Illenium Song “Crawl Outta Love Ft. Annika Wells” Wins 
the Grand Prize in the International Songwriting Competition (ISC)

Judges Include Lorde, Hardwell, Tom Waits, Nancy Wilson (Heart), Ziggy Marley, Bastille, 
The Mavericks, Kaskade, Martie Maguire (Dixie Chicks), and More

Click HERE to see the complete list and to hear the winning songs. 
Congratulations to all winners!

The International Songwriting Competition (ISC) is pleased to announce its 2017 winners. Now in its 17th year, ISC is the world’s largest international songwriting competition, receiving more than 16,000 entries from almost 140 countries. More than $175,000 in cash and merchandise is awarded to 71 winners in 23 categories covering all genres of music.

The Grand Prize winners this year are Nicholas Miller (better known as Illenium), Annika Wells, Kate Morgan, and Michael Biancaniello for the song “Crawl Outta Love Ft. Annika Wells." Illenium (along with co-writers Keeley Bumford, Henri Lanz, and William Rappaport) is also the First Place winner in the Electronic Dance Music (EDM) category for his song “Fractures Ft. Nevve.” The Grand Prize consists of $25,000 in cash (USD) and over $35,000 in additional prizes.

The winning song “Crawl Outta Love” was released on Illenium’s sophomore album Awake via his own label Kasaya Recordings in tandem with Seeking Blue Records. The song is described as a deep, earth-shattering ballad with piano melodies and future bass breakdowns. It is relatable because lyrically and melodically it conveys the pain and desperation of a relationship breaking apart and the difficulty of walking away.

In just a few short years, Illenium has quickly propelled himself to the forefront of the EDM scene, becoming one of the dance community’s most beloved artists. Known for writing songs that display beauty, complexity, and emotional depth, Illenium’s impeccable sound design has established him as one of the best producers in the game. He is the 2017 winner of an Electronic Music Award, and 2017 saw him exceed one billion streams. In addition to selling out venues and getting rave reviews on his headlining tours, Illenium has also performed at major festivals including Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, EDC, Decadence, Electric Forest, and Paradiso among others. He is currently playing Coachella for the first time.

In addition to Illenium, the other songwriters include: Annika Wells, a young and talented singer and songwriter who is the featured vocalist on the winning song (her debut single “Break” has racked up over 9 million listens on Spotify); Kate Morgan a singer who has been co-writing songs in LA and last year released her own single "Soul In Your Pocket;” and Michael Biancaniello, an accomplished producer, songwriter, and guitarist who has worked on hit records for Kelly Clarkson, Jordin Sparks, 5 Seconds of Summer, and many more.

“I am so honored to win the International Songwriting Competition,” says Illenium. “All the writers and I really fell in love with this song, and we’re happy that everyone loved it just as much!”

“This is the first time the Grand Prize has ever been given to an EDM song, so we are especially proud to recognize the genre by honoring such a great song by Illenium, one of EDM’s up-and-coming djs and producers,” says ISC Founder and Director, Candace Avery. "The judges were unanimous in their lavish praise of this song, so the selection of the Grand Prize winner was a no-brainer this year.”

ISC 2017 GRAND PRIZE WINNER

ILLENIUM, ANNIKA WELLS, KATE MORGAN, AND MICHAEL BIANCANIELLO 

FOR "CRAWL OUTTA LOVE FT. ANNIKA WELLS"

Congratulations to Illenium, Annika Wells, Kate Morgan, and Michael Biancaniello!

Other notable winners this year include: Birds of Tokyo, Omar Sosa And Seckou Keita, Amy Shark, Barns Courtney, Thea Gilmore, Dean Lewis, Bonfire Buffalo, Faouzia, Altered Five Blues Band, Vera Blue, Gawurra, Gustafer Yellowgold, Holograf, Missy Higgins, and more.

Previous ISC winners include: Vance Joy, Bastille, Passenger, Kate Miller-Heidke, Lindsey Stirling, Gotye, The Band Perry, Kasey Chambers, Lupe Fiasco, Rachel Bloom, Gin Wigmore, Kimbra, Gregory Porter, Kehlani, For King & Country, and many more.

The complete panel of 2017 judges includes:

Recording Artists: Lorde; Tom Waits; Ziggy Marley; American Authors; Nancy Wilson (Heart); Martie Maguire (Dixie Chicks); Booker T. Jones; The Mavericks; Sara Evans; Bastille; Keane; Hardwell; Danilo Perez; James McNally (Afro Celt Sound System); Billy Cobham; Gerald Casale (Devo); Natalie Grant; Krewella; Matt Nathanson; Amadou & Miriam; John Tibbs; Kaskade; John Mayall; Joe Louis Walker; Nicholas Gunn; Ashwin Batish; Lonnie Liston Smith; Walter Trout; Trilok Gurtu; Tommy Chong; and Tony Joe White.

Industry Executives:  Gregg Nadel (President, Elektra Records); Seymour Stein (Chairman/CEO, Sire Records); Daniel Glass (President, Glassnote Records); John Esposito (Chairman/CEO, Warner Music Nashville); John Burk (President, Concord Label Group); Ed Vetri (President, Wind-Up Records); Bruce Iglauer (Founder/President, Alligator Records); Steve Yegelwel (Sr. VP, Island Records); Nate Albert (Executive VP of A&R, Capitol Records); Jacob Edgar (Founder, Cumbancha); Aaron Bay-Schuck (President of A&R, Interscope Records); Mike Easterlin (President, Fueled By Ramen/Roadrunner Records); Josh Bailey (Senior VP of A&R, Word Entertainment); Gordon Kerr (CEO, Black River Entertainment); Richard Stumpf (CEO, Atlas Publishing); Steve Greenberg (CEO, S-Curve Records); Kim Buie (VP of A&R, New West Records); AJ Tobey (Head of A&R, Rough Trade Publishing); Cory Robbins (Founder/President, Robbins Entertainment); Angel Carrasco (Latin Music Consultant); Julie Kertes (Editor/Manager, Hot Diggity Media); Laura Margolin (Publishing, Glassnote Records); Leib Ostrow (Founder/CEO, Music For Little People); Katherine Danes (Co-President, The Children’s Music Network); Claire S. Green (President, Parent’s Choice Foundation); Benjamin Groff (Founder, The Brill Building); Sas Metcalfe (President, Global Creative, Kobalt Music); Golnar Khosrowshahi (President, Reservoir Media Management); Carianne Marshall (Partner, Songs Music Publishing); Tamara Conniff (EVP, Roc Nation); Dara Frank (Head of Comedy Central Records/Viacom); Carl Caprioglio (Founder/CEO, Oglio Entertainment); and Elena Epstein (Director, National Parenting Product Awards).

ISC is sponsored by: AKG By Harman; Berklee College of Music; Celebrity Access ; D'Addario; Dark Horse Institute; Disc Makers; Eventric ; Gig Salad; JBL Professional by Harman; Lurrsen Mastering; Merch Cat ; Musician Wellness; Musician’s Institute; ONErpm; PreSonus ; Savannah's Candy Kitchen; SongU; Sweetwater Sound; PAWW Premium Sound ; and Tunedly.

ISC is now accepting entries for the 2018 competition. Entry forms and more information can be found at www.songwritingcompetition.com.