Riptide wins grand songwriting prize for joy
The International Songwriting Competition (ISC), widely recognised as the most prestigious and respected international songwriting competition in the world, has announced its 2014 winners.
ISC’s overall Grand Prize is awarded to Australian singer/songwriter Vance Joy for his song 'Riptide'. It is the first time in ISC’s 14-year history that any entrant has ever received perfect scores across the board. The song is being called an instant classic by both critics and fans across the world, launching Joy’s career with sold-out tours, worldwide chart success, and critical acclaim.
“It is such an honour to win this songwriting prize,” Joy said in a statement. “Writing songs is what gives me a feeling of purpose. I’m proud to receive this award voted on by my songwriting peers.”
The Grand Prize winner receives $25,000 in cash plus $45,000 in services and merchandise, including a custom-built Lowden guitar valued at over $11,000, a Hammond organ, Abelton Push and Live 9 Suite, and much more.
Winners were selected by a panel of Judges which included: American Authors, Pat Metheny, Sarah McLachlan, Bastille, Avicii, Sara Evans, Keane, Casting Crowns, Darryl McDaniels (Run D.M.C), Newsboys, Wayne Shorter, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, London Grammar, Taylor Goldsmith (Dawes), Gerald Casale (Devo), Dan McCarroll (President, Warner Bros. Records), Craig Kallman (Chairman/CEO, Atlantic Records), Mike Smith (President, Virgin EMI Records), Jeff Castelaz (President, Elektra Records), Ted Cockle (President, Virgin Records UK), and many more.
Having already sold more than a million copies worldwide, Riptide was inspired by a motel that Joy visited as a child when he would go on family holidays down the coast of Australia, staying at a motel named Riptide. The motel became the title of this memorable song that not only has charmed the world but has also led to the explosion of Joy’s career. Soon to embark on a seven-month tour as the support act for pop superstar Taylor Swift, the Australian is popping up everywhere, including recently performing Riptide on the MTV Europe Music Awards in Glasgow, Scotland. Joy’s accomplishments also include reaching the #1 spot on Triple J’s Hottest 100, and the single has been certified 5x platinum in Australia and 2x Platinum in the US. Furthermore, the songwriter took home the prestigious 2014 APRA award for Song of The Year. The track also went to #30 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and #1 on the Rock Airplay chart.
Created in 2002, ISC awards more than $150,000 in cash and prizes to winners of the competition. Winners range from amateur songwriters who are just starting their careers to professional songwriters who have years worth of experience. Previous ISC winners include 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 many more.
2014 ISC WINNERS
Grand Prize
“Riptide” – Vance Joy (James Keogh) (Glen Iris, VIC, Australia)
AAA (Adult Album Alternative)
First Place
“Sheep In Wolves Clothing” – Little Hurricane (San Diego, CA, USA)
Second Place
“Daisy” – Tyler Baker, Landon Milbourn, Brandon Qualkenbush, Paul Moak (Nashville, TN, USA)
Third Place
“Night and Day” - Sam Eliot (London, England)
Adult Contemporary (AC)
First Place
“Place Where I Belong” – Corbett (Florence, KY, USA)
Second Place
“Sidecar” – Robyn Dell'Unto (Toronto, ON, Canada)
Third Place
“Sirens” – Lucy Mason (Sydney, NSW, Australia)
Americana
First Place
“Athens” – Angela Perley (Columbus, OH, USA)
Second Place
“I've Spent My Whole Life” – Casey Black (Nashville, TN, USA)
Third Place
“How'm I Gonna Get Back Home” – Rob Kolar (Los Angeles, CA, USA)
Blues
First Place
“Sin Perfume” – Casey Hurt (Los Angeles, CA, USA)
Second Place
“Greedy” – Tommy Castro (San Jose, CA, USA)
Third Place
“In and Out of Love” – Shawn Hall, Matthew Rogers (Vancouver, BC, Canada)
Children’s Music
First Place
“Be My Friend” - Kyler England, Lalo Crane (Los Angeles, CA, USA)
Second Place
“Out of Tune” - The Okee Dokee Brothers (Justin Lansing, Joe Mailander) (Denver, CO, USA)
Third Place
“Silence Is All The Music I Need” - Jon Samson (Brooklyn, NY, USA)
Comedy/Novelty
First Place
“Blow Me” – Douglas Stevens (Belmont, MA, USA)
Second Place
“The OCDance” – Rachel Bloom, Jack Dolgen (Los Angeles, CA, USA)
Third Place
“Piglets” – Joel Meeks (Franklin, TN, USA)
Country
First Place
“Stuck“ – Dean Dillon, Casey Beathard, Bonnie Pine (Dallas, TX, USA)
Second Place
“Little Miss Whiskey” – The Morrison Brothers Band (Washington, DC, USA)
Third Place
“Hopeful Heart” – Nikki Boon, Ryan Nelson (Grand Rapids, MI, USA)
Dance/Electronica
First Place
“The Fire” – French Horn Rebellion (Brooklyn, NY, USA)
Second Place
“State of War” - Paul McDermott, Jessica Malakouti, W. Cate (Sydney, NSW, Australia)
Third Place
“Room 1423” – 3LACKJACK (Saarlouis, Germany)
Folk/Singer-Songwriter
First Place
“Borderline” – Daniel Duke (Banbridge, Northern Ireland)
Second Place
“Broken Tooth” – Jordan Casty (Chicago, IL, USA)
Third Place
“Mercy” – Ben Kyle (Minneapolis, MN, USA)
Gospel/Christian
First Place
“God I Believe” – Cameron Paul Stymeist, Stephanie Midthun (Placerville, CA, USA)
Second Place
“Sam Or Saul” – Joseph Pfeifer (Oxnard, CA, USA)
Third Place
“Forevermore” – Jared Wood, Max Corwin (Frisco, TX, USA)
Instrumental
First Place
“Valor & Triumph” – Arshak Sirunyan (Yerevan, Armenia)
Second Place
“True Sorry” – Ibrahim Maalouf (Ivry sur Seine, France)
Third Place
“Girls” – Pascal Le Boeuf (RighteousGIRLS) (New York, NY, USA)
Jazz
First Place
“Hoodman's Blind” – Arshak Sirunyan (Yerevan, Armenia)
Second Place
“Playground” – David Friesen (Portland, OR, USA)
Third Place
“Springtime In New York” – Prasanna Ramaswamy (Chennai, India)
Latin
First Place
“Por Mas Que Yo Resista” – José Abraham, Juanma Leal (Sevilla, Spain)
Second Place
“Caen Mis Sueños” – Kevin Rooke (Bogota, Columbia)
Third Place
“Amor, Amor” – Andro Sanchez (Bogota, Colombia
Lyrics Only
First Place
“Bread And Butter” – Richard Dames (New York, NY, USA)
Second Place
“Giants” – Joe Morton (New Plymouth, New Zealand)
Third Place
“Bound In Ashes” – Mwaka Mwape (Lusaka, Zambia)
Music Video
First Place
“90s Music” – Kimbra Johnson, Matt Morris, Mark Foster, Timon Martin, Stephen McQuinn (Melbourne, VIC, Australia)
Second Place
“Exploding Heart” – Adil Omar (Islamabad, Pakistan)
Third Place
“Black Swamp Village” – Manolis Stamatiadis (Thessaloniki, Greece)
Performance
First Place
“90s Music” – Kimbra Johnson, Matt Morris, Mark Foster, Timon Martin, Stephen McQuinn (Melbourne, VIC, Australia)
Second Place
“Just Passing Through” – Jeff Breithaupt, Don Breithauupt (New York, NY, USA)
Third Place
“Your Love” – Jerry Jean (New York, NY, USA)
Pop/Top 40
First Place
“Tidal Waves And Hurricanes” – Maggie Szabo, Andrew Allen (Dundas, ON, Canada)
Second Place
“Prehistoric Love” – Tenielle Neda, Rob Agostini, Denny Thakrar (Perth, WA, Australia)
Third Place
“In Love With The Moment” – Jordan Higgins, Griffith Frank, Josephina Carr (Sacramento, CA, USA)
R&B/Hip-Hop
First Place
“The Morning After He” - Dominique Jones (Oakland, CA, USA)
Second Place
“Something I Said Ft. Thom Crawford” – Thundamentals (Sydney, NSW, Australia)
Third Place
“Someway Bi” – Kwame A Tsikata (M.anifest) (Accra, Ghana)
Rock
First Place
“Run” – San Cisco (Fremantle, WA, Australia)
Second Place
“Ohio” - Alexander Laska, Fergus Linacre, Jeremy Hunter (Melbourne, VIC, Australia)
Third Place
“Pull The Trigger” – Benjamin Dowd (Melbourne, VIC, Australia)
Teen
First Place
“Your One” – Avonlea (Santa Rosa, CA, USA)
Second Place
“Move Ben Move” – Benjamin Rogers (Brantford , ON, Canada)
Third Place
“Wasted Tears” – Victoria Celestine (Blanco, TX, USA)
Unsigned Only
First Place
“Giants” – Joe Morton (New Plymouth, New Zealand)
Second Place
“Just Be” – Lilian Caputo, Michael Martinez (Rome, Italy)
Third Place
“Stars” – Justin Snowball (Perth, WA, Australia)
World
First Place
“Mapenzi ‘Love’” - Nimbona Jean Pierre (Bujumbura, Burundi)
Second Place
“Upokohue” – Moana Maniapoto, Paddy Free, Scotty Morrison (Auckland, New Zealand)
Third Place
“Sambah” – João Nabuco (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
People’s Voice Award
“Where Have You Been?” - Astha Tamang-Maskey, Rohit Shakya (Kathmandu, Nepal)