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The Young Songwriter 2024 judges include: Eg White, Naughty Boy, MNEK, Lost Boy, Dan Gillespie Sells, Cathy Dennis, Plested, Jimmy Napes, Jon Maguire, Kenny Barber, Connie Talbot, Emily Phillips & Nina Nesbitt.

Drumroll please! The top 5 songs of the hotly contested Song Academy Young Songwriter 2024 competition, in its 14th year, have now been revealed. This year’s competition attracted over 1,000 high quality entries (a 20% increase on 2023) from aspiring young songwriters aged 8-22 across the world, both experienced young songwriters and those who’ve written their first song.  Song Academy is turning up the volume on empowering & uniting youth across the world!

The judges wanted to make a special note of how impressed they were with all top 10 songs and how all should be unbelievably proud. One judge saying “The creativity it takes at their age to have concepts and structures and composition, is outstanding”.

Emily Phillips, songwriter and lead judge of The Young Songwriter 2024 competition said “The judges final zoom meeting is the final frontier of judging. I as chair am faced with a panel of some of the most successful songwriters and producers in the world, some of whom I’ve had the honour of writing with myself! It is quite something to hear everyone’s thoughts on the songs, knowing they have paid their full attention to the finalists. Everybody’s reasons and feelings are aired and discussed, and between us we make the most democratic decisions possible. That said, there is an unquantifiable wildcard of a process going on, where intuition over judgement often wins the day, and on that basis, some unexpected songs push through at the last minute. It is an exciting meeting to have, and testament to Rowena’s (the founder of Song Academy) incredible energy, commitment and perseverance to ensure that the best young new songwriters are given a chance to be heard, enjoyed and admired.”

Past Young Songwriter finalists have included: Gayle, Matilda Mann, Oscar Lang, Lexie Carroll, Wasia Project, Cassa Jackson, Tom A. Smith, Natalie Shay, Joshua Shea, Andrea Turk, Oscar Welsh, Cathy Jain, Sebastian Croft, Sophie Griffiths, Rosie Sullivan, Melanie Baker, Sweet Mylo, Hetta Falzon & Conor Marcus.

The Young Songwriter 2024 competition attracted a diverse group of aspiring young songwriters, helped this year by the bursary from UK Music, the collective voice of the UK’s world-leading music industry. Gender breakdown was: 62% of entrants were girls, 32% boys, 6% preferred not to say or had a unique gender identification. Entries were from across the entire UK/Ireland (71%) and around the world (29%).  Age breakdown was: 11% aged 8-12, 21% aged 13-15, 41% aged 16-18 and 27% aged 19-22. 75% were from across the UK/Ireland (62% outside of London) and 25% internationally.

Listen to the finalist songs on the Song Academy SoundCloud account!  Plus the top 5 songs and young songwriters are SHOWN BELOW.

The top 5 finalists will be invited to perform at The Young Songwriter 2024 live showcase held at The Tabernacle, Notting Hill, London, on Saturday 21st September 2024.  In addition to these 20 finalists we’ve chosen another 5 finalists across the categories to perform. The winners will be announced on the night of The Young Songwriter 2024 showcase. Tickets to the showcase will be on sale from the 12th July. Click here for all information on The Young Songwriter 2024 live showcase and the invited line-up of performers.

The top 5 finalists of the international categories will be part of our online international showcase on Sunday 22nd September at 2pm GMT, with the winners being announced at the international showcase.

Stay tuned to our social channels to hear the announcements first!

Naughty Boy (songwriter, producer, DJ and SAYS24 judge) says “Young songwriters are the future of music. A great song will always stand the test of time far beyond our years. I think this competition is important because every songwriter I’ve worked with was always waiting to be discovered.”

The next opportunity for young songwriters aged 11-18 is joining one of our residential songwriting summer camp from 7-10th August, in Surrey. There are a limited number of places available so please contact us soon! Click here for more info on our songwriting summer camps.

In addition, we offer an insightful song feedback service at a discounted price for all SAYS24 entrants. Plus there are fantastic opportunities of joining our songwriting clubs and holiday workshops in the Autumn and our exclusive mentoring programme, Ad Lib. Click here for more information on how we can help you develop your songwriting talents. . Check out our website for all opportunities.

Official sponsors of The Song Academy Young Songwriter 2024 competition are Shure, YouTube Music, PRS for Music, Focusrite, Soundtrap and ICMP.

CATEGORY:  UK/IRELAND, 19-22 YEAR OLDS * TOP 5

ALBATROSS – FREDDY GILLMORE

BREAKFAST ON THE ROOF – ELLIE EVANS

GIRL ON A WALK – HAMISH OGILVY

RIGHT HANDS – BORRELLE

SECONDS – JAS RATCHFORD

CATEGORY:  UK/IRELAND, 16-18 YEAR OLDS * TOP 5

A LETTER TO THE MOON – ISLA MAE

FRIO – CHUKSY AND DREAMM

GOD’S STARGIRL – SUFEEYAH

LITTLE MAJOR – MIA WHITE

SCREEN SURENDER – TAMARA HENDIN

CATEGORY:  UK/IRELAND, 13-15 YEAR OLDS * TOP 5

FELL FOR YOU – SAMUEL KHANNA

MAKE IT SLOW – LOIS BROOKS

PRINCESS – STORM HENSHAW

TEARING AT THE AIR – STRING ‘N’ BONE

WE NEVER SAW IT COMING – JOHNNY BEAU

CATEGORY:  UK/IRELAND, 8-12 YEAR OLDS * TOP 5

FIRST KISS – BETHAN TUDOR

HEARTBREAK MELODIES – BEN M MANSELL

SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS – TESS GOODFELLOW

STARLIGHT OF MY LIFE – LEONORA SIMMONDS-HEINS

U AND I – REY

SELECTED UK/IRELAND FINALISTS TO ALSO PERFORM AT THE YOUNG SONGWRITER 2024 LIVE SHOWCASE

BO PEEP – JEM WAX

HIT REWIND – SAFFRON

SERIOUS – SOPHIE FERIANI

SHE KNOWS – THE MONUMENTALS

SUMMER FEELING – JUST THE BRAVE

CATEGORY:  INTERNATIONAL, 19-22 YEAR OLDS * TOP 5

I WROTE THIS SONG – LINDSAY LIEBRO

MY ????!!?!?? THERAPY – LAST MINUTE

OVERTHINK – MARLON VICENTINI

SERIOUS – QUEEN MAHORO

THIRTY SECONDS – ALEXINE

CATEGORY:  INTERNATIONAL, 13-18 YEAR OLDS * TOP 5

ETERNAL – EDEN

JUST A PHASE – SUMMER BENNETT

MATCHBOOK – SUMMER BRENNAN

WILDFLOWER – ZACHARY ZWELLING

WISHING STAR – DERE ARAT

CATEGORY:  INTERNATIONAL, 8-12 YEAR OLDS * TOP 5

HAPPILY EVER AFTER – LILIA ASHA WHEELER

HARD TO BREATHE – LEYLA SABO

THE TOP – MUTSAWASHE CHIPOYI

THIS IS ME – ANLI STRYDOM

WITHOUT YOU – ELLIE VERTIACHIKH

Paul Crognale, Associate Director, Global Marketing at Shure said “We are thrilled to join SAYS24 and empower the next generation of songwriters, producers, and musicians. While Shure has maintained its position as a leader in professional audio technology on the world’s biggest stages, we also want to recognize and support those starting out in their careers. By partnering with Song Academy, we have the chance to directly engage with young individuals, encouraging them to express themselves, be heard, and sound extraordinary.”

Kenny Barber, Relationship Manager – Black Music, PRS for Music, said: “In supporting the voices that will shape our future industry, PRS for Music is investing not just in music but in the dreams, aspirations, and boundless potential of the next generation of songwriters and composers. We look forward to hearing the unique melodies, harmonies and lyrics that are entered and encourage all young people to seize this opportunity and submit their original songs!”

Rowena Atkins, Founder & CEO of Song Academy said “The Young Songwriter 2024 competition is a golden opportunity for young people to not only get recognition for their creative talent but also connect and be inspired by other aspiring young songwriters writing songs in their bedrooms around the world. We vision a world where all young people feel confident in who they are, celebrating their individuality, feeling empowered by sharing what’s important to them and creating their united future.”

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NOTES TO EDITORS:

SONG ACADEMY – The Sound Of Youth Empowement

Founded 15 years ago, Song Academy is the leading songwriting platform for young people aged 8-22. Our vision is for every young person, across all backgrounds to have faith in themselves.  Song Academy uses the power of songwriting and community to empower young people to express themselves, finding their voice and their tribe.

Song Academy programmes include weekly songwriting clubs, holiday workshops, summer camps, song feedback reports, school songwriting workshops, mentoring programme and The Young Songwriter competition.

We nurture the next generation of creative leaders (young songwriters, artists, musicians, producers & creative thinkers) who will be shaping the future. We believe that Song Academy makes a significant addition to the pipeline of new talented songwriters/artists/producers – creating a diverse and equal music industry where mental health is a priority.

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The Young Songwriter 2024 judges include: Eg White, Miranda Cooper, Naughty Boy, MNEK, Lost Boy, Dan Gillespie Sells, Cathy Dennis, Hannah V, Plested, Jimmy Napes, Jon Maguire, Connie Talbot, Emily Phillips & Nina Nesbitt.

Drumroll please! The top 30 songs of the hotly contested Song Academy Young Songwriter 2024 competition, in its 14th year, have now been revealed. This year’s competition attracted over 1,000 high quality entries (a 20% increase on 2023) from aspiring young songwriters aged 8-22 across the world, both experienced young songwriters and those who’ve written their first song.  Song Academy is turning up the volume on empowering & uniting youth across the world!

Emily Phillips, songwriter and lead judge of The Young Songwriter 2024 competition said “Over 1,000 songs were submitted this year to The Young Songwriter 2024 competition. Once again I have had the privilege of discovering new talent in the next generation of young songwriters. It is the most amazing feeling to come across songs written by children, teenagers and young adults that make you stop and think, or lose yourself. The imagination of children knows no bounds and channelling this energy into songs is a wonderful and creative vehicle for self expression. The Song Academy is one of the leading platforms in the world for young people to find an audience for their songs, and also, for the young writers to benefit from a panel of experienced judges to help feedback and reflect on their work.

This year, as usual, the topics vary from the deeply personal, to family, to love, to anguish, to existential crises such as war or climate, to pure eccentric fun, and also to serious teenage issues. I get a real insight into the preoccupation of a generation, and sometimes I find that these feelings and ideas are written and recorded into something of great beauty. The production on some of the songs can be distracting from the pure analysis of a song, although at other times the production supports and makes the song. There are many variables at play when judging, so although I am listening out for great melodies, lyrics, concepts, structure, originality and musicality, there are other intuitive factors at play when I judge, which may lead me to choose a song which defies any logic or explanation, such is the enigmatic power of Music.

I, along with Song Academy, encourage all young songwriters to collaborate with other songwriters. Collaboration is a great way to increase the skillsets required to write, by giving songwriters instant feedback, more objectivity on ideas, the chance to share ideas and build upon them, to have fun while writing and also to learn from each others strengths and weaknesses. Despite songwriting and collaborating professionally for the last 17 years, I still look forward to every session and always learn from my co-writers.

I’d like to sum up by thanking Rowena who runs Song Academy for giving so many young writers the chance to have their songs shared and listened to, and for helping support and encourage the next generation of songwriters.”

The Young Songwriter 2024 competition attracted a diverse group of aspiring young songwriters, helped this year by the bursary from UK Music, the collective voice of the UK’s world-leading music industry. Gender breakdown was: 62% of entrants were girls, 32% boys, 6% preferred not to say or had a unique gender identification. Entries were from across the entire UK/Ireland (71%) and around the world (29%).  Age breakdown was: 11% aged 8-12, 21% aged 13-15, 41% aged 16-18 and 27% aged 19-22. 75% were from across the UK/Ireland (62% outside of London) and 25% internationally.

Listen to the top finalists’ songs on the Song Academy SoundCloud account!  Plus the top finalists’ songs and young songwriters are SHOWN BELOW. The International 8-12 year olds and 19-22 categories will wait until the top 10 announcements as they had fewer entries.

The top 10 finalists of all categories will be announced on the 11th June.  The UK/Ireland winners will be announced on Saturday 21st September 2024 at The Young Songwriter 2024 live showcase held at The Tabernacle, Notting Hill, London.  The International winners will be announced at the online showcase on Sunday 22nd September at 2pm GMT. Stay tuned to our social channels to hear the announcements first!

Naughty Boy (songwriter, producer, DJ and SAYS24 judge) says “Young songwriters are the future of music. A great song will always stand the test of time far beyond our years. I think this competition is important because every songwriter I’ve worked with was always waiting to be discovered.”

The next opportunity for young songwriters aged 11-18 is joining one of our residential songwriting summer camps from 7-10th August, in Surrey and 14-17th August in North Yorkshire, UK. There are a limited number of places available so please contact us soon! Click here for more info on our songwriting summer camps.

In addition, we offer an insightful song feedback service at a discounted price for all SAYS24 entrants. Click here for more information on how we can help you develop your songwriting talents.

Official sponsors of The Song Academy Young Songwriter 2024 competition are Shure, YouTube Music, PRS for Music, Focusrite, Soundtrap and ICMP.

CATEGORY:  UK/IRELAND, 19-22 YEAR OLDS * TOP 30

ALBATROSS – FREDDY GILLMORE

ALL MY GHOSTS ARE BLEEDING – RUBY COOKE

AMBIVALENT LOVE – CHARLIE HEWLETT

BEAUTIFUL CLOUD – LEO MAIN

BO PEEP – JEM WAX

BREAKFAST ON THE ROOF – ELLIE EVANS

CLOSE – LYDIA SHUTE

COMFORT CHAOS – ROMY TAYLOR

DOWN LOW – ED GENT

EVERYBODY NEEDS SOMEBODY – JAKE ST ANGE

EVERYDAY PEOPLE – NAT DEMPSEY

FREAK! – SHE’S MINE

GIRL ON A WALK – HAMISH OGILVY

GRACEFUL TOUCH – ANNEKA SHELLEY

GREENER – CONNIE CLAXON

LANDMINES – ISOLABELLA

LIFE LINE – JAKE THOMPSON

MIRROR IMAGE – HARRY LUKE

PHOEBE – BEA PENGELLY

POINT OF VIEW – FLINTZ AND T4YLOR

RIGHT HANDS – BORRELLE

SECONDS – JAS RATCHFORD

SPACEMAN – TABLE 4 1

STILL ASKING WHY – DANNY CLEMENT

TANGLED – EVE CHRISTINA

THIS TOO SHALL PASS – HOLLY LAWLESS

VILLAIN – MALAIKA

VOID – CHESS

WHAT’S A GIRL GONNA DO – MARIANNE LEIGH

YOU DON’T WANT ME ENOUGH – DAISY PEACOCK

CATEGORY:  UK/IRELAND, 16-18 YEAR OLDS * TOP 30

A LETTER TO THE MOON – ISLA MAE

ADDICTED – SAMUEL HANN JONES

AFTERLIFE – OSCAR BROWN

AUTUMN OF ADOLESCENCE – ASHER SAIPE

BACK TO SOHO – BILLY HOWARD

BRUNETTE EXPERIMENT – LYLA FOREMAN

CASINO – GAIA & ANNIE

DARKNESS OF DECEMBER – ALEX LYONS

DOLLS HOUSE – SASHA FORD

FRIO – CHUKSY AND DREAMM

GOD’S STARGIRL – SUFEEYAH

GOOD GIRL BAD – LARA, GEORGIE & VERSHANTI

GOODBYE – LAUREN HOBBS, BETHAN ESDAILE

HEADLIGHTS – NOT SO CLEVER BAND

HIT REWIND – SAFFRON

HOPELESS – FLO WILKES

I BET YOU KNOW – LAUREN ROSE

I’LL LOVE YOU JUST THE SAME – BENJY SAIA

KNIVES – DAISY

LITTLE MAJOR – MIA WHITE

LITTLE THINGS – LIZZIE HILL

MOON EYES – SHAAN BHASKAR

PIECES – TERI OFON

SCREEN SURENDER – TAMARA HENDIN

SERIOUS – SOPHIE FERIANI

SUMMER FEELING – JUST THE BRAVE

TEMPORARY REMEDY – ETHAN LAW

THE GOLDEN DAYS – CARA FLYNN

THIS LIFE TODAY – THE CHYNES

WRONG PLACE WRONG TIME – KITTY CROCKER

CATEGORY:  UK/IRELAND, 13-15 YEAR OLDS * TOP 30

BEING YOU – NAD

CANDLES – JAYDEN M

CARBON MONOXIDE – OLIVIER DANTE

DESPERATE – MAYA MARTIN

DROWNING IN LOVE – ARÑAV

FELL FOR YOU – SAMUEL KHANNA

FORGIVENESS – ISLA JADE

HELPING HAND – NOAH BEHAN

HYMN FOR YOUR TOWN – KIT BOTTOMLEY

JOURNEY – JOSIAH CASTRO

LIFE LIKE THIS – SHANELLE AND MICHELLE

LIFE WORTH LIVING – ROBBIE HOPE

LOOK UP HIGH – SHANELLE RUDRIGO

MAKE IT SLOW – LOIS BROOKS

MARY – LILY-MAE

NOT ENOUGH – ROBYN JONES

OH, THE SIMPLE THINGS – JOSEPH DAVIS

OLD SOLDIER – JOEL WOODSHORE

PRINCESS – STORM HENSHAW

SAVE YOU MONEY – SHOEHORN

SHE KNOWS – THE MONUMENTALS

SOMEONE IN TUNE – JACK STRICKLAND

SUBMERGED – WILLOW WHITLEY

SUPERNOVA – SAMMY ATTOUCHE

TATTOOED SKIN – ROMY WOODWARD

TEARING AT THE AIR – STRING ‘N’ BONE – BEN GUTHRIE AND HUGO GUTHRIE

TYPE OF DAYS – THE HEIGHT

WASTE OF TIME – CORA HARKIN

WE NEVER SAW IT COMING – JOHNNY BEAU

WHY DO WE WHISPER – BENEFIT OF THE SHOUT

CATEGORY:  UK/IRELAND, 8-12 YEAR OLDS * TOP 30

‘CAUSE I LOVE YOU – AMBER RUSHER

ALONE – ELENI VAROUTSI

BACK UP SINGER – ELISA MCEVOY

BETTER WORLD – MAYA DICKIE KEDAR

BOOM BOOM NO – YAELLE PRELI

CLOSED DOORS – WILLOW LLEWELYN

DAVE IN THE BUSH – DJANGO EVANS COHEN

FIRST KISS – BETHAN TUDOR

FOUR SEASONS – MICHELLE GOSSEN

HEARTBREAK MELODIES – BEN M MANSELL

HEDGEHOGS – GRETA RAWSON-COURAGE

HELLO – GEORGE HILTON

I DON’T THINK YOU’RE ANYWHERE – BETTY ABLETT

IT TAKES LOVE – LEO NADARAJAH

OCEAN – CHARLEY

PICK UP THE PHONE – MICHELLE LEVINSKI

PLANE – AYONA ELLORA

RAT-A-TAT TAT – ALANNAH GEORGE

REBORN – GEORGIA RUSSELL

REGRET – HARRIS HUNTER

SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS – TESS GOODFELLOW

STARLIGHT OF MY LIFE – LEONORA SIMMONDS-HEINS

THE BEACH  – HORATIO WILMOTT

THE POWER – HELENA NISSAN

THINK OF YOU – EDITH UNDERHILL

U AND I – REY

WALLS – JAHNEL MARSEGLIA MENDY

WEDNESDAYS – LILY CLARKE

WRITTEN IN THE COSMOS – MILO DELLAL

YOU WANNA LOOK AT STARS – MAX OVENDEN

CATEGORY:  INTERNATIONAL, 13-18 YEAR OLDS * TOP 30

10 YEARS – ZIPZ

ALL OF US – MASON TRUEBLOOD

AVALANCHE – RENYI LIU

BETTER DAY – MONIQUE RASO

CALL IT LIKE IT IS – ORION OVERSTREET

DELUSION – EDIE YVONNE

DON’T WANNA KNOW – CHARLOTTE MOORE

DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY – ADDILY 

ETERNAL – EDEN

FAH – PREMCHAI SNIPER

HAPPY DAYS – SONG SISTERS

HE’S ABLE – JANESSA SMITH

HELEN – SARAH PARMET

HOW DO YOU KNOW – NÚRIA FOREMAN

JUST A PHASE – SUMMER BENNETT

LIKE A HAIRPIN – SIAN

LOST – ORYAN BOROCHOV

MATCHBOOK – SUMMER BRENNAN

MY BEST – TINA LAROSA

PICTURE ME – MEGAN CHIPOYI

PILE OF DOLLS – INDI-LEE

RAGNAROK COMES – LILIAN VAN WYK

SUGARPILL – CORA BURCH

TELL ME – CASSIA YAP

WATCHING YOU BE YOUNG – KIRRA ALEXIS

WILDFLOWER – ZACHARY ZWELLING

WILL YOU BE MINE – ELKA VANEVSKI

WISHING STAR – DERE ARAT

WISHING YOU LOVE – TRIOFECTA

YOU ALREADY GOT MY HEART – SARAH MAY

Paul Crognale, Associate Director, Global Marketing at Shure said “We are thrilled to join SAYS24 and empower the next generation of songwriters, producers, and musicians. While Shure has maintained its position as a leader in professional audio technology on the world’s biggest stages, we also want to recognize and support those starting out in their careers. By partnering with Song Academy, we have the chance to directly engage with young individuals, encouraging them to express themselves, be heard, and sound extraordinary.”

Kenny Barber, Relationship Manager – Black Music, PRS for Music, said: “In supporting the voices that will shape our future industry, PRS for Music is investing not just in music but in the dreams, aspirations, and boundless potential of the next generation of songwriters and composers. We look forward to hearing the unique melodies, harmonies and lyrics that are entered and encourage all young people to seize this opportunity and submit their original songs!”

Rowena Atkins, Founder & CEO of Song Academy said “The Young Songwriter 2024 competition is a golden opportunity for young people to not only get recognition for their creative talent but also connect and be inspired by other aspiring young songwriters writing songs in their bedrooms around the world. We vision a world where all young people feel confident in who they are, celebrating their individuality, feeling empowered by sharing what’s important to them and creating their united future.”

---

NOTES TO EDITORS:

SONG ACADEMY – The Sound Of Youth Empowement

Founded 15 years ago, Song Academy is the leading songwriting platform for young people aged 8-22. Our vision is for every young person, across all backgrounds to have faith in themselves.  Song Academy uses the power of songwriting and community to empower young people to express themselves, finding their voice and their tribe.

Song Academy programmes include weekly songwriting clubs, holiday workshops, summer camps, song feedback reports, school songwriting workshops, mentoring programme and The Young Songwriter competition.

We nurture the next generation of creative leaders (young songwriters, artists, musicians, producers & creative thinkers) who will be shaping the future. We believe that Song Academy makes a significant addition to the pipeline of new talented songwriters/artists/producers – creating a diverse and equal music industry where mental health is a priority.