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2026 JUDGES
Miranda Cooper
Miranda Cooper is pop royalty – a British songwriter who has penned over 30 UK top 10 hits, including four #1 singles.
Miranda began as a dancer (for Gina G), where she met Brian Higgins, founder of Xenomania, in 1997. They went on to find commercial success and critical acclaim writing songs for Girls Aloud, Sugababes, Pet Shop Boys, Franz Ferdinand, Kylie Minogue, Alesha Dixon, and many more.
More recently, she has celebrated success with rising star Maisie Peters, co-writing “There It Goes” and “The Last One” from her UK #1 album The Good Witch, as well as “John Hughes Movie” from her debut album.
Alongside her work in pop music, Miranda has also been focusing her talents on writing musicals. Billionaire Boy was the first show she co-wrote; it went on to win the ‘Best Show for Children and Young People’ at the UK Theatre Awards 2018. In 2021, Fantastically Great Women premiered with rave reviews and also picked up the ‘Best Show for Children and Young People Award’ at the UK Theatre Awards in 2022.
Toby Gad
Toby Gad is an award winning songwriter, producer and filmmaker whose work has defined modern pop music for over two decades. With a catalog of hits for artists such as John Legend, Beyoncé, Madonna, Paul McCartney, John Bon Jovi, Demi Lovato, Miley Cyrus, Kelly Clarkson and Donna Summer, Toby Gad continues to influence the music industry with his innovative and heartfelt compositions.
MNEK
Grammy award winning, BRIT and Ivor Novello-nominated artist/producer/writer MNEK, has clocked up an astonishing fifteen years in the music business. With over 4 BILLION streams on MNEK written, featured and produced tracks, he has grown to become a true powerhouse within the British pop world. He has collaborated with Zara Larsson, Stormzy, Gorgon City, Years & Years and Craig David. He’s written with international stars such as Beyoncé, Little Mix, Dua Lipa, Christina Aguilera, BTS, Mabel, Anne Marie, Madonna, Kelly Rowland, Selena Gomez and Clean Bandit.
His back catalogue includes a number of worldwide hits including ‘Ready For Your Love’, ‘Never Forget You’, and ‘Blinded By Your Grace’. His hit with Joel Corry, ‘Head & Heart’, became a global success, topping the charts in several countries and taking the reign as the longest standing UK #1 single in 2020. Success continued throughout 2022, both on and off stage with “Where Did You Go?”, his collaboration with Jax Jones, going platinum and spending an incredible 32 weeks on the charts, plus the launch of Island UK & Republic US’s hotly-tipped female R&B trio FLO, and their debut EP “The Lead”, which he executively produced.
After setting up a writing camp dedicated to supporting LGBTQIA+ singer/songwriters in 2019, MNEK has continued efforts to strive for more inclusivity within the industry via the launch of Summer 2023‘s PROUD SOUND, an all-encompassing hub of queer talent, with both established and emerging artists, producers and songwriters. MNEK’s dedication to illuminating more inclusivity has also seen him become a contributor to the Guardian UK diversity panel as well as hosting his own YouTube panel ‘MNEKs Inter-Section’ in conversation with 5 Black Queer artists/content creators.
Hannah V
A pioneer in a new generation of entrepreneurial female producer/songwriters, Hannah V has worked with some of the world’s most in demand major label artists including Stormzy, TOBi and JP Cooper.
After producing and co-writing tracks for JP Cooper’s Top 10 album Raised Under Grey Skies (Island Records) in 2017, Hannah scored her first Gold certified album and now continues to regularly produce tracks for JP Cooper.
Other writing and production credits include five-time GRAMMY-winning Lalah Hathaway, Yola, Misha B, Shystie and MOBO nominated artist Andreya Triana. Hannah was appointed to the Ivors Academy Songwriting Committee in 2020.
Alongside her undeniable skills as a songwriter and producer Hannah has balanced a stunning performance career. Her performances included playing stadiums and arena tours with Rihanna, Jessie J, Eminem, Lalah Hathaway, Jason Derulo, Taio Cruz and Anastasia.
Tom Grennan
‘What Ifs & Maybes’ follows the success of Tom’s breakthrough UK #1 and BRIT-certified GOLD album ‘Evering Road’, which included platinum-selling anthems ‘Little Bit Of Love’ and ‘By Your Side’ — both of which scored in the Top Three most played songs of 2021. Tom already counts four UK Top 10 singles to his name. And a hat-trick of his 2022 songs, ‘Remind Me’, ‘Not Over Yet’ with KSI and ‘Lionheart (Fearless)’ with Joel Corry, have all been named in The Biggest Songs of 2022 by The Official Big Top 40.
Tom Grennan is a British singer-songwriter whose first album, Lighting Matches, was one of the best selling debut albums of 2018. He rose to fame through his first appearance as the guest vocalist on the Chase and Status track, All Goes Wrong.
His new single, Shadowboxing, from his 4th album ‘Everywhere I Went, Led Me to Where I Didn’t Want to Be’ is out now.
Plested
Phil Plested, who performs as Plested is a singer/songwriter from Croxley Green, Hertfordshire. He began writing songs at school (Rickmansworth) and was scouted at a talent show and signed to Island Records. He’s spent the past several years penning songs for some of pop music’s biggest names, including Lewis Capaldi (“Hollywood” and the UK and US Radio #1 “Before You Go”), Little Mix (the UK Top 5 single “Touch”) and Kygo (“Remind Me To Forget” ft. Miguel & “Lose Somebody” ft. One Republic).
Phil most recently co-wrote “Leave Before You Love Me” for Marshmello x Jonas Brothers as well as the Anne-Marie & Niall Horan duet “Our Song”. He is in the studio with Lewis Capaldi, Dermot Kennedy, Niall Horan & Clean Bandit to name a few.
Phil launched a publishing venture, Songhouse,in partnership with his management Nowherenear
Naughty Boy
It has been quite the ride for the award-winning music producer Shahid Khan, aka Naughty Boy. His decorated career includes multiple awards including the Grammy, Ivor Novello, Mobo and being awarded the Outstanding Achievement in Music Award at The Asian Awards.
In just over a decade, he has established a glowing music career, working alongside world-class artists including; Beyoncé, Rihanna, Tinie Tempah and Ed Sheeran.
He is also responsible for discovering and launching the careers of successful artists including Emeli Sandé and Sam Smith.
Born and raised on a council estate in Watford, Naughty Boy spent his youth cooking with his family, adding his mother’s special sauce to traditional British favorites – such as a delicious twist on the classic fish fingers sandwich, trying out his recipes on long-term collaborator and good friend, Emeli Sandé – whose dedication to vegan food has encouraged him to experiment with different ingredients and ideas, catering for all.
Naughty Boy continued to make his passion for cooking known by participating on ITV’s Cooking With The Stars in July 2021, making it to the semi-finals with Korean chef and owner of Seoul Bird, Judy Joo.
2022 was a busy year for Naughty Boy. He has worked on many music projects including the music with award winning Niten Sawhney for the forthcoming movie ‘What’s love got to do with it’ that was recently premiered at the Toronto Film festival.
Emily Phillips
Emily Phillips is a sought after London-based songwriter. She has had top ten hits on both sides of the Atlantic and has worked with artists including Florence and the Machine, Sigrid, John Newman, Rizzle Kicks, Big Time Rush, DNCE, SOAK, and Nicole Scherzinger.
Emily has also had 4 Hottest Records in the World as chosen by BBC Radio 1, including “Everybody Loves You” (SOAK), which was played on U2’s latest world tour. Emily recently had a no. 1 iTunes hit called “Racing Cars,” with Ruti (winner of The Voice). Emily has just had a Gospel musical for Broadway commissioned by Ken Davenport in New York. Emily works with many up and coming artists.
She sits on the Ivors Academy Songwriting Committee and campaigns for Rights for Creators.
Emily is the chair of the SAYS25 judging panel.
Eg White
Eg is a Grammy nominated songwriter and producer who has won the prestigious Ivor Novello award twice, including one for ‘Songwriter of The Year’.
Eg is primarily known for his work with artists such as Adele ‘Chasing Pavements’, Sam Smith, Linkin Park ‘One More Light’, Celine Dion, Florence and the Machine, Dua Lipa, Pink, Joss Stone, James Morrison ‘You Give Me Something’ to name a few.
He has recently been working with artists Nick Jonas, Sigrid, Stormzy, Lennon Stella, NAO, James Bay, JHart, Birdy, Stefflon Don, Ray Blk, The Knocks, Ben Platt, Elderbrook, Elle King, Kylie, Monica Martin, Tom Grennan, Maisie Peters, L Devine, Lapsley, James Arthur, Olivia Dean, Tom Tripp, Junior, Crystal Fighters, Conrad Sewell, Delilah Montagu, Kaiser Chiefs and The Vamps.
Nina Nesbitt
Nina Nesbitt is a super talented Scottish singer and songwriter. She released her debut studio album, Peroxide on February 2014, which debuted at No. 1 in her native Scotland. Her follow-up records, The Sun Will Come Up, the Seasons Will Change (2019) and Älskar (2022), also performed well, with all reaching inside the top 5 in the Scottish Album Charts. In 2024, she formed her own record label Apple Tree Records and released her fourth studio album Mountain Music, which debuted at No. 3 on Scotland, topped the UK Folk Albums Chart and became her most critically acclaimed record to date.
As a songwriter, she has written for other artists including Jessie Ware, Olivia Holt, Don Diablo and the Shires.
Nina Nesbitt won the prestigious SWG3 Independent Icon Award, recognising her unique contributions to Scottish music and her independent spirit. Nina said: “I would like to dedicate the independent icon award to my younger self, the 15-year-old, who bought a guitar for £20, learned an entire Taylor Swift album, then uploaded very questionable covers to YouTube. The 16-year-old who auditioned for the X Factor and got rejected. Thank God. The 17-year-old who signed the major label for five albums got dropped after one, thought her life was over. The 22-year-old who wrote an album that changed my life took me around the world and finally the 30 year old who just started my own record label, and just released an album. Thank you so much for this award. I just want to say to all the aspiring musicians out there. Don’t ever think that where you come from is too small to go after big dreams.”
Freddy Wexler
Freddy Wexler is a GRAMMY-nominated songwriter, creator and film/tv producer. He has contributed to 10 Billboard #1s and has contributed to three GRAMMY nominated albums (including Album of the Year for Justin Bieber’s Justice and 2024 nominee Bewitched by Laufey), and his songs have been streamed billions of times, released by artists including Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Post Malone, BlackPink, Selena Gomez, Lil Wayne, the Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato, Halsey, Pink, Marshmello, Diana Ross, Celine Dion, Martin Garrix, Pusha T, Wyclef Jean, Tiesto, Steve Aoki, and Avicii.
Wexler co-wrote and co-produced the single “Stuck with U” by Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber, which hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and smashed debut streaming records, amassing over 1 BILLION streams, multiple awards, and raised over $5 million for families of first responders. Wexler penned the hit “Like it’s Christmas” for the Jonas Brothers, “Be Kind” for Halsey and Marshmello, and “Mon Soleil,” the only original song in Emily in Paris. He worked on BLACKPINK’s sophomore album, Born Pink, the first album of a female K-Pop group to hit #1 on Billboard and most recently cowrote on Laufey’s Bewitched, the biggest jazz debut in Spotify history.
Wexler has an innate understanding of pop culture and an ear and eye for talent. He began his career as a young talent scout for Sony, where he discovered and pitched an unknown artist, Stefani Germonatta, as “the next Madonna.” Germonatta, whose early demos Wexler recorded, is Lady Gaga.
GAYLE
Fearlessly honest and undeniably magnetic, GAYLE is a 19 year old singer songwriter from Texas. Her latest EP –
study of the human experience volume two is a powerful new EP that doubles down on its predecessor’s unapologetic truth-telling, revealing even more of her inner world and cementing her status as a singular and immediately fascinating songwriter.
Her massively successful major-label debut, “abcdefu” has now amassed over two billion streams, while GAYLE has appeared on major TV shows like “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and “The Late Late Show with James Corden” and earned such accolades as appearing on Billboard’s “21 Under 21” list and on Variety’s “Power of Young Hollywood Impact Report” for 2022, as well as being named a YouTube Artist On The Rise and an MTV Global Push Artist.
With tours supporting Taylor Swift and P!nk, and a live show resume that includes touring with Tate McRae and AJR, and playing a run of shows with pop-punk legends My Chemical Romance, GAYLE aims for what she refers to as “messy imperfection” in all of her live shows. “I truly believe that music is a unifying force, and I want to give people the space to be completely themselves and to see that there are other people in the world who feel the same way they do,” she says.
GAYLE was also The Young Songwriter 2017 competition winner!
Calum Scott
Calum Scott is an award winning singer/songwriter, who found success after appearing on Britain’s Got Talent, back in 2015, when he finished in sixth place.
Since releasing a cover of Robyn‘s song ’Dancing On My Own‘, which became a massive hit in the summer of 2016, Calum has now gone on to record several more well-known tunes, including ’Where Are You Now‘ with Lost Frequencies, and ’Whistle’ with Jax Jones.
His first album (‘Only Human’) included the platinum-selling song "You Are The Reason" in 2022 Calum released his second Album (‘Bridges’) and he’s working on his third album.
In 2023, Calum teamed up with Take That on a reworking of their song ‘Greatest Day’ which was performed for the first time at the King’s Coronation Celebration.
In 2024, Calum supported Ed Sheeran on dates in Asia and Europe for his ‘Mathematics Tour’.
Crispin Hunt
Crispin Hunt is a renowned multi-platinum-selling songwriter and producer, having worked with artists including Jake Bugg, Florence and The Machine, Lana Del Ray, Ellie Goulding, Maverick Sabre, Newton Faulkner, Natalie Imbruglia, Bat For Lashes, Rod Stewart, You Me At Six, Tom Grennan, Luke Sital-Singh and numerous others.
In 2016, Hunt was appointed Chair of BASCA (now known as The Ivors Academy). In this role, he campaigns for songwriters’ rights, including the EU Copyright Directive and Broken Record campaigns.
Dan Gillespie Sells
Dan is best known for being the lead vocalist and principal songwriter in The Feeling. Their debut album, Twelve Stops And Home sold over a million copies, whilst their second album, Join With Us reached the No. 1 spot in the UK Charts. The band’s 5th album was released in March 2016.
Dan was the recipient of the 2015 Stonewall award for Entertainer of the Decade for his work in the LGBT community and the 2007 Ivor Novello Award for Songwriter of the Year.
Dan composed the music for the hit musical Everybody’s Talking About Jamie.
In November 2023 Sells was a contestant on BBC’s Celebrity Mastermind, answering questions on Bernie Taupin.
Kenny Barber
Kenny Barber is the relationship manager at PRS for Music. PRS for Music supports and promotes many high-profile songwriters, producers, their representatives, and music publishers. Kenny’s responsible for raising a better awareness and understanding around PRS and MCPS, at the same time highlighting some of the ways in which music creators can generate an income whilst developing their career.
With a background as a singer-songwriter signed to Sony ATV, Kenny is also Managing Director of Sonitus Music Group, where he oversees R&B sensation Bellah and a talented tour management roster including Nippa, Ragz Originale, Marie Dahlstrom and Tay Iwar.
Connie Talbot
Connie Talbot found passion for music from a very young age. She first stepped onto stage as a finalist on the first series of Britain’s Got Talent in 2007. Since then, she has released 4 albums.
Some of Connie’s projects have been Gold in the UK and Platinum in South East Asia, and she also had a number 1 single in the US. Connie has built up a following of nearly 2 million subscribers on YouTube where she has uploaded at home recordings of her favourite covers and original songs over the years.
Blessed with all this early experience, Connie continues to lead her life as an independent artist. Last year Connie wrote and released her first critically acclaimed EP as an adult, called “Growing Pains” . This cinematic alternative pop EP gave Connie the opportunity to write about the rollercoaster of emotions of growing up in the music industry. As well as singing, Connie found her love for writing from a very young age. Starting with poems, Connie began to navigate writing songs as she picked up instruments from the age of 9. Connie quickly learned how much writing can provide a form of therapy. She continues to write and co-write with incredible writers such as Emily Phillips, Ant Whiting, Alfie Jackson, Jeff Franzel. She has recently written a song called “Heart” for K-Pop superstar, Taeyeon.