The 2016 Vanda & Young Songwriting Competition shortlist has today been unveiled, with 90 finalists being selected to proceed forward to the final stage of judging. Three prizes are up for grabs as always: the $50,000 first prize courtesy of APRA and Alberts Music, a $10,000 second prize thanks to AMPAL (Australasian Music Publishers Association) and a third prize of $5000 courtesy of AEG Ogden. All winners will also net a microphone prize pack thanks to Shure.
So, who made it through? Well after the judging panel this year worked their way through a massive 3934 song submissions, they landed on a final 90 from a wide and diverse range of artists. We’re talking about songwriters aged from 11 years old right through to 82. Established talent and fresh emerging artists have also been represented, with the likes of Client Liaison, NGAIIRE, Oh Pep!, Gordi, Emma Louise and Holy Holy all scoring nods.
Check out the full list below! The winners will be announced on October 27th. This year, $196,000 was raised from the $50 submission fee each artist paid, with all the money going directly to Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Australia. In addition, a former winner of the prize donated $3,300, bringing the 2016 total to $200,000 raised – very, very cool.
Congratulations to all the shortlisted artists!
2016 VANDA & YOUNG SONGWRITING COMPETITION SHORTLIST
Abbe May – “Seventeen”
Alesa Lajana – “Birds Don’t Sing in Nashville”
All Our Exes Live in Texas – “Tell Me”
Anders – “As Before”
Andrew Cavanagh – “Is That Too Much To Ask”
Aurelia – “Chest”
Auto – “Brother Coda (Electric)”
Ben Drysdale – “Skid Row”
Birdz. ft. Jimblah – “Rise”
BRUVVY – “Dire Love”
Buchanan – “Pressure In An Empty Space”
Citizen of the World – “Setting Out”
City Calm Down – “Your Fix”
Clea – “Dire Consequences”
Client Liaison – “World of Our Love”
Client Liaison – “Foreign Affair”
Deep Sea Arcade – “Learning to Fly”
Drax Project – “Cold”
Dustin Tebbutt – “First Light”
Emma Louise – “Underflow”
Emma Louise – “West End Kids”
Faint Capsule – “Rancid”
Finlay Tate – “I Want”
Fragile Animals – “Signals”
Frank Society – “October”
Future Jr. – “Tell Me That I’m Wrong”
Generations: Mike & Aleksi Glick – “The Hallway of My Heart”
What So Not ft. George Maple – “Gemini”
Georgia Fair – “Slave to Nothing”
Good Boy – “Transparency”
Gordi – “We Can Work It Out”
Gordi – “Nothing’s As It Seems”
Gretta Ray – “Drive”
Gypsy & The Cat – “Inside Your Mind”
Haarlo – “Love’s Gone”
Hannah Robinson – “Half Past Ten”
Holy Holy – “Darwinism”
J Motor – “Meet In The Sky”
Japanese Wallpaper ft. Airling – “Forces”
Jarryd James – “Claim My Love”
Jordie Lane & The Sleepers ft. Lollies – “America, Won’t You Make My Dreams Come True?”
Josh Pyke – “Be Your Boy”
Just A Gent ft. Lanks – “Heavy As a Heartbreak”
Katrina Burgoyne – “When I’m Broken”
Katrina Burgoyne – “Tryin’ To Get To Georgia”
Tigertown – “Lonely Cities”
King Social – “Hypocrite”
King Social – “It Goes Around”
Kirsty Lee Akers – “Take Me Back”
L-FRESH THE LION – “1 in 100,000”
Lavers – “Coast To Coast”
Lisa Crawley – “Up In The Air”
Lizzie Flynn – “Prisoner In My Own Town”
Lost Woods – “Secrets In Our Sleeves”
Louis Schoorl – “No More”
Louis Schoorl – “All This Time”
Lucy Neville – “Tease”
M-Phazes ft. Thief – “Hold Me Down”
Maddy Rodriguez – “Man Overboard”
Matt Gresham – “Survive on Love”
Michael Walker – “Dreams – Could Take You Somewhere”
Middle Kids – “Edge of Town”
Mild Things – “Good Girls”
Morgan Bain – “Why Don’t You Stay”
NGAIIRE – “House on a Rock”
Oh Pep! – “Doctor Doctor”
Oh Pep! – “The Race”
Panama – “The Highs”
Rachel Maria Cox – “Zips, Netflix & Dinner for Six”
Ruby Boots – “Wrap Me Up in a Fever”
Ruel – “Golden Years”
Ruva Ngwenya – “Me and You ~#BLM”
Sammi Constantine – “The Game”
Sampa The Great – “Blue Boss”
Shake Your Blood – “Fox Amongst Bears”
Sheppard – “Sorry”
Starley – “Call On Me”
Taasha Coates/The Audreys – “When I Die”
Tash Sultana – “Notion”
Jordi White – “I’ll See Her Again”
The Brown Wunda – “It’s Our Time”
The Creases – “Impact”
The Lulu Raes – “Burnout”
The Paper Kites – “Revelator Eyes”
Tia P. – “4 Seats From Beyonce”
Tinpan Orange – “Ordinary Lives”
Urthboy – “Daughter of the Light”
Why We Run – “Hallway”
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