Country Music Winners Announced in International Songwriting Competition

Judges Include Martie Maguire (Dixie Chicks), Sara Evans, John Esposito (Warner Bros.), Gordon Kerr (Black River Entertainment), and More
​
May 17, 2017 -- The International Songwriting Competition (ISC) is pleased to announce its 2016 Country music winners. Now in its 16th year, ISC is the world’s largest international songwriting competition, receiving more than 16,000 entries from 137 countries throughout the world. More than $150,000 in cash and merchandise is awarded to 71 winners in 23 categories covering all genres of music, including Country, Jazz, Latin, Rock, Pop, R&B/Hip-Hop, and much more.

Taking home First Place in the Country category are co-writers Keith Armstrong, Jeannie Lurie, Matias Mora, and Caitlin Notey for their song  “Figure Me Out.” Second Place is awarded to Caitlin Rushing for the song “Hold On You,” and Third Place goes to Katrina Burgoyne, Goran Kralj, and Joe Doyle for their song “When I'm Broken.”

“The Country category was very strong this year and was definitely one of the most competitive in the competition,” states Candace Avery, ISC Founder and Director. “The judges praised many of the songs, even calling many of them hits. It was clearly a most challenging task this year for our panel of judges. However, when the dust settled, three songs were selected as winners.”
​
The 2016 Country winners include:

---

FIRST PLACE
 
Garnering First Place are co-writers Jeannie Lurie, Keith Armstrong, Matias Mora, and Caitlin Notey for the song “Figure Me Out.” All of the co-writers are individually renowned for their songwriting skill and talent. Jeannie Lurie is a Los Angeles-based, multi-platinum songwriter who has worked with artists such a Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, Zendaya, and many others. She is a fan of writing theme songs, and credits include the theme songs to Disney Channel's Good Luck Charlie, Shake It Up and Sonny With A Chance, Nickelodeon's School Of Rock and Butterbean's Cafe, and the upcoming DreamWorks Animation TV's series Trolls, among others. Keith Armstrong has amassed hundreds of producing/mixing credits. He worked for many years with Chris Lord Alge and with artists such as Green Day, My Chemical Romance, Daughtry, Hinder, Cheap Trick, The Dave Matthews Band, Avril Lavigne, Lifehouse, 5 Seconds of Summer, Lady Antebellum and many more. Matias Mora is an accomplished writer/producer currently signed with SONY/ATV Music Publishing. Caitlin Notey is a Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter/producer who performs and records under the moniker Huxlee. A recipient of BMI Foundation’s John Lennon Scholarship Award, her new four-track EP, Appetite, was released in April, 2017.
 
SECOND PLACE
 
Second Place is awarded to Caitlin Rushing for the song “Hold On You.” For fans of the Florida-born Caitlin, this Orlando based singer/songwriter has an innate heart-on-her-sleeve ability to connect to an audience through her songs with a vocal styling that fuses classic Country with soul and pop. Critics have praised her lyrics for how deeply they penetrate the heart and soul of the listener, and like all good confessionals, she holds fast to the honesty and truth of her feelings. The ISC-winning song “Hold On You” does just that.
 
THIRD PLACE
 
Third Place honors go to Katrina Burgoyne, Goran Kralj, and Joe Doyle for the song “When I’m Broken.” Burgoyne, who hails from Australia but now resides in Nashville, was seen on The Bachelor Australia. Her impressive career in the Australian music industry includes: two Golden Guitar nominations; a Top 10 Australian Country Music ARIA charting album; an Australian Songwriters Association Country Song Of The Year Award; and an Australian Country Music People’s Choice Award. Goran Kralj, is a singer/­songwriter originally from Munster, Indiana. A member of the alt rock band The Gufs on Atlantic Records, Kralj also released a solo album in 2004, and after the band’s final CD was released in 2006, Kralj moved to Franklin, TN where he continues to write songs. Joe Doyle, has spent 29 years writing songs in Nashville TN, and his songs have been included on numerous multi-platinum, platinum and gold albums exceeding more than 16 million in sales.  Artists who have recorded his songs include Reba McIntire, Kenny Rogers, Tracy Byrd, Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, Tim McGraw, and many more.
 
In addition to these winners, 12 Country songs garnered Honorable Mentions:
"All I Got Going Is You” – Blair Mathews, Keith Dozier / AJ Engstrom (Nashville, TN, USA)
"Burn Baby Burn" – Kirsty Lee Akers, Trey Bruce (Kurri Kurri, NSW, Australia)
"Crazy But True" – Gordon Stransky, Cedric Israel (New York, NY, USA)  
"Good At Being Young" – Dave Carlson, Julia Carlson, Brock Berryhill, Jay Brunswick / Wild Life Crush (Nashville, TN, USA)
"Home Is Home" – Jacqui Verellen, Jeff Pardo / Jacqui V (Chatham, ON, Canada)
"Imogene" – Raquel Cole, Jack Williams, Jon Coleman (Vernon, BC, Canada)
"Quitter" – Troy Castellano, Brett Mandel (Isanti, MN, USA)
"Red, White And Blue Jeans" – Preston Dalton, Spencer Dalton, Aaron Henningsen / Dalton Brothers (Franklin, TN, USA)
"Ride" – Ron Day, Ted Bazarnik (Seattle, WA, USA)
"S-Class" – Jordan Richman, James Lynch, Hannah Huntley / The SLVR Tongues (Elk Grove, CA, USA)
"The Reason" – Tim Gates, Brad Hull, Jason Deere (Nashville, TN, USA)
"Workin' On Whiskey" – Jessica Mitchell, Patricia Conroy, David Thomson (London, ON, Canada)
 
In addition to these winners, many other deserving songwriters also share in the prestige and kudos of winning their respective categories in ISC. Winners hail from all over the world (59% of this year’s winners come from outside the USA), representing diverse cultures and ranging from talented amateurs to seasoned songwriting veterans.
 
For the first time in the history of the competition, the Grand Prize is awarded to Canadian songwriters. It is with great pleasure that ISC bestows its highest honor to Canadian troubador Matt Epp and Morocco-born Manitoba-raised 16-year old phenom Faouzia for their co-written song “The Sound Ft. Faouzia,” entered in the Folk/Singer-Songwriter category. The Grand Prize winners take home $25,000 in cash (US) and over $45,000 in additional prizes.
​
Entries are now open for the 2017 competition. For more information and to enter, go to http://www.songwritingcompetition.com.