Vanda & Young Global Song Competition Reveals Top 50 Finalists Of 2024
The winner of this year’s competition will win a life-changing prize of $50,000.
Royel Otis, Telenova, Tkay Maida, Lotte Gallagher (Source: Supplied)
The prestigious Vanda & Young Songwriting Competition has announced its Top 50 finalists of 2024.
The competition, which celebrates the best music of last year, has drawn songwriting talent from around the globe and has locked in finalists across all genres, from pop to indie rock to hip-hop to soul and everything in between.
The impressive list of finalists includes ARIA winners Royel Otis (for Heading For The Door), hip-hop icon Tkay Maidza (Wasp), up-and-coming experimental band Telenova (Discothèque Inside My Head), Lotte Gallagher (Adam), and Polish Club (Repeating Repeating).
Named after the legendary Australian songwriting duo Harry Vanda and George Young, this year’s competition amassed over 3,500 song entries from 52 countries. Entry fees directly benefit Noro Music Therapy.
The winner of this year’s competition will win a life-changing prize of $50,000, with a total prize pool of $80,000 to be distributed among 15 songs. The song in second place will win $10,000, third place $5,000, unpublished Australian songs will receive $5,000, the American Songwriter Spotlight Award winner will take home $1,500, and ten emerging artists will receive $1,000.
Prize winners will be revealed on Monday, 10 March. Check out the list of finalists below.
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The panel of this year’s judges includes artists such as Guy Sebastian, Gretta Ray, Troy Cassar-Daley, Aloe Blacc, and others, plus industry figures like ARIA CEO Annabelle Herd, APRA AMCOS CEO Dean Ormston, The Annex’s Mardi Caught, News Ltd’s Kathy McCabe, and others.
“We are thrilled by the quality and originality of the entries received this year,” Milly Petriella OAM, Director and Founder, said. “From uplifting pop anthems and soul-stirring ballads to edgy indie tracks and inventive sonic experiments, this year’s finalists capture the global landscape of songwriting in today’s musical climate.”
Petriella added, “Our new team of international judges have been blown away by the calibre of entries, with a number of them expressing a desire to meet the writers behind the songs.”
Vanda & Young Songwriting Competition 2024
Top 50 Finalists (in alphabetical order):
Anna Leeworthy – Salt
Annie Hamilton – Without You
Arjun Kantaria – Album Mode (The Trajectory)
Ash Morse – Sunny Haven Avenue
ASHWARYA – Why’s It Gotta Hurt
Aubrie Mitchell – Secret
Ben Swissa – Before It Gets Worse
Black Sands – Kid Sydney
Boy & Bear and Boo Seeka – Science
Bri Clark – Among the Stars
Cam Nacson – Forever Thing
Charley – Timebomb
Chelsea Berman – Where Does That Leave Me
CXLOE – Shapeshifter
Chris Lanzon – Lilo (with Ber)
Daniella Marchio – Sweet
David K. Chong – Google You
Dean Brady – Falling
Edith – Bubble
Emma Hughes – Without You
Gotzilla – Just Wandering
Jazzy Dale – Mr Right
Joanna Borne – Hey I See You
Jonathan Wyndham – Keep Our Love Alive
Josh Hannan – Aftermath (Live)
Josh Moreland – One Life
Karina Savage – Landslide
Kita Alexander – Date Night
Laura Rizzotto – SYMPTOMS
Lotte Gallagher – Adam
Louis Schoorl – 12 Minute Walk (Bow Anderson)
Lucy Sugerman – He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not
Nathan May – It Gotta Start Somewhere
OKENYO, Zindzi & The Zillionaires – PIXEL
PEPTALK – Forrest
Polish Club – Repeating Repeating
Royel Otis – Heading for the Door
Ruby Rodgers – Crisis
San Cisco – Lost Without You
Shannon Busch (WILSN) – Give You Love (Jessica Mauboy Feat. Jason Derulo)
Shari Short – AMNESIA
Spicy Hou – Need You
TANISHA – Lights & Sirens
Telenova – Discothèque Inside My Head
The Rions – Physical Medicine
Tiffi – Chemtrails
Tkay Maidza – Wasp
Vetta Borne – 40-40
William H. Carpenter – Walking Into Walls
XOE MILES – Mirror
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