrey from Canberra for ‘My Father’s Son’ (third place for lyrics), Nick Milwright of Blackchords from Melbourne for ‘Broken Bones’ (Third place for Music Video) and Paris Wells and Ryan Ritchie from Melbourne for ‘Lonely’ (first place Top 40).
