Aussie Rockers Dominate International Songwriting Competition

Some of Australia’s top rock acts have done their country proud. Three local bands have taken out the top three placings in the rock music category of the 2014 International Songwriting Competition (ISC), proving that rock isn’t dead down under.

Fremantle four-piece San Cisco took out first place in the rock category with their song Run, followed by Melbourne rockers Kingswood in second place with Ohio, and fellow Melburnians Apes in third with Pull The Trigger.

Adding to Australia’s successes, folkster Vance Joy took out the competition’s coveted Grand Prize, receiving perfect scores from the judges for his hit single, Riptide. This was the first time in the ISC’s history that an entrant had garnered perfect scores.

Elsewhere in the pack, homegrown talents Paul Mac and Thundamentals also placed highly, and our favourite adopted sister Kimbra and her co-writers get a couple of big mentions too. View the full list of Aussie winners alongside the top-placing rock tracks, below.

This year’s ISC judging panel included music industry professionals and musicians. To view the full list of winners, including honorable mentions, visit the International Songwriting Competition website. Entries for the 2015 run of the competition are currently open.

Watch: San Cisco – Run

Watch: Kingswood – Ohio (Live At Music Feeds Studio)

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Watch: Apes – Pull The Trigger

2014 International Songwriting Competition – Australian Winners

Adult Contemporary

3rd Place: Sirens – Lucy Mason (Sydney, NSW)

Dance/Electronica

2nd Place: State Of War – Paul McDermott (Paul Mac), Jessica Malakouti (Eden xo), W.Cate (Sydney, NSW)

Music Video

1st Place: 90’s Music – Kimbra Johnson (Kimbra), Matt Morris, Mark Foster, Timon Martin, Steven McQuinn, directed by Justin Frances (Melbourne, VIC)

Performance

1st Place: 90’s Music – Kimbra Johnson (Kimbra), Matt Morris, Mark Foster, Timon Martin, Stephen McQuinn (Melbourne, VIC)

Pop/Top 40

2nd Place: Prehistoric Love – Tenielle Neda, Rob Agostini, Denny Thakrar (Perth, WA)

R&B/Hip-Hop

2nd Place: Something I Said – Thundamentals (Sydney, NSW)

Rock

1st Place: Run — San Cisco (Fremantle, WA)

2nd Place: Ohio — Alexander Laska, Fergus Linacre, Jeremy Hunter (Kingswood) (Melbourne, VIC)

3rd Place: Pull The Trigger — Benjamin Dowd (Apes) (Melbourne, VIC)

Unsigned Only

3rd Place: Stars – Justin Snowball (Wons Phreely) (Perth, WA)

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