Braydon Denmeade, 21, stands alongside musicians Dean Lewis, Megan Washington, Missy Higgins and Birds of Tokyo for a podium finish at the International Songwriting Competition (ISC).
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Denmead, who goes by the stage name of Fletcher Gull, was awarded best Folk/Singer-Songwriter for his song Light It Up.
The Figtree barman was also given honourable mentions in the categories for Best Music Video and Unsigned Only.
More than 60 per cent of winners came from outside of the US, with Australian songwriters racking up six first places, five second places, and three third places.
“Australia always produces the most winners in ISC next to the USA, but this year they dominated the Pop/Top 40 and Performance categories, winning First, Second, and Third in each category,” said Candace Avery, ISC Founder and Director.
“This bears witness to the incredible talent coming from a country with only 7 per cent of the population of the USA. This is truly impressive.”
The Grand Prize winners this year are Nicholas Miller (better known as Illenium), Annika Wells, Kate Morgan, and Michael Biancaniello for the EDM song “Crawl Outta Love Ft. Annika Wells. Illenium is one of the hottest new djs and producers in the EDM scene today. The Grand Prize consists of $25,000 in cash (USD) and over $35,000 in additional prizes.
This year’s judges included Lorde, Hardwell, Tom Waits, Nancy Wilson (Heart), Ziggy Marley,
Kaskade, The Mavericks, Martie Maguire (Dixie Chicks), Bastille and more.
Previous Australia artists to have won the Grand Prize include Kate Miller-Heidke, Kasey Chambers, and Vance Joy.
Other home grown winners of previous years also include Augie March; Big Scary; Birds of Tokyo; Eskimo Joe; Flight Facilities; Gang of Youths; Gotye; Guy Sebastian; Jebediah; Matt Corby; Missy Higgins; Sarah Blasko; The Living End; Troy Cassar-Daley; and more.
Created in 2002, ISC is one of the most respected songwriting competitions in the world and received more than 16,000 entries from almost 140 countries. Prizes include more than $175,000 in cash and merchandise.
ISC 2018 WINNERS
First Place
- “Adore” – Amy Billings (Amy Shark), M-Phazes – Gold Coast, QLD, Australia) – AAA
- “Busted Lip” – Shane Nicholson – Brisbane, QLD, Australia – Americana
- “Don't Tell Me” – Ruel van Dijk (Ruel), Peter Harding – Melbourne, VIC, Australia – Pop/Top 40
- “Light Up” – Fletcher Gull – Wollongong, NSW, Australia – Folk/Singer-Songwriter
- “Love Not Lust – D.T (Strictly DT) – Perth, WA, Australia – R&B/Hip-Hop
- “Waves” – Dean Lewis, Nick Atkinson, Edd Holloway (Dean Lewis) – Brisbane, QLD, Australia – Performance
Second Place
- “Brace” – Ian Berney, Ian Kenny, Glenn Sarangapany, Adam Spark, Adam Weston (Birds Of Tokyo) – Sydney, NSW, Australia – Rock
- “Golden Age” – ELKI – Sydney, NSW, Australia – Unpublished
- “Torchlight” – Melissa Higgins – Sydney, NSW, Australia – Performance
- “Secrets” – Jessica Graham (Wren) – Sydney, NSW, Australia – Music Video
- “Waves” – Dean Lewis, Nick Atkinson, Edd Holloway (Dean Lewis) – Brisbane, QLD, Australia – Pop/Top 40
Third Place
- “Catherine Wheel” – Megan Washington (Washington) – Brisbane, QLD, Australia – Performance
- “Lady Powers” – Celia Pavey, Thomas Macken, Andy Mak, Adam Anders (Vera Blue) – Forbes, NSW, Australia – Pop/Top 40
- “Wunybul (Vine Of Love) ” – Gawurra – Milingimbi, NT, Australia – World Music