2019 SOCAN Songwriting Prize Finalists Emblematic of Sound Diversity in Canadian Songwriters

Toronto, June 3, 2019 – SOCAN today announced the finalists for the 2019 SOCAN Songwriting Prize, the preeminent competition celebrating the exceptional talent of Canadian songwriters over the past year, as voted on by music industry influencers.

This year’s nominated songs, released in 2018, span a wide range of genres, showcasing the varied musical styles of the nominees, and emblematic of the youthful diversity of Canada itself.

The SOCAN Songwriting Prize, and the equivalent Prix de la chanson SOCAN for francophone songwriters, is the only major songwriting award in Canada where fans determine the results. Each winner receives $10,000, a Yamaha PSR-S975 keyboard and a $500 gift card from Long & McQuade.

The 10 finalists for the SOCAN Songwriting Prize:

• “Bad Biology” – written by Elizabeth Ball, Kathleen Monks, Benjamin Reinhartz, James Anthony Rowlinson; performed by Dilly Dally.
• “Blood//Water” – written by Chester Krupa Carbone, Kevin Hissink, Jordan Benjamin; performed by grandson; published by B Height Music, SONY ATV Music Publishing Canada.
• “Chances” – written by Kevin Celestin, Shanice Mohamed, Anthony Pierre; performed by Kaytranada feat. Shay Lia; published by Casablanca Media Publishing Inc.
• “Elephant Man” – written by Sam Lucia, Geoff Millar; performed by So Loki; published by Owake Records.
• “Hang Ups” – written by Scott Helman, Thomas Salter, Gordie Sampson, Simon Wilcox; performed by Scott Helman; published by EMI April Music Canada, SONY ATV Music Publishing Canada.
• “Payback” – written by Sarah Hagen, Maxwell Pankiw, Isaiah Steinberg; performed by Bad Child.
• “She’s The One” – written by Chloé Soldevila, Miles Dupire-Gagnon, Gabriel Lambert, Zachary Irving; performed by Anemone.
• “Soundboi” – written by Dominique Dias, John Samuels; performed by Just John + Dom Dias.
• “Tortoise” – written by Clairmont Humphrey II; performed by Clairmont the Second.
• “Whatever Comes To Mind” – written by Seth Nyquist, Adrian Cook; performed by MorMor.

From June 3 to June 17, 2019, music fans are encouraged to listen to and vote for their favourite song from the nominees by visiting www.socansongwritingprize.ca or on Twitter using the hashtag #mySSPvote and identifying the performer’s name in the tweet. Fans can vote once daily through each platform for each of the English and French prize competitions.

The winning songs are scheduled to be announced the week of June 17, 2019.

“Canadian songwriters are among the most talented in the world,” said Michael McCarty, Chief Membership & Business Development Officer at SOCAN. “It is SOCAN’s continued pleasure to honour the incredible talent of Canadian songwriting each year with the SOCAN Songwriting Prize, and the 2019 nominees are as musically varied as Canada is culturally diverse.”

The French and English finalists are determined by respective independent panels of 14 music-industry influencers, each nominating two songs that they feel were artistically superior by Canadian songwriters and composers, within the eligibility period (see Rules for complete criteria). All long-listed songs are then compiled, reviewed and voted on by each panel to determine the final 10 short-listed nominees in English and French.

SOCAN does not have a role in determining nominees or winners.

The 10 song finalists for the 2019 Prix de la chanson SOCAN, the Francophone counterpart to the SOCAN Songwriting Prize, exemplify an equally diverse variety of musical genres:

• “Best I’ll Never Have (version française)” – written by Brandon Mignacca, John Nathaniel, Mariane Cossette-Bacon; performed by Brandon Mig; published by John Nathaniel Productions Inc.
• “Fille de personne II” – written by Hubert Chiasson; performed by Hubert Lenoir.
• “La valse des trottoirs” – written by Tommy Bélisle, Philippe Gauthier Boudreau, Thierry Malépart, Marc-Antoine Barbier, Félix Bélisle; performed by Choses Sauvages; published by Avenue Editorial.
• “Manche ouverte” – written by Simon Bolduc; performed by Bolduc tout croche.
• “On fouette” – written by Teddy Laguerre, Shawn Volcy, Marc Casseus, Vladimi Methelus; performed by Tizzo, feat. Shreez.
• “Pas né” – written by Obia Magloire Pierre-Louis, Amhed Saghir; performed by Obia le chef; published by Disques 7ième Ciel.
• “Premier juin ” – written by Lydia Képinski; performed by Lydia Képinski.
• “T’as pas cru” – written by Sarahmée Ouellet, Thomas Lapointe, Diego Montenegro, Ingrid Phd Prifti; performed by Sarahmée.
• “Tercel” – written by Vincent Roberge, Félix Petit, Simon Saint Hillier; performed by Les Louanges; published by Éditions Bonsound.
• “Zaybae” – written by Léo Fougère, Clément Langlois-Légaré, Tom St-Laurent; performed by FouKi; published by Disques 7ième Ciel.

For the latest updates, follow the SOCAN Songwriting Prize on social media at @SOCANmusic and on Twitter via the #SOCANprize hashtag.

About SOCAN
SOCAN is a rights management organization that connects more than four-million music creators worldwide and more than a quarter-million businesses and individuals in Canada. Nearly 160,000 songwriters, composers, music publishers and visual artists are its direct members, and more than 100,000 organizations are Licensed To Play music across Canada. With a concerted use of progressive technology and unique data as well as a commitment to lead the global transformation of rights management, with wholly-owned companies Audiam, Dataclef and MediaNet, SOCAN is dedicated to upholding the fundamental truths that music and visual arts have value and creators and publishers deserve fair compensation for their work. For more information: www.socan.com

Media contacts:
Proof Inc. (for SOCAN): Natalie Grossi, 416-969-2780, ngrossi@getproof.com
SOCAN: Nicole Van Severen, 416-445-8700 x 3460, nicole.vanseveren@socan.com

Previous winners of the SOCAN Songwriting Prize: Partner, “Play The Field” (2018); PUP, “DVP” (2017); Fast Romantics, “Julia” (2016); Dear Rouge, “I Heard I Had” (2015); Alejandra Ribera, “I Want” (2014); Mo Kenney, “Sucker” (2013); Kathleen Edwards, “A Soft Place to Land” (2012); Katie Moore, “Wake Up Like This” (2011); Brasstronaut, “Hearts Trompet” (2010); D-Sisive, “Nobody With a Notepad” (2009); The Weakerthans, “Night Windows” (2008); Abdominal, “Pedal Pusher” (2007); Propagandi, “A Speculative Fiction” (2006).

Previous winners of the Prix de la chanson SOCAN: LOUD, “56k” (2018); Klô Pelgag and Karl Gagnon,”Les ferrofluides-fleurs” (2017); Laurence Nerbonne, “Rêves d’été” (2016); Antoine Corriveau, “Le Nouveau vocabulaire” (2015); Patrice Michaud, “Mécaniques générales” (2014); Keith Kouna, “Batiscan” (2013); Koriass, “St-Eustache” (2012); Galaxie, “Piste 1” (2011); Vulgaires Machins, “Parasites” (2010); Bernard Adamus, “La question à 100 piasses” (2009); Karkwa, “Oublie pas” (2008); Tricot Machine, “L’Ours” (2007); Ève Cournoyer, “Tout arrive” (2006).