Young Songwriter 2019 competition open for entries

Natalie Shay: Song Academy Young Songwriter 2017 finalist

Song Academy’s annual contest for 8-18-year-olds will be judging originality, lyrics, melody, composition, and potential to be a hit song

Now in its eighth year, the Song Academy Young Songwriter Competition 2019 is open for entries until 31 March 2019 from young people aged 8-18 across the UK and internationally. As the name suggests, the contest focuses on songwriting rather than singing and performance, with submissions being judged on originality, lyrics, melody, composition, and potential to be a hit song.

The judging panel for this year includes Tom Odell, Imelda May, Rumer, Chris Difford, Eg White, Miranda Cooper, Emily Phillips, Nigel Elderton, James Walsh, Tim Laws and Dan Gillespie Sells.

“When I was 13 years old I started writing songs, and over the following years I became more and more obsessed with it,” said Tom Odell. “But the thing that always kept me awake at night was how to get them out there for people to hear them. This is why I think the Song Academy Young Songwriter competition is a great way to inspire and help through this process, and its something I wish had been around when I was starting out. I can’t wait to hear the songs!”

Prizes include an opportunity to record the winning song with a top producer in London with professional music video and photos from the session, a home studio setup from Focusrite, KRK & sE Electronics, a Casio Music CT-x5000 portable keyboard, a signed Tom Odell album, and a signed copy of songwriter Carole King‘s book A Natural Woman. Winners will also get the chance to perform in The Young Songwriter 2019 showcase at The Tabernacle, London.

This competition will be separately judged for UK & Ireland 8-12-year-olds, UK & Ireland 13-18-year-olds and international entries. Enter online including the songs’ lyrics on the form and an audio recording in MP3 format (or audio recording via SoundCloud) at songacademy.co.uk/says19

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