Announcing the top finalists in The Young Songwriter 2022 competition

Drumroll please! The top finalists of the hotly contested Song Academy Young Songwriter 2022 competition, in its 12th year,  have now been revealed. This year’s competition attracted an impressive 852 high quality entries from aspiring young songwriters aged 8-18 across the world, both experienced young songwriters and those who’ve written their first song.  67% of entrants were girls, 28% boys, 2% preferred not to say & 3% had a unique gender identification. Entries were from across the entire UK (82%) and around the world (18%).  The future of music is bright and diverse.

The Young Songwriter competition stands for the craft and art of songwriting in its purest form, enabling young songwriters to aspire to the very best melody, lyric, structure, concept, harmony, mood and impact a song can have. It inspires young people to think about and speak up about things that are important to them personally, in their community and in the wider world and get their voices heard. It’s a supportive community where young people feel brave and can express themselves, celebrate individuality and be themselves. The benefits from this unique community are far reaching, especially the positive boost to mental health.

What makes a sensational song is ultimately subjective. The top finalists songs were selected as they stood out for their creativity, invention & courage with lyrics & melodies illuminating our imaginations. Congratulations also go to all SAYS22 entrants for writing some wonderful songs & sharing them with our vibrant community.

Goto the Song Academy SoundCloud account to listen to the finalists’ songs!  Plus the top songs and young songwriters are shown below.

The top 10 finalists of all categories will be announced on the 6th May.  The top 3 finalists will be announced on the 13th June.  The UK/Ireland winners will be announced on the 25th June at The Young Songwriter 2022 live showcase held at The Tabernacle, Notting Hill, London.  The International winners will be announced at the online showcase on Sunday 26th June at 2pm GMT.

Fraser T Smith (songwriter, producer and SAYS21 judge) said “With so much going on in the world, it’s never been more vital for young people to be able to channel their energy and emotions into something positive, which is what The Young Songwriter competition encourages and facilitates through songwriting. Every young person has something to say, a story to tell, or a message to share – that’s why Song Academy is so important to our community.”

As well as The Young Songwriter competition, Song Academy run songwriting clubs in term time, songwriting workshops in the holidays, song feedback reports, recording & production workshops, bespoke songwriting workshops & birthday parties.

Official sponsors of The Song Academy Young Songwriter 2022 competition are YouTube Music, Yamaha, Soundtrap, Focusrite, PRS for Music, IK Multimedia, ICMP and Orange Learn.

CATEGORY:  UK/IRELAND, 13-18 YEAR OLDS

ALL IN – DANIEL MCCARTHY
BELLADONNA – RUBY COOKE
BETTER OFF – LUKE ELLIOTT
BOYFRIEND – DSWRV
BREATHTAKING TENSION – CHARLIE HEWLETT
CANNOT LOSE MYSELF – SISI
CONTRAST – VINNIEC
DAISY – CINTA AURELEE
DON’T RILE THE YOUNG – SONIC DAZE
FLINCH – MEG CURL
GATEKEEPER – BEA
GIRL THAT OUTGREW – ROSIE TRENTHAM
HIDE AND SEEK – KIMICHI
HONEST – CONOR MARCUS
HOURGLASS – BELLA HOWELLS
IRON FIST – WOODY COLLINS
IT’S A FUNNY WAY – AMELIE CLOWREY
LAY A LITTLE LIFE DOWN – ESME HALLWORTH
MACHINE HEAD BOY – STATYC
NEW YEAR’S EVE – RUBY ANN SPIEGEL
RIVIERA – OLIVIA SWINTON
SOLD THE STORY – LEONA MAE
SOULS ARE RISING – THIS ELEGANT GULL
SUCH A GOOD FIGHT – DAISY-ROSE IRESON-HUGHES
SWEET 16 – TWAYN
THINKING I’M FINE – ANNEKA SHELLEY
TOO FAR DOWN – IVY PRATT
TOPIARY – OSCAR MEADES
UP TO THE SUN – GEORGE DICKSON
USED TO BE – STUART VEITCH

 

ANTHEM X – JOHN DENTON
BEAUTIFUL STRANGER – SAMBELLE PRINCE
BUSTING THE HINGES – SPARROW DURHAM-LOVE
DON’T LEAVE ME NOW – MAX KENWORTHY
FIND A PLACE – NELLY ROSE BINGHAM
FIND YOU – FIRE FLIES
FIRE HEART – MIDNIGHT STARZ
FOMO – HOLLY DAIS
FRANKIE IN THE HOUSE (SUPER COOL) – FRANKIE MEADES
FREE – JOHNNY BEAU
FRIED – UMA MARTIN
IN-BETWEEN – TIMI HUGHES
LINGO – MATTHEW ARKOH
MIRACLE – GEORGIA TAYLOR
MONEY IS NOT EVERYTHING – THE MAWNEY SCHOOL YEAR THREE
MY FATE – NIKOLAS ROCHE
OPPOSITE WAY – MAYA HELON
OUR SECRET HEAVEN – GRETA KILL
PARADISE FALLS – FINN CRABTREE
PATCH IT UP – ROMY
ROAD TRIPS – HENRY MARNHAM
SET THE WORLD ON FIRE – RUBY MULHOLLAND
SOMETHING BIG – LEANNE JOAN FERNANDES
SPARK – ISLA HANNETT
SUNSET, SUNRISE – CHLOE TURNER
TAKE ME TO THE STARS – JOSEPH DAVIS
TURN BACK TIME – SYLVIE HAMMERSLEY-FOX
WHAT COOKIES MEAN TO ME – COOKIE MONSTERS
YEAR 3000 – HATTIE
YOU NEVER LISTENED – MARTHA & THOMMY BAILEY VINE

 

CATEGORY:  INTERNATIONAL, 13-18 YEAR OLDS

ATOMIC BOMB – CALISTA HARMS
BIGGER – ALEXANDRA CRIBB
BLUE – AMANDA FAGAN
BOY – SUMMER BRENNAN
CALIFORNIA – ALLY CRIBB
CONFESSION – CINTA AURELEE & JESSICA ANDREA
CROSSROAD – MARTHE SKEIDE
DIMPLES – SEDA PARTIZPANYAN
DONE – MALAIKA WAINWRIGHT
FALLING IN LOVE – MICHAEL ABIMANYU KAENG
FIVE FINGERS – THE CICADA
HEROES HAVE SHADOWS TOO – ISAAC STAINES
IN SPACE – ANTEA TURK
LIKE A GHOST – MALAIKA WAINWRIGHT
LOST – MONIQUE RASO
OCEAN CHILD – SUMMER STARLING
PHASES – PETER PULST
RISE – MONIQUE RASO
SUNDAYS – LILY WELCH
TALKING TO THE DEVIL – NEAV
TETHERED – THE SEASIDE FEELS
THE SKY & I – JANE CALLISTA
THE SOUND OF LONELINESS – SEDA PARTIZPANYAN
THINK MYSELF TO DEATH – JOEY WILBUR
TOXIC TIME BOMB – AEJ ((ANNA-ELEA & JOSEFINE)
UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN – CLARA FRANZ
WASTED POTENTIAL – LINDSAY LIEBRO
WHAT IF – PETER PULST
WITHOUT ME – JOEY WILBUR
YELLOW – JOEY WILBUR

CATEGORY:  INTERNATIONAL, 8-12 YEAR OLDS

ANYWHERE – AUSTIN BRUFORD
BUBBLEGUM GIRL – DEVY
COME BACK HOME – ZJAMYR
DEAR MADELEINE – EVA STEINERT
HOLIDAY CHEER – ALEXIS & LAUREN ROLEY & THE KOUZINS
I WISH, I DREAM – TAMARA YASIN
ON THE RUN – NOAH ROBERTSON
PERSEVERANCE – GIOELE UBEZIO
RISING FROM THE FIRE – ILAH GARDINER
UNBREAKABLE – DANIELA VERTIACHIKH

NOTES TO EDITORS:

SONG ACADEMY – helping every child find their voice and find their tribe

Founded 13 years ago, Song Academy is dedicated to the future of music and the wellbeing of young people aged 8-18. Our mission is to help children from all backgrounds find their voice and find their tribe, through writing their own original songs at a formative time of their life. We aim to take them from their first song to developing their first album. We nurture young writers, artists, musicians, producers and creative thinkers, empowering young people to achieve their full potential and shape their future.

Our focus is on the craft of songwriting, creating lyrics and music. We believe that songwriting and music can transform the lives of young people. Young people are growing up in a competitive, fast-changing and potentially isolating environment, leaving them vulnerable to various pressures and issues with their mental health. Songwriting enables young people to communicate their thoughts and feelings and connect to others. Through this creative and therapeutic process, they can discover their identity, overcome challenges, feel empowered, and advance their general writing and social skills. Not only can the songs they write advance potential musical careers, but also spark debate, build connection with peers and shape their future.

Song Academy runs after-school clubs, holiday workshops, school workshops, birthday parties and an annual international Young Songwriter competition. As a result of our programmes, we have seen an increase in confidence, self-esteem, creativity, motivation, well-being and technical songwriting ability of our members.

Email: rowena@songacademy.co.uk. Tel: 07710 023743

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